Gordon R. Dickson

A human envoy arrives on a vibrant, distant world, tasked with forging a delicate alliance between his technologically a… A human envoy arrives on a vibrant, distant world, tasked with forging a delicate alliance between his technologically advanced civilization and the planet's enigmatic, magic-attuned inhabitants. He quickly discovers that humanity's presence is a disruptive force, threatening to shatter an ancient ecological and spiritual balance. Caught between his people's expansionist ambitions and the mystical traditions of an alien race, he must navigate treacherous political landscapes and confront ancient prophecies that speak of his arrival. The fate of both cultures hangs precariously as he struggles to prevent a cosmic war and shoulder the immense burden of bridging two irreconcilable worlds. read more

A Nebula Award-winning AuthorIn the good old days they gave you a suit of armor and a mighty steed to rescue a maiden in… A Nebula Award-winning AuthorIn the good old days they gave you a suit of armor and a mighty steed to rescue a maiden in distress. But John Tardy didn't know about this battle until he was in it. No suit of armor, no magnificent charger. He'd have been happy just to arrive on his own two feet, or any way other than as a package labeled Spacial Delivery. read more

Two Legends of SF Team Up! Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson present the Hokas, teddy-bear-like aliens who take the st… Two Legends of SF Team Up! Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson present the Hokas, teddy-bear-like aliens who take the stories of Earth very seriously, in this classic of humorous SF. When a human thinks he's Napoleon Bonaparte, it's time to get out a straightjacket. But when a Hoka thinks he's Napoleon Bonaparte, you'd better believe it! Particularly since there'll be hundreds of other Hokas around who know for a fact that they're the French Army, mon amis, even if they're on another planet lightyears away from Earth, and the forces they're facing aren't the British but very nasty warlike aliens who by all reason should be expected to make mincemeat out of the Hokas. But when it comes to Hokas, reason does not compute. These friendly, fuzzy aliens who resemble large teddy bears have a very vivid imagination and have never quite grasped the difference between human fiction and reality, or (in the present case), between past history and the much later and rather different present. Always bet on the Hokas. Even when a young lad and his Hoka tutor find themselves stuck on a planet where they seem to be scheduled to fulfill and ancient (and lethal!) prophesy that neither of them had ever heard of until now. Hokas as usual find that reality is merely optional and the good guys—and bears—always win, quicker than you can say HOKAS POKAS! About Poul Anderson: "One of science fiction's authentic geniuses."–Chicago Sun-Times “Anderson fuses elegiac prose and a sweeping vision of man’s technological future…”–Booklist “One of science fiction’s giants.”–Arthur C. Clarke About Gordon R. Dickson: "Dickson is one of SF's standard-bearers."—Publishers Weekly "Dickson has a true mastery of pacing and fine understanding of human beings."—Seattle Post Intelligencer "A masterful science fiction writer."—Milwaukee Journal read more

THE HOKAS ARE BACK IN THIS CLASSIC OF HUMOROUS SF FROM POUL ANDERSON AND GORDON R. DICKSON. YOU CAN’T KEEP A GOOD HOKA D… THE HOKAS ARE BACK IN THIS CLASSIC OF HUMOROUS SF FROM POUL ANDERSON AND GORDON R. DICKSON. YOU CAN’T KEEP A GOOD HOKA DOWN! The Interbeing League had been formed to make contact with new intelligent races in the galaxy and offer them membership. But when the League encountered the Hokas, furry creatures strongly resembling the teddy bears of Earth, the League’s agent, Alexander Jones, could have been excused for wishing he had a simpler assignment than making sense out of the Hokas—such as singlehandedly stopping an interstellar war. Not that the fuzzy aliens were unfriendly. In fact, they loved everything about humans, and adopted various Terran cultures wholesale and in every little detail—but with a bit of confusion about the differences between fact and fiction. So, if the Hokas suddenly started acting out the parts in a rip-roaring, shoot-em-up Western, or brought to life the London of Sherlock Holmes, complete with a pipe-puffing, deerstalker-wearing Hoka, or suddenly decided to fly the Jolly Roger and lead a life of adventure and piracy on the high seas, matey—well, that was to be expected. And as the Hokas threw themselves wholeheartedly into progressively wilder worlds from Terran history and fiction, Jones could be excused for feeling that his grip on reality was hanging by a single, thin, increasingly frayed thread. Praise for the Hokas stories: “You aren’t apt to find a more gleeful book of S.F.”—The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction “. . . the funniest s-f ever written.”—A Reader’s Guide to Science Fiction About Poul Anderson: "One of science fiction's authentic geniuses."–Chicago Sun-Times “Anderson fuses elegiac prose and a sweeping vision of man’s technological future…”–Booklist “One of science fiction’s giants.”–Arthur C. Clarke About Gordon R. Dickson: "Dickson is one of SF's standard-bearers."—Publishers Weekly "Dickson has a true mastery of pacing and fine understanding of human beings."—Seattle Post Intelligencer "A masterful science fictio read more