Gordon R. Dickson; Sci-Fi Writer Won Awards

Gordon R. Dickson, a science-fiction author who won three Hugo awards during a long career, has died.

Dickson died Wednesday of complications from asthma. He was 77.

A prolific writer who turned out more than 80 books and 100 short stories, Dickson considered his masterpiece to be the “Lost Dorsai” series, an intended 16 volumes covering the time span from 1400 to 2400. He finished eight books in the series--including “Lost Dorsai” and “Soldier, Ask Not”--and was at work on the ninth when he died.

In the series, Dickson toyed with different ideas of evolution and technology and the effects of both on faith and philosophy. In a 1980 interview with the Minneapolis Star, Dickson said all his books were “laboratory pieces. I’m trying something new in each one.”

Born in Edmonton, Canada, in 1923, Dickson moved to Minneapolis when he was 12. He attended the University of Minnesota and studied creative writing under such notable figures as Sinclair Lewis, Robert Penn Warren and Allen Tate.

He collaborated with another fledgling sci-fi writer destined for greatness, Poul Anderson, in publishing his first work in the 1950s. Over the years, Dickson’s books sold more than 10 million copies and were translated into such languages as Portuguese and Bulgarian.

His Hugos were for short fiction. He won one in 1965 for “Soldier, Ask Not” and two in 1981, for “Lost Dorsai” and “The Cloak and the Staff.” He also won a Nebula award in 1966 for “Call Him Lord.”

He was president of the Science Fiction Writers of America from 1969 to 1971.