The Outposter

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; demoralized they have low productivity, becoming more 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. All the while Earth's space military stay idly by.

The book follows Mark Ten Roos who is an up-and-coming young outposter; a brilliant student who could have chosen to remain on Earth and pursue more attractive endeavors. However, his parents were killed by the Meda V'Dan when he was a small child, and his adoptive father also was crippled by them more recently. Enlisting as an outposer, Mark has a secret plan of revenge and liberation.

In Ten Roos' first voyage in this role he carefully selects some new colonists including 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.

Lester del Rey writing for Worlds of If magazine in 1972, positively reviewed the book saying of it 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."[1] del Rey compared The Outposter with Dickson's Dorsay book series (also called the Childe Cycle), saying that while the former might overall not be as good the latter, the exploration of the value of outcasts from one culture when exposed to a different one gave this new novel something not to be found in similar degree in Dickson's previous works.[1] P. Schuyler Miller writing for Analog Science Fiction and Fact in 1973 came to similar conclusions, also recommending the book.[2] Schuyler Miller also 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."[2]

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 that the book explores the price paid by those who defy convention and authority, although this theme is more fully explored in the Childe Cycle. Thompson recommended the book, especially for younger readers.[3]

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 had been 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, which were further gratified by having a protagonist that was young and at the start of his career.[4] 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 close-minded, while Mark Ten Roos' youth, unencumbered by experience, was able to be more open-minded and devise new creative solutions in ending the parasitic raids of the alien race Meda V'Dan .[4]

Furthermore, while Dickson's heroes offer many elements of wish-fulfillment for the adolescent reader, what gives literary merit to the novels is Dickson's refusal to create full escapism through his characters, and instead endow them with flaws such as selfish indifference to others, originated from injustices befallen on them previously. In Mark Ten Roos's case it was the Meda V'Dan alien race killing his parents, and years later also crippling his adoptive father. However, Dickson doesn't allow these past injuries to be an excuse for his characters, but a challenge to be overcome, take responsibility for one's mistake, and hence mature and have the wisdom and fortitude necessary for them to triumph.[4]

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction highlighted The Outposter alongside Dickson's The Pritcher Mass as examples of Dickson's growing concerns about overpopulation and pollution.[5]

The story was first released in a serialized format of three installments in 1971 in the magazine Analog Science Fiction and Fact.[6][3] In 1972 J. B. Lippincott & Co. first published it as a book.[7][8] It was later reprinted by other publishers,[3] including outside the U.S.[9] In 2018 it was reprinted by Baen Books.[10]

In 1974 Dickson donated notes, outlines, and drafts for many of his works up to that point, including on The Outposter, to Manuscripts Division of the University of Minnesota Libraries.[11]

• The Outposter book available for borrowing at the Internet Archive
• The Outposter book profile in the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• The Outposter official website by publisher Baen Books (Archived here)
  • Free sample of book (archived here)
• Book profile in Google books