The Chantry Guild

Following up the Final Encyclopedia was no doubt a daunting task, especially with that book's massive impact on the Childe Cycle as a whole, finally giving the series a sense of direction and the ability to head toward a definite conclusion, as well as giving purpose to the previous books, which had sort of floated along in a shared Universe sort of fashion. And yet Dickson had to follow it up to give the Final Encyclopedia any meaning, since the ending to that book was so anti-climatic that the words "To Be Continued" might have as well have been stamped there in giant letters. So faithfully Dickson gives us this book, the title teasingly implying that this might be the long awaited conclusion, with its promises of tying in to the very beginning of the Cycle (the Chantry Guild was last seen in the first book in the series, Necromancer, and apparently gave rise to the Exotic Culture). Instead, we get some furthering of the Cycle's themes but a lot of water-treading as well. Hal's victory in the last book was not a complete one and he is finding himself stymied in his efforts to make a total breakthrough and use the Encyclopedia for its true purpose. Amanda Morgan mentions that he should seek out a new incarnation of the Chantry Guild to find what he needs. So Hal does. That's pretty much it, which is pretty much the problem with this book, Dickson spends most of his time trying to do a lot with comparitively little. Hal's quest to unlock the "Creative Universe" is sort of vague and the terms of his victory against Bleys becomes more and more muddled as the book goes on. I'm not even sure how the Creative Universe will help him win, whatever it is. The bulk of the novel is taken up on Kultis where Hal tries to learn from the Chantry Guild and this is where Dickson's pacing fails him . . . it's simply too long a section of the book. Incidents that should take less than a chapter stretch out to multiple chapters, for no real reason. The main problem (soldiers finding the Guild) has nothing to do with the overall quest and the characters spend too much time focusing on who is going to track down the wild child that is roaming around outside than, you know, saving the Universe. Plus the sequence of attacking the soldiers' camp goes on way too long and features very little action. Then Hal leaves and we never hear about the people there again, anyway. Bleys puts in a token appearance simply to annoy Hal it seems and it all wraps up at the Encyclopedia. Maybe. Dickson's ending this time is perhaps more vague than the last book and just sort of leaves the reader hanging. What is good about this book? The supporting characters are well developed and Dickson's writing, when not mired in pseudo-philosophical meanderings, is an interesting as ever. And the future history is as fascinating as ever. But the sad thing is that way too important events happen to justify this book's length. While the previous book had epic scope and status qu

The Canadian Gordon Dickson is, in my opinion, the greatest SF writer of all time. His Childe Cyle novels are the finest Sf series that has ever been written, in my humble opinion. These novels are gripping, and with a depth and scope that is unmatched in the history of SF. There have been many great SF series with scope and depth, but none with the over all vision of Dickson. He knows where he is going in these novels and each seamlessly integrates with the previous, and with each other. The Chantry Guild continues the story of Hal and elaborates on the universe Dickson has created, all the while elegantly commenting on the human condition. The depth and power of these books is consciousnes raising, but at the same time they are really fun to read. That is a combination that is nearly impossible to attain, but Mr. Dickson has done it.

Excellent story. Read "Dorsai!" first--you will get more out of the book if you understand Donal's development and accomplishments. Unfortunately, a good many typos in the book may cloud the enjoyment of some readers; if such don't bother you, read it! and enjoy!

If you like an epic, this series by Gordon R. Dickson is for you. The scope and intelligence of Dickson's writing can only be compared to Frank Herbert's Dune. The subtle development of Hal's and Bley's relationship is interesting. Dickson writes so that you do not feel the need to hate Hal's enemy, Bleys. Hal's relationship with Amanda also develops, but with more intensity, with the importance of Amanda's wisdom and thinking becoming more apparent. Hals develops a block in his thinking and travels to a Younger World to regain his "optimism", achieving this, he returns to the Final Encyclopedia to continue his epic battle with Bleys. It is now 1998 and I still see no new release continuing this grand story. I wait impatiently for the news of this release. I recommend The Final Encyclopedia as possibly one of the greatest science fiction books ever written. Mr. Dickson is a writer I would love to meet. Greg Smith [email protected]

Read all of the following: Dorsaii, Necromancer, Final Encyclopedia, Young Bleys, Other, Chantry Guild in that order. You will enjoy Chantry Guild IMMENSLY if you read about Bleys Ahrens' childhood and the development of the Others first. The enemy in the Final Encyclopedia is from the view point of a young teenager. Once you get the more complex view from the other side you understand why Hal was pursued and why the Hal/Bleys relationship is so important. You will want to read this book for solution to the Final Encyclopedia/Other - it is not the conclusion. The next book in the series picks up at the end of the Chantry Guild and will be released some time in 1997