Childe Cycle - Bridging the Past and the Future
The core premise of this series is development of splinter
cultures. It is based on the idea that if groups of humans are isolated from
each other, they might evolve to be different from each other. In the current
world, that is closely integrated, it may not be possible. But if humans spread
across the universe, people on far away planets may develop cultures completely
different from each other. In some ways it is a reflection of what happened in
our own world itself: what we call clash of civilizations. But in fiction, the
author has the liberty to make the differences much more pronounced than in the
real world. Here the author has created three civilizations: the Exotics, the
Dorsai and the Friendlies. In some ways, the conflict in the series has an
allegorical significance, portraying the conflict between three human traits of
philosophy, courage and faith. The Exotics are philosophers, who master the
powers of the mind and go on to develop psychic powers. The Dorsai are a race
of mercenary warriors, who have mastered the art of war and sell themselves out
to anyone who can pay for their services. The Friendlies are the Jihadi
warriors, the crusaders who fight relentlessly, not even caring for their
lives, to defend their faith.
The series had a real ambitious vision: to trace the history
of human race starting from the fourteenth century going all the way to twenty
fourth century. Though the books are part of a series, each book is so different
and almost feels as if it belongs to a different genre. The most popular books
in the series are ‘Dorsai’ and ‘Tactics of Mistake’. Both novels are hardcore
military strategy novels that involve the Dorsai. Due to that, the series if
often called the ‘Dorsai Series’. The author however chooses to call it Childe
Cycle, inspired by a poem by Robert Browning, “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower
Came”. Incidentally the same poem has inspired Stephen King’s Dark Tower Series
as well. However the historic books in the series that would have made the
connection evident were never written. The other books in the series focus on
the exotics and friendlies. As expected these books are more philosophical in
nature and would appeal to the deeper thinkers.
The book ‘Necromancer’ is both mystical and philosophical,
at times reading more like urban fantasy than science fiction. It lays out the
genesis of the splinter cultures. ‘Soldier
Ask Not’ is an award winning short story that comes with a strong message about
the dangers of harboring prejudices. ‘The Final Encyclopedia’ is more a coming
of age novel that follows the life of the hero Hal Mayne. ‘The Chantry Guild’
brings to head a conflict of opposing philosophies – that of progress versus conservatism.
The hero Hal Maybe represents progress
while the primary antagonist Bleys Ahren represents the forces of conservatism.
Rather than portraying this as a personal conflict, it comes out a logical face off
between opposing concepts. The author tries to show entire human society as a
single organism that is experimenting with itself by developing these two
opposing concepts over ten centuries and bringing them head on against each
other. It kind of resonates with Karl Marx’s concept of historic necessity and
Leo Tolstoy’s concept of natural flow of history.
Each book is in some ways complete in itself and can be read
as a standalone. But the series as a whole has a broader undercurrent that goes
beyond the individual stories. However the series feels incomplete without the
last book and the three historic books that the author had planned. It is very sad
that such a magnificent work embodying such a grand vision could not be
completed. Some others might take it up and complete it. But one can never sure
how much the new author can capture the spirit of the original work.
The series does have a few weaknesses as well. The idea of
showing development of society through the development of an individual is
interesting. However the mixing up of concepts of reincarnation, traveling across
time and one person’s spirit animating another’s body does not work out too
well. It leaves the reader a bit incredulous and unconvinced. Instead I feel
author could have just stuck to good old reincarnation and shown how the hero
evolved in each birth. The other aspect that kind of spoilt the reading experience
is the variation of pace across the series. Whereas the two core ‘Dorsai’ books
are fast paced, the Necromancer is medium paced while the last two are slow
paced. So if someone builds his expectations based on ‘Dorsai’ and ‘Tactics of
Mistake’, ‘The Final Encyclopedia’ and ‘The Chantry Guild’ may seem a bit
disappointing. Then there is of course
the fact that series is not complete as well.
In terms of technological aspects, the author just describes
enough technology to make the reader feel the story is set in the future. But
technology is never the focus. However the Final Encyclopedia is an
interesting technological construct. It is a machine that collates all the
knowledge in the world and answers people’s questions like the mythical Oracle.
Today it might not seem very innovative but one must remember that the series
was written in the days before internet and quantum computing. The rest of the
things are the usual hyper drive for space travel, nuclear powered weapons etc.
By now people may have realized I am more partial to
futuristic sociological kind of science fiction than the hard core technology
based ones. This is one more of this kind that I would highly recommend. This
is a much easier read compared to Dune Series and has a much stronger human
element compared to the Foundation series. It is also easier to relate to being
set closer to current times. The fact that the story dates back from historic
times would have been another strong point in its favor if those books had also
been written.
I eagerly await your post every Tuesday :) Time for some serious old-book hunting to be done in Moore Market and Triplicane or on some torrents to get copies of some books that you have mentioned - I was never aware of The Dune Series or The Dorsai - a lot to read....!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Mahesh
Thanks Mahesh. Glad to see at least someone looking forward to my Tuesday posts. You must pick up these books. Each one is a gem.
DeleteThat was an apt review and summation of Gordon Dickson's Childe cycle novels TF!
ReplyDeleteThanks Suresh.
Delete