Book Review: Soldier, Ask Not

Soldier, Ask Not is a novel by Gordon Dickson, published in 1967. It was originally a short story by the same title, which won the Hugo award in 1965. Mentula recommended this to me back in the SF, Fantasy & Faith Intermission. He (or she) quoted the evocative battle hymn which appears in the book:

"Soldier, ask not - now, or ever,
Where to war your banners go.
Anarch's legions all surround us.
Strike - and do not count the blow!

Glory, honor, praise and profit,
Are but toys of tinsel worth.
Render up your work, unasking,
Leave the human clay to earth.

Blood and sorrow, pain unending,
Are the portion of us all.
Grasp the naked sword, opposing,
Gladly in the battle fall.

So shall we, anointed soldiers,
Stand at last before the Throne,
Baptized in our wounds, red-flowing,
Sealed unto our Lord - alone!"

I finally got around to reading it this past week. Soldier is set in Dickson's Dorsai universe. The premise is this: when humanity left Earth to colonize other solar systems, it split into a number of highly specialized cultures. The Dorsai are super soldiers, something like the Spartans or Frank Herbert's Fremen, though they seem more sophisticated and cultured. The Exotics are the ultimate philosophers, psychiatrists, and mystics. There is a scientist culture, as well, though I don't remember if it has a unique name.

The Friendlies, who sing the battle hymn above, are a culture of religious fanatics. They inhabit bleak and stony worlds without significant natural resources, so they are forced to send their people offworld as cheap mercenaries. They are governed by a theocratic Council of Churches. Despite this, and their frequent references to God and "the Lord," it's hard to tell if they are Christians or not. There's a single reference to their flag having a cross on it, so I suppose they are. We don't really hear much about their beliefs, other than a conviction that they are God's chosen people, and that they are all equal in His sight. They also seem to have commitments to being plain, obedient, iconoclastic, and depressing.

I expected this to mean that Dickson was criticizing Christianity or religion in general, but that doesn't seem to have been his goal. He includes in his story the Catholic planet of St. Marie, which doesn't get along with the Friendlies. The conclusion of the book also indicates that he was trying to make a different point. Essentially this culture embodies the more dour aspects of the Puritans (think Oliver Cromwell) and Calvin's Geneva. Their cannon fodder approach to warfare reminded me of Iran's 'human wave' attacks in the Iran-Iraq War. And I couldn't help thinking of the Murdstone siblings from David Copperfield:

"...what such people miscall their religion, is a vent for their bad humours and arrogance. And do you know I must say, sir,' he continued, mildly laying his head on one side, 'that I DON'T find authority for Mr. and Miss Murdstone in the New Testament?'

'I never found it either!' said I."

The book's protagonist, Tam Olyn, is raised by an uncle with an aggressively nihilistic philosophy. While planning to leave home, he finds himself at the site of Earth's Final Encyclopedia project, where he has an almost-mystical experience. The Final Encyclopedia seeks to compile all human knowledge and thus understand humanity's potential in an objective way. The director of the project comes to believe that Olyn is the successor he's been desperately waiting for. An Exotic explains that his strange experience indicates he is one of a handful of human beings who have control over their own destiny, as well as power over the future of the species. Olyn's not interested in putting his skills to work for anyone else, and he leaves to pursue a career as an elite journalist.

I don't want to give away too much of the story, but it's in this career that he comes into conflict with the Friendlies, and resolves to destroy their culture. In the process, we see the ugly side of their fanaticism. It's this aspect that made the book seem like it would be just another exercise in fundie-bashing, but gradually we come to see that reality is more complex than Tam thinks. He's not a likable protagonist, and it becomes clear that he's imbibed more of his uncle's destructive nihilism than he likes to think. It's in his struggles with himself and others that he comes to finally see the difference between fanaticism and faith, between blind obedience and unshakable personal integrity. Dickson is more interested in faith as a human trait than in the object of that faith, but he does seem to say that the religious impulse is an integral and important part of human nature.

Dickson creates memorable characters with a few deft strokes and describes backdrops well enough. On the whole, though, I didn't think this book was particularly well written. It suffers from the problem much SF historically has - rushing from idea to idea with little regard for literary style. Still, some of those ideas and images are going to remain with me for awhile.

2.5 out of 5

Science fiction, fantasy and faith: Book reviews

I've decided to keep track of my book reviews separately (and alphabetically by author). I'll make a link to this post on the sidebar, and continue updating it as an index.

