Necromancer

by Gordon R. Dickson

Book Overview

No race throughout the Fourteen Worlds of humanity is as feared as the Dorsai--ultimate warriors known for their deadly rages, unbreakable honor, and mastery of the art of war--making them the most... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0441568513
• ISBN13: 9780441568512
• Release Date: January 1981
• Publisher: Ace Books
• Length: 189 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

An interesting blend of hard science fiction and fantasy

"Necromancer" is a fascinating novel. It is the story of the beginning of the Splinter Culture era, when humankind acquires the ability to colonize other stellar systems, and "splinters" into various groups. This is a wistful, and poetic story with numerous touching undercurrents that the discerning reader will appreciate. It also has the distinction of being the only Childe Cycle novel that really talks about Old Earth (our planet) in considerable detail (although volume 2 of The Final Encyclopedia does touch upon it a little, and Young Bleys and Other do to a minor extent.) This novel touches upon a profound question: what is the true basis of reality, and how is it affected by our own perceptions? The "Chantry Guild," the precursor to what becomes the Exotic Culture, is trying to explore this question. It comes up against a mutant from the future who is seeking to apply what physicists are only now beginning to call "retrocausality" in order to change the past from the future. And in so doing, this sets the stage for the Childe Cycle future of the Dorsai, Friendly, and Exotic cultures. A book that can do all that is certainly worth a look from fans of Dickson's "Child Cycle" series of novels and short stories. Highly recommended.

Not Free SF Reader

After surviving a game, Peter is getting bored, even with the thingshis elders come up with for him to do. He sets out to find his mum.

Peter, Peter, Shapeshifter.

After the great game at Bannerwell, Peter quickly tires of life at the Bright Demesne. There is much he still has to discover about his own nature, and Himaggery and Windlow never seem to lack for tasks to distract him. Finally, Peter takes matters into his own hands (claws) and declares his intention to find his mother, Mavin Manyshaped, and find out more about his heritage and powers. He visits first with Mertyn at Schooltown, where his old teacher gives him a riddle that will guide him to Mavin. An Elator suddenly arrives with news that Himaggery and Windlow have disappears, and what Peter thought was a leisurely voyage turns out to be a desperate quest.And so begins the second volume in Sheri Tepper's series about the lands of the True Game. Peter's travels will take him all over the map of the Lands of the True Game, and by the time he finds Mavin he will visit a city haunted by a ghost of the future, he will find friends in the shadows, and visit the shifty valley of Schlaizy Noithn. He will avoid an attempt to capture him. In the process, he will learn to work better with the game pieces of Barish as they provide him with needful talents for getting past the rough spots.Mavin and Peter have a quest all their own, as they seek to solve the mystery of the disappearances. They find themselves embroiled in the strange workings of Magicians and Monsters. The prize is a better understanding of how Peter's world came to be and a sense of the scale of what the young shifter must hope to accomplish if he is to bring justice to the game.Just when we were satisfied that Sheri Tepper was a promising fantasy writer. We discover that she has actually written a crossover novel where the Talents that make everything seem magical are true forces as well. This is fiercely intelligent and imaginative work, where even the most eccentric minor character is memorable. First you think the author has concocted everything out of whole cloth, and then you find that there is a convincing logical coherence that drives the events. Prepare to put this book down and immediately reach for its sequel,

"Once, I was a professional soldier...."

I don't know what the "Synopsis" above is reviewing, but it's not this book; nor is this the first of the Childe Cycle (which you can start by reading DORSAI).When engineer Paul Formain loses an arm in a mining accident, he seeks the help of the Chantry Guild, a secret society whose members believe in what they call the Alternate Laws (read: magick). Though skeptical, Paul is intrigued and joins the group. Their aim: what their leader-prophet Walter Blunt calls "Destruct": the end of a society far gone down the path of cybernetic conformism. In this book you see, through Paul's eyes, the development of the major Splinter Cultures: the Exotics (from the Guild), the Friendlies (from Butler), and the Dorsai (from McLeod). The ending will surprise you.

Born to be Better than DUNE

This is the first book in a series that is very simaler to DUNE. It has a close style but yet it's one of a kind. This book is the first in a very influential series that is easily Dune rival.