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Derai / The Winds of Gath
Ace Double of the first two dumarest of Terra novels
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
About the author
E.C. Tubb
384 books86 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 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 28, 2010
I read most of this series when I was a teenager. It's very cheesy, 80s sci-fi, fun to read, but not great literature and certainly not very original; indeed, it's more like a pulp adventure that resembled a TV series more than anything else. Dumarest is your typical super-competent action hero who has somehow been stranded far from Earth. He spends the entire series trying to get home, while being pursued by the Cyclan, a religious sect that acts as the recurring bad guys. The Cyclan are trying to breed emotion out of the human race, and Dumarest holds some secret they want.
I don't remember if it was ever explained exactly what it was they wanted from Dumarest, nor do I know if he ever made it back to Terra, but after you've read the first few books, they all become very much the same: Dumarest arrives on a new planet, runs into trouble with the locals, finds out there's some Evil Secret Cyclan Plan behind it, kills a bunch of people, and moves on to the next planet, still trying to find a way back to Terra. I've just described the plot of every Dumarest novel I read.
I don't remember if it was ever explained exactly what it was they wanted from Dumarest, nor do I know if he ever made it back to Terra, but after you've read the first few books, they all become very much the same: Dumarest arrives on a new planet, runs into trouble with the locals, finds out there's some Evil Secret Cyclan Plan behind it, kills a bunch of people, and moves on to the next planet, still trying to find a way back to Terra. I've just described the plot of every Dumarest novel I read.
May 25, 2015
Ace Doube Novel 441-89301-095
Winds Of Gath, Dumarest book 1, grade B-. 1979=B, 2012=B-
Derai Dumarest book 2, grade B. 1979=B, 2013=B-
An oddly interesting series of stories about a survivor. Most of the stories are in dark, nasty, brutal, and cruel societies. They required a lot of speed reading the second time and I don't recommend them.
Winds Of Gath, Dumarest book 1, grade B-. 1979=B, 2012=B-
Derai Dumarest book 2, grade B. 1979=B, 2013=B-
An oddly interesting series of stories about a survivor. Most of the stories are in dark, nasty, brutal, and cruel societies. They required a lot of speed reading the second time and I don't recommend them.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews