The Final Encyclopedia, Volume Two of Two [Paperback]

 

 

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Gordon Dickson's The Final Encyclopedia is a fitting conclusion to a top-notch science fiction series.
It tells the story of Hal Mayne, who as an infant was found deserted in a spaceship among the stars. He was raised by tutors representing the three cultural "splinters" from Dickson's future world - the military Dorsai, the fanatically religious Friendlies and the mystic Exotics. In a superficial sense, Mayne draws upon his experience with all three groups to battle an opposing group (the Others) for mankind's future.
That being said...
The book is much deeper on many levels. In it, Dickson pays tribute to each of mankind's splinters and demonstrates the worthiness of each group. The Dorsai, of course, are lionized as honorable and unbeatable warriors. The Friendlies are praised for their stalwart and unshakeable faith and their willingness to endure any ordeal without flinching in service of that faith. The Exotics are valued for seeking mankind's continued development in intellectual and paranormal areas.
In Dickson's world, Mayne journeys to each of the splinter cultures and begins to realize his purpose is to ensure mankind's continued development as a culture. Opposing him are the Others, another group of humans whose heritage is drawn from a combination of the splinter cultures. The others are led by Bleys Ahrens, who sees a future in which the Others serve as a ruling class to the lesser members of mankind.
During his journeys, Mayne runs into members of each splinter culture who represent the best of that culture. For the Dorsai, it's Amanda Morgan; for the Friendlies, it's Rukh Tamani, the charismatic freedom fighter; and for the Exotics, it's Amid. Thanks to his unique upbringing by members of each group, Mayne is accepted by each group and comes to realize mankind must bring its splintered self back together if it is to develop and survive.
People who read this book expecting a strictly military sci-fi work will be disappointed. Yes, there is action in the story...no, it's not another "Dorsai" or "Tactics of Mistake." It's the conclusion Dickson's series pointed to since its inception - where are these pivotal historic soldiers taking us?
In The Final Encyclopedia, mankind has reached the point where it can bring its splintered self back together and consciously guide its own development or it can fall into stagnation and slowly die.
While it's a stand-alone book, I recommend readers first turn the pages of the rest of the Childe Cycle books before taking on The (685 page) Final Encyclopedia.

I do have to say that there's really no reason for this novel to be split into two somewhat pricy volumes . . . the original paperback was published in one large volume so it's not like it's impossible. But whatever. This is by far the largest volume in the Childe Cycle, for good reason, because it seems that mostly everything in the series has been leading up to this volume. When last we left Donal Graeham had basically sorted out all the Cultures and brought some semblance to peace. Now the story takes place quite a while later and things are rapidly falling apart. Another quasi-Culture called the Others, led by Bleys Ahern, are taking over everything and threatening to thrust the entire human race into a period of stagnation from which it will never recover. For some reason Bleys and company are searching for a young man named Hal Mayne, who was raised on Old Earth by people from all three major cultures. When he finds he has to leave Earth suddenly, things start to get interesting. Dickson really takes the time to stretch things out to epic length here and this is probably the most in depth look at the working of his little future history that we have seen yet. By giving the series its first major challenge (and indeed it's a point he's been trying to make throughout the other books, just now he's putting a physical sense to it) he adds a sense of drama and reality to it. All his skills here are at their peak . . . his characterizations are excellent (men and women, for once the latter are better than ciphers), his descriptions of the worlds are detailed and focused, his discussion of philosophy is more or less interesting and the story moves along quickly enough. Some of his most evocative scenes are in here, especially when it echoes earlier scenes, such as the extended sequence when Hal visits the old Graeham house and sees the graves of all the old characters (Donal, Kensie, Ian, etc), all of which have died years and years before the book even started. It really gives the reader a sense of the scope of the series. Finally, the Final Encyclopedia, a minor thread that has been threatening to become a major part of the saga, takes center stage. The book is probably longer than it needs to be, although as I mentioned Dickson does keep things moving and since it follows Hal throughout the plot probably isn't as complex as it could be. Also the ending is a bit on the anti-climatic side, especially when you realize you've read over seven hundred pages to get to this point. But this is a crucial part of the Cycle and makes me curious as to what will happen next. The other books, hit or miss that they were, really were only prelude to this volume and it's nice to see Dickson's writing explode in what we see here, juggling all the characters and places and themes with the ease of a master. Based on what I've read so far I'd place it above Heinlein's Future Histories but it's not as gripping as Asimov's Foundation, which was brilliant and effortless. But this is pretty good too and SF fans should get acquainted with this near classic, which isn't spoken about as much as those other histories. But it ranks up there, easily.

First I would like to say my deepest respects to the late Gordon R Dickson who passed away in 2001. He was a great author who created the whole splinter cultures of the spectaular universe that he had created. After reading Young Bleys, I had to know who this Hal Mayne was. To my surprise I see why Hal Mayne was a vital piece to the whole Dorsai, Exoctic and Friendly universe. His nemesis Bleys was a powerful (Other) individual and Hal Mayne was his equal. I think others may feel that read this book may be slow and detailed on some parts that could of been omitted but I feel alot of detailed aspects of Hal Mayne, I think, were interesting and crucial if you wanted to understand his character. The story starts out with Hal Mayne witnessing the deaths of his mentors and running away from the killers. While reading you'll see him growing from a boy to a man that he was destined to be. Gordon R Dickson is a great story teller with great ideas. I feel alot authors out there have great ideas but doesn't know how to tell a story or know how to tell a story but doesn't have great ideas. Sadly Gordon R dickson will be missed in my eyes. This book will always be a treasure to me!

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5.0 out of 5 stars Better than you think
First off i have to say that some guy from Someplace, NB wrote a review saying the book isnt a good military novel because there wasn't any "ACTIVE" military strategy,... Read more

Published on Jun 20 2001

1.0 out of 5 stars If you love military SF then skip this
This author wrote the Dorsai-novels which are readable, with "Spirit_of_Dorsai" perhaps the best. Read more

Published on Dec 18 2000

1.0 out of 5 stars If you love military SF then skip this
This author wrote the Dorsai-novels which are readable, with "Spirit_of_Dorsai" perhaps the best. Read more

Published on Dec 18 2000

2.0 out of 5 stars 200 Pages of Story, 500 Pages of Filler
I read The Final Encyclopedia several years ago while in College. I somehow acquired a version that included both volumes and was over 700 pages in length. Read more

Published on Nov 20 2000 by Akai Rounin

4.0 out of 5 stars masterful ideas, great action, good story...
...so-so writing style. Young Hal the orphan has many challenges to face, yet buried within him is a very old being fully up to the requirements of a time of transition.... Read more

Published on Jun 5 2000 by Craig Chalquist, PhD, author o...

5.0 out of 5 stars A stunning epic adventure!
A masterpiece of Sci-Fi.

Published on July 24 1998 by Darren E. Insko

5.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC
Other than DUNE, this is the best science-fiction (IMO) book ever written. This will capture any sci-fi lover into Dickson's Childe cycle epic. A must read.

Published on Feb 24 1998

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