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Tactics of Mistake
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Dorsai!
- Dorsai Series, Book 1
- By: Gordon R. Dickson
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 369
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 304
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Story4 out of 5 stars 310
Throughout the Fourteen Worlds of humanity, no race is as feared and respected as the Dorsai. The ultimate warriors, they are known for their deadly rages, unbreakable honor, and fierce independence. No man rules the Dorsai, but their mastery of the art of war has made them the most valuable mercenaries in the known universe. Donal Graeme is Dorsai, taller and harder than any ordinary man. But he is different as well, with talents that maze even his fellow Dorsai. And once he ventures out into the stars, the future will never be the same....
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3 out of 5 stars
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dorsai
- By breckoz on 03-07-14
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Soldier, Ask Not
- Dorsai Series, Book 3
- By: Gordon R. Dickson
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 99
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 71
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 76
Men of War on the Dorsai worlds, men of Faith on the Friendly Worlds of Harmony and Association, men of Science, the Exotics of Kultis and Mara, and the Splinter cultures which had produced even stranger new talents. Those who knew said it was the Dorsai who supplied soldiers to the sixteen worlds. The Friendlies supplied cannon fodder, common soldiers who could be relied on to obey orders at all times. But even cannon fodder can sometimes produce genius.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic
- By caroline van winkle on 08-29-16
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Necromancer
- Dorsai Series, Book 2
- By: Gordon R. Dickson
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 100
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 76
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 80
Life on Earth is good. Disease is checked, hunger ended, and war and suffering abolished, with liberty and justice and a high standard of living for all. But Paul Formain, a strangely gifted young engineer, doesn't believe a word of it. So he comes to Walter Blunt's Chantry Guild, whose motto is "Destruct!" and whose stated goal is the end of civilization. There are Alternate Laws at work in the world, says the Chantry Guild; Walter Blunt has pledged his life to them, and to the principle of destruction as a positive force.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Not a Dorsai story but still good
- By Patron-of-art on 09-20-19
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The Chantry Guild
- Dorsai Series, Book 5
- By: Gordon R. Dickson
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 56
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
A lone ship piloted by Dorsai Amanda Morgan runs the blockade of the Earth. She has come to rouse Hal Mayne from his research to go to Kultis, where the secretive Chantry Guild holds mastery over the Alternate Forces. The answers they find there may decide humanity's most critical moment.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
This is the last book in the series not the 5th
- By Michael on 11-03-10
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The Final Encyclopedia
- Dorsai Series, Book 6
- By: Gordon R. Dickson
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 30 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 70
In The Final Encyclopedia the human race is split into three Splinter cultures: the Friendlies, fanatic in their faith; the truth-seeking Exotics; and the warrior Dorsai. But now humanity is threatened by the power-hungry Others, whose triumph would end all human progress. Hal Mayne is an orphan who was raised by three tutors: an Exotic, a Friendly, and a Dorsai. He is the only human capable of uniting humanity against the Others. But only if he is willing to accept his terrifying destiny... as savior of mankind.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Philosophical experience on par w/Atlas Shrugged
- By Spence the Elder on 09-28-19
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The Spirit of Dorsai
- Childe Cycle, Book 5
- By: Gordon R. Dickson
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 25
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 22
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 23
Feared and respected as the most effective soldiers humanity has ever known, the Dorsai find their reputation at risk when an invader attacks their planet, inhabited only by the Dorsai women who are left behind to defend it.
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2 out of 5 stars
-
Editing errors in both first and second half
- By C. Fox on 04-01-15
-
Dorsai!
- Dorsai Series, Book 1
- By: Gordon R. Dickson
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 6 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 369
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 304
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 310
Throughout the Fourteen Worlds of humanity, no race is as feared and respected as the Dorsai. The ultimate warriors, they are known for their deadly rages, unbreakable honor, and fierce independence. No man rules the Dorsai, but their mastery of the art of war has made them the most valuable mercenaries in the known universe. Donal Graeme is Dorsai, taller and harder than any ordinary man. But he is different as well, with talents that maze even his fellow Dorsai. And once he ventures out into the stars, the future will never be the same....
