This was a good one



Soldier, Ask Not

by Gordon Dickson




My copy is a 2nd printing of the 1st edition (shown above).. same cover. This novel version is from 1967, and includes the original short story, as well as another is in the Dorsai series (also called the Childe Cycle).



This book is really deep, and in the good way, not the annoying hipster way. It's a great exploration of humanity in general, with some really interesting bits about the press.

Tam is a very interesting character, and the 14 worlds, with their Splintered evolution, is a great, unique setting. There's not much hard sci fi to be found (none, in fact), but that's totally not the point here. And if one of the characters is alot like Hari Seldon, I consider that a tribute

Ironic considering he was pretty conservative later in life.

I didn't think I missed any. Let me know which ones if you can and I'll grab them in case you don't

Creatures of Light and Darkness
by Roger Zelazny.



I always liked fiction that borrows heavily from mythology. Here Zelazny borrows from Greek, Egyptian and Norse mythology melding in elements of both horror and science fiction. The god like characters battle each other for controlling power over the Universe.

The down side of copy/paste

I'll fix it

Decision at Doona
By Anne McCaffrey
Ballantine Books 1969

My copy I think is an early printing, but not the first printing.  Very trippy cover... I like the newer ones better (those they scream 80s)




Plot:  Humanity has become complacent, using extreme protocol and non-competitive, non-offensive behavior to survive in an extremely overcrowded planet.   Only a small few are intrepid enough to colonize, and only then on empty planets, to make sure no incidents occur.  When the colonist arrive on Doona, they're in for a suprise.. the Hrruban... a cat-like alien race.  While they live a pastoral life in huts on the planet, are they natives, or is there something else? Will the hide-bound Earth government, and it's various arguing departments, even let them try? Ken Reeve and his son Todd lead the way to try to find out.

My Take:  I'm a fan of the Dragonriders books, so I was really looking forward to reading this... I saved it for the plane ride specifically so I could read it (mostly) all at once.   While there are plenty of nits to pick sci-fi wise if one is inclined to (I'll get into that in a sec), it's a good story.  You can easily say the storytelling skills and devices that she'd use later.   

The Hrrubans are a well thought out, benign alien species that are interesting in their own right without being a plot device, though their governmental structure is almost identical to the human one, which is very Star Trek, and not in a good way.  Speaking of Star Trek, the humans have a 'Prime Rule' (that's just like the Prime Directive), and the Hrrubans have very Trek like transporters.. you throw Kirk and Spock into the picture, and the 2nd half of the book could totally be an episode of TOS.

The biggest problem (which tosses you right out of the story) is the strict adherence to 60s ideas.   The women cook and do light work, and the men are the leaders.   Kids should be seen and not heard (this goes with the society, to, but still)... and when the kid acts up, its the father's job to discipline.  You'd think 1000s of years in the future, that stuff would equalize a bit.

The other thing is the colony itself.. they send 11 men... 11!  And those 11 men build a town in 10 months in a harsh winter, no problem.  No one dies or gets sick or anything.  Then the familes show up, as if they think 11 families is a big enough gene pool to start from... I guess they didn't know about that at the time (Though I thought they did), but it's really silly.

But then scientific accuracy is not what one reads Ann McCaffrey for.. it's a great story.. I may just track down the sequels at some point.