Tactics of Mistake

[Foxbat]

Many moons ago, I recall reading a book called The Tactics of Mistake by Gordon Dickson. I seem to recall that it was quite a good read and have developed an urge to find another copy. But am I viewing the past through a rose tinted VDU?

I haven’t found much info on this book so if anybody has read it recently, I’d be grateful for an unbiased opinion. Is it as good as I seem to recall?

Another I remember is Across a Billion Years by Robert Silverberg. I seem to rememberl that this one dealt with the idea of a Dyson Sphere. Again a viewpoint would be a help to the feverish ramblings of this untethered mind

 

[dwndrgn]

Well, I hadn't heard of it before and checked out amazon.com and found that most of the reviewers enjoyed it, some stating that it definitively is a classic. Some of the reviewers had a few niggling things they had problems with but most generally agreed that it was a good read, as a stand alone and as part of the Dorsai! novels.

I've never read any of his scifi, only his fantasy, so I may have to see if I can find an old copy of this somewhere.

 

[Stormydreamer]

In short: YES.

All of Dickson's sci-fi are genius, but I've always thought that Tactics of Mistake was the pinnacle of what he had to offer. All of the elements that I enjoyed/admired about his other books were brought together in this one. The godlike yet immensely human main character; the twisting, brilliant plot; the never-stopping action and adventure; Dickson's insights in the human mind. It all seems to come together in this book. I really can't recommend it enough!

And yes, there are other books, which are just as good. Tactics of Mistake is really part of teh Childe Cycle, Dickson's huge saga that was never finished (to my immense pain and anguish). Dorsai, Necromancer, The Chantry Guild, Other, and Young Bleys are a few. I highly suggest reading them all.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Hi Stormydreamer, and welcome to the chronicles-network.

 

[Stormydreamer]

Thank you!

 

[Foxbat]

Thanks for the info Stormydreamer. I'm going to make a point of hunting these books down and reading them again

 

[Stormydreamer]

They're well worth it

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Several Gordon Dickson novels have turned up in a local second hand store and a few have made their way to my collection. I shall post reports as and when I read them. Tactics of Mistake was not among them, though.

 

[Stormydreamer]

If you have any of his collections of short stories... treasure it. Dickson wrote a lot for magazines and such, and his short stories are really superb. Unfortunately, they've become rather rare.

 

[sistersunshine]

Many moons ago, I recall reading a book called The Tactics of Mistake by Gordon Dickson. I seem to recall that it was quite a good read and have developed an urge to find another copy. But am I viewing the past through a rose tinted VDU?

I haven’t found much info on this book so if anybody has read it recently, I’d be grateful for an unbiased opinion. Is it as good as I seem to recall?

Another I remember is Across a Billion Years by Robert Silverberg. I seem to rememberl that this one dealt with the idea of a Dyson Sphere. Again a viewpoint would be a help to the feverish ramblings of this untethered mind

I know this post is really old... but I am revisiting my youth now through the sci-fi/fantasy I read in my teens, since I see how much it correlates with the real world in so many instances.

For this reason, I had invoked "Tactics of Mistake" in a recent post at gather.com which led me to this forum. I quite agree with what others have said, but wanted to focus on what was not answered: you mention Robert Silverberg and I wanted to say that he is awesome! My favorite was Lord Valentine's Castle and the subsequent series... but I just had to put in my 2¢ worth here.