D
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, by Philip K. Dick

Soldier, Ask Not, by Gordon Dickson

F
Eifelheim, by Michael Flynn

H
Light of Eidon, by Karen Hancock
The Shadow Within, by Karen Hancock

J
Carve the Sky, by Alexander Jablokov

The Stoneholding, by Mark James

L
The Dream Thief, by Steven Lawhead

Till We Have Faces, by C. S. Lewis

M
Outriders, by Kathryn Mackel
Trackers, by Kathryn Mackel

The Child Goddess, by Louise Marley

Sheepfarmer's Daughter, by Elizabeth Moon
The Speed of Dark, by Elizabeth Moon

P
The Fate of Mice, by Susan Palwick
The Necessary Beggar, by Susan Palwick

The Anubis Gates, by Tim Powers
Declare, by Tim Powers
Three Days to Never, by Tim Powers

The Golden Griffin Feather, by Richard Purtill
The Parallel Man, by Richard Purtill

T
Creature Tech, by Doug TenNapel

Shivering World, by Kathy Tyers
Firebird, by Kathy Tyers
Fusion Fire, by Kathy Tyers
Crown of Fire, by Kathy Tyers

W
The Shadow of the Torturer, by Gene Wolfe
The Claw of the Conciliator, by Gene Wolfe
The Sword of the Lictor, by Gene Wolfe
The Citadel of the Autarch, by Gene Wolfe
The Urth of the New Sun, by Gene Wolfe

The Golden Age, by John C. Wright

Brief reviews:
Mainspring, by Jay Lake
Something More, by Paul Cornell

Anthologies
Sacred Visions, ed. by Andrew Greeley and Michael Cassutt
Infinite Space, Infinite God, ed. by Karina and Robert Fabian

The Light of Eidon - Book Review

The Light of Eidon, by Karen Hancock. 2003. 432 p.

I heard of this book through some of my fellow bloggers (sorry, I don't remember exactly who.) There seemed to be a general agreement that this book, and others in the series, are the cream of the crop when it comes to contemporary CBA (ie, American evangelical) fantasy.

LoE is set in a fantasy world that's loosely modelled on Europe and Africa, with monsters and magic thrown in. It concerns the adventures of a young man named Abramm, also known as Eldrin (his monastic/'baptismal' name), as well as those of his twin sister, Carissa. They're of the house of Kalladorne, the royalty of the northern kingdom of Kiriath.

I don't want to give away too much of the plot. One thing I appreciated about this book is that it kept me guessing, and I don't want to spoil that for potential readers. For the first third of the book I thought Hancock was one of those authors who telegraphs her plot twists miles in advance - but then she pulled the rug out from under me. And then she did it again, and again. The twists I expected were, pleasantly, not the twists I got. This pleasure might have been even greater, were it not for the publisher's blurb on the back of the book. For some inexplicable reason it gives away the major plot points. I recommend you skip it.

My other gripe with the publisher is this: the cover makes it look more like a cheesy romance novel than anything. My wife picked it up at the library for me and said she was somewhat embarrassed to do so. Later she asked "Is the story better than the cover?"

Fortunately, it is. Hancock is a good descriptive writer, and brings the landscapes and backdrops to vivid life. The action is exciting, and leads us to some exotic and interesting locales. And as I've mentioned, it's pretty suspenseful.

The dialogue struck me as about average for fantasy novels in general - the characters don't always sound real people so much as they sound like, well, characters in a fantasy novel! When they do talk like real people, they sometimes sound like modern Americans. But this is a minor quibble.

The main characters are drawn well and we get to see their reasonably convincing inner lives, along with some insight into human failings. I particularly liked the way Carissa's cynicism and hard-headedness protect her but also lead her astray. The minor characters tend to be more two-dimensional. One thing that rang false for me was this: one of the main characters falls madly in love with someone, but suffers in silence and says nothing. Suddenly one day the object of affection declares their secret, undying love! It all seemed rather pat, as we're shown almost nothing of their developing relationship over a period of years.

The spiritual aspects of this book were fairly direct. I liked some elements, particularly the more allegorical ones - flames, stones, heraldry, the rhu'ema, Sheleft'Ai, Eidon, and the debilitating disease which some characters display. I appreciated the struggles with faith and doubt. But I felt the book faltered when things got literal - one minute the characters are riding off on a quest, the next they're debating the technicalities of substitionary atonement doctrine. The correct religion, which the characters need in their lives, is very obviously contemporary evangelical Christianity. This may be perfectly fine for evangelical readers, but I felt these sections grated with the more symbolic and fantastic elements in the book. Non-Christians will likely feel preached at. Catholic readers may experience some irritation, as there are a few thinly-concealed barbs aimed at the failings of the insititutional church, the Pope, and 'works salvation.' (I know, Catholics don't believe in 'works salvation,' but there's a perception that they do.)

However, overall it's worth reading. I'm certainly planning on reading the next book in the "Legends of the Guardian-King" series. I can't quite figure out where the story's going to go next...

3 out of 5.

[PS: I forgot to mention the biblical parallels that are woven in, most notably the story of Joseph.]