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
dorsai
- By breckoz on 03-07-14
-
Soldier, Ask Not
- Dorsai Series, Book 3
- By: Gordon R. Dickson
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 99
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 76
Men of War on the Dorsai worlds, men of Faith on the Friendly Worlds of Harmony and Association, men of Science, the Exotics of Kultis and Mara, and the Splinter cultures which had produced even stranger new talents. Those who knew said it was the Dorsai who supplied soldiers to the sixteen worlds. The Friendlies supplied cannon fodder, common soldiers who could be relied on to obey orders at all times. But even cannon fodder can sometimes produce genius.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fantastic
- By caroline van winkle on 08-29-16
-
Necromancer
- Dorsai Series, Book 2
- By: Gordon R. Dickson
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 100
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 76
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 80
Life on Earth is good. Disease is checked, hunger ended, and war and suffering abolished, with liberty and justice and a high standard of living for all. But Paul Formain, a strangely gifted young engineer, doesn't believe a word of it. So he comes to Walter Blunt's Chantry Guild, whose motto is "Destruct!" and whose stated goal is the end of civilization. There are Alternate Laws at work in the world, says the Chantry Guild; Walter Blunt has pledged his life to them, and to the principle of destruction as a positive force.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Not a Dorsai story but still good
- By Patron-of-art on 09-20-19
-
The Chantry Guild
- Dorsai Series, Book 5
- By: Gordon R. Dickson
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 56
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
A lone ship piloted by Dorsai Amanda Morgan runs the blockade of the Earth. She has come to rouse Hal Mayne from his research to go to Kultis, where the secretive Chantry Guild holds mastery over the Alternate Forces. The answers they find there may decide humanity's most critical moment.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
This is the last book in the series not the 5th
- By Michael on 11-03-10
-
The Final Encyclopedia
- Dorsai Series, Book 6
- By: Gordon R. Dickson
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 30 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 70
In The Final Encyclopedia the human race is split into three Splinter cultures: the Friendlies, fanatic in their faith; the truth-seeking Exotics; and the warrior Dorsai. But now humanity is threatened by the power-hungry Others, whose triumph would end all human progress. Hal Mayne is an orphan who was raised by three tutors: an Exotic, a Friendly, and a Dorsai. He is the only human capable of uniting humanity against the Others. But only if he is willing to accept his terrifying destiny... as savior of mankind.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Philosophical experience on par w/Atlas Shrugged
- By Spence the Elder on 09-28-19
-
The Spirit of Dorsai
- Childe Cycle, Book 5
- By: Gordon R. Dickson
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 25
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 22
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 23
Feared and respected as the most effective soldiers humanity has ever known, the Dorsai find their reputation at risk when an invader attacks their planet, inhabited only by the Dorsai women who are left behind to defend it.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Editing errors in both first and second half
- By C. Fox on 04-01-15
-
Lost Dorsai
- By: Gordon R. Dickson
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 19
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 17
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 17
Pacifism will always be a powerful moral force, even - perhaps especially - to the Dorsai. For those of this planet of warriors born and bred are not as other men; once a Dorsai’s heart is given he holds nothing back, and does not count the cost. Even if that cost be the very planet of his birth, and he becomes a Lost Dorsai.
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Young Bleys
- By: Gordon R. Dickson
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 16 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 8
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 9
By the workings of chance Bleys Ahrens was born the genetic equal of Hal Mayne, the hero of The Final Encyclopedia, but he was destined by nurture to a far different fate. Raised alone by his unhappy Exotic mother, Bleys was an outcast from every society until his half-brother Dahno claimed him. Disciplined by Friendlies, schooled by Exotics, Dahno was beginning to build an interplanetary network of half-breeds, who called themselves "Others". But Dahno thought only of gaining wealth and power for himself; Bleys saw an opportunity to challenge the Dorsai for control of the Human Worlds.
