Arena of Antares (Dray Prescot, #7)

Dray Prescot #7

by Alan Burt Akers (Pseudonym), Kenneth Bulmer

The seventh book of the Dray Prescot series.Never a man to leave something half done, Dray Prescot knew his task on the mysterious continent of Havilfar was far from completed. There were cruel conquerors to be overthrown, there was pursuit of the manhounds and their masters, and there was the dreaded arena. Could he survive the life of a gladiator against the killers and monsters of a spoiled queen -- while the Star Lords waited for his mission to continue?

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Sword and Planet, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

Hardcover

First published December 17, 1974

About the author

Pseudonym for Kenneth Bulmer

Reviews

[Karl · Rating 3 out of 5]

DAW Collectors #129

Cover Artist: Jack Gaughan

Name: Bulmer, Henry Kenneth, Birthplace: London, England, UK, (4 January 1921 - 16 December 2005)

Prescot returns to Yamman, commanded to do so by the Star Lords, narrowly escaping a number of Canop galleys on the river. The companions are saved by an attack of Volrok, a race of flying men, on the galleys. With the help of Turko, Prescot frees the twin-brother of Mog and starts to train the Miglas as soldiers. Overconfident, the Miglas attack against Prescots wishes and force a battle the Canops ultimately win.


The Havilfar cycle:

6. Manhounds of Antares Aug. 1974
7. Arena of Antares Dec. 1974
8. Fliers of Antares Apr. 1975
The Saga of Dray Prescot: The Havilfar Cycle I Apr. 2007 omnibus including vols. 6-8)
9. Bladesman of Antares Aug. 1975
10. Avenger of Antares Dec. 1975
Wizard of Scorpio Jul. 1976 (short Story)
11. Armada of Antares Apr. 1976
The Saga of Dray Prescot: The Havilfar Cycle II Apr. 2007 omnibus including vols. 9-11)

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whew! I struggled through the first half of this book. I think it was the jargon Bulmer uses: everything has a equivalent word on Kregen and all that terminology can make your head swim. After once again getting a grip on the lingo the going went much smoother. In this installment there really wasn't much to make it stand apart from the other six before it. Prescot faces adversity, fights a war, becomes a slave, gains freedom, ect. His escape from the Arena in Havilfar was awesome in it's simplicity, but it hardly makes up for the redundancy of his problems and solutions. Hope the series gets better...

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't as crisp as I remembered, but nobody invented (and kept track of) fantasy worlds like Kenneth Bulmer. I still enjoy, or re-enjoy, every book of his I sit down with.

[Gerhard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but gets very confusing with the hundreds of odd species and words that you try but fail to keep track of...

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arena picks up right where Manhounds of Antares leaves off. Dray travels to Yamman to help the Miglas regain their rightful footing on the land they once owned. After a not-so baleful battle and sweet victory in their grips, that damnable blue radiance and a talking scorpion once again envelopes Pur Dray and whisks him off to Hyrklana for apparently some unfinished business. I think Dray’s life and that of his wife and 2 small children would be a lot easier and stress free if the Star Lords just gave Dray a list of all the evil in the world and thus he could take his mighty army and eradicate this issue like you would any common pest, systematically from the biggest to the smallest. But obviously we all know that would make for a garbage storyline and we would never have a chance to be introduced to all of the amazing characters and discover how Dray actually fights his way from the ground up, in more ways than one, to be the greatest Hero 2 worlds has ever seen.

To be completely honest, about halfway through this book I felt like Dray would in fact be stuck in Hyrklana for quite a ridiculously unnecessary amount of time. But being the complete and total badass that Dray is, and in the end he even figured out a way to make his stay comfortable and even got a lift back home to Valka, or so we believe. Also, have I mentioned he slayed a 16-foot 6 tusks, trunk-less giant mammoth? Epic…

Overall, the Dray Prescot Series is becoming quicker and much easier to read, although most of the names and places are a mouthful [thanks A.B.A.] the pacing and intensity is electric and all-consuming for the reader. 7 down, 45 to go.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are a John Carter of Mars fan or enjoy the "displaced person on another world" then this series is for you. The books run in long story arcs so you can read just a few to complete a plot line or go for the whole set. Akers creates a very complex world for the hero to adventure in. Recommended

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dray Prescot fights in the Arena as a gladiator. Always a great setup for a story, and this one pulls it off.

[Roger Ivie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is where I started the series when I first encountered it back 30mumble years ago. This chunk through volume 11 is my favorite chunk of the series.

[Mike S · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always a rollicking good read.