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Dumarest of Terra #32
The Return
Book by E. C. Tubb
- GenresScience Fiction
194 pages, Paperback
First published September 29, 2011
8 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
E.C. Tubb
383 books85 followersEdwin Charles Tubb was a writer of science fiction, fantasy and western novels. He published over 140 novels and 230 short stories and novellas, and is best known for The Dumarest Saga (US collective title: Dumarest of Terra) an epic science-fiction saga set in the far future.
Much of Tubb's work has been written under pseudonyms including Gregory Kern, Carl Maddox, Alan Guthrie, Eric Storm and George Holt. He has used 58 pen names over five decades of writing although some of these were publishers' house names also used by other writers: Volsted Gridban (along with John Russell Fearn), Gill Hunt (with John Brunner and Dennis Hughes), King Lang (with George Hay and John W Jennison), Roy Sheldon (with H. J. Campbell) and Brian Shaw. Tubb's Charles Grey alias was solely his own and acquired a big following in the early 1950s.
An avid reader of pulp science-fiction and fantasy in his youth, Tubb found that he had a particular talent as a writer of stories in that genre when his short story 'No Short Cuts' was published in New Worlds magazine in 1951. He opted for a full-time career as a writer and soon became renowned for the speed and diversity of his output.
Tubb contributed to many of the science fiction magazines of the 1950s including Futuristic Science Stories, Science Fantasy, Nebula and Galaxy Science Fiction. He contributed heavily to Authentic Science Fiction editing the magazine for nearly two years, from February 1956 until it folded in October 1957. During this time, he found it so difficult to find good writers to contribute to the magazine, that he often wrote most of the stories himself under a variety of pseudonyms: one issue of Authentic was written entirely by Tubb, including the letters column.
His main work in the science fiction genre, the Dumarest series, appeared from 1967 to 1985, with two final volumes in 1997 and 2008. His second major series, the Cap Kennedy series, was written from 1973 to 1983.
In recent years Tubb updated many of his 1950s science fiction novels for 21st century readers.
Tubb was one of the co-founders of the British Science Fiction Association.
Much of Tubb's work has been written under pseudonyms including Gregory Kern, Carl Maddox, Alan Guthrie, Eric Storm and George Holt. He has used 58 pen names over five decades of writing although some of these were publishers' house names also used by other writers: Volsted Gridban (along with John Russell Fearn), Gill Hunt (with John Brunner and Dennis Hughes), King Lang (with George Hay and John W Jennison), Roy Sheldon (with H. J. Campbell) and Brian Shaw. Tubb's Charles Grey alias was solely his own and acquired a big following in the early 1950s.
An avid reader of pulp science-fiction and fantasy in his youth, Tubb found that he had a particular talent as a writer of stories in that genre when his short story 'No Short Cuts' was published in New Worlds magazine in 1951. He opted for a full-time career as a writer and soon became renowned for the speed and diversity of his output.
Tubb contributed to many of the science fiction magazines of the 1950s including Futuristic Science Stories, Science Fantasy, Nebula and Galaxy Science Fiction. He contributed heavily to Authentic Science Fiction editing the magazine for nearly two years, from February 1956 until it folded in October 1957. During this time, he found it so difficult to find good writers to contribute to the magazine, that he often wrote most of the stories himself under a variety of pseudonyms: one issue of Authentic was written entirely by Tubb, including the letters column.
His main work in the science fiction genre, the Dumarest series, appeared from 1967 to 1985, with two final volumes in 1997 and 2008. His second major series, the Cap Kennedy series, was written from 1973 to 1983.
In recent years Tubb updated many of his 1950s science fiction novels for 21st century readers.
Tubb was one of the co-founders of the British Science Fiction Association.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 5, 2026
So, finally. Dumarest returns home. Tubb had written this immediately after the Terra Data. So, one should think he knew what he was doing. But for a large part, this seems almost like a parody. Crazy detours on the way home. Including a Kalin replica cruising along with some spacecraft, another plot by the Cyclan, to ... what? Distract Dumarest? Also, there is always exactly one Cyber at a time who gets fooled by Dumarest. Well, not that the book is not brilliant. There are two women in it this time. The first gets rescued by Earl. She turns out to be the traitor in the end. She is the one who hands out the poisoned knife to the poor guy who fights Dumarest. Yes, the fight is in there. The other one is from the same planet as the first, a planet of raiders, but does not really like the trade. Will Earl learn to love her? Probably not. So, after the last attempt of the cybers failed, Earl is actually landing on planet Earth. It seems I have to read the final book as well.
(Finally, by the way, also in the sense that it took me 16 years to buy the book. I did not like the cover when it came out. And I thought it too expensive. Only, it went from expensive to astronomically expensive. Well, in the end, I had to bite the bullet.)
(Finally, by the way, also in the sense that it took me 16 years to buy the book. I did not like the cover when it came out. And I thought it too expensive. Only, it went from expensive to astronomically expensive. Well, in the end, I had to bite the bullet.)
February 2, 2019
Brawny men, buxom babes, crimson betrayal, bravery, giant wasps, and...
Vikings!
In!
SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!!!!!
Dumarest continues his search for Earth, this time hooking up with a ship full of space-vikings. There's an interesting, small revelation where we learn that the Brotherhood isn't too keen on Earth.
Since this is the second-to-last book in the series, one hopes that Dumarest might reach his objective soon.
Vikings!
In!
SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!!!!!
Dumarest continues his search for Earth, this time hooking up with a ship full of space-vikings. There's an interesting, small revelation where we learn that the Brotherhood isn't too keen on Earth.
Since this is the second-to-last book in the series, one hopes that Dumarest might reach his objective soon.
December 3, 2020
A would have been final of the series. But I am glad there is one last volume. Full review of the series can be found there.
April 28, 2023
Originally billed as the final volume and still ends on a cliffhanger. So glad there's another (that I didn't know about until recently...)
June 27, 2023
The final in the series and unbelievably the standard of writing is as high as the first. The only disappointment that there are, sadly, no more.
December 18, 2019
2019 grade B-
For long time readers of the Dumarest series, he does finally reach earth, but does not land. This book is a complete novel but is apparently directly continued in book 33. The protagonist is named Dumarest. He is sort of the ultimate survivor on many harsh worlds, and he has been looking for earth since book One! He only just found the coordinates in book 31. I obtained the first 10 plus a few others before I gave up but wondered if he ever made it home.
There is an interesting piece by the author inside explaining the history of publication. Apparently the second publisher did not want Dumarest to find earth because it would end the series.
This novel is a pretty standard example of a Dumarest story but a little more of a space opera than many. I again had to speed read in many places but it is easy to do. Still, there is something special about Tubb's characterizations and stories that makes them interesting.
The book is available on Kindle which is where I obtained it.
For long time readers of the Dumarest series, he does finally reach earth, but does not land. This book is a complete novel but is apparently directly continued in book 33. The protagonist is named Dumarest. He is sort of the ultimate survivor on many harsh worlds, and he has been looking for earth since book One! He only just found the coordinates in book 31. I obtained the first 10 plus a few others before I gave up but wondered if he ever made it home.
There is an interesting piece by the author inside explaining the history of publication. Apparently the second publisher did not want Dumarest to find earth because it would end the series.
This novel is a pretty standard example of a Dumarest story but a little more of a space opera than many. I again had to speed read in many places but it is easy to do. Still, there is something special about Tubb's characterizations and stories that makes them interesting.
The book is available on Kindle which is where I obtained it.
February 15, 2026
The final trifecta of books in the run-up to the finale ("Symbol of Terra", "The Temple of Truth", and "The Return") are far and away the best of the Dumarest series.
Yes, there's still the ubiquitous fair maidens that all more-or-less fall madly in loooOooOoooove with our hunky hero. There's the obligatory Cyclan baddies who always seem to only work alone or maybe with a Cyclan-in-training in tow. And of course the inevitable heartbreak and/or betrayals that keep our homeboy Earl always single and ready to mingle (and increasingly paranoid).
But this final set of books have the energy and vibe to truly have the focus of the plot mirror the focus of Earl: Earth.
No silly side-quests.Each of these books actively stay focused on the entire M.O. of the series: having our boy Earl make solid progress to make his way home.
No walking-in-place storylines that barely-if-at-all move things forward.
No distracting escort missions for the various semi-helpless Damsels-in-Distress.
No "So-and-so's step half cousin twice removed has a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend that one time mentioned the word 'Earth' in a remote corner of a remote planet and therefore must be investigated as a clue!" tenuous AF plots.
Yes, there's still the ubiquitous fair maidens that all more-or-less fall madly in loooOooOoooove with our hunky hero. There's the obligatory Cyclan baddies who always seem to only work alone or maybe with a Cyclan-in-training in tow. And of course the inevitable heartbreak and/or betrayals that keep our homeboy Earl always single and ready to mingle (and increasingly paranoid).
But this final set of books have the energy and vibe to truly have the focus of the plot mirror the focus of Earl: Earth.
December 3, 2025
Fantastic novel, finally published here for the first time in English.
As Dumarest approaches the end of his goal (to find Earth), we are treated to a range of events that we have encountered elsewhere in the long series.
There is not one, but two gorgeous women attracting and circling Earl Dumarest. The church makes a brief, token appearance one feels it might simply to be because Tubb wanted them to be in at the end, as they were in the beginning.
Not one, but three fascinating worlds for Tubb to introduce us too as well as a thrilling and eventful spaceship trip. Did Earl finally reach Earth? Read it and see
Now, onward to #33
As Dumarest approaches the end of his goal (to find Earth), we are treated to a range of events that we have encountered elsewhere in the long series.
There is not one, but two gorgeous women attracting and circling Earl Dumarest. The church makes a brief, token appearance one feels it might simply to be because Tubb wanted them to be in at the end, as they were in the beginning.