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Antagonist
- Dorsai Series, Book 7
- By: Gordon R. Dickson, David W. Wixon
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 34
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 25
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
Donal Graeme was a Dorsai, a mercenary soldier, and also a mutant gifted with insight into the path forward for the human race. Through his gifts, Donal would come to bend time and live three lifetimes - and, in the process, run into problems he had not expected: first, his own flaws, and second, the existence of another mutant, Bleys Ahrens. Bleys is a man with a clear vision of the struggle in which he's involved - but an increasingly deficient sense of human values.
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Other
- By: Gordon R. Dickson
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 20 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 9
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7
Bleys Ahrens is now a political power on the planet Association, home of the Friendlies. His people - his Others, not Dorsai or Friendly or Exotic, but hybrids - are in place on all the new worlds, and are ready to take his message to the greater human public. But within his inner circle is Henry McLean, Soldier of God, and a True Faith-Holder. Henry fears for the soul of his nephew Bleys, and while he guards, he also watches, and judges.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Kinda boring unfortunately
- By RICHARD on 07-07-15
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The Mote in God's Eye
- By: Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
- Narrated by: L J Ganser
- Length: 20 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 6,816
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 5,010
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Story4 out of 5 stars 5,052
The Mote In God's Eye is their acknowledged masterpiece, an epic novel of mankind's first encounter with alien life that transcends the genre. No lesser an authority than Robert A. Heinlein called it "possibly the finest science fiction novel I have ever read".
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4 out of 5 stars
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A great read!
- By J. Rhoderick on 02-12-10
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West of Honor
- By: Jerry Pournelle
- Narrated by: Lance Axt
- Length: 6 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 44
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 41
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 42
Recent Academy graduate Lieutenant Hal Slater is traveling first class to a cushy first assignment when he is suddenly preempted into a new detachment headed for a wild frontier world. Captain John Christian Falkenberg is forming a new unit from conscripts, guard house scrapings, and the remnants of decimated units, and has the authority to scoop up junior officers wherever he can find them. Hal is caught in that scoop.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Military Science Fiction at Its Best
- By Kindle Customer on 12-12-16
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Comet!
- An Ell Donsaii Story, Book 5
- By: Laurence Dahners
- Narrated by: Laura Bannister
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 33
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Story5 out of 5 stars 33
Comet! is the fifth in a series of near future sci-fi/thrillers whose young heroine Ell Donsaii has a nerve mutation which has rendered her a genius and an athletic phenomenon. In Comet!, she and her team begin exploring outer space using the wormholes she produced in Rocket. Unfortunately, Comet Hearth-Daster is on a trajectory to strike the Earth. Though it is smaller than the object that wiped out the dinosaurs, it still weighs 300 million metric tons and if it hits, it will wipe out civilization and may render the human race extinct.
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The Gripping Hand
- By: Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,570
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,405
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,417
Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, award-winning authors of such best sellers as Footfall and The Legacy of Heorot, return us to the Mote, and to the universe of Kevin Renner and Horace Bury, of Rod Blaine and Sally Fowler. There, 25 years have passed since humanity quarantined the mysterious aliens known as Moties within the confines of their own solar system. They have spent a quarter century analyzing and agonizing over the deadly threat posed by the only aliens mankind has ever encountered - a race divided into distinct biological forms, each serving a different function: Master, Mediator, Engineer, Warrior.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Sequel to "The Mote in God's Eye"
- By Ken on 01-14-13
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Rocket!
- An Ell Donsaii Story, Book 4
- By: Laurence Dahners
- Narrated by: Laura Bannister
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 44
Rocket! is the fourth in a series of near-future sci-fi/thrillers whose young heroine Ell Donsaii has a nerve mutation. This mutation’s rendered her a genius and an athletic phenomenon. In Rocket! she works out the enormous potential of the wormholes she discovered in Lieutenant. Though they only provide small openings through the fifth dimension, these wormholes will prove a tremendous boon to humankind. Feeding fuel to little rockets will let them fly all the way up into space.
