Ancient, My Enemy

by Gordon R. Dickson

The award-winning and much honored Gordon R. Dickson, author of the best-selling DORSAI books and many other praiseworthy novels and scince fiction stories, has selected nine of his finest tales in this book.
Here are stories of interstellar exploration, of adventure at the dawn of star flight and at the ultimate end of star flight, of man versus machine, of man versus nature, and of man versus the cosmos.
If you like science fiction, it will be impossible not to find among these tales several that will prove to be as memorable in fantasy experience as any you will ever read again. Such is the skill and imagination of Gordon R. Dickson, one of the real giants of the science fiction world.

Contents:

Ancient, My Enemy
The Odd Ones
The Monkey Wrench
Tiger Green
The Friendly Man
Love Me True
Our First Death
In the Bone
The Bleak and Barren Land

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Fantasy, Collections, Science Fiction Fantasy, Anthologies

206 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

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

[K. Axel]

This is a review-in-progress and I will add short reviews of all the stories as I read them.

Ancient, My Enemy (45 pages) is the story of how humans have come to explore and prospect on other worlds. In this story we meet Kiew Archad, a prospector looking for gold and Willy Fairchild, a woman looking for knowledge and secrets of an ancient civilization. They clash with the Udbahr, a tribal people of cannibals surviving on a faraway planet. Here Kiev will find an Ancient Enemy who is looking for him! This story is fairly fast-paced, but is much more philosophical than action-packed. Which is a plus for me. (2.5 stars)

The Odd Ones (22 pages) is a tale of the human race seen through the eyes of two aliens, the Snorap and the Lut. The two aliens are not overly impressed with what they observe... humans who cannot survive on their own, but are dependent on machines. However, the question remains... who are the Odd Ones? A fun little story, worth a read. A strong ending. (3 stars)

The Monkey Wrench (14 pages) is about two humans making a bet. The one is a meterologist (living on Venus) the other is a lawyer (also living on Venus). They bet whether or not the lawyer can put the meterologist's Brain (a machine that controls the weather) out of order. A clever little story that reminded me about an old movie called Darkstar... this one has a classic twist ending. (3 stars)

Tiger Green (27 pages) is about a spaceship that has crashed on a foreign planet which looks a little like Earth, yet isn't. This is a clash between cultures that threatens to drive the men aboard the spaceship... insane. Perhaps there is a cure, perhaps there isn't. This story grabbed me from the bginning to the end - it is set in a very strange setting, yet is not that hard to understand. Highly recommended. Oh, and the cover is taken from this story. (4 stars)

The Friendly Man (15 pages) is a story about time travelling. It follows the journey of Mark Toren, as he arrives five thousand years in the future. Here Mark meets humans who are afraid to release him into the city... perhaps he is the carrier of some disease? Perhaps his time machine will harm the men of the future? Well, this is all you are going to get of this wonderful story. It has a really cool ending and is so far the best of the shortstories in this collection. (4.5 stars)

Love Me True (14 pages) is the story about how a man tries to smuggle an animal (called an antipod) from a different galaxy down to Earth. The animal is called Pogey and apparently can't live without love... a nice twist in the end, but otherwise not much of a story. (2.5 stars)

Our First Death (20 pages) is the story about death, love and well, other things, I guess. It didn't really capture me and I found myself thinking of other things while reading it. Forgetable. (1 star)

In the Bone (27 pages) is about a human explorer venturing into unknown space and reporting back to Earth. However, as he arrives at the fifth planet perfectly fit for human life... he meets a terrible fate! This story took me by surprise. It begins by promising its protagonist a terrible fate, but ends up giving him a new fate. Highly recommended! (4.5 stars)

The Bleak and Barren Land (52 pages) is a story about how the humans infests the galaxy, about their fight for the lands of the Modorians. I like the idea behind this story more than I like its execution. I think perhaps it is a bit too long. Its strength is definitely the Modorians and their unique outlook on life and their world. (2.5 stars)

[Rena Sherwood]

If you pick up the hardback edition, don't let the crap cover of glasses on a unidentified flying citrus fruit put you off. This is good stuff -- especially if you want to read some hard-core SF ca. 1959. A few of the stories have a Twilight Zone flavor to them, but the majority are about the meeting of humans and aliens -- which can be painful, but always interesting.



Dickson does a good job of making the aliens "alien-y" and yet believable. I look forward to reading more short stories from this author. NOT novels. (although I vaguely recall liking The George and the Dragon.) Two novels of his I read Timestorm and The Way of the Pilgrim were bloody AWFUL.

[Stephanie Ricker]

I had low expectations for this because I confess I had never heard of Gordon R. Dickson (I have bigger holes in my scifi reading than I realized), but I really enjoyed the majority of the stories in this collection. Some are a little pulpy, but most were surpisingly nuanced and portrayed different alien cultures in fascinating ways. I felt like I missed something in a couple of the stories; I wished there had been just a little more explanation or resolution. But I can appreciate leaving room for the imagination too.

