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PermissionTitle:
Kalin
Series: Dumarest #4
Author:
EC Tubb
Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars
Genre:
SF
Pages: 155
Words: 45K
Earl
Dumarest ends up on yet another bad world that seems intent on
killing him, runs into another hot and sexy psychic chicky-boo, runs
into the Cyclans and loses said chicky-boo.
I
have begun wondering, if traveling seems to be pretty much blind
(every story involves travelers getting stranded in bad places
because they didn’t know it was bad), then how does mankind stay
together and not totally fracture? I mean, if everybody learns that
World X is a really bad place and you’re going to be enslaved, then
who would go there? I suspect both Tubb’s view and my own are
formed from our own perspectives on data. Tubb was in the isolation
era, where you might be lucky to know something about the State next
to yours whereas I live in the Information Age where I can converse
with bloggers from Zimbabwe without even thinking about it (Hi
Beaton!). I “expect” civilization to be able to share data
from one end to the other whereas Tubb didn’t even consider it as a
possibility. It just goes to show that your surroundings and settings
do affect your thought processes.
Tubb’s
writing can be a bit opaque at times. It wasn’t until I saw an
alternate cover that was emblazoned with “Dumarest and Dinosaurs!”
(or some close approximation) that I realized the creatures Tubb
describes Earl as hunting were dinosaurs. It didn’t detract from my
enjoyment of the adventure to not realize that, but once I saw those
words, my mental image of the various scenes were clarified greatly.
The
Cyclans are once again presented as a great menace but we don’t
learn anything new about them. I suspect they will be the “standard”
background villain in most of these books. The Universal Brotherhood
gets some extra facetime but basically we learn that they are a “Feel
Good and be an Ascetic” kind of organization. There is nothing
spiritual about them whatsoever beyond the mystical new age “we are
all gods” kind of mumbo jumbo you’d expect from a “universal”
organization.
To
end, it would almost be easier if Dumarest wasn’t searching for
Earth. Besides the issues I’ve talked about in previous reviews,
the whole data thing applies to this as well. It shouldn’t be so
hard to track down Earth, but it is because of Tubb’s world view
when he wrote this. If he were alive today, he’d have to come up
with a different reason for why Earth is so unknown.
I’m
also including a large version of the cover again. These things are
great!
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/scl/fi/gcnvnxzxoyo8a6xs1rov5/kalin-compressed.jpg?rlkey=mo57eelycivk7wxruwz0uidqr&
★★★✬☆
From
the Publisher
Many times, Dumarest's dream of Earth has almost
cost him his life. As he journeys from world to world, restlessly
moving outwards towards the edge of the galaxy where his goal lies,
Dumarest must be alert, watchful. For there are new dangers - forces
more powerful than man - which threaten his dream. On a planet where
violence and superstition hold sway, Dumarest forges a bond with the
prophetess Kalin. And now, more than ever, he needs her. Kalin. The
mutant girl whose mysterious talent for seeing into the future has
already saved him from Bloodtime on Logis, from space-disaster, from
slavery on desolate Chron. Kalin. Who can foretell the terrors yet to
come.
