Mushroom eBooks Blog

Volume thirty-two in the saga of Dray Prescot is now available from Fictionwise and all other good ebookstores. Like Delia of Vallia, Seg the Bowman by Alan Burt Akers is an independent novel set on Kregen, and tells the story of an adventure undertaken by Seg, Dray’s sword comrade, in which Dray takes no part. It also forms the last part of the Pandahem Cycle. The original editions of Seg the Bowman did not contain a glossary, unlike the last volumes of most of the previous cycles, so we are pleased to be able to include an excellent Glossary of the Pandahem Cycle, compiled by Els Withers.

The blurb:

Here’s a special treat for everyone who loves novels of high adventure on exotic worlds in the tradition of Burroughs and Norman. For this is such a novel, complete in itself, of Dray Prescot’s fighting comrade, Seg, the finest archer of two worlds. Seg is a wild and reckless fellow, courageous in the face of any adversity, and this is the account of his greatest challenge.

Single-handed, on an enemy island, Seg becomes knight-protector of the mysterious lady Milsi, and by her side, beