Tag Archives: sword and planet

Kenneth Bulmer (AKA Alan Burt Akers)

2 Replies

Kenneth Bulmer (1921-2005) was born on this day, January 14. A prolific science fiction adventure author, you probably know him better as Alan Burt Akers, author of the long-running Dray Prescott series of sword and planet adventures.

These are basically Burroughs pastiches in which the hero, Dray Prescott, is tranported to a planet orbiting the star Antares in the constellation Scorpio, where he falls in love with a princess, gets separated from her, and tries to return to her. There are fifty-two novels in the series, which is divided up into cycles. Continue reading →

Transiting to Scorpio

1 Reply

Transit to ScorpioTransit to Scorpio
Dray Prescott #1
Alan Burt Akers (Kenneth Bulmer)
ebook $2.99 Kindle $0.00 (free as of this writing) Nook

Sword and Planet is one of the more neglected subgenres of science fiction.  Or fantasy if you prefer.  It tends to be a blend of both, with examples that tend more towards one or the other.

The Dray Prescott series is one of the longest running, with a total of 53.  Of these, DAW books published the first 37.  The remaining titles were published in German, although a few more have been released electronically in English.   According to the Dray Prescott site, all of the remaining volumes are being reprinted in English this year.

The stories concern an English sailor, the titular Dray Prescott, who through means that are not well explained, is transported instantaneously to the planet Kregen.  Kregen orbits the star Antares in the constellations Scorpio. Continue reading →