E. C. Tubb (1919–2010)

In this instalment of his famous series Tubb stretches the formula a bit too far with Earl Dumarest finding himself trapped in a remote city ruled by a homicidal AI. The action sequences are colourful but repetitive and by now the "near escapes" are becoming tiresome. And then there's the requisite gorgeous female antagonist with heaving bosoms who throws herself at his feet ten minutes after meeting him---although it will take almost 150 pages before he finally gets laid which is something show more of a record. But there is still an undeniable comic book appeal to the saga which already has me eyeing #13. show less

I do love this series! It's such a winning mix of comic book sci-fi, camp swashbuckler, and bodice-ripper in which our indestructible hero screws and punches his way across the galaxy in a desperate search for that mythical planet called Earth. And along the way he's thwarted by a race of homo sapien computers and a supporting cast who encompasses every human foible ever invented. Although his characters are basically two-dimensional (the women swoon and scheme while the men are either show more treacherous cads or benevolent saints) they are colourful enough to keep you jeering or cheering as you flip the pages. In this instalment the irresistibly sexy Dumarest is coerced into a military mission against an "enemy" hiding in plain sight and gains a couple of vague clues as to the whereabouts of his ultimate goal. Yay! show less

One of the more engaging entries in the Dumarest of Terra saga. There are some interesting ideas at play here as our hero finds himself stranded on a planet run on hyper-capitalist lines in which a ruling clique hold power over others through a punitive system of life debt and escalating interest rates.

The book really picks up when Dumarest leads a team out into the desert to find a cash of rare stones deposited by a species of aggressive sand worms. The action in the tunnels is very show more effective and claustrophobic which contrasts well with their subsequent escape across a barren landscape and harsh sand storms.

The interaction with a wider cast of characters helps add some depth to Dumarest not seen in the previous stories I’ve read. show less

For my money, the Dumarest Saga of E.C. Tubb ranks up there as one of the best science fiction series written in English.

Set in the far distant future, when mankind has spread across the galaxy, they feature the inimitable Earl Dumarest, a man with lightning fast reflexes who is forever trying to find the home world he fled as a child and has long since lost: Earth.

The galaxy he travels through is a hard, deadly place for a man with no affiliations and little money. Tubb pulls no punches in show more his depictions of the many harsh, hellish worlds and people whom Dumarest encounters, and invariably survives, if only just, during his quest.

Perhaps one of the best things about this series (which consists of some 32 books) is that each book is short, with no unnecessary padding; they're generally between 150 and 190 pages long. So they're a reasonably quick read, too.

I recommend reading all books in the series, preferably in the intended order. If you can, though, avoid the Arrow Books editions - the cover illustrations are, to put it simply, the pits. The artists clearly had never read the books, or if they did, didn't bother to note down a lot of details about the scenes they chose to portray in these illustrations, e.g. clothing, weaponry, etc. Shame on Arrow Books for using such second-class amateurs.

Did I mention? Unlike the seemingly interminable Wheel of Time series of Robert Jordan, or the never-ending Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen Donaldson - both of which I find way too verbose, i.e. a lot of words pass by without very much happening - the Dumarest Saga has an actual ending - in volume 32, The Return, Dumarest finds his way home! show less