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Dumarest of Terra #19
The Quillian Sector
The Cyclan was the greatest concentration of intelligence in a thousand worlds - and yet Earl Dumarest continued to elude it. For too long.
Bochner was the greatest hunter of a hundred worlds - a man more than wise to the wiles of beasts and men. And now he was on the trail of the most dangerous and most challenging quarry of his Earl Dumarest.
While Dumarest searched for lost Terra, the Cyclan and Bochner searched for him. Of all the nightmare worlds of the universe, the hunt this time was to lead to the Quillian Sector.
The Quillian the place where space goes mad...
(First published 1978)
Bochner was the greatest hunter of a hundred worlds - a man more than wise to the wiles of beasts and men. And now he was on the trail of the most dangerous and most challenging quarry of his Earl Dumarest.
While Dumarest searched for lost Terra, the Cyclan and Bochner searched for him. Of all the nightmare worlds of the universe, the hunt this time was to lead to the Quillian Sector.
The Quillian the place where space goes mad...
(First published 1978)
- GenresScience FictionFiction
158 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 5, 1978
2 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
About the author
E.C. Tubb
382 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 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 26, 2024
Tracked by a cold blooded professional hunter hired by the Cyclan, this entry sees Dumarest and his party, including the hunter, crash land on a hostile, remote planet. His hiring by the Cyclan is essentially an acknowledgement that, at least as far as tracking Dumarest goes, their analytical methods may be inferior to the hunter's more instinctive methods, with his innate understanding of predator/prey relationships.
There is plenty of action and adventure as they struggle for survival against all manner of deadly sea and land monstrosities. Yet it's the hunter's detached assessment of, and growing admiration for Dumarest and his skills for evading pursuit that proves most interesting. As well, the awkward situation he finds himself in, forced to cooperate closely with Dumarest for their mutual survival and in order to ultimately deliver him alive to the Cyclan. Yet without arousing Dumarest's suspicions as to his true purpose. The general setting, a dense region of space called the Quillian Sector, known for its bizarre spatial anomalies and their strange behavioral effects makes for a potentially interesting wildcard, though Tubb hardly leverages it within the plot.
There is plenty of action and adventure as they struggle for survival against all manner of deadly sea and land monstrosities. Yet it's the hunter's detached assessment of, and growing admiration for Dumarest and his skills for evading pursuit that proves most interesting. As well, the awkward situation he finds himself in, forced to cooperate closely with Dumarest for their mutual survival and in order to ultimately deliver him alive to the Cyclan. Yet without arousing Dumarest's suspicions as to his true purpose. The general setting, a dense region of space called the Quillian Sector, known for its bizarre spatial anomalies and their strange behavioral effects makes for a potentially interesting wildcard, though Tubb hardly leverages it within the plot.
January 12, 2025
another enjoyable entry. a bit more slowly paced than usual, with fully two-thirds of the book being a leisurely set up to the action in the last third: a crash landing on a planet of almost total wilderness and a number of unpleasant creatures. in the marooned group are both Earl and his secret enemy, a hunter hired to capture him.
Tubb has such a deft hand with characterization. as is typical for the series, Quillian Sector has a fully fleshed-out cast, with their various quirks, plans, backgrounds, and relationships given space to unfold and become eventually clear to the reader and to Earl. one of the most striking is the hunter, a loathsome nihilist who is studying Earl as closely as Earl is sizing up everyone else. equally well-characterized are Earl's current romantic partner, an amazonian young woman - it was interesting reading about the tension between her insecurities & tenderness and her commanding physical stature - and what by now is a familiar type for the series: the Older Lady Who Has Been Around, usually selfish and cynical, this one with an interest in deadly weaponized rings. there are other similarly complex characters in the cast. of course, nearly all of them will be dead by the time the novel ends - as is the case with most of the books in this series. life in the Dumarest Saga is a fleeting thing.
Tubb has such a deft hand with characterization. as is typical for the series, Quillian Sector has a fully fleshed-out cast, with their various quirks, plans, backgrounds, and relationships given space to unfold and become eventually clear to the reader and to Earl. one of the most striking is the hunter, a loathsome nihilist who is studying Earl as closely as Earl is sizing up everyone else. equally well-characterized are Earl's current romantic partner, an amazonian young woman - it was interesting reading about the tension between her insecurities & tenderness and her commanding physical stature - and what by now is a familiar type for the series: the Older Lady Who Has Been Around, usually selfish and cynical, this one with an interest in deadly weaponized rings. there are other similarly complex characters in the cast. of course, nearly all of them will be dead by the time the novel ends - as is the case with most of the books in this series. life in the Dumarest Saga is a fleeting thing.
March 23, 2018
This is the nineteenth in the saga of Earl Dumarest trying to find his way home to Earth - Earth the mythic planet in which almost none of the galaxies inhabitants believe. Dumarest believes, he was born there, but now it is lost.
In this installment E. C. Tubb reminds me of why I was so charmed by this series years ago: While Dumarest is searching for mention of Earth the Cyclan are desperate to find Dumarest and so he is being hunted by Bochner. The ship they are both traveling on through the Quillian sector is sabotaged and the crash land on a dangerous planet, where they must survive the dangers of being adrift at sea, strange alien ecology - and each other.
Tubb's descriptive skills are formidable in this one, as he describes the planet I could see the images swimming before my eyes. The artistic skills of Gale Andrel are also beautifully described and, s the best sci-fi does, predict a future technology that had not yet come into being when the story was written.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this anachronism of early sci-fi
In this installment E. C. Tubb reminds me of why I was so charmed by this series years ago: While Dumarest is searching for mention of Earth the Cyclan are desperate to find Dumarest and so he is being hunted by Bochner. The ship they are both traveling on through the Quillian sector is sabotaged and the crash land on a dangerous planet, where they must survive the dangers of being adrift at sea, strange alien ecology - and each other.
Tubb's descriptive skills are formidable in this one, as he describes the planet I could see the images swimming before my eyes. The artistic skills of Gale Andrel are also beautifully described and, s the best sci-fi does, predict a future technology that had not yet come into being when the story was written.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this anachronism of early sci-fi
April 6, 2022
The back cover blurb on this book specifically mentions Bochner, a great hunter. And yet my problem with the book is exactly that character.
For the mist part, he is a minor character in the story and, when he does appear, there doesn't seem to be a reason for him being there. The Cyclan hire him to hunt Dumarest, but then the Cyclan manipulate cargoes to ensure that Dumarest is on a specific ship and, from there, can extrapolate his on going movements, even when the unforeseen happens.
It's almost as though this story is setting up Bochner as a future adversity. Two caveats here, firstly I can't remember whether Bochner appears in future volumes - he might, in which case this book has done it's job. Secondly, although it's only 160 pages, circumstances meant it took me longer than it should to read this book and I may have forgotten a pertinent fact/section.
Still, another decent story in the saga, just different enough to keep things interesting.
For the mist part, he is a minor character in the story and, when he does appear, there doesn't seem to be a reason for him being there. The Cyclan hire him to hunt Dumarest, but then the Cyclan manipulate cargoes to ensure that Dumarest is on a specific ship and, from there, can extrapolate his on going movements, even when the unforeseen happens.
It's almost as though this story is setting up Bochner as a future adversity. Two caveats here, firstly I can't remember whether Bochner appears in future volumes - he might, in which case this book has done it's job. Secondly, although it's only 160 pages, circumstances meant it took me longer than it should to read this book and I may have forgotten a pertinent fact/section.
Still, another decent story in the saga, just different enough to keep things interesting.
July 21, 2020
Full review of the series in the last volume.
September 29, 2013
In The Quillian Sector, Dumarest finds himself in the titular neighborhood in space - supposedly known for its many unpredictable factors. Those factors don't really play into the story much, though. In it, the Cyclan (cyborgs who are after Dumarest cause he knows some of their secrets) have hired a famous and cruel hunter to find Dumarest. Meanwhile, Dumarest has found work as a gambling manager on a passenger ship. Of course, yet another lovely woman, this one the ship's engineer, finds herself besotted with Dumarest.
April 20, 2016
Another cyber, another space ship crash, more death, another betrayal, a beautiful competent woman, new alien creature peril...this time a version of shark while adrift on salt water. Rescue coming in a strange form and Dumarest shows mercy to a deadly enemy. Only hanging chad for me was the boy he refused a ride from a horrific planet because it would mean his death...when the reader knows full well the next handler will take his money and he will die. I wanted someone to offer the boy a place for less money. Unrealistic but it stuck with me right through...the fate of the boy.
February 18, 2014
One of my favourite Dumarest novels. Tubb is always at his best when the protagonist is battling for survival or journeying through space. In this, its both.
May 30, 2016
One of the best in the series.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews