The Earth Lords

by Gordon R. Dickson

In a labyrinth hidden below the Caradian border, dwarfish race rules over humans and plots the downfall of humankind, while Bart Dybig, one of the groups captives, plans his escape to the world above

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Collections, Science Fiction Fantasy

311 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Gordon 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.

Reviews

[Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the more prolific and acclaimed SF and fantasy authors of the 20th-century American literary scene, Gordon R. Dickson (1923-2001) won three Hugo Awards and one Nebula Award in his career. But despite my liking for both genres, my acquaintance with his work has been limited to a single short story, "The Christmas Present" (which I liked --it's included in the anthology Christmas on Ganymede and Other Stories) and this novel, which was a public library check-out. If the novel is fairly representative of the quality and literary vision found in his work, though (and from what little I've read in secondary references to his corpus in reviews, etc., I think it probably is), he's a writer worth reading --and as an introduction, this book has the advantage of being a stand-alone, so doesn't commit you to any of the several series he's most noted for.

This is SF in a historical, not future, setting, taking place in the Canadian Rockies in the 1880s. It also represents the genre's "soft" tradition --that is, it's not concerned with strict extrapolations from known scientific knowledge, and not techno-centric; it's more focused on people than on hardware. Like several other Goodreads descriptions, IMO the one for this book gives away too much information that I think most readers would prefer to learn for themselves as Dickson gradually reveals it in the developing storyline; so I recommend skipping that link. Suffice it to say that years before the tale opens, as a very young man, protagonist Bart Dybig and his father took part in the Red River Rebellion (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Riv... ) of the French-speaking Metis people in what is now Manitoba, and afterwards fled into exile in the U.S. Now, Bart's father has just died, and on his deathbed gave his now 30-something son cryptic instructions to go back to Manitoba in search of relatives. On this expedition, Bart will re-connect with a woman he once loved, discover a clandestine gold mine being worked by kidnapped slave laborers --and beneath it, find eye-opening and dangerous secrets he never imagined.

Dickson employed a very original premise here, made it come across as plausible, and used it to spin a thoroughly absorbing and exciting tale. (This is one of the books I read out loud to my wife; she liked it as much as I did.) The author creates well-developed characters, including a likable protagonist, and provides a deftly constructed plot with a pleasing element of clean romance. His prose style brings the narrative and settings to life without being overly descriptive, and the writing is realistic (even if the genre itself is outside the pale for the Realist school!). There's even a touch of spot-on social commentary; and, like the cherry on top of the soda, a sympathetic character who's a librarian! (What more could a librarian reader ask for? :-) ) While this isn't a great novel in terms of profound moral/spiritual messages or deep psychological themes, it's certainly a very good read for genre fans. And if you're not an SF fan, you might enjoy it too, and come to see that the genre has more to offer than stereotypical bug-eyed monsters and space battles.

[J. Wootton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I doubt a book like this could be anything other than self-published nowadays, given the sheer amount of othering going on its pages. Dickson's core concept makes for an interesting premise, an almost textbook example of "speculative fiction," but a morally problematic one.

Apart from that, the book is too short. It would have been better at double its length, expanded into a true epic to give Dickson space to develop and fully explore its potential. The reading experience feels like rushing through genres, each one holding its own kernels of interest, each abandoned before it could do more than sprout. More than a few underdeveloped plot points were patched ex post facto with ham-fisted dialogue and direct exposition.

As with the only other Dickson book I've read, the writing is so-so and the editing a bit shoddy. It's too bad, since the story was interesting and held my attention, that it turned out merely mediocre.

[Deb Omnivorous Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a classic sci-fi from the 80's and it does what the best of the early sci-fi did so well; engage in active speculative fiction, the wild 'what ifs' that had never before been written.

Now, Dickson was one of my favourite sci-fi writers when I was growing up but I had not read or re-read any of his work for quite a long time and while it took me a bit to get into the pace of the writing it was well worth it once I did so. We start with our main character Bart Dybig, he is a "metis" we are told and I had no idea what that was. In the early part of the novel we start out in the remote Canadian wilderness of 1879 you see and while there is a certain brilliance to setting the book there and then (more on that latter) it left me confused at first and slow to catch the pace of the novel. I know nothing of Canadian history and little enough of American, I was never sure if events being mentioned were part of the "sci-fi" element or not. I did not know that "metis" meant person of mixed race parentage, I did not know if there had rally been a Canadian revolution.

However, once we get to the underground portion of the adventure all that ceases to matter a great deal except for having build up a formidable background on Bart and a truly well crafted background of the intricate story. The 'science' portion of the story may not be enough for some of the truly rigorous 'science in science fiction' judges of today but it has some really impressive elements for the era in which it was written. To discuss them involves spoilers which you may want to avoid if you plan to read the book

The basis for the plot is that the race of Lords who live underground are determined to devastate the Earth surface as revenge upon the larger race of humans that inhabit it. Underground they have developed formidable levels of science (incredible by 1870's standards, but still pretty advanced by 2000's standards even) by which they live. Now, the social structure is elaborate and very well written it is exciting to see how cleverly Dickson has created the society, it's background and it's various divergent elements.

The science element comes down to this: The race of Lords have build a machine that will disrupt the molten rock upon which tectonic plates rest, using magnetic forces they will cause large scale geological unrest comprising earthquakes, eruptions and tsunamis, they will then pick up the pieces of the world and truly rule humanity. Now if you are a lot younger than me you are probably shrugging and saying 'what is so amazing about that?' because you will have grown up with plate tectonics and don't realise just how recent they are. The plate tectonic theory was still fresh and new, still being argued about in the 60's despite a body of work having been done by geologists since the 1500's leading up to it. As recent as the 1950's a lot of evidence was still being ignored so, by setting this book when he did, Dickson is sci-fiing with the best of them since we could not in the 1980's, and still can't now build a machine to affect tectonic plates the way he describes. The fact that he has set the novel in the 1870's gives it an extra dimension.



So in general, I was very impressed by the social structure, the depth of history and cultural world building. The science that was involved and the way it was used. While those things were what really impressed me, don't get the impression that this story is heavy going. Rather, it is a fast paced action book with a well rounded out, likable main character whose motivations and actions are almost always satisfying. I thoroughly recommend this book to lovers of classic science fiction and speculative fiction.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure how I would like this book now but 23 years ago I found it engrossing. I grabbed it off a rack at a small PX in Ft. Hood Texas and read it in the turret of a Bradley while on field exercises.

[Poetreehugger · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. It was a chore to finish reading. No likable characters whatsoever.

[Thomas G · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rare find! Hilarious yes serious and dark. Full of mystery and action and... dwarves!

[Stephen Cagle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked it up as the the back cover made it sound quite fun. I think I found this book because I was looking for fantasy books where the fantasy creatures are forced to interact with the modern world. Unfortunately, it didn't capitalize on its back cover premise.

The writing was honestly a bit dull, and our protagonist Bart was a bit of a Mary Sue.

This came off more like a "let me tell you about something I once heard" and less like an actual adventure story. I would have enjoyed it quite a bit more as a 45 minute short film than as a (admittedly thin) book.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bart Dybig is in nineteenth century Canada searching for a long lost relative after his father's death. He meets a childhood friend and her brother. Sent on an errand by the brother Bart is captured and made a slave again. When he escapes he lands in the hands of and subsurface empire of dwarves and becomes a slave again. His friend and her brother also becomes slaves and Bart learns of a plot to destroy mankind.