Took a break from series for a couple days and come back refreshed and able to enjoy again. One really should not read a series like peanuts, the repetition of the bones of the history becomes tedious and spoils some of the enjoyment and makes you think less of the book. I found that recently with the Anita Blake series. The sameness of so much took away from the pleasure and yet, since each book must stand alone for those who have never read other books in the series, those bones are necessary and most people probably read one book a year in the series, unlike me who starts from book number 1 and reads through to the latest and this series has 31 book and this one is number 15...I think my problem is I was reading them too fast and too close together. The creativity of new worlds, new characters, new dangers is still astonishing. I am happy to be able to continue. ( )

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 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! ( )