[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
of prosody to an aspiring ballad writer and then been on hand afterwards to
applaud her first acceptable efforts. Dickson s forbearance, skill, and above
all, his respect for even the grubbiest amateur s dignity, have made him a
superb mentor for young authors who are seri-ous about their art. (Among the
newer names in sf who have at times listened to him are Joe Haldeman, Rob-ert
Aspirin, and Lynn Abbey.) Dickson tends to down-play his influence because he
believes that fine teaching comes as automatically as breathing to
ex-perienced writers. Yet his inner nature is revealed by the positive effects
he has on those around him. For the past three decades his encouragement of
talent and his support of professionalism have worked like buds of yeast to
leaven the sf field.
One thing Dickson will not endure patiently is a shoddy performance. His
Victorian upbringing im-bued him with high standards of excellence. He has a
born aristocrat s awareness of his own prerogatives, even in trivial matters:
woe to the careless waiter who serves Dickson s vichyssoise improperly
chilled. But his special ire is reserved for time-wasters too lazy to develop
their own talents. Some people, he com-plains, like my advice so much, they
frame it and hang it on the wall instead of using it. Fortunately such
failures are rare. Most of those who beseech his advice or cry on his broad
shoulders put the experience to good use.
Dickson s helpfulness arouses a corresponding help-fulness in others. Whether
Page 91
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
he asks for a Puritan ser-mon text, an Italian menu, a sample of Gregorian
chant, or medical data on battle wounds, someone will
promptly provide it fandom is a living data bank. So grateful is he for help,
he attracts almost too much solicitude. At times the attentiveness of friends
reduces Dickson to the status of a favorite teddy bear in danger of having all
its fur petted off.
Dickson s admirers do react intensely. Women s tears over the fate of Ian
Graeme in Soldier, Ask Not prodded him to re-examine the implications of his
text and see a solution to the tragedy. Other fans want to elaborate the
Cycle s background with or without the author s sanction. There was the lawyer
who speculated on interstellar legal systems and the artist who tried to
predict future art tastes. The most con-spicuous example of this phenomenon is
a non-profit organization known as the Dorsai Irregulars which provides
security services at sf conventions, sometimes in costume. The author has
licensed their use of the Dorsai name and insignia.
Dickson appreciates such vivid identification be-cause he enjoys playing
roles himself. The historical persona he designed to join the Society for
Creative Anachronism is Kenneth of Otterburn, a fourteenth-century border
lord whose heraldic badge is the otter. This character is a bow to duality in
gener-al and to Dickson s own Anglo-Scottish heritage in particular. One
earlier member of his family. Simon Fraser, the eleventh Lord Lovat, was
beheaded in 1747 for supporting Bonnie Prince Charlie. The official Dickson
crest is: a hart couchant gardant proper; at-tired, or within two branches of
laurel leaves vert in orle, which is to say, a stag with gilded horns at rest
on a field bordered with green laurel leaves. The fami-ly motto is Cubo sed
euro, I lie down but I remain watchful.
More importantly, this SCA project, like so many of
Dickson s activities, is a remote preparation for the ¦Childe Cycle. The
climax of Childe, the concluding vol-ume of the series, will be modeled on the
Battle of Ot-terburn fought between the English and the Scots in 1388.
Furthermore, investigating the life of an imag-inary medieval nobleman will
also give the author spe-cial insights into the mind of the real Sir John
Hawkwood, hero of the Cycle s planned opening vol-ume.
Dickson is never content to do his research from books, even from primary
sources. Whenever possible, he must visit sites and handle actual artifacts.
For ex-ample, he absorbs historical mana by fingering Plantagenet coins and
reading gothic manuscripts. When reality is unattainable, he turns to
replicas. His most ambitious plan yet is to commission the making of a
complete suit of armor such as Hawkwood might have worn. (He rejects
suggestions that experiments with fleas, lice, and dysentery might be equally
instructive.) So far, he has acquired only the mailshirt, helmet, and a
magnificent pair of armored gloves. But attired in a friend s full equippage,
Dickson cut a marvelously gallant figure six feet of russet-haired, blue-eyed
knight with a bit of lace visible at his wrist to accent the steel and
leather. I feel as if I could walk through doors, he proclaimed, striding
off down the motel corridor. Fortunately, no other guests disputed his
passage.
But his own experience did not suffice. He wanted to observe another man s
reactions as well. So he con-vinced a less-than-eager Kelly Freas to try on
the ar-mor next. Freas, being shorter and stockier, probably approximated a
real medieval knight better than Dickson. Others might have followed suit, but
by then the outfit s undergarments were disagreeably
Page 92
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
drenched with sweat. The author s zeal for medieval weaponry is so compelling
that on another occasion he insisted that one notably unmartial colleague take
up arms and beat on the maple trees in Dickson s back yard with a sword all by
way of sealing a business partnership.
Although mimetic research sounds amusing, it is no game to Dickson but rather
a measure of his dedi-cation to his craft. He needs to set all his senses
gath-ering data in order to generate the authentic details his writing
requires. His creativity is almost a metabolic process: information digested,
art synthesized. Con-sider the awesome volume of material he had to pro-cess
for The Far Call, the finest realistic novel about the space program yet
written. This book s flavor comes from the author s own fervent pro-space
views. Its sub-stance is the product of many visits to Kennedy Space Center
and lengthy consultations with experts on the scene. Dickson believes he must
eat the bread of a place before he can truly know it.
Dickson deliberately incorporates his own interests, experiences, and values
in his fiction. Take, for in-stance, his fascination with animal psychology.
I tend to gestalt things, he says. I see humans and animals as illuminating
one another by what they do and also humans and animals illuminating aliens
and vice ver-sa. Thus Dickson s favorite beasts show up in his pages, either
wearing their own hides or disguised as extraterrestrials: bears (Spacial
Delivery, The Alien Way), wolves (Sleepwalker s World), sea mammals (Home From
the Shore, The Space Swimmers), cats (Time Storm, The Masters of Everon), and,
of course, otters (Alien Art). On the other hand, Dickson lent his own antic
enthusiasm and exasperating glee to the teddy bear-like Hokas (Earthman s
Burden, Star Prince Charlie
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]