The Stalking Time

Traveler #9

by D.B. Drumm

The ninth in a series of post-apocalyptic novels written by multiple writers under the pseudonym D. B. Drumm.

Genres: Science Fiction, Post Apocalyptic

174 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 1986

About the author

Pen-name for Ed Naha
Pen-name for John Shirley

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, not one of my favorites in the series. This is the first one that I've read that I didn't love. The main character, Traveler, didn't seem to act quite like himself in the way he kept getting trapped and having to be rescued. And the ending came completely out of left field and was far different from any ending we've seen in the series before. I won't give it away since it was definitely a surprise, but I didn't think it quite worked.

[Lewis Szymanski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ed Naha writing as D.B. Drumm.

It is now 20 years after the war. Traveler goes on a scouting mission east of the Mississippi for President Jefferson. The first settlement he finds is called The Town. Prewar, it was a combination of Disney's Main Street U.S.A. and the Mall of America. Their wealth attracts a lot of bandits and roadrats. Traveler is asked to get rid of the most dangerous bandit king in the area, a guy called Dragon. Dragon gets his name from the dragon head he has mounted on the hood of his car.

Traveler teams up with a mysterious bounty hunter named Angel Eyes. Angel Eyes turns out to be a visiting alien who was marooned on Earth when his ship was damaged in the nuclear war. The dragon head on Dragon's car is the head of his child.

The Town is saved, Dragon is killed, and Angel Eyes wanders off. Traveler beds The Town's mayor, and gets her to agree to join Jefferson's new nation.

This book has some scenes influenced by Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Dragon's camp sounds like a description of Barter Town. Traveler gets into a Thunder Dome like fight with a giant mutant. Angel Eyes' helmet sounds like Blaster's helmet.

As usual, this book delivers a lot of action, blood, and gore. Good head shootin' fun.

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really "Far Out" entry into this series. This goes way beyond belief but it's still a great story. And who knows what it's like in an apocalyptic future anyway.

Traveler sets out to talk to towns out east to rejoin the United States. He gets in trouble with bounty hunters and a gang lead by a pimp named Dragon. There is also a bullet-headed freak that gets thrown in to the mix. All action. All go and no slow.

[Otis Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, hold onto your tractor caps, because the writer fellas decided to give this series a whole new coat of paint! We skip ahead a few years, and our boy Traveler ain't just a wandering drifter no more—now he's practically a fancy-pants diplomat scouting the ruins for President Jefferson's new government. He takes his trusty "Meat Wagon" van across the Mississippi River to see what's left of the East Coast, listening to old jazz tapes and running solo. He stumbles across an underground community known as "The Town," which used to be a giant high-falutin' shopping mall and theme park before the big nukes dropped. These folks are filthy rich but got a massive problem: a vicious bandit king named Dragon is terrorizing the countryside. And get this—Dragon drives around with a literal mutant dragon head mounted right onto the hood of his car! Traveler gets hired to put Dragon six feet under. To do it, he teams up with a bizarre, helmet-wearing bounty hunter who goes by "Angel Eyes". Now, you might expect Angel Eyes to be a regular old gunslinger, but Ed Naha throws a total curveball—turns out the fella is a literal space alien who’s been marooned on Earth ever since his spaceship got busted up during the nuclear war! That dragon head on the bad guy's car? Yeah, it belonged to the alien's kid. It’s a mighty weird shift for the series, and Traveler spends a bit too much time getting captured and needing a hand, but tracking down a mutant pimp-turned-bandit with a space alien sidekick is just pure, beautiful 1980s pulp trash.

[Jason Morrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me years to find this. I remember vaguely reading it as a kid and loving it. Back then, I hated reading so I was eager to read this now to see if it was still as good.

While this was not a bad book, I can see why I enjoyed it so much as a kid. It reminded me a much more violent and chaotic Mad Max Fury Road, end of the world, everyone is killing everyone, type of scenario. I realize that I came into this book with #9 of the series, but there was minimal character development, and the plot itself was rather thin. I found a lot of the dialogue predictable and cliché.

Compared to a lot of the books I have been reading lately, this didn't really hold up as amazing. I think knowing all of that going in would make a big difference here. All that being said, I do plan on keeping a copy of this paperback on my shelf, solely because it still holds a special place for me.

[Paperbackbooks86 · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites in the series so far! Angel
Eyes kept me glued and coming back for more. I really
Enjoy the Traveler stories that go way out there in the sci-fi realm, and this one is just that! There is only one downside, and it’s the very strange writing about a 14 year old girl, that had no reason to be included in the story.

Other than that, this one was great. An easy 5 stars, and im wondering if Drumm sticks with the sci-fi theme or if this was simply a one off.

[Steve]

John Shirley writing as D.B. Drumm.