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5.0étoiles sur 5
A Bridge to the Dorsai, Aoû 16 2003
Necromancer is the second published novel in the Childe Cycle, following Dorsai!, but is actually the first volume in internal chronology among the published works. This novel was intended as a bridge between the projected (but never published) historic volumes in the Cycle and the near future novels of the Dorsai series. In this novel, Paul Formain is a mining engineer who has an accident that tears off his left arm. Although he has regeneration treatments, the arm does not grow back. He is told that the problem is purely psychological, so he consults a therapist, but only learns something that he already knows: he has unusual resistance to hypnosis. Taking another approach to the problem, Paul tries the Chantry Guild, an organization created by Walter Blunt after being the only survivor of a hunting party caught by a freak early-winter blizzard. While the others died of exposure, Walter walked out to shelter wearing only the lightest of hunting clothes and arrived warm and unexhausted. Chantry Guild literature claimed successful regrowth of missing limbs even in treatment resistent individuals. Paul meets with Jason Warren, the Guild Secretary, and is provisionally accepted in the Guild. He finds the training to be weird, but effective, and becomes a Necromancer. This novel shows Paul developing certain skills in the Alternate Laws, but otherwise seems to lack any forward movement. The reason for his passivity is implied by the continued concern over a sailing episode five years before. Paul had been caught in a small sailboat by a severe storm and nearly died of exposure, much as Blunt had come close to death. Paul has a continuing vision of dying in that boat. At the end of the book, Paul visits a body wrapped in chains far below the surface of the ocean near the location where he had been rescued; this scene will be shown again in other stories in this series. The author exhibits an intense interest in hysterical strength and other superhuman phenomena. This interest is reflected in his other works, but is central to the Childe Cycle. The author often pairs such extraordinary skills with a strong sense of responsibility and an unrelenting perseverence. The pivotal character in the Child Cycle is Donal Graeme, the "genetic general" who has the main role in the Dorsai! novel. Donal has the ability to see the future ... and the past. Moreover, he has other abilities that he keeps concealed from most people. This novel sets up the interstellar political situation in The Tactics of Mistake, the next novel in internal sequence. It depicts the initial separation of the Exotic and the Friendly Splinter Cultures from the mainstream of humanity. The origin of the Dorsai Culture is described in the next volume. Highly recommended for Dickson fans and for anyone else who is interested in the evolution of mass movements, cultural differentiation, and the role of individuals within society.
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3.0étoiles sur 5
A Fun, Fast Paced, Unique, Fantasy Thriller, Aoû 12 2003
I read this book as an adolescent and flew through it. I picked the book solely on the title, which was never really explained in the story. It has alot of action in it. It has major plot holes, and at one point the author forgets that the main character is missing an arm. The plot involves magic, psychological manipulation, and halucinations. The environment isn't well-developed, but like many 10 cent paperbacks, has a few intriguing concepts and stimulators that make it a fun read. I'd compare this book with one of Andre Norton's minor books. It's a great escape!
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5.0étoiles sur 5
Necessary to get the Childe Cycle ball rolling, Mai 28 2003
I have no idea what order the Childe Cycle (aka that series with Dorsai) was published in . . . I'm reading them in the order listed on the back of the Final Encyclopedia, which gives this as the first book and so off we go. It's a slim, slight book with a seemingly straightforward plot that starts to go in all kinds of weird areas very quickly, almost too quickly. Paul Formain is a guy with not so good luck who loses his arm and can't have it replaced because none of the grafts will take. But some people tell him he has some ability with the "Alternate Laws" and so the Chantry Guild, led by Walter Blunt, decide to take him in and train them. Little do they know what it leads to. And neither does the reader, apparently. Dickson is too good a writer to not make the book any less than interesting and readable but some of this stuff doesn't seem worked out too well, the Alternate Laws remain kind of a catch-all and after reading the book I still have absolutely no idea what they are supposed to do. Other than Paul, none of the character have anything other than thin personalities (the lady, Kanteele is never developed at all and her at times strange behavior never really explained) and even Paul isn't that interesting since in grand SF hero tradition he mostly reacts to stuff and overcomes obstacles mostly because hey, why not? A lot of stuff happens toward the end that basically serves as a prelude for everything that comes after, which is where this book becomes essential. While if you skipped it, the rest of the Cycle probably makes perfect sense, this lays down the foundations and while not a spectacular book on its own, when fitted in with the rest of the series, it takes on a different resonance altogether. Even with those flaws, Dickson keeps the story moving, his science may not be ready for a doctoral thesis but the philosophy is always interesting (a highlight in most of his books) and the result is never less than entertaining, even if it is far from a masterpiece. Read this only to move on to the next books.
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