Soldier, Ask Not

I first read this book over 20 years ago, and I read a lot of science fiction, but this is one of the few that truly stands out! It is one of the very few I've saved to reread over and over again, and I gain different insights each time, at various points in my life. It is absolutely worth reading! It is the story of anguish and desire for vengence so consuming that the main character sets out to commit genocide against an entire planet, to erase their line from the universe forever! He has the power to do it too, because he learns while most people are swept along by destiny, powerless to do much about the events in their lives, he finds that he is one of the very few who has the power to control destiny, and shape it to his will. The only thing that stands in his way is one lone soldier, Jonathan Black, a man of true faith. A man whose faith is so strong, that even if his beliefs were completely proven false, and even if he learned he had been betrayed by all his leaders, and even if his faith was completely abandoned by every other human being, he alone would still believe, and hold true to his faith.

The third (in theory) of the Childe Cycle books, this is the first one that feels like the series is heading anywhere, with more of the main concepts (the Splinter Cultures, the Final Encyclopedia) explained in more detail and finally a sense of direction starts to emerge. This book concerns Tam Olyn, a Newsman who has an unfortunate experience with the Friendly culture (the ultra-religious people . . . though not for nothing, it would be nice for once to see a fanatical religion that isn't directly based on Christianity, it's becoming a bit of a cliche now and it would be nice to show a little bit of imagination) and basically vows to bring their entire culture down . . . not all of his manipulations make perfect sense to me frankly (a common thing with Dickson, either I'm missing the man's logic or it's just not well thought out) but it's the thought that counts and it's fun watching his plan almost come to fruition. Tam Olyn is one of the more interesting characters to come down the pipeline but he's not as much fun as the guy from Tactics of Mistake (no sense of humor and a little too full of himself . . . Paul Formain might have been boring but at least he wasn't arrogant) but he almost makes up for it with sheer intensity and his unswerving focus provides a good amount of drive to the novel. Sometimes the supporting characters are more interesting than he is though (ie Jamethon Black, although Lisa Kant and Eileen continue the trend of having female characters who, er, don't do anything) and the few Dorsai that show up clearly steal the show, making it obvious when Dickson's loyalities lie . . . what makes this book work isn't really the main plot so much as the deeper glimpse into this future history Dickson has going, while he does steal slightly from Asimov ("ontogenetics" = psychohistory last I checked) the idea of humanity splitting into the distinct groups (and then eventually rejoining) plus the stuff like the Final Encyclopedia are all great concepts and I look forward to seeing more of them in the future books (one thing does bother me, why is no one ever mentions the Scientists, be a shame to leave them out) . . . this novel is entertaining in its own right but on it's own it's merely average . . . when placed in context with the rest of the books in the Cycle, it gains a little more importance. Dickson can't write anything totally unreadable and this is clearly more interesting than the earlier books but it's not exactly a masterpiece . . . it has enough to make you keep reading and it goes by quickly. You won't feel you wasted your time but you may not feel any desire to go back and read it again either.

This book was recommended to me by my father. He is a literary person and I have never read a book he suggested and been let down. I've never seen my father cry. That is until I got into a discussion with him concerning this book. I could not believe how moving the book was for him and it had been years since he read it. I must admit that after reading it myself; it made a big impression on me. The book has:A great struggle between good and evil.An amazing example of faith / believing in something wholeheartedly (the title eludes to it)The main character is capable of controlling others simply by how he interacts with themIt's a great book and there is more to it than I'm capable of explaining.

The best of the Childe Cycle novels, Gordon Dickson's story of man's evolution among the stars. Tam Olyn, newsman, has pledged to bring down the religious fanatics of the planets Faith and Association.

This isn't the book you should read to start the series. If youre just starting it try Necromancer. If not...ENJOY!