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5 out of 5 stars
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i love the series, i couldn't put it down
- By Rod on 08-30-19
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Time Enough for Love
- The Lives of Lazarus Long
- By: Robert A. Heinlein
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 23 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 723
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 655
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 658
Time Enough for Love is the capstone and crowning achievement of Heinlein's famous Future History series. Lazarus Long is so in love with life that he simply refuses to die. Born in the early 1900s, he lives through multiple centuries, his love for time ultimately causing him to become his own ancestor. Time Enough for Loveis his lovingly detailed account of his journey through a vast and magnificent timescape of centuries and worlds. Using the voice of Lazarus, Heinlein expounds his own philosophies, including his radical ideas on sexual freedom.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful yarn
- By Don K on 03-09-16
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Janissaries
- By: Jerry Pournelle
- Narrated by: Keith Szarabajka
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 246
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 223
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 222
Captain Rick Galloway and his men had been talked into volunteering for a dangerous mission only to be ruthlessly abandoned when faceless CIA higher-ups pulled the plug on the operation. They were cut off in hostile territory, with local troops and their Cuban “advisors” rapidly closing in - and then the alien spaceship landed. Rescued from certain death, they now must fight another world’s war.
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4 out of 5 stars
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relatively straight forward, entertaining
- By Thomas on 01-09-15
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The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke
- By: Arthur C. Clarke
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister, Ray Porter, Jonathan Davis
- Length: 51 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 964
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 879
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 876
From early work like "Rescue Party" and "The Lion of Comarre", through classic stories including "The Star", "Earthlight", "The Nine Billion Names of God", and "The Sentinel" (kernel of the later novel and movie 2001: A Space Odyssey), all the way to later work like "A Meeting with Medusa" and "The Hammer of God", this comprehensive short story collection encapsulates one of the great science fiction careers of all time.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Chapter Titles
- By Bob H on 04-01-18
Publisher's Summary
It's obvious that Cletus Graeme - limping, mild-mannered scholarly - doesn't belong on a battle field, but instead at a desk working on his fourth book on battle strategy and tactics. But Bakhalla has more battlefields than libraries, and Graeme sees his small force of Dorsai - soldiers of fortune - as the perfect opportunity to test his theories. But if his theories or his belief in the Dorsai lead him astray, he's a dead man.
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Derald
- PENSACOLA, FL, United States
- 07-17-11
EXCITING AND WELL CONSTRUCTED RATIONAL
I was totally surprised by Dickson. I had never heard of him or his series but the combination of action and deductive reasoning kept me eager to get to the next sequence of events throughout the the book. Always careful of honor, loyality and leadership to win the hearts of those around him.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Professor
- 10-29-12
Childe Cycle or Dorsai series
These, in the day when heaven was falling,
The hour when Earth's foundations fled,
Followed their mercenary calling
And took their wages and are dead.
Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
What God abandoned, these defended,
And saved the sum of things for pay.
"Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries" by A.E. Housman
Unfortunately for us the series is not complete the author died before finishing the series without leaving any notes about his view of Dorsai universe.
This means we will never get the full picture, but it gives us an opportunity to read only the best!!!!
IMHO only two of the books worth reading :
1. "Dorsai"
2. "Tactics of Mistake"
and maybe "Necromancer"
the other books in the series do not match the high standards of these two.
Tactics of Mistake is a Prequel and tells about the time before the Dorsai, the time when the colonization only began and dorsai tactical doctrine and training just began it's long way to be the best.
10 of 12 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Patron-of-art
- 11-16-19
The Origin of the Dorsai is fascinating
You never know the time line is in these Dorsai novels. You hope for recurring favorite characters but that rarely happens. What does happen consistently are well thought out stories that are thoroughly enjoyable. Yes, thus far they are very Male based novels and the treatment of women is disappointing but the overall story does make up for that. I am hooked on this universe.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jeffrey Northam
- 05-04-17
great book well delivered
this is the first of the Dorsi books I read ant it remains my favourite.