<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Gordon R. Dickson (1923-2002) began writing SF in 1950 and worked almost exclusively in that genre throughout his career, although he interspersed a few fantasy short stories and during the 1990s produced a series of humorous fantasy novels. Most of his novels are adventures on other planets, several of them grouped into a loosely constructed human history known as the "Childe Cycle", one subset of which included his most popular work, the "Dorsai" sequence.

Dickson began appearing in book form during the 1950s, predominantly light adventure stories, but it was with Dorsai (1960, originally published in book form as The Genetic General) that he began to attract a larger audience. Humanity has spread to the stars and split into four separate cultures one of which, the Dorsai, specializes in training its people as mercenaries. Politics and differing philosophies collide as some believe that diversity is preferable while others contend that a reconciliation among the fragmented cultures is essential. Two short stories set against that background won Hugos, "Soldier Ask Not!" (1964) and "Lost Dorsai" (1980), both of which were later expanded into full length novels. Another title in that series, Tactics of Mistake (1971), is one of Dickson's best .

Several of his subsequent efforts were quite popular when first published but have been largely forgotten in recent years. Alien Art (1973) describes the evolution of the relationship between humans and an alien species through the discovery of common interests. The Pritcher Mass (1972) addresses Dickson's growing concern about environmental problems and overpopulation. The fabric of time begins to unravel in the ambitious Time Storm (1977), with random anomalies dislocating small groups of people from one era to another.

Others have proven to have more lasting power, like The Final Encyclopedia (1984) and The Chantry Guild (1987), but Dickson never acquired the devoted following earned by his contemporaries like Poul Anderson and Clifford Simak. His nine novels in the "Dragon Knight" series, humorous fantasies about a man who can turn into a dragon, are amusing but undistinguished. Dickson was a very prolific short story writer, but most are merely workmanlike. "Call Him Lord" (1966) won the Nebula and "The Cloak and the Staff" won another Hugo. Dickson was known for his likable aliens, particularly the oversized bears introduced in "Spacial Delivery" (1959) and the "Hoka" stories, which he co-authored with Poul Anderson. He also served as president of the Science Fiction Writers of America.