Back in the late Jurassic era, I was tagged with a book meme by John at Grasping for the Wind, and I figure better late than never.

Nightstand/Table: Nothing. I don’t like to read in bed.

Reading at the Moment: I like to read a lot of books concurrently, usually a few fiction and a few nonfiction. That way I can jump around according to my mood. Currently reading:

Saturn Returns, Sean Williams

Soldier, Ask Not, Gordon R. Dickson (Nostalgic for me- read a bunch of Dorsai books from the library when I was a kid and just starting out with science fiction.)

Bone Song, John Meaney

The Constitution of Liberty, F.A. Hayek (Last read this one in high school. Quite the chick magnet, I was.)

Unholy Domain, Dan Ronco

Annals, Tacitus (Which now has a largish Guinness stain on it, due to my fondness for reading at the bar and my poor hand-eye coordination.)

Political Writings, Benjamin Constant (Compilation of several works, including The Spirit of Conquest and Usurpation and Principles of Politics Applicable to All Governments)

Can’t Put Down:

Gathering Dust: I have two used bookstores within a relatively short distance of my house. When I take an interest in an author, I head to the used bookstore, find their supply of that author, and just clean them out. I then stockpile these books in my home, like a survivalist accumulating ammunition and canned food to sustain him in case a Russian first strike wipes out civilization. Thus, I have a truly colossal backlog of books I have yet to read.  I’m trying to pick up my reading pace, because I don’t want to accidentally knock over one of my stacked cheap plastic storage boxes and meet my doom buried alive beneath an avalanche of Jack Vance paperbacks.

Secret Indulgence: Faeries’ Landing, an appallingly cute manga series.  It looks a bit odd on the shelf next to my Hammer’s Slammers books, but it’s funny, and I like cute, damn it.

Looking Forward To: The January Dancer by Michael Flynn, The Devil’s Eye by Jack McDevitt, The Gods Return by David Drake

Today I’ll be reviewing The Man from Earth by the late Gordon R. Dickson, best known for the Childe Cycle (AKA the “Dorsai” series.) This is a collection of 10 short stories by Gordon R. Dickson, with publication dates ranging from 1952 to 1969, mostly dealing with interaction between humans and aliens, usually in situations of conflict. My favorite stories from the collection are:

“Call Him Lord”- On a distant future Earth that has been preserved in an ancient condition by a starfaring human empire, the son of humanity’s emperor is put to an ancient test. I liked the way the story is set up- Dickson takes an Earth much like ours, and yet makes it strange and alien. He also does a good job of inspiring emotional sympathy for a character that only appears in the last page, which isn’t always easy to do, especially when it’s not a viewpoint character.

“Ancient, My Enemy”- A group of prospectors and a young anthropology student are exploring in lethally hot territory occupied by primitive aliens when the youngest of the prospectors finds himself the target of a bizarre alien rite of battle. But the savage aliens aren’t the only brutes out in the desert, and violence from without isn’t the only enemy the young prospector faces. This is my favorite story in the collection, with an interesting alien culture and an emotionally effective conclusion.

“Steel Brother”- A story of a man who guards humanity’s frontier’s against alien aggression, with an interesting wrinkle- he wears a mechanism in his helmet that contains the recorded thoughts and memories of each man who served and died in his place before him, which he can access by thought. Does he call on that accumulated experience in battle and risk having his own personality swamped, or go it alone without the experience that might be vital to victory? Thought-recording and downloaded personalities are common tropes now, but it was neat to see it in a story from 1952.

“Love Me True”- Nice and creepy, and it has the good kind of twist ending- the kind that surprises you, yet seems obvious when you read the story a second time.

All in all, The Man from Earth is an enjoyable collection. The stories deliver plenty of excitement and some emotional punch. If you like science fiction from this era, or if any of the stories outlined above sound interesting, then by all means seek out a copy.