[Steve King]

Ancient, My Enemy is a collection of short Science Fiction stories originally published in the mid-1970s. These are always interested reads. Each of the stories range from a dozen to thirty-ish pages. Some are good and some are just okay - nothing mind blowing here. Still, it's interesting to read just to see how Sci-Fi has evolved in my time (I was born in the mid-70s). Some of the stories definitely feel dated - impacted by social norms of the time.

Highlights for me were "The Odd Ones," "The Friendly Man," and "Our First Death." Overall, I'm not sure I'd recommend this collection, but its not bad either.

[Charles Harrison]

Compared with the previous short story collection (unpleasant profession etc.) this one blows it out the water. I struggled to put my finger on it but there is simply a sense of wonder permeating all of these short works. New worlds are being explored, adversity is over come (or not) and aliens encountered. There is that old fashioned optimism despite the dark content in places. The first story is the only weak one and not because of the awesome setting but more the slightly stunted narrative. Almost every other story left me wanting more.

[Brian Smith]

Really memorable sci-if short stories. "In the Bone" is a 5-star must read and the rest are between 3-4 stars. Only complaint is that some of the endings were either too obvious or too obscure at times.

Really enjoyed the writing as well, definitely will read more Dickson in the future!

[Steve Isaak]

Overall review:

Excellent, memorable science fiction anthology - all of the nine stories in this collection are well-written, entertaining: worth owning, this.


Standout stories:

1.) "Ancient, My Enemy": A clan of mountain-ranging cannibals, led by a feud-minded chief (Hehog), track a group of prospectors back to civilization. Excellent, memorable tale that resonates on multiple levels with its timeless themes and troubling emotions.


2.) "Tiger Green": Intriguing story about a human crew that's trapped on a jungle world, awash in their own nightmares and impending insanity, who are trying to escape. Like other stories in this anthology, "Green" sports a strong, satisfactory sense of morality, humanism and logic, especially in how the men's situation(s) play out.


3.) "The Friendly Man": A time traveler (Mark Toren) discovers that his arrival in a strangely familiar future may be less - and more - than he expected. Compact, fun Twilight Zone-esque read.


4.) "Love Me True": Another compact, fun Twilight Zone-esque entry, this one about a soldier (Ted Homan), whose exotic, affectionate alien pet (Pogey) raises red flags among his commanding officers.


5.) "The Bleak and Barren Land": Bureaucratic pettiness forces a Colonial Representative (Kent Harmon) into an untenable political and survival situation - trying to head off an impending conflict between planet-native aliens (Modorians) and incoming imperious human settlers. This is a masterful story, resonant on multiple levels and increasingly intense; it's also one of the best pieces in this collection.


(This review originally appeared on Reading & Writing By Pub Light site.)

[Ardis]

With no reservations, one of the greatest collections I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Not only one of the books I return to regularly, but one of the books I without fail recommend to my friends.

[Susan]

A collection of short stories. The one I liked best was "The Bleak and Barren Land", although they are all interesting; one or two were a little confusing, as well. This was a re-read of a book I've had for over 30 years, as a time-filler while waiting for new books to come.

[SciFiOne]

Grade B-. Short stories.

[Peter]

Short story collection - Ancient my enemy is quite good

[Matthew Dambro]

Dickson was one of the stars of the classical age of military SF. Brilliant stuff with a light touch.

[Paulo "paper books only"]

Damn this is har for me... there was one story I enjoy - the monkey wrench. It's basically a story about two friends making a bet on the fate of the station they live... one is a meterologis and other is a lawyer... What a twist.
The remaining stories were to me outdated in a away I Couldn't appreciate them... I won't say I advise to anyone, if you enjoy 50's sci fi (bear in mind that leaving earth was still in the realm of fiction) so this authrs had a great door, they thought earth would evolve very fast and it did until the 80's then simply staganate... only now in the 10's they are going on full force...

well with 190 you can always try..

[Joachim Boaz]

Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...

"Between 1974 and 1990 Gordon R. Dickson’s collection Ancient, My Enemy (1974) was reprinted eleven times. The reason for this “popularity” is beyond me considering I found that a grand total of three of the nine stories were solid while the rest were poorly written cliché-ridden magazine filler… Dickson had the ability to write some great short SF—for [...]"

[Earl Truss]

I used to like Gordon R Dickson when I was a kid. Now I'm looking for some of those stories that I liked. This isn't any of them. They seem familiar but not that much like something I've read before. And they were mostly pretty old. Maybe I've become more critical of what I read than when I was a kid. Very old, unscientific, 50s clichés.

[Al "Tank"]

A collection of short stories involving human/alien clashes. Well-told.

[Marsha Valance]

Nine short stories by the SF Grandmaster. A Science Fiction Book Club selection.

[Lilly Iamson]

Sci-fi at its best

[Mark Bates]

Some good old style short stories, well done.

[Andy]

SHORT STORY COLLECTION

[Scott Dailey]

I liked every story in this collection.

[David]

Great collection of stories. It's Dickson, what can go wrong?

[Rachel]

Short Stories
Sphere, 1978. 253pp.