Lost Dorsai

Childe Cycle #6

by Gordon R. Dickson

There are many legends on the planet of the Dorsai, the breeding ground for heroes. Here are two of them.

Lost The New Dorsai Companion contains the Hugo Award winning novella, Lost Dorsai , and Dickson's classic short story "Warrior."

Plus, the New Dorsai Companion contains, for the first time ever, an all new Concordance of the Childe Cycle--a roadmap of Dickson's massive and brilliant creation. The Concordance will let you know not only in which books or stories a person or place is mentioned, but will give you a brief history or biography that explains their significance in the Cycle. It's a Who's Who of the future--and no science fiction reader should be without it.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Military Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Short Stories, Fantasy, Space Opera

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

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

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay I have been meaning to read more Gordon Dickson's books for some time, I cannot remember the reason but I remember reading Wolf and Iron only to find that there was a massive 20 pages missing (the number was actually a reprint of a previous chapter) and it took me years to find another copy and finish reading it.
However since then I had come across a science fiction reference book which had a number of epic storylines listed in it - from Foundation to Dune and the Dorsai series was one of them.
I will admit that I am intrigued by the idea that evolution and intentional selection will result in the human race evolving in to different groups not necessarily due to purely environmental influences. In this case you have different worlds developing different personalities and characteristics dependent on their role in society but I digress.

This book is a slim chapter in the saga however I didnt realise there was in fact a number of stories in there. If you are looking for epic space battles look else where you have an exploration of the mentality of the Dorsai mercenary and how other perceive them. This is hardly a surprise considering Gordon Dickson's past however that is a story in itself and worthy of book all of itself. Sadly I didnt realise this book was so far placed within the series - I guess I need to check what the running or is and go digging through my collection.

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Instantes dentro de la serie.-

Género. Ciencia-Ficción.

Lo que nos cuenta. Una novela corta y dos relatos ambientados en el futuro propuesto por el autor y centrados en un grupo de humanos originarios del mismo planeta, los Dorsai, cuya vida está dirigida por el combate y la guerra, por lo que son excelentes soldados profesionales y mercenarios. Sexto libro del Ciclo Dorsai.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[prcardi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Storyline: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Writing Style: 3/5
World: 3/5

(rating Lost Dorsai and Warrior)

Like The Spirit of Dorsai - the series' publication before this - Lost Dorsai is a collection. Unlike that fifth in the series, this sixth in the series is not entirely Dorsai works or entirely complete. "Lost Dorsai" takes up the vast majority of the pages and surely qualifies as a novella. "Warrior" was a short story. I was disappointed with these two because they were so much like the last. They don't move the series forward or reach out to anything new. Both new additions in this collection are enlargements on past minor events from earlier in the series. Not exactly a parallel tale but a zooming in on a detail or mention that readers encountered earlier. As for ideas, Dickson continues with the romanticized notion of human (generally military) potential. Dickson does this well, and I like it. He also did it well (and I liked it) the last five times he has done it in the series. I'm ready to move on to more on the interstellar economics, other splinter races, and evolutionary implications. He's intimated that all these are important features of his world, and they interest me, but he keeps replaying the man of war theme without building on any of the others . 3/5 stars for these two.

Even more bothersome were the last two components of this collection. The first was an odd mini-biography by Sandra Miesel and the second was an excerpt from the then-forthcoming Final Encyclopedia. I wasn't the least bit interested in either of these. The biography was too short to do any justice to Dickson and too long to wander as it did. Fans must have liked receiving a preview of the Final Encyclopedia in 1980, but I'd rather just wait until I get around to reading it now in 2018. Miesel's mini-biography veered between adoring fan, name-dropper, and unfocused book critic. Her portrayal of Dickson did make me think that it would have been great to have been going to science fiction conventions during his heyday, but her "insights" into him and her "critiques" of his overall bibliography revealed very little. The worst of it was the adulation of Dickson's research habits, inquisitive demeanor, and ambitions to greatness. None of those qualities were evident in "Lost Dorsai" and "Warrior." They easily could have been leftovers from the original books. The mini-biography mostly seemed like filler - as if someone told her they needed x number of pages to thicken this publication, and she padded the installment appropriately. 1/5 stars on these last two.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tears are inevitable — but fear is not possible.

