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Book by E. C. Tubb
157 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 20, 1974
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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 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 4, 2022
E.C. Tubb lets his readers know exactly what he thinks about warfare (and perhaps military science fiction as well) in this entry in the Dumarest Saga. namely, that it is dumb and that anyone who thinks the careful plotting and organization of ways to kill people is an interesting or worthy pastime is also dumb. in this installment, Earl Dumarest finds himself at the mercy of deranged and murderous fascists - a frequent occurrence - and through their machinations, placed on the planet Chard (LOL), which is currently dealing with what appears to be an insurrection by the indigenous population. the government of Chard's solution: fight a war! Dumarest quickly impersonates a military strategist and is hired to figure out this "war" for them. false flag alert!
what unfurls is not a progression of military maneuvers, but instead a series of surprising scenes in which the puffed-up but very ill-prepared citizens of Chard are first brutally trained (a very Starship Troopers sequence) and then deployed to various locations where they are ordered not to engage, to negotiate, to attempt to understand the nature of the conflict, to avoid at all costs the taking of lives. the narrative is basically one anticlimax after another because Earl constantly orders his soldiers not to kill - or he'll kill them for disobeying his orders. I loved all of this and how this absorbing book continually upends any expectations that the characters or the reader will see a battle.
this would have been a 4-star experience, except the titular character is a total wash. I wish Tubb hadn't named certain books after female characters who only serve to illustrate the fact that many humans are repulsively self-absorbed. Zenya receives the first (and hopefully last) slap that I've seen Dumarest dole out to his current female lead. he's normally such a gentleman! Tubb is capable of writing strong and interesting women; unfortunately, Zenya is such a cardboard portrait of aristocratic decadence that the story became a drag whenever she appeared. and so 1 star docked. sorry Earl, don't slap me - I'm a lover not a fighter, like you.
what unfurls is not a progression of military maneuvers, but instead a series of surprising scenes in which the puffed-up but very ill-prepared citizens of Chard are first brutally trained (a very Starship Troopers sequence) and then deployed to various locations where they are ordered not to engage, to negotiate, to attempt to understand the nature of the conflict, to avoid at all costs the taking of lives. the narrative is basically one anticlimax after another because Earl constantly orders his soldiers not to kill - or he'll kill them for disobeying his orders. I loved all of this and how this absorbing book continually upends any expectations that the characters or the reader will see a battle.
this would have been a 4-star experience, except the titular character is a total wash. I wish Tubb hadn't named certain books after female characters who only serve to illustrate the fact that many humans are repulsively self-absorbed. Zenya receives the first (and hopefully last) slap that I've seen Dumarest dole out to his current female lead. he's normally such a gentleman! Tubb is capable of writing strong and interesting women; unfortunately, Zenya is such a cardboard portrait of aristocratic decadence that the story became a drag whenever she appeared. and so 1 star docked. sorry Earl, don't slap me - I'm a lover not a fighter, like you.
June 18, 2020
DAW Collectors #115
Cover Artist: Kelly Freas.
Name: Tubb, Edwin Charles, Birthplace: London, England, UK, (15 October 1919 - 10 September 2010)
Earls Dumarest's quest for his homeland, the legendary planet Earth, had been long and dangerous. Trekking across the galactic wastelands of the Milky Way, he had been pursued and hindered at every step by the deadly Cyclan.
Now, just as his search seems to be nearing its close, Dumarest is once again side-tracked - forced to lead an army for Zenya in the deadly feuds of the alien planet of Paiyar .
No one becomes a mercenary except desperate men, natural killers, and someone like Earl Dumarest. Earl sold himself because he had a quest and he always needed money to continue his search for the way home, home to Earth, a world in whose existence nobody believed. Earl's side lost and Earl, a survivor, had to pay the penalty. .a mission for a ruthless lady.
The Dumarest Saga:
1. The Winds of Gath (1967)
2. Derai (1968)
3. Toyman (1969)
4. Kalin (1969)
5. The Jester at Scar (1970)
6. Lallia (1971)
7. Technos (1972)
8. Veruchia (1973)
9. Mayenne (1973)
10. Jondelle (1973)
11. Zenya (1974)
12. Eloise (1975)
13. Eye of the Zodiac (1975)
14. Jack of Swords (1976)
15. Spectrum of a Forgotten Sun (1976)
16. Haven of Darkness (1977)
17. Prison of Night (1977)
18. Incident on Ath (1978)
19. The Quillian Sector (1978)
20. Web of Sand (1979)
21. Iduna's Universe (1979)
22. The Terra Data (1980)
23. World of Promise (1980)
24. Nectar of Heaven (1981)
25. The Terridae (1981)
26. The Coming Event (1982)
27. Earth Is Heaven (1982)
28. Melome (1983)
29. Angado (1984)
30. Symbol of Terra (1984)
31. The Temple of Truth (1985)
32. The Return (1997)
33. Child of Earth (2008)
"Zenya" - Dumarest of Terra - 11.
Cover Artist: Kelly Freas.
Name: Tubb, Edwin Charles, Birthplace: London, England, UK, (15 October 1919 - 10 September 2010)
Earls Dumarest's quest for his homeland, the legendary planet Earth, had been long and dangerous. Trekking across the galactic wastelands of the Milky Way, he had been pursued and hindered at every step by the deadly Cyclan.
Now, just as his search seems to be nearing its close, Dumarest is once again side-tracked - forced to lead an army for Zenya in the deadly feuds of the alien planet of Paiyar .
No one becomes a mercenary except desperate men, natural killers, and someone like Earl Dumarest. Earl sold himself because he had a quest and he always needed money to continue his search for the way home, home to Earth, a world in whose existence nobody believed. Earl's side lost and Earl, a survivor, had to pay the penalty. .a mission for a ruthless lady.
The Dumarest Saga:
1. The Winds of Gath (1967)
2. Derai (1968)
3. Toyman (1969)
4. Kalin (1969)
5. The Jester at Scar (1970)
6. Lallia (1971)
7. Technos (1972)
8. Veruchia (1973)
9. Mayenne (1973)
10. Jondelle (1973)
11. Zenya (1974)
12. Eloise (1975)
13. Eye of the Zodiac (1975)
14. Jack of Swords (1976)
15. Spectrum of a Forgotten Sun (1976)
16. Haven of Darkness (1977)
17. Prison of Night (1977)
18. Incident on Ath (1978)
19. The Quillian Sector (1978)
20. Web of Sand (1979)
21. Iduna's Universe (1979)
22. The Terra Data (1980)
23. World of Promise (1980)
24. Nectar of Heaven (1981)
25. The Terridae (1981)
26. The Coming Event (1982)
27. Earth Is Heaven (1982)
28. Melome (1983)
29. Angado (1984)
30. Symbol of Terra (1984)
31. The Temple of Truth (1985)
32. The Return (1997)
33. Child of Earth (2008)
"Zenya" - Dumarest of Terra - 11.
July 14, 2023
Dumarest gets caught up in some nefarious political intrigue with some inbred and mentally unstable elites and involved in a guerilla type war between some natives and a group of colonizers. Tubbs takes the opportunity to lay down some thick, Vietnam era anti war messaging. The convoluted plot never really jells, with a subplot that completely metastasizes out of proportion, making this one of the weaker books in the Dumarest series so far.
November 30, 2011
Here's the set-up.
Earl Dumarest is a man lost in space. Sort of. He stowed away on a ship leaving Earth when he was only ten. The old Captain, childless, had taken pity on him and let him work off his passage. Ever since he'd been moving outward into the galaxy, Though biologically only early middle age, owing to the vagaries of space ship travel, he's much older. Low passage is basically for animals, a suspended animation. People use it though because it's cheap and most use it even though dangerous: there's a fifteen percent death rate of users. Earl had used it often. High passage is for the rich, and Earl used it whenever he was flush, where metabolism is sped up and time passes much more slowly for the user.
Now he wants to go home.
Here's the problem: in this far flung future, humanity has spread throughout the Milky Way, literally millions of inhabited planets, and most have never heard of Earth. "A planet named Dirt! Ridiculous!" Those who have heard it believe it's a myth. "The idea that Humans came from one planet! Ridiculous!"
Earl knows Earth, Terra, is real. Old and war torn even when he was a child, Lord knows what it's like now. But it's home. He searches for clues in libraries on the various planets he visits, picking them up now and again, building an area of the Milky Way where it has to lie.
He's pursued every step of the way by the Cyclans, those cyborg/computer beings of Cylcon, who want the secret he didn't even know he possessed, a gift from a woman, for a long time. It was stolen from the Cyclans before they could use it, a method to control humanity, and they want it back.
Earl is just as determined that they won't get it.
ZENYA is the eleventh volume of a very long series, running some thirty-five books or so.
Earl is on Paiyar visiting an old library when he's picked up by the beautiful Zenya who says her grandfather wants to see him. And when old Chan Parect, Aihult of the Serpent Clan, speaks, everyone jumps.
It doesn't take Earl long to get the measure of the old man. crazy as a loon, the clan is inbred and all of them are privileged and not used to the realities of life. He wants his son found, he's been off-planet since before Zenya was born. He's blackmailed into the hunt, pushed by grandson of the Aihult into a fight. As with the spoiled rich, the boy thinks he's better than Earl. But earl has fought to many battles in the arena and easily wins, sparing the boy's life. Not satisfied, the boy tries to murder him late that night, Earl supposedly drugged, and this time doesn't survive.
Earl, though, is knocked unconscious and when he comes around is given the news, Find the old man's son or a device implanted in his body will be turned on and the Cyclans given the frequency, making him a beacon easy to find anywhere in the galaxy.
Chard is the planet where the son was last seen. it's a woar-torn planet, a new war, and it's full of brightly uniformed rich boys playing at war more than anything. Earl poses as a war chieftain from a mercenary planet in order to get on planet and is soon embroiled in the battle, training the posers and trying to find out who the enemy really is. The primitives they are supposedly fighting can't really be the enemy. Earl can see that. No evidence of them is ever found in the destroyed villages. But they are blinded in their hate.
Earl must first solve that problem before he can get to his.
These books are a lot of fun. Mostly adventure, they don't pretend to be anything other than that. Tubb was a fine writer and, so far, the series has held up.
Earl Dumarest is a man lost in space. Sort of. He stowed away on a ship leaving Earth when he was only ten. The old Captain, childless, had taken pity on him and let him work off his passage. Ever since he'd been moving outward into the galaxy, Though biologically only early middle age, owing to the vagaries of space ship travel, he's much older. Low passage is basically for animals, a suspended animation. People use it though because it's cheap and most use it even though dangerous: there's a fifteen percent death rate of users. Earl had used it often. High passage is for the rich, and Earl used it whenever he was flush, where metabolism is sped up and time passes much more slowly for the user.
Now he wants to go home.
Here's the problem: in this far flung future, humanity has spread throughout the Milky Way, literally millions of inhabited planets, and most have never heard of Earth. "A planet named Dirt! Ridiculous!" Those who have heard it believe it's a myth. "The idea that Humans came from one planet! Ridiculous!"
Earl knows Earth, Terra, is real. Old and war torn even when he was a child, Lord knows what it's like now. But it's home. He searches for clues in libraries on the various planets he visits, picking them up now and again, building an area of the Milky Way where it has to lie.
He's pursued every step of the way by the Cyclans, those cyborg/computer beings of Cylcon, who want the secret he didn't even know he possessed, a gift from a woman, for a long time. It was stolen from the Cyclans before they could use it, a method to control humanity, and they want it back.
Earl is just as determined that they won't get it.
ZENYA is the eleventh volume of a very long series, running some thirty-five books or so.
Earl is on Paiyar visiting an old library when he's picked up by the beautiful Zenya who says her grandfather wants to see him. And when old Chan Parect, Aihult of the Serpent Clan, speaks, everyone jumps.
It doesn't take Earl long to get the measure of the old man. crazy as a loon, the clan is inbred and all of them are privileged and not used to the realities of life. He wants his son found, he's been off-planet since before Zenya was born. He's blackmailed into the hunt, pushed by grandson of the Aihult into a fight. As with the spoiled rich, the boy thinks he's better than Earl. But earl has fought to many battles in the arena and easily wins, sparing the boy's life. Not satisfied, the boy tries to murder him late that night, Earl supposedly drugged, and this time doesn't survive.
Earl, though, is knocked unconscious and when he comes around is given the news, Find the old man's son or a device implanted in his body will be turned on and the Cyclans given the frequency, making him a beacon easy to find anywhere in the galaxy.
Chard is the planet where the son was last seen. it's a woar-torn planet, a new war, and it's full of brightly uniformed rich boys playing at war more than anything. Earl poses as a war chieftain from a mercenary planet in order to get on planet and is soon embroiled in the battle, training the posers and trying to find out who the enemy really is. The primitives they are supposedly fighting can't really be the enemy. Earl can see that. No evidence of them is ever found in the destroyed villages. But they are blinded in their hate.
Earl must first solve that problem before he can get to his.
These books are a lot of fun. Mostly adventure, they don't pretend to be anything other than that. Tubb was a fine writer and, so far, the series has held up.
January 28, 2026
review of
E.C. Tubb's Zenya
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - January 28, 2026
This is the 11th bk in the Dumarest of Terra series & the 6th one I've read & reviewed. I'm basically just reading them b/c I read Tubb's Moon Base 1st & wanted to read more by him & these Dumarest of Terra bks crossed my path. I was starting to get a bit sick of the series by the last one, Jondelle, but now I'm more enthusiastic than ever (whoever ever is). As I wrote in my Jondelle review ( https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ):
"This is the 5th of the Dumarest of Terra series that I've read. Three of the previous ones were titled after women characters, two of those covers had pictures of the women. Jondelle is titled after a boy character who gets kidnapped & the image on the cover of the boy's face is sexually ambiguous & cd be taken for an image of a girl or a young woman."
Zenya brings the title back to a name of a woman character & the cover image is of a woman's face. In the past, the women were mostly positive characters, here, Zenya is more than a bit deranged & unsympathetic. She does, however, follow the pattern of falling in love w/ Dumarest.
"She was tall, with a mass of golden hair raised and crested in an aureole above her head. Thick strands ran from her temples, cut and shaped into upcurving points which accentuated the high bones and slight concavity of her cheeks. Her jaw was round, with a determined hardness, and her lips were full, the lower pouting in betraying sensuosity. Her eyes were deep-set, glowing amber, wide-spaced beneath arching brows, their upward slant giving her the appearance of a watchful cat." - p 5
"She said softly, "Yes, Earl? And . . . ?"
""Nothing," He recognized the expression in her eyes, the look of an emotional vampire eager to feed on tales of blood and violence." - p 10
Despite his wariness, Zenya succeeds into sucking him into the world of her powerful maniacal family.
""If they are not with us, they are against us."
""Which must include a lot of people," he said dryly. "Does Aihult Chan Parect operate on that principle?"
""Naturally, Earl. What else?"
"There were other ways, and far less dangerous than the one that led to inevitable paranoia. Delusions of grandeur coupled with a persecution complex that led to a total inability to trust a living soul." - p 32
Earl Dumarest is cornered more & more by Aihult Chan Parect, the family patriarch, until Parect informs him that he can't escape Parect's will b/c of an operation that's been performed on him.
"["]A little device which I am sure you will appreciate. Should you break your word, or try to run or disobey me in any way, it will be activated. And then, no matter how you hide, the Cyclan will be able to find you. You will signal your presence like a star in the sky."" - p 50
The Cyclan being Dumarest's ongoing nemesis.
Dumarest goes to another planet on a mission for Parect. When he arrives, he becomes a member of the local military engaged in a war that Dumarest is to lead. It's gradually discovered that some of the war deaths are from 'friendly fire'.
"Hamshard said shrewdly, "Sir, do you think the action we spotted, the shooting and noise, was the result of hysteria? That they were firing at the air and at each other?"
""You think it possible, captain?"
""Well, sir, they were a pretty high-strung bunch. If they thought they saw something, landed, got confused with shadows, and then my men coming toward them—yes, sir, I think it possible."
""Well," said Dumarest, "we'll soon find out."" - p 92
Even tho Dumarest is highly accomplished in the 'art of violence' he's basically anti-military. His violent abilities are a keystone to every story. But, making it more interesting for me, so is his ethical philosophy.
"He had seen the results of military castes on a dozan worlds, and all had followed a path that led to the inevitable destruction of all that was kind and gentle. When respect became equated with force, only brutality could hope to survive." - p 128
In the interest of not giving away too much, I haven't told much of the story. The overall plot is what pleased me here &, for the 1st time in the Dumarest stories I've read, the SF gets a bit more conceptual.
E.C. Tubb's Zenya
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - January 28, 2026
This is the 11th bk in the Dumarest of Terra series & the 6th one I've read & reviewed. I'm basically just reading them b/c I read Tubb's Moon Base 1st & wanted to read more by him & these Dumarest of Terra bks crossed my path. I was starting to get a bit sick of the series by the last one, Jondelle, but now I'm more enthusiastic than ever (whoever ever is). As I wrote in my Jondelle review ( https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ):
"This is the 5th of the Dumarest of Terra series that I've read. Three of the previous ones were titled after women characters, two of those covers had pictures of the women. Jondelle is titled after a boy character who gets kidnapped & the image on the cover of the boy's face is sexually ambiguous & cd be taken for an image of a girl or a young woman."
Zenya brings the title back to a name of a woman character & the cover image is of a woman's face. In the past, the women were mostly positive characters, here, Zenya is more than a bit deranged & unsympathetic. She does, however, follow the pattern of falling in love w/ Dumarest.
"She was tall, with a mass of golden hair raised and crested in an aureole above her head. Thick strands ran from her temples, cut and shaped into upcurving points which accentuated the high bones and slight concavity of her cheeks. Her jaw was round, with a determined hardness, and her lips were full, the lower pouting in betraying sensuosity. Her eyes were deep-set, glowing amber, wide-spaced beneath arching brows, their upward slant giving her the appearance of a watchful cat." - p 5
"She said softly, "Yes, Earl? And . . . ?"
""Nothing," He recognized the expression in her eyes, the look of an emotional vampire eager to feed on tales of blood and violence." - p 10
Despite his wariness, Zenya succeeds into sucking him into the world of her powerful maniacal family.
""If they are not with us, they are against us."
""Which must include a lot of people," he said dryly. "Does Aihult Chan Parect operate on that principle?"
""Naturally, Earl. What else?"
"There were other ways, and far less dangerous than the one that led to inevitable paranoia. Delusions of grandeur coupled with a persecution complex that led to a total inability to trust a living soul." - p 32
Earl Dumarest is cornered more & more by Aihult Chan Parect, the family patriarch, until Parect informs him that he can't escape Parect's will b/c of an operation that's been performed on him.
"["]A little device which I am sure you will appreciate. Should you break your word, or try to run or disobey me in any way, it will be activated. And then, no matter how you hide, the Cyclan will be able to find you. You will signal your presence like a star in the sky."" - p 50
The Cyclan being Dumarest's ongoing nemesis.
Dumarest goes to another planet on a mission for Parect. When he arrives, he becomes a member of the local military engaged in a war that Dumarest is to lead. It's gradually discovered that some of the war deaths are from 'friendly fire'.
"Hamshard said shrewdly, "Sir, do you think the action we spotted, the shooting and noise, was the result of hysteria? That they were firing at the air and at each other?"
""You think it possible, captain?"
""Well, sir, they were a pretty high-strung bunch. If they thought they saw something, landed, got confused with shadows, and then my men coming toward them—yes, sir, I think it possible."
""Well," said Dumarest, "we'll soon find out."" - p 92
Even tho Dumarest is highly accomplished in the 'art of violence' he's basically anti-military. His violent abilities are a keystone to every story. But, making it more interesting for me, so is his ethical philosophy.
"He had seen the results of military castes on a dozan worlds, and all had followed a path that led to the inevitable destruction of all that was kind and gentle. When respect became equated with force, only brutality could hope to survive." - p 128
In the interest of not giving away too much, I haven't told much of the story. The overall plot is what pleased me here &, for the 1st time in the Dumarest stories I've read, the SF gets a bit more conceptual.
February 29, 2020
Please give my review a helpful vote - https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...
Book 11 begins with Dumarest in a library. He's looking for clues to Earth when he is accosted by a beautiful blonde, who we learn is Zenya. Zenya is a member of one of the warring clans of the planet. She takes him to see her grandfather, the clan leader. As is typical of the Dumareverse, the members of the clan are inbred and insane.
Dumarest is compelled by the threat of being handed over to the Cyclan to travel to a different planet in search of the clan heir, who disappeared decades ago in search of myth and legend. He arrives to find the new planet engaged in a civil war between the resident humans and an earlier wave of humanity who are degraded and have a telepathic gift. The planetary rules are convinced that these people - the Ayutha - are destroying its villages.
Dumarest, who has done everything at one time or another, steps in as military leader to stiffen the backbone of the hesitant and dampen the spirit of the excitable. It seems that he doesn't accept the narrative that the Ayutha are the culprits, given the passive disposition fostered by their weak telepathic powers.
Will Dumarest find the heir?
Will he save the Ayutha?
Will he avoid the Cyclan?
Will he get closer to Earth?
To find out, you will have to read the book, but realize that there are twenty more books to go.
This book is pulp, but there were some gems. For example, Dumarest intuits that a mutation in the local cash crop is causing problems:
"They mutate. In this case, the mutation has resulted in a subtle alteration of the pollen. A freak—it couldn’t happen again perhaps for a million years—but once was enough. Now, some of the pollen isn’t harmless. It contains a hallucinogenic of a particularly horrible nature. It affects the brain, turns people insane, makes them kill, and then causes them to die in turn. You have seen the effects.”
Later, he reflects on the character of Zenya, who is more of a Bond girl than character:
"For a while, he thought, until the novelty wore off and her own restless compulsion drove her to seek fresh titivation. And then, in order to retain his pride, he would have to fight and kill—that or beat her into submissive obedience. Two things which, for him, held no attraction. A wanton, he thought, looking at her. Amoral, warped by the society in which she lived, the inbreeding which had accentuated weakness. A bitch in every sense of the word, yet beautiful, as all such women were."
The Dumareverse is galaxy-wide but very small. Every planet seems insular and run by a tight, inbred, oligarchy.
Why that should be the case is not explained, but the result of this social model results in a galaxy run by inbred psychopaths.
Dumarest lives in a harsh world. In fact, it is a film noir world, with femmes fatale and a single hero whose self-imposed rules represent the only morality in this nihilistic universe.
Book 11 begins with Dumarest in a library. He's looking for clues to Earth when he is accosted by a beautiful blonde, who we learn is Zenya. Zenya is a member of one of the warring clans of the planet. She takes him to see her grandfather, the clan leader. As is typical of the Dumareverse, the members of the clan are inbred and insane.
Dumarest is compelled by the threat of being handed over to the Cyclan to travel to a different planet in search of the clan heir, who disappeared decades ago in search of myth and legend. He arrives to find the new planet engaged in a civil war between the resident humans and an earlier wave of humanity who are degraded and have a telepathic gift. The planetary rules are convinced that these people - the Ayutha - are destroying its villages.
Dumarest, who has done everything at one time or another, steps in as military leader to stiffen the backbone of the hesitant and dampen the spirit of the excitable. It seems that he doesn't accept the narrative that the Ayutha are the culprits, given the passive disposition fostered by their weak telepathic powers.
Will Dumarest find the heir?
Will he save the Ayutha?
Will he avoid the Cyclan?
Will he get closer to Earth?
To find out, you will have to read the book, but realize that there are twenty more books to go.
This book is pulp, but there were some gems. For example, Dumarest intuits that a mutation in the local cash crop is causing problems:
"They mutate. In this case, the mutation has resulted in a subtle alteration of the pollen. A freak—it couldn’t happen again perhaps for a million years—but once was enough. Now, some of the pollen isn’t harmless. It contains a hallucinogenic of a particularly horrible nature. It affects the brain, turns people insane, makes them kill, and then causes them to die in turn. You have seen the effects.”
Later, he reflects on the character of Zenya, who is more of a Bond girl than character:
"For a while, he thought, until the novelty wore off and her own restless compulsion drove her to seek fresh titivation. And then, in order to retain his pride, he would have to fight and kill—that or beat her into submissive obedience. Two things which, for him, held no attraction. A wanton, he thought, looking at her. Amoral, warped by the society in which she lived, the inbreeding which had accentuated weakness. A bitch in every sense of the word, yet beautiful, as all such women were."
The Dumareverse is galaxy-wide but very small. Every planet seems insular and run by a tight, inbred, oligarchy.
Why that should be the case is not explained, but the result of this social model results in a galaxy run by inbred psychopaths.
Dumarest lives in a harsh world. In fact, it is a film noir world, with femmes fatale and a single hero whose self-imposed rules represent the only morality in this nihilistic universe.
January 2, 2026
“Zenya” (1974)
Overall Rating 8/10 – Zerprisingly Good!
Plot
Our protagonist (Earl Dumarest) finds himself beholden to an insane leader of a planet he finds himself visiting on his quest to find Earth. Cajoled under threat, he finds himself on a mission to find the missing son of the planet’s mad leader. Failure will result in terrible things … but he walks into a planetwide civil war …
Writing Style
Easy, flowing sentences. Modern style. It is quite easy to watch the film unfold in your head. Nice adorned with palatable adjectives.
Point of View/Voice
Written in the 3rd Person / Past Tense (standard convention)
Critique
This is the Eleventh E. C. Tubb novel in the Dumarest series and was written in 1974.
Interestingly, I began to notice a change in the author’s writing style in the predecessor to this book. I ignored it because it wasn’t significant or important. However, the change is much more pronounced in this episode of Earl Dumarest’s adventures. Specifically, there appears to be much more descriptive prose, more depth and more detail. It works too … it embodies the whole story with a cushion of elegance that has previously been missing. Literally, it is a joy to read.
That said, the story itself was also a little off the usual adventure(s) that our protagonist finds himself embroiled in. Here, he becomes entwined between two people’s civil war on a planet where he is trying to find (under threat) an important person. Of course, there is a female who pivots within the centre of the plot but, in this, she played a lesser role.
In all, pretty damn good!
Overall Rating 8/10 – Zerprisingly Good!
Plot
Our protagonist (Earl Dumarest) finds himself beholden to an insane leader of a planet he finds himself visiting on his quest to find Earth. Cajoled under threat, he finds himself on a mission to find the missing son of the planet’s mad leader. Failure will result in terrible things … but he walks into a planetwide civil war …
Writing Style
Easy, flowing sentences. Modern style. It is quite easy to watch the film unfold in your head. Nice adorned with palatable adjectives.
Point of View/Voice
Written in the 3rd Person / Past Tense (standard convention)
Critique
This is the Eleventh E. C. Tubb novel in the Dumarest series and was written in 1974.
Interestingly, I began to notice a change in the author’s writing style in the predecessor to this book. I ignored it because it wasn’t significant or important. However, the change is much more pronounced in this episode of Earl Dumarest’s adventures. Specifically, there appears to be much more descriptive prose, more depth and more detail. It works too … it embodies the whole story with a cushion of elegance that has previously been missing. Literally, it is a joy to read.
That said, the story itself was also a little off the usual adventure(s) that our protagonist finds himself embroiled in. Here, he becomes entwined between two people’s civil war on a planet where he is trying to find (under threat) an important person. Of course, there is a female who pivots within the centre of the plot but, in this, she played a lesser role.
In all, pretty damn good!
April 22, 2025
In the middle of Zenya, there's a really good book sandwiched between a tedious B-plot that thinks it's the main plot. That B-plot involves Dumarest getting caught up in the boring power machinations of a family of crazy aristocrats. The A-plot kicks off when Dumarest gets accidentally sucked into commanding one side of a planetary war—on a planet where no one has the first clue how to fight, but are willing to charge in guns-a-blazing anyway.
The story this book immediately made me think of is "Black Colossus," one of my favorite Conan stories by Robert E. Howard. What I enjoyed about that tale was that it marked the turning point where Conan grew from a wandering sell-sword to an actual leader of men. Dumarest does the same in this book, but in contrast to Conan's "kill them all and let Crom sort them out" attitude, Dumarest focuses on efficient warfare based on intelligence-gathering and minimizing loss of life on either side.
As stated before, I could have done without this book's framing plot, which I couldn't make myself care about. This book also seems to fall in a string of novels in the series where each one's named after whichever female character Dumarest hooks up with, whether or not she has any bearing on the story. Looking ahead, I think that naming convention is going to peter out sometime soon, thankfully.
The story this book immediately made me think of is "Black Colossus," one of my favorite Conan stories by Robert E. Howard. What I enjoyed about that tale was that it marked the turning point where Conan grew from a wandering sell-sword to an actual leader of men. Dumarest does the same in this book, but in contrast to Conan's "kill them all and let Crom sort them out" attitude, Dumarest focuses on efficient warfare based on intelligence-gathering and minimizing loss of life on either side.
As stated before, I could have done without this book's framing plot, which I couldn't make myself care about. This book also seems to fall in a string of novels in the series where each one's named after whichever female character Dumarest hooks up with, whether or not she has any bearing on the story. Looking ahead, I think that naming convention is going to peter out sometime soon, thankfully.
July 19, 2025
I do love this series! It's such a winning mix of comic book sci-fi, camp swashbuckler, and bodice-ripper in which our indestructible hero screws and punches his way across the galaxy in a desperate search for that mythical planet called Earth. And along the way he's thwarted by a race of homo sapien computers and a supporting cast who encompasses every human foible ever invented. Although his characters are basically two-dimensional (the women swoon and scheme while the men are either treacherous cads or benevolent saints) they are colourful enough to keep you jeering or cheering as you flip the pages. In this instalment the irresistibly sexy Dumarest is coerced into a military mission against an "enemy" hiding in plain sight and gains a couple of vague clues as to the whereabouts of his ultimate goal. Yay!
July 16, 2021
3.75 stars
While, plot-wise, this volume is pretty much on a par with previous volumes, it's the detail that, for me, let's the story down. For the first ten books, Dumarest has been shown to be somebody who can work on his own, or with s small group of trusted companions. Here he takes command if an army and it just doesn't ring true. He just doesn't seem to have that level of experience.
Still, another mostly enjoyable re-read, even if some of the violence (or, at least, it's aftermath) seems slightly more gruesome this time out, and Dumarest's attitude toward the leading lady a little off-putting.
Great cover and the lowest number of planets mentioned in any book so far.
While, plot-wise, this volume is pretty much on a par with previous volumes, it's the detail that, for me, let's the story down. For the first ten books, Dumarest has been shown to be somebody who can work on his own, or with s small group of trusted companions. Here he takes command if an army and it just doesn't ring true. He just doesn't seem to have that level of experience.
Still, another mostly enjoyable re-read, even if some of the violence (or, at least, it's aftermath) seems slightly more gruesome this time out, and Dumarest's attitude toward the leading lady a little off-putting.
Great cover and the lowest number of planets mentioned in any book so far.
February 2, 2025
Dated but a fun story 😺
October 3, 2025
A somewhat frustrating book in the Dumarest saga. Our intrepid hero being lamely coerced into playing politics with an insane family, in a story that has a bolted-on mystery that was plainly obvious to the reader.... and our hero getting to play Mr. Military Expert in an unnecessary "us against the primitives" war. That plus his rightful loathing of almost every named female in the book all meant this book was slightly irritating, especially compared to the greatly enjoyable book that proceeded it.
June 2, 2018
Dumarest of Terra is a 33-volume series of science fiction novels by Edwin Charles Tubb. Each story is a self-contained adventure, but throughout the series, Earl Dumarest, the protagonist, searches for clues to the location of his home world, Earth. Production of a television version of the series is set to begin in 2018.
The stories are set in a far future galactic culture that is fragmented and without any central government. Dumarest was born on Earth, but had stowed away on a spaceship when he was a young boy and was caught. Although a stowaway discovered on a spaceship was typically ejected to space, the captain took pity on the boy and allowed him to work and travel on the ship. When the story opens in The Winds of Gath, Dumarest has traveled so long and so far that he does not know how to return to his home planet and no-one has ever heard of it, other than as a myth or legend.
It becomes clear that someone or something has deliberately concealed Earth's location. The Cyclan, an organization of humans surgically altered to be emotionless (known as Cybers), and on occasion able to link with the brains of previously living Cybers (the better to think logically), seem determined to stop him from finding Earth. Additionally, the Cyclan seeks a scientific discovery that Dumarest possesses, stolen from them and passed to him by a dying thief, which would vastly increase their already considerable power.
Also appearing in many of the books is the humanitarian Church of Universal Brotherhood. Its monks are spread throughout many worlds as are the Cyclan, the two being arch-enemies - which does not make the Church Dumarest's ally, but in some instances they support each other.
In Zenya, the eleventh in the Dumarest series, it sees Dumarest on the planet Paiyar. There he meets a lady named Zenya. And fall into the schemes of her grandfather. One of the ruling elite of the planet. Who needs Dumarest to lead an army for him.
This is one of the weaker novels in the series. Several of the charcters aren't all that interesting in this somewhat convoluted plot, which take a while to kick in. It would have been better if Tubb focused on developing the Dumarest-Lisa-Zenya love triangle.
But Tubb keeps a few surprises back for the very end. A little underwhelming, bit readable nonetheless.
The stories are set in a far future galactic culture that is fragmented and without any central government. Dumarest was born on Earth, but had stowed away on a spaceship when he was a young boy and was caught. Although a stowaway discovered on a spaceship was typically ejected to space, the captain took pity on the boy and allowed him to work and travel on the ship. When the story opens in The Winds of Gath, Dumarest has traveled so long and so far that he does not know how to return to his home planet and no-one has ever heard of it, other than as a myth or legend.
It becomes clear that someone or something has deliberately concealed Earth's location. The Cyclan, an organization of humans surgically altered to be emotionless (known as Cybers), and on occasion able to link with the brains of previously living Cybers (the better to think logically), seem determined to stop him from finding Earth. Additionally, the Cyclan seeks a scientific discovery that Dumarest possesses, stolen from them and passed to him by a dying thief, which would vastly increase their already considerable power.
Also appearing in many of the books is the humanitarian Church of Universal Brotherhood. Its monks are spread throughout many worlds as are the Cyclan, the two being arch-enemies - which does not make the Church Dumarest's ally, but in some instances they support each other.
In Zenya, the eleventh in the Dumarest series, it sees Dumarest on the planet Paiyar. There he meets a lady named Zenya. And fall into the schemes of her grandfather. One of the ruling elite of the planet. Who needs Dumarest to lead an army for him.
This is one of the weaker novels in the series. Several of the charcters aren't all that interesting in this somewhat convoluted plot, which take a while to kick in. It would have been better if Tubb focused on developing the Dumarest-Lisa-Zenya love triangle.
But Tubb keeps a few surprises back for the very end. A little underwhelming, bit readable nonetheless.
January 1, 2015
Another of the Dumarest books keeps me up all-night until I have read it all!
These books are very formulaic, there is no other way to describe them. I am kind of addicted to them however, Like Pringles, you keep going and after a while you really can't stop yourself having more...
In Zenya Earl is taken to the family home of the beautiful, yet slightly insane woman of the title. Her family, especially the patriarch are outright Bonkers but in a position to blackmail Earl into going to another world in search of a missing son. And there is the hint that more knowledge of Earth may be know to the missing son.
The world is in a state of war; the indigenous peoples are attacking settlements and brutally slaughtering everyone, the agricultural yields of the world endemic and valuable, are also at risk...
Dumarest organises their military, solves the riddles and come out triumphant as always.
These books are very formulaic, there is no other way to describe them. I am kind of addicted to them however, Like Pringles, you keep going and after a while you really can't stop yourself having more...
In Zenya Earl is taken to the family home of the beautiful, yet slightly insane woman of the title. Her family, especially the patriarch are outright Bonkers but in a position to blackmail Earl into going to another world in search of a missing son. And there is the hint that more knowledge of Earth may be know to the missing son.
The world is in a state of war; the indigenous peoples are attacking settlements and brutally slaughtering everyone, the agricultural yields of the world endemic and valuable, are also at risk...
Dumarest organises their military, solves the riddles and come out triumphant as always.
June 9, 2010
In Zenya, Our Hero, Dumarest, meets a beautiful girl in a library to lures him with the idea that her wealthy father may know something of the location of his homeworld, the fabled Terra. But it is, of course, a trap, and the wealthy-but-crazed man simply traps him into going and finding a wayward relative on another planet. Meanwhile, two beautiful women of the family fight over Dumarest... OK, but ends with an extremely non-PC and feeble justification for colonialism..
August 13, 2017
I play the game of choosing an actor to play the characters in certain books...casting the movie it is called. I can now picture Lewis Collins who played Bodie in The Professionals in the UK in 1978-82 as Earl Dumarest right down to his choice of gray leather and high necked tops. This one was particularly good. A strong, detailed story with believable, if unpleasant, characters.
November 16, 2014
I found this one of the best Dumarest stories I have red so far.
A completely different setting as Earl becomes the marshal of Chard en gets the responsibity over it's residents and future in a strange war...
A completely different setting as Earl becomes the marshal of Chard en gets the responsibity over it's residents and future in a strange war...
January 7, 2012
Good but not great.
June 10, 2013
A fun and well-constructed adventure. It's also nice to see Earl in a very different situation, acting as a military officer.
March 25, 2017
There is something about these books. A dark far future imagined 30 or 40 years in the past. And the hero's name is Earl!
March 19, 2019
Earls Dumarest's quest for his homeland - the legendary planet Earth - had been long and dangerous. Trekking across the galactic wastelands of the Milky Way, he had been pursued and hindered at every step by the deadly Cyclan. Now, just as his search seems to be nearing its close, Dumarest is once again side-tracked - forced to lead an army for Zenya in the deadly feuds of the alien planet of Paiyar . . . (First published 1974)
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