Masters of Everon

 Masters of Everon by Gordon R. Dickson is an ecological themed science fiction book published in 1979. The story follows the human, Jef Robini and his pet maolot, Mikey, an alien telepathic cat-like animal on their journey to the planet Everon. Jef is bringing Mikey back to the maolot home on Everon after doing research on Mikey on Earth. Jef not only wants to bring Mikey home but wants to discover how Jef's brother was killed on Everon a few years before. Jef plans to travel to his brother's grave and to talk to the human colonists to uncover the truth. He is also curious why the human colony on Everon has not yet succeeded even though the nature is comparable to Earth's. Jef explores the planet, going on an adventure while discovering the powerful truth of the planet and humans' responsibility to nature. It is a simple man vs nature plot.

This is a future where Earth is crowded and dirty. Where humans are self-centered. Humans seek new planets to colonize to have more room and opportunities. The United States in no longer the most powerful country in the world, as the United States chose to turn away from space exploration. North Americans are now the poor, underdeveloped people of the Earth. The colonies have organizations to keep the space colonies in check and to keep them from destroying other planets. The planets have their own local governments but do not trust the space organizations that act like a Space E.P.A.

Jef Robini is a young college student who studies maolots. Mikey was brought to Earth after Jef's older brother saved Mikey as a baby after Mikey's parents were murdered. Mikey has trouble developing on Earth and is blind, yet he has some sort of telepathic sense. Worried about Mikey's development, Jef brings Mikey back to Everon. Jef must deal with the local bureaucracy and paperwork. He struggles to get permission to travel to his brother's grave. The local bureaucrats are corrupt and fearing for his safety, Jef runs away into the alien Everon wilderness. There he meets up with a human colonist girl named Jarji. She is tough and full of common sense. She helps guide Jef and along the way they see the problems the human ranchers face on the planet. As they wander more mysteries of the planet are uncovered. 

Interesting German Cover

This book deals with ecological themes and questions the ethics of human colonization. It reminded me of the movie Avatar, but this book deals with the themes in a more intelligent and thoughtful way. There were conflicts between those who wanted to exploit the planet and those who wanted to protect it. Others simply wanted to survive and were angry at the planet and refused to try to understand it. Dickson takes the reader on a quiet journey through the alien wilderness, making it easy to imagine. The book has a relaxing tone with moments of tension as Jef deals with the different humans he meets on Everon. The language is simple, and the narrative is straightforward. It slowly unfolds the mysteries. Tension builds at the end of the story and pulls the reader in. The book almost took a dark turn that made it difficult to put the book down. The ending was impressive and inspiring. 

I enjoyed the adventure of the story. It reminded me of those old wilderness adventure books. Dickson really brought the alien world of Everon to life. It was simple enough to read with my sons. My son enjoyed it enough to request it at his elementary school. However, the book is not a YA novel, and I enjoyed it as much as my sons did. The main criticism of the book is that it might be a little too simple of a story and does not go deeper into the ethics of human colonization and how to balance conservation and profit. 

Masters of Everon was an enjoyable book that I don't regret reading. I recommend this book if you want to read something fun with your older children or want to read a better version of Avatar. I give it a B for Good!

I read this book after reading Old Man's War and Quantum Radio and was surprised by how much more comfortable I was with reading Dickson. I prefer books to be more thoughtful with big ideas and visions. I think books like that can still be conversational and fun.