Nectar of Heaven (Dumarest #24) by E. C. Tubb
I felt like a quick read of adventure that wouldn't tax my mind too much. Nectar of Heaven delivered. The saga of Earl Dumarest continues. This time around, Dumarest falls in with a partner, Hart Vardoon, as they try to extricate a drug-gem mother lode and make their fortunes. (In Dumarest's case, the fortune will be used to continue his quest to find the mythical planet, Earth.) On the planet Sacaweena, war has been replaced by vicious economic maneuvering. Soon after securing his fortune, Dumarest finds himself trapped between the political players of the planet, and a representative of the Cyclan - his ancient enemies.
There are some good action sequences though overall the story is uneven. There are lots of plot setups and it takes a while before everything collides. Still though, Nectar of Heaven delivered on what I wanted.
I've got this one. Love the cover. I read the first one [redacted] years ago but remember next to nothing about it. I've been toying with the idea of reading them in order. Of course, I've thought the same thing about Dray Prescott book, too, and haven't gotten past the first one.
ReplyDeleteYes, good Ken Kelly work on the cover. Accurate to the character, too.
DeleteI'm not real clear if the saga truly ends with the last book (#33) but other than that, they can be read out of order from all I've researched.
That was my understanding as well, that they're pretty much stand-alones. I remember reading something years ago about DAW not publishing the last book in the series. I don't recall the reason, but I think there was something specific that didn't have to do with sales.
ReplyDeleteDAW published a lot of wonderfully pulpy stuff while Don Wolheim was alive. (Have you seen the covers of some of Jo Clayton's Diadem books?) His daughter Betsy seems to have taken the company in a different direction. Instead of thin, short books, they tend to be doorstoppers. I suppose that's true of most publishers, though.
My fantasy study/library/office/man-cave would have a bookcase filled with a complete set of DAW yellow spine books.
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