The Childe Cycle is a masterpiece of trying to understand how it might be possible to accelerate the evolution of humankind. Many stories center on The Dorsai — who bring out the warrior facet of humanity — because that is easier, and more practiced, to portray in prose. But the Dorsai are not like a partial warrior — out for the self. Oh no.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely not a favorite. And mostly because I'm tired of Ian. And Ian and Kensie. The short story about Ian confronting the not-mobster on Earth actually wasn't all bad. As much as I'm tired of Ian, I still liked the tone of the story, I just thought the outcome didn't make sense. As for the novella of the first story, it just dragged on and I didn't care all that much. Again I liked pieces of the story and there were interesting possibilities. As for the essay on Dickson, it was nice to see a reminder of what he had apparently intended to do with the Childe cycle. But I didn't like the style of the essay, it was too pat and easy. It mostly seemed surface. And yet generally I still liked the book. Just not as much as I wanted to.

[Erik Wennermark · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 - I really enjoyed this one. Really tight political, strategy, anthropology sci-fi novella. I was coming into this not having read any of the other stories in the cycle as well and enjoyed being dumped into the world.

[Stuart Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two short stories with some info on the Childe Cycle at the back. The first story is "Lost Dorsai", a Hugo Award winner. The Graeme twins get roped into an unwinnable conflict and a conscientious objector is the key to winning the war. The second story is "The Warrior", about one of the Graeme twins confronting a man whose brother has died and forcing him to admit that this brother was the better man. Both good stories and well written.

The last third of the book is an encyclopedia of the Childe Cycle. It covers the 16 worlds, the differing cultures like Exotics and Friendlies, and important people are given quick biographies. Good reference material considering that these stories cover several hundred years and are not in linear order.

[Quad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oltre al romanzo "Lost Dorsai", vi è anche un racconto intitolato "Warrior" (Guerriero). Protagonista del romanzo è Corunna el Man, già visto in "Dorsai!", mentre nel racconto ritroviamo Ian Graeme.
Il Dorsai perduto sta, come tutti gli altri libri, ad un passo dalla genialità, senza però fare mai nessuno sforzo per raggiungerla. Warrior è un racconto esplicativo sul carattere Dorsai. Carino ma corto e troppo essenziale.

[Ramberto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still a Classic

After all these years Warrior is still a classic of military sci-fi. It’s not about the technology, or the futuristic settings, it’s always been about the characters. Dickson’s characters are archetypical; they zoom off the page with a familiarity that gives them depth. You know a Dorsai in your life, and that knowledge fills in the gaps not written on the page.

[Wilson E. Stevens Sr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book consists of two novellas, the first being the Hugo Award-winning novella, "Lost Dorsai", and then the classic short story "Warrior." Both are very good military in future books, and enjoyable.

[Xabi1990 · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10. Media de los 8 libros que he leído de este autor : 7/10

Mis favoritos los del ciclo Dorsai (CF militarista pero con su toque). Muy adictiva (pero simplota) si bien en este último ya la cosa flojea bastante.

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5. I loved the novella "Lost Dorsai." The short story "Warrior" was fine, but the novella is the standout. I love how the story turns on the characters and the local culture, and the resolutions is both tragic and (in one respect) very funny.

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5. I loved the novella "Lost Dorsai." The short story "Warrior" was fine, but the novella is the standout. I love how the story turns on the characters and the local culture, and the resolutions is both tragic and (in one respect) very funny.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unlikely, if not unwilling, hero arises amidst a seemingly impossible conflict.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting world building, but I'm not entirely sold on Dickson's style. The characters feel a little flat and the storytelling ends up feeling a bit languid.

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

5 Did the trick. Old school of course but possibly too sci-fi for me.

[Denis]

Of the Dorsai series this is my favourite. Mainly because of the story which gives it's name to the series. It always has and still does give me goose bumps.

[John Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was Required reading

[Paul Berner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lost Dorsai

The book was a fantastic read. It will keep you glued to the story. All of the books in the series are good.

[James]

A collection of Dorsai literature features the Hugo Award-winning novella, Lost Dorsai, the classic short story, "Warrior," and a roadmap of the author's massive creation, the "Childe Cycle."

[Gabriel Clarke · Rating 2 out of 5]

"More scrapings"

[Ismael Julio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muy bueno, un libro que habla del compromiso, el valor y el sacrificio por una causa o unas ideas, además del compromiso inquebrantable de unos hombres, los dorsais, honorables como caballeros medievales

[John Loyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lost Dorsai (1980) 211 pages by Gordon R. Dickson

Actually about 130 pages because of all the illustrations. I think Lost Dorsai was included in the Dorsai companion. It felt very familiar--I'm pretty sure this is a re-read. It is part of the Childe Cycle. Humanity has expanded from Earth and founded some splinter cultures among the 13 inhabited worlds. The Exotics, the Friendlys and the Dorsai. The latter being a military culture.

The title character of this story is Michael Sandoval, a Dorsai who refused to fight/kill. He ended up on the planet Ceta, in the miltary, but as the regiment's band leader. He was the lost Dorsai. The man who knew only the military, but didn't want to fight. The story takes place on the the world of Ceta, where the Dorsai Ian and Kensie Graeme have taken a contract. Dickson uses the culture of Ceta and the particular niche of Michael to weave an interesting story.

I think the Childe Cycle is my favorite series of all time, maybe the Miles Vorkosigan books overtook it. These I would recommend reading in close to publication order.

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Contains a relatively short novel, "Lost Dorsai," a short story, "Warrior," and an essay on Dickson's work by Sandra Miesel. I thought "Lost Dorsai" was by far the weakest book I've ever read by Dickson, whose writing I normally like. Virtually nothing happened until page 140 and even then there was almost no action whatsoever. The ending was not bad but this really should have been an 8,000 word short story and not a novel. "Lost Dorsai" gains a solid 1 star from me.

However, the story "Warrior," was quite good and redeems the work a bit. There are also some very neat illustrations, and the article on Dickson is informative even if it doesn't particularly show him in a good light from my perspective.

Overall, I was quite disappointed. If this was the first Dickson work I'd read I wouldn't have read any more.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This also contains two stories, although the title story is almost a full novel in itself. It was good. More insight into the Dorsai culture & that of Ceta. This takes place in the same time period as the first book, "Dorsai!" & some of the same characters; the twins, Amanda II & El Mann. The story is told from the last's POV.

The second story is about Ian. While short, it's great. We see how normal Terrans view the Dorsai. Lots of action.

On to the next book, The Final Encyclopedia.

[Norman Felchle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll admit I bought this for the incredible Fernando Fernandez illustrations, but, one day I was looking for some S.F. to read and this did win the Hugo award...so...
It was heavy on politics and tactical stuff and short on SF so it was a bit of a chore to slog through some of that...and there was a strange decision made early on that bugged me for most of the story. It finished strong though and after it was all said and done, I was happy I'd read it.

(I heard it was a shorter story originally and I'm not so sure stretching it out was the best idea....but, maybe it was that one darned odd decision early on that had me being kind of tough on the rest of it.)

[Steve Smy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A strong piece in the Dorsai mythos, though short. It contains much that describes the character of a true Dorsai. Important to it is the lack of prejudice. A pacifist is not excluded from being Dorsai, any who chooses some trade other than mercenary is still Dorsai. Written with Dickinson's usual display of talent.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a bit surprised by the outcome. I suppose you know something is going to happen, it is the way all of the Childe Cycle has been. This book really doesn't let on to what might happen though. Also The Warrior was pretty good to, maybe better in that it was so short. It seems to touch on this identity of Dorsai duty.

[Kathi · Rating 2 out of 5]

5/10
A novella, a short story, and a companion/expanded glossary of the worlds, cultures, and people of the Childe Cycle to this point. Not sure it was all that necessary. Both the novella and the short story feature Ian and Kensie Graeme and are set earlier in time than the novels that precede this book.

[Kar · Rating 5 out of 5]

actually i've read the whole childe cycle and it is a must read for military sci-fi buffs.