Not one, but three fascinating worlds for Tubb to introduce us too as well as a thrilling and eventful spaceship trip. Did Earl finally reach Earth? Read it and see
Now, onward to #33
December 16, 2014
Previously this was only available in a French Language edition, for reasons which Tubb explains in the introduction, as well as giving an interesting overview of the history of the saga since its beginnings in the 1960s.
This is not the denouement that some fans might have hoped for after 31 previous volumes and a wait of another twelve years for some kind of resolution. Once again Dumarest is stranded on a backwater planet after raiders have stolen the consignment of solar generators he was hoping to sell for a profit in another world.
Having captured a female raider, he persuades her to take him to the raiders who are based on a world where slavery is a way of life.
The Cyclan, who until now believed Dumarest to be dead, receive information to the contrary and so send a Cyber to investigate.
The Cyclan have been unable to replicate the secret formula that Dumarest holds, by which they could control the minds of puppet-leaders of world governments. Furthermore, the brains of cybers that have been stored in a vast underground linked network are going insane.
Thus, the cyclan scientists have been working on artificial minds in cloned bodies into which the consciousnesses of the brains can be transferred
Dumarest, winning the confidence of the raiders, tells them that there will be plenty of wealth to be found on Earth, and they set off in a raider ship.
There is a further volume (Child of Earth (2008)), the last, although whether it was planned to be the last remains to be seen.
Certainly Dumarest has finally reached Earth so his quest appears to be at an end, which seems to be at odds with Tubb's thoughts in the introduction.
'The Return' is a disjointed piece, flawed by a lack of focus on the narrative. There is a seemingly irrelevant side-trip to a world where the human colony has become subservient to symbiotic lizard/insect beasties, a section of the novel which could have been put to better use developing the characters and setting up the scenes for a decent climax.
However it is to Gollancz' credit that they have issued this and the following volume in Kindle format along with a whole host of back catalogue good stuff.
This is not the denouement that some fans might have hoped for after 31 previous volumes and a wait of another twelve years for some kind of resolution. Once again Dumarest is stranded on a backwater planet after raiders have stolen the consignment of solar generators he was hoping to sell for a profit in another world.
Having captured a female raider, he persuades her to take him to the raiders who are based on a world where slavery is a way of life.
The Cyclan, who until now believed Dumarest to be dead, receive information to the contrary and so send a Cyber to investigate.
The Cyclan have been unable to replicate the secret formula that Dumarest holds, by which they could control the minds of puppet-leaders of world governments. Furthermore, the brains of cybers that have been stored in a vast underground linked network are going insane.
Thus, the cyclan scientists have been working on artificial minds in cloned bodies into which the consciousnesses of the brains can be transferred
Dumarest, winning the confidence of the raiders, tells them that there will be plenty of wealth to be found on Earth, and they set off in a raider ship.
There is a further volume (Child of Earth (2008)), the last, although whether it was planned to be the last remains to be seen.
Certainly Dumarest has finally reached Earth so his quest appears to be at an end, which seems to be at odds with Tubb's thoughts in the introduction.
'The Return' is a disjointed piece, flawed by a lack of focus on the narrative. There is a seemingly irrelevant side-trip to a world where the human colony has become subservient to symbiotic lizard/insect beasties, a section of the novel which could have been put to better use developing the characters and setting up the scenes for a decent climax.
However it is to Gollancz' credit that they have issued this and the following volume in Kindle format along with a whole host of back catalogue good stuff.
January 21, 2012
Not a resolution to the story, but as the novel's title implies, Earl achieves his goal of returning to Earth. And that's it. There's a foreword and introduction from Tubb that go into detail about why the series was not ended for so long, and the ideal plans for it that fell through. But as a reader, the satisfaction I wanted was to learn about Earth and why it was proscribed. Without any clarification on this, much of the hand-waving with regard to Earth that preceded "the return" seemed unclear and confusing.
Read it to conclude the experience, and if you can get past the lack of resolution for the story, it is as good a novel as any other in the series.
Read it to conclude the experience, and if you can get past the lack of resolution for the story, it is as good a novel as any other in the series.
May 2, 2016
In 2014 I determined to read E.C. Tubb's Dumarest Of Terra series from beginning to end. The novels are pretty light Space Opera that makes for easy reading.
Earl Dumarest is a man who left earth by stowing away on a starship and conitinued travelling further and further away from a post apocalyptic Earth deep into the core of the galaxy colonized from Earth so long ago that most Humans have forgotten Earth's existence and popular theory suggests Humans eveolved simultaneously on different worlds. Each novel can be read by itself - Only Dumarest's quest for the location of Earth ties them together.
Earl Dumarest is a man who left earth by stowing away on a starship and conitinued travelling further and further away from a post apocalyptic Earth deep into the core of the galaxy colonized from Earth so long ago that most Humans have forgotten Earth's existence and popular theory suggests Humans eveolved simultaneously on different worlds. Each novel can be read by itself - Only Dumarest's quest for the location of Earth ties them together.
November 25, 2016
Read the last two out of order because I was having a hard time finishing. Sense of accomplishment. This one was full of exposition and history.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews