Although this is the 12th book in a series it’s very accessible even if, like me, you’ve not read any of the preceding volumes. It quickly sets up the basic premise of the heroes underlying quest and then dumps him into his next adventure. Unfortunately it’s not much of an adventure. Durmarest crashlands on an inhospitable ice-planet, makes his way to the only city, where the local hottie falls in love with him, discovers the idyllic city isn’t what it appears to be, stirs a rebellion, escapes, and leaves the girl behind as he heads off plant to resume his quest. It’s a straightforward tale with little character development, but it’s a light and quick read. ( )

Why is it that he always finds a wonderful man friend and the woman is a bit off? Always gorgeously beautiful but off. Has to be so he and the reader can happily leave her behind as he follows his dream. ( )

For my money, the Dumarest Saga of E.C. Tubb ranks up there as one of the best science fiction series written in English.

Set in the far distant future, when mankind has spread across the galaxy, they feature the inimitable Earl Dumarest, a man with lightning fast reflexes who is forever trying to find the home world he fled as a child and has long since lost: Earth.

The galaxy he travels through is a hard, deadly place for a man with no affiliations and little money. Tubb pulls no punches in his depictions of the many harsh, hellish worlds and people whom Dumarest encounters, and invariably survives, if only just, during his quest.

Perhaps one of the best things about this series (which consists of some 32 books) is that each book is short, with no unnecessary padding; they're generally between 150 and 190 pages long. So they're a reasonably quick read, too.

I recommend reading all books in the series, preferably in the intended order. If you can, though, avoid the Arrow Books editions - the cover illustrations are, to put it simply, the pits. The artists clearly had never read the books, or if they did, didn't bother to note down a lot of details about the scenes they chose to portray in these illustrations, e.g. clothing, weaponry, etc. Shame on Arrow Books for using such second-class amateurs.

Did I mention? Unlike the seemingly interminable Wheel of Time series of Robert Jordan, or the never-ending Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen Donaldson - both of which I find way too verbose, i.e. a lot of words pass by without very much happening - the Dumarest Saga has an actual ending - in volume 32, The Return, Dumarest finds his way home! ( )