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Masters of Everon
The Masters of Everon shall rule the cosmos....
The planet Everon is just another world colonized in the grand scheme of human destiny among the stars.
Or is it?
That's what Jef Robini must find out, for he knows that the great cat-like maolots of Everon somehow hold the key to planet's [sic] source of power.
And their truths may just set mankind free....
The planet Everon is just another world colonized in the grand scheme of human destiny among the stars.
Or is it?
That's what Jef Robini must find out, for he knows that the great cat-like maolots of Everon somehow hold the key to planet's [sic] source of power.
And their truths may just set mankind free....
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
11 people are currently reading
270 people want to read
About the author
Gordon R. Dickson
587 books376 followersGordon Rupert Dickson was an American science fiction author. He was born in Canada, then moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota as a teenager. He is probably most famous for his Childe Cycle and the Dragon Knight series. He won three Hugo awards and one Nebula award.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 25, 2023
In all the books I’ve read over the years, this may be the first “perfect five” I’ve ever encountered!
A perfect five (out of ten) isn’t good but also isn’t really bad, not even so bad it’s good. It’s just competent enough to be sitting on the razor’s edge of surgical mediocrity so in that sense it’s unique and memorable.
Sort of a YA about a young dude with a psychic connection to his space cat unraveling the mystery of an alien planet of space cats colonized by a bunch of A-pipes from earth. There’s a bit of an avatar vibe to the whole thing.
It’s disappointing because based on the cover I was expecting it to be absolutely cheesy trash which is my favourite kind of book and while it’s definitely cheesy he was too cowardly to commit to full on,double cheesy, hot garbage, turbo trash!
Dean koontz would have tore this book up, there would have been sluts and ex special forces loners and monsters and geo trackers and super cringy sex stuff- that’s how you make it so bad it’s good!
Anybody ever read a perfect five?
A perfect five (out of ten) isn’t good but also isn’t really bad, not even so bad it’s good. It’s just competent enough to be sitting on the razor’s edge of surgical mediocrity so in that sense it’s unique and memorable.
Sort of a YA about a young dude with a psychic connection to his space cat unraveling the mystery of an alien planet of space cats colonized by a bunch of A-pipes from earth. There’s a bit of an avatar vibe to the whole thing.
It’s disappointing because based on the cover I was expecting it to be absolutely cheesy trash which is my favourite kind of book and while it’s definitely cheesy he was too cowardly to commit to full on,double cheesy, hot garbage, turbo trash!
Dean koontz would have tore this book up, there would have been sluts and ex special forces loners and monsters and geo trackers and super cringy sex stuff- that’s how you make it so bad it’s good!
Anybody ever read a perfect five?
August 9, 2016
Coming of age
I read this story many years ago in my teens and I thoroughly enjoyed it then. I didn't remember the story but I purchased this book based on my memory. I found I had not made a mistake.
The story was written in an older style which was interesting in and of itself. So you might want to forego it if you prefer today's "higher octane" stories.
I read this story many years ago in my teens and I thoroughly enjoyed it then. I didn't remember the story but I purchased this book based on my memory. I found I had not made a mistake.
The story was written in an older style which was interesting in and of itself. So you might want to forego it if you prefer today's "higher octane" stories.
September 8, 2017
1987 Grade A.
2017 Grade B+
Too many words and a kind of clumsy writing style.
Thirty years ago the content of story was fairly new to me and I could read every word. Now, not so much. When the first one or two sentences of a paragraph described the material adequately, I had a hard time reading the rest of the paragraph for all the details. I also had problems with the long mental machinations of the protagonist. Unfortunately there is a lot of it since it is a basic premise of the story. And this went on all through the story, even in the conclusion. But it is an easy writing structure to adapt to, and I did by skipping the body/end of some paragraphs. I also thought the protagonist was a bit dense. In his defense, he is quite young.
Don't get me wrong, it is a Very Good story and worth reading. It might be the book that introduced me to the whole-earth ecosystem concept. Just don't expect the speed of modern story telling. I will read it again some day if I live that long.
2017 Grade B+
Too many words and a kind of clumsy writing style.
Thirty years ago the content of story was fairly new to me and I could read every word. Now, not so much. When the first one or two sentences of a paragraph described the material adequately, I had a hard time reading the rest of the paragraph for all the details. I also had problems with the long mental machinations of the protagonist. Unfortunately there is a lot of it since it is a basic premise of the story. And this went on all through the story, even in the conclusion. But it is an easy writing structure to adapt to, and I did by skipping the body/end of some paragraphs. I also thought the protagonist was a bit dense. In his defense, he is quite young.
Don't get me wrong, it is a Very Good story and worth reading. It might be the book that introduced me to the whole-earth ecosystem concept. Just don't expect the speed of modern story telling. I will read it again some day if I live that long.
April 6, 2022
I hadn't read this in a good long while, but after finishing the Gandalara Cycle I suddenly remembered another sci-fi book about men bonding with big cats. And so I found a Kindle version and re-read it.
It's stood the test of time remarkably well, very much fitting in with today's modern concepts of ecosystem and planetary safeguarding. We follow Jef and his alien beast 'ward', Mikey, raised on earth and now being returned to see if he can take his place as one of the top predators on the colonised world called Everon.
But this is far from 'Born Free in Space' and human politics and conflicts dog Jef's every step...
It's stood the test of time remarkably well, very much fitting in with today's modern concepts of ecosystem and planetary safeguarding. We follow Jef and his alien beast 'ward', Mikey, raised on earth and now being returned to see if he can take his place as one of the top predators on the colonised world called Everon.
But this is far from 'Born Free in Space' and human politics and conflicts dog Jef's every step...
May 3, 2020
A giant cat from the planet Everon has grown up on Earth with an Earth boy as part of a long term experiment. Upon maturity, both go to Everon to finish the experiment and become involed investigationing the disappearance of native species. I throughly enjoyed it.
August 19, 2018
This book has the feel of 1960s sci-fi: the dialogue is a bit stilted and the themes have an old fashioned flavor. If written today, it would be called Y/A for its 18 year-old protagonist. In many ways Everon is amazingly like 'Rivers West' by L'Amour. Both are adventure stories about a young man, boldly going where few men have gone before.
Dickson was a master. Good sci-fi, for me, is a well told adventure (that would be called a thriller today) with lots of action that wraps up with a bigger story than the reader guessed. Here, Dickson doesn't disappoint. The protagonist thinks he has to deal with a few crooks and some scary animals on the planet Everon, but he has no idea what's really at stake.
Dickson was a master. Good sci-fi, for me, is a well told adventure (that would be called a thriller today) with lots of action that wraps up with a bigger story than the reader guessed. Here, Dickson doesn't disappoint. The protagonist thinks he has to deal with a few crooks and some scary animals on the planet Everon, but he has no idea what's really at stake.
August 12, 2015
Dickson has long been a favourite of mine. He manages to...be aware of the foibles and flaws of humanity while still retaining hope for it. Sometimes there's a sense of humour to his works, and sometimes not so much. This is one of the latter. I loved it. I really did.
Often when I read a book, I'm trying to solve the mystery of it. That usually involves me trying to figure out the ending. I'm correct a good chunk of the time. But there are some stories that I don't even try to do that with. Stories like that are more about the journey than the ending. Which, yeah, that's true of all books. I'm a fan of romance, and modern English language romance tends to have to have a happily ever after. Therefore you know the ending and you're just travelling the path. But that's not what I'm talking about. There are some stories where the whole point of the story is the journey, the hero's path, the spiraling in to the natural end. Stories like that require me to put aside the problem solving part of my brain and just go with the flow. If it isn't clear, that's what type of story this is.
The point, to me, wasn't to try and figure out this mystery or that mystery (even though the character seemed to think so a couple times lol), it wasn't even for our character to become some Herculean hero out to save the day and get the gal. The point of the story, and this is my opinion so other readers will undoubtedly disagree, is for the hero to become aware. I can't say much without giving plot elements away, but that to me was the purpose of the path.
Recommend. Highly.
Often when I read a book, I'm trying to solve the mystery of it. That usually involves me trying to figure out the ending. I'm correct a good chunk of the time. But there are some stories that I don't even try to do that with. Stories like that are more about the journey than the ending. Which, yeah, that's true of all books. I'm a fan of romance, and modern English language romance tends to have to have a happily ever after. Therefore you know the ending and you're just travelling the path. But that's not what I'm talking about. There are some stories where the whole point of the story is the journey, the hero's path, the spiraling in to the natural end. Stories like that require me to put aside the problem solving part of my brain and just go with the flow. If it isn't clear, that's what type of story this is.
The point, to me, wasn't to try and figure out this mystery or that mystery (even though the character seemed to think so a couple times lol), it wasn't even for our character to become some Herculean hero out to save the day and get the gal. The point of the story, and this is my opinion so other readers will undoubtedly disagree, is for the hero to become aware. I can't say much without giving plot elements away, but that to me was the purpose of the path.
Recommend. Highly.
July 26, 2016
This story is in some ways a space western as you have a common western them of a range war, but there the stakes are planetary and beyond. It combines a lot of aspects and a final reveal done quite well. The ending reminds me of some aspects of Alan Dean Foster novel published a couple of years ahead of this on, but done in a different way and with larger consequences.
August 2, 2016
Thoughtful, deep penetrating science fiction. How the Masters of Everon control all.
January 8, 2019
This was different.
April 28, 2024
Maybe one of the best ecological science fiction books I’ve read in a long time.
November 14, 2023
A great deal of science-fiction of decades-past dates itself, and given its subject-matter, it can't help but do so. Gordon R. Dickson, the pride of Edmonton, could easily have done so in this 1979 novel. However, given that it is not just a "classic" sci-fi yarn, but also an ecological/environmental screed disguised as that pulp novel (and, for once, the male and female main-characters don't get romantically-involved, but stay attuned to the bigger narrative picture), Dickson's work rises above its late-1970's brethren. For that alone, it earns its four-stars, and is still a worthwhile read.
December 11, 2023
This was such a sweet book
The Masters of Everon introduces you to a new world. You feel like you are walking along with the author. It is the story of a young man from Earth visiting Everon with his pet maolot, a cat species native to Everon. It has a nice message at the end that I really loved.
If your pre-teens or teens are looking for something adventurous and thoughtful to read, I highly recommend this book.
The Masters of Everon introduces you to a new world. You feel like you are walking along with the author. It is the story of a young man from Earth visiting Everon with his pet maolot, a cat species native to Everon. It has a nice message at the end that I really loved.
If your pre-teens or teens are looking for something adventurous and thoughtful to read, I highly recommend this book.
April 12, 2020
I enjoyed this, until the end where it felt like it went off the rails a little. All of a sudden A little clunky here and there but fairly enjoyable all the same.
June 18, 2023
Eye read 2023
7.6/10 If skippy was a big cat that could help you understand some core issues you had to face on an alien world, then this story is it. :) well written, not bloated, gets a little psychedelic at the last bit but if you can keep with the train of thought then its an ok ending.
7.6/10 If skippy was a big cat that could help you understand some core issues you had to face on an alien world, then this story is it. :) well written, not bloated, gets a little psychedelic at the last bit but if you can keep with the train of thought then its an ok ending.
July 2, 2025
Young man with mysterious blind black pet animal travels to the planet of Everon to find out why his pet doesn't seem to mature. As a novel, it's very predictable, but the relation between the two of them is quite well done, More could be made of the idea.
April 2, 2018
Fairly gentle character journey taking place on a woodsy planet.
March 13, 2025
a simple star trek episode which flowers into a better book towards the end, examining human impact on new worlds while criticising our greed and mismanagement of earth.
Recently colonised everon has landowners and ranchers vying for space to maximise short-term farming profits, mirroring earth's problems, but telepathic giant cats are secretly judging us to see if we're worthy housekeepers.
6/10 - basic and predictable with the reward of a decent final third (fifth!), Nice guilty pleasure palette cleanser between masterworks classics. Fantastic 80s cover.
Recently colonised everon has landowners and ranchers vying for space to maximise short-term farming profits, mirroring earth's problems, but telepathic giant cats are secretly judging us to see if we're worthy housekeepers.
6/10 - basic and predictable with the reward of a decent final third (fifth!), Nice guilty pleasure palette cleanser between masterworks classics. Fantastic 80s cover.
December 31, 2022
Jef has raised a Maolot, an ET animal from the colony planet Everon, on Earth. The two have an intimate relationship, perhaps even telepathic? As part of a scientific experiment, he returns to the planet Everon to see how the ET reintegrates into its race.
I disliked the writing style from the beginning. I found the dialogs to be tiresome and the description of Jefs thoughts and feelings too elaborate. I quit 50 pages before the end
I disliked the writing style from the beginning. I found the dialogs to be tiresome and the description of Jefs thoughts and feelings too elaborate. I quit 50 pages before the end
July 30, 2016
Interesting story of man and animals. In many ways it is like a western with ranchers wondering who will get the land to raise animals. However, it is happening in space on another planet. The story of Jef and his cat-like maolet who have a unique relationship. Interesting, but not really my favorite genre.
October 19, 2025
Very satisfying read. Gordon Dickinson is on a short all-time favorites list. His stories are thought provoking and exciting.
Re-read many times. A favorite from this author. You won't be disappointed. Mr. Dickson has a varied portfolio. Try it and see.
Re-read many times. A favorite from this author. You won't be disappointed. Mr. Dickson has a varied portfolio. Try it and see.
December 18, 2013
Really enjoyed this! Anything with giant cats has to be good. Would have loved it to explore the human/cat relationship a little more. An enjoyable read.
September 13, 2016
Dickson is a master at making you believe
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews