{{Short description|1971 science fiction novel by Gordon R. Dickson}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book | italic title = <!--(see above)--> | name = The Outposter | image = The Outposter 1972 novel by Gordon R Dickson, book cover.jpg | image_size = | border = | alt = | caption = 1973 cover of ''The Outposter'' book, in its paperback version published by Manor Books. | author = Gordon R. Dickson | audio_read_by = | title_orig = | orig_lang_code = | title_working = | translator = | illustrator = | cover_artist = | country = | language = English | series = | release_number = | subject = | genre = Space opera; Science fiction | set_in = | publisher = Analog Science Fiction and Fact (serialized magazine story) | publisher2 = J. B. Lippincott & Co. (first print as a book) | pub_date = | english_pub_date = 1971/1972 | published = | media_type = Magazine in a serialized format<br/> Book | pages = | awards = | isbn = 0-397-00764-7 | isbn_note = | oclc = 1080122903 | dewey = | congress = | preceded_by = | followed_by = | native_wikisource = | wikisource = | notes = | exclude_cover = | website = }}
'''''The Outposter''''' Is a space opera science fiction novel by Gordon R. Dickson. It was first published as a serialized magazine story in 1971, and published as a book in 1972. The story follows Mark Ten Roos, the leader of a group of planetary colonists pushed out from an overcrowded Earth and their attempt to successfully settle on another planet. They pursue a daring plan to become economically self-sufficient from Earth and learn to defend themselves from the threat of alien raiders.
==Synopsis==
In the future Earth finds itself being overcrowded. Its government has established a lottery system to send those selected to planetary colonies. The Colonists are sent against their will, but accompanying and supervising them are outposters; volunteers trained to be the leaders and managers of colonies.
Colonists face a difficult life. They are demoralized and unproductive, dependent on supplies from Earth for their continued subsistence. Both Earth and colonists trade with the only alien race they have encountered, the Meda V'Dan. However, some "rogue" Meda V'Dan also raid colonies and pose a constant threat to them, while Earth's space military stand idly by.
The book follows Mark Ten Roos, an up-and-coming young outposter. He was a brilliant student who could have chosen to remain on Earth and pursue more attractive endeavors, but the Meda V'Dan killed his parents when he was a small child, and later crippled his adoptive father. Enlisting as an outposer, Mark has a secret plan of revenge and liberation.
In his first voyage in this role Mark carefully selects some new colonists for his plan. These include a midget woman with a professorship in philosophy; an ex-marine with a dishonorable discharge; a master cabinetmaker; a widowed mathematician; and a highly driven banker and businessman. An attractive daughter of a space admiral also joins in the adventure.
==Reception== Lester del Rey writing for ''Worlds of If'' magazine in 1972, positively reviewed the book, saying that "Dickson's deep interest in the way the past must affect the future and his always ingenious handling of the sociology of aliens combine to make a very good novel."<ref name="Worlds of If 1972"/> Del Rey compared ''The Outposter'' with Dickson's Dorsai book series (also called the Childe Cycle), saying that while the former might overall not be as good as the latter, the exploration of the value of outcasts from one culture when exposed to a different one gave this ''The Outposter'' something not to be found in similar degree in Dickson's previous works.<ref name="Worlds of If 1972"/> Writing for ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' in 1973, P. Schuyler Miller came to similar conclusions, also recommending the book.<ref name="Analog Science Fiction and Fact 1973"/> Miller added that Dickson had successfully taken facets of the past (the colonization of America) and translated them into a futuristic setting, achieving "what few historians have managed–tell his story in terms of the people who lived it, and see them as individuals."<ref name="Analog Science Fiction and Fact 1973"/>
In 1985 upon the reprinting of the book by Tor, Ray Thompson writing for ''Fantasy Review'' called the book "high adventure on the frontiers of space". Thompson noted that the book neglected characterization, while offering instead an "exciting plot." He also highlighted the fact that it explores the price paid by those who defy convention and authority, a theme more fully explored in the Childe Cycle. Thompson recommended the book, especially for younger readers.<ref name="Fantasy Review 1986"/>
==Literary analysis==
In a 1980s retrospective of Dickson's work, the journal ''Canadian Children's Literature'' noted that Dickson's novels tended to envision a future where marvelous scientific discoveries would enable the heroes of his stories to perform feats impossible at the time the books were written. That sense of freedom and power enabled by the imagined future technological advancements would be especially appealing to an adolescent or young adult reader yearning for independence from their parents. They would be further gratified by having a protagonist who was young and at the start of his career.<ref name="Canadian Children's Literature 1980"/> ''The Outposter'' was emblematic of these characteristics, with the youth of the protagonist further contrasted by other characters in the story being older and portraying them as more closed-minded; Mark Ten Roos, unencumbered by experience, was able to be more open-minded and devise new creative solutions in ending the parasitic raids of the alien Meda V'Dan .<ref name="Canadian Children's Literature 1980"/>
Dickson's heroes offer many elements of wish-fulfillment for the adolescent reader, but what gives literary merit to his novels is his refusal to create full escapism through his characters. Instead he endows them with flaws such as selfish indifference to others, originating from injustices befallen on them previously. In Mark Ten Roos's case it was the Meda V'Dan alien race killing his parents, and crippling his adoptive father. Not that Dickson allows these past injuries to be an excuse for his characters. Instead, they are a challenge for his heroes to overcome, take responsibility for their mistakes, and hence mature and have the wisdom and fortitude necessary for them to triumph.<ref name="Canadian Children's Literature 1980"/>
The ''Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' highlighted ''The Outposter'' alongside Dickson's ''The Pritcher Mass'' as examples of his growing concern with overpopulation and pollution.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Science Fiction 2005"/>
==Publication history==
''The Outposter'' was first released in a serialized format of three installments in 1971 in the magazine ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact''.<ref name="Analog Science Fiction and Fact 1971"/><ref name="Fantasy Review 1986"/> In 1972 J. B. Lippincott & Co. first published it as a book.<ref name="Masters of SF : the Science Fiction Hall of Fame 2010"/><ref name="Science Fiction Encyclopedia"/> It was later reprinted by other publishers,<ref name="Fantasy Review 1986"/> including outside the U.S.<ref name="Internet Speculative Fiction Database"/> In 2018 it was reprinted by Baen Books.<ref name="Baen Books 2018"/>
==Author's notes and drafts==
In 1974 Dickson donated notes, outlines, and drafts for many of his works up to that point, including on ''The Outposter'', to the Manuscripts Division of the University of Minnesota Libraries.<ref name="American Archivist 1974"/>
==References== {{reflist|1|refs= <ref name="Encyclopedia of Science Fiction 2005">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopedia-of-plant-and-crop-science-1st-edition-2004_202012/Encyclopedia%20of%20Science%20Fiction/mode/2up |chapter=Dickson, Gordon R.|title= Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (Literary Movements) |author=Don D'Ammassa |author-link=Don D'Ammassa|date=2005 |pages=116–118|isbn=978-0816059249 |publisher=Facts on File |access-date= |quote=}}</ref>
<ref name="Analog Science Fiction and Fact 1971">{{cite magazine |last= |first= |date=May 1971 |title=The Outposter (part two of three parts) |url=https://archive.org/details/sciencefictionan0000jame/page/n1/mode/2up?q=%22the+outposter%22 |magazine=Analog Science Fiction and Fact |location= |publisher= |access-date=}}</ref>
<ref name="Masters of SF : the Science Fiction Hall of Fame 2010">{{cite book |last=Sandercombe |first=W. Fraser |author-link= |date=2010 |title=Masters of SF : the Science Fiction Hall of Fame |url=https://archive.org/details/mastersofsfscien0000sand/page/198/mode/2up?q=outposter |location=Canada |publisher=Collector's Guide Publishing, Inc. |page=198 |isbn=978-1897350287}}</ref>
<ref name="Baen Books 2018">{{cite web |url=https://www.baen.com/the-outposter.html |title=The Outposter Gordon R. Dickson |last= |first= |date=2018 |website= |publisher= Baen Books|access-date= |quote=|url-status= live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820231706/https://www.baen.com/the-outposter.html |archive-date=2023-08-20}}</ref>
<ref name="Science Fiction Encyclopedia">{{Cite web|url=http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/dickson_gordon_r|title=Authors: Dickson, Gordon R: SFE: Science Fiction Encyclopedia|work=The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction|access-date=2020-04-23|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114084538/https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/dickson_gordon_r |archive-date=2023-01-14}}</ref>
<ref name="American Archivist 1974">{{cite journal |last1=Goggin |first1=Daniel T. |last2=Delle Donne |first2= Carmen R.|date=July 1974 |title=News Notes |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40291682 |journal=The American Archivist|publisher=Society of American Archivists |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages= 492–493|doi= |access-date=|quote=The Manuscripts Division of the University of Minnesota Libraries has received the papers and manuscripts (...). Also received were the papers and manuscripts of two prominent science-fiction writers, Clifford D. Simak and Gordon R. Dickson, both residents of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. (...)Dickson deposited notes, outlines, and drafts for more than 240 short stories and 36 novels and novelettes. Materials for titles as ''Alien Art'', ''The Outposter'', ''The Pricher Mass'', ''None But Man'', and ''Soldier Ask Not'' is included in the collection. It is open to researchers without restriction.}}</ref>
<ref name="Canadian Children's Literature 1980">{{cite journal |last1= Thompson|first1= Raymond H. |author-link1=Raymond H. Thompson |date=1980 |title=Gordon R. Dickson: Science Fiction for Young Canadians |url=https://ccl-lcj.ca/index.php/ccl-lcj/article/view/1440/1007 |journal= Canadian Children's Literature/Littérature canadienne pour la jeunesse|volume= |issue=15-16 |pages=40–42|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805233943/http://ccl-lcj.ca/index.php/ccl-lcj/article/download/1440/1007 |archive-date=2020-08-05|url-status=live |access-date=}}</ref>
<ref name="Worlds of If 1972">{{cite magazine |last=del Rey |first=Lester |author-link=Lester del Rey|date= November–December 1972 |title=Reading Room |pages=157–158|url= |magazine=If (magazine) |location= |publisher=UPD Publishing Corporation |access-date=}}</ref>
<ref name="Fantasy Review 1986">{{cite magazine |last=Thompson |first= Ray|author-link=Raymond H. Thompson|date= March 1986 |title= High Adventure on the Frontiers of Space|pages=18|url= |magazine=Fantasy Review |publisher=Florida Atlantic University |issn=0747-234X }}</ref>
<ref name="Analog Science Fiction and Fact 1973">{{cite magazine |last=Schuyler Miller |first=P.|author-link=P. Schuyler Miller |date=January 1973 |title=The Reference Library -- The Outposter) |url= |magazine=Analog Science Fiction and Fact |volume=XC|issue=5|pages=164–165|location= |publisher= }}</ref>
<ref name="Internet Speculative Fiction Database">{{cite web |url=https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?3766 |title=Title: The Outposter |last= |first= |date= |work=Internet Speculative Fiction Database |publisher= |access-date= |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820123157/https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?3766 |archive-date=2023-08-20}}</ref>
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==External links== * [https://archive.org/details/outposter0000dick_m0b4 ''The Outposter'' book] available for borrowing at the Internet Archive * [https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?3766 ''The Outposter'' book profile] in the Internet Speculative Fiction Database * [https://www.baen.com/the-outposter.html ''The Outposter'' official website] by publisher Baen Books (Archived [https://web.archive.org/web/20230801213214/https://www.baen.com/the-outposter.html here]) **[https://www.baen.com/Chapters/9781481483285/9781481483285.htm Free sample of book] (archived [https://web.archive.org/web/20230820232919/https://www.baen.com/Chapters/9781481483285/9781481483285.htm here]) *[https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Outposter.html?id=8CxmDwAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description Book profile] in Google books
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Outposter, The}} Category:Novels by Gordon R. Dickson Category:1971 American novels Category:1971 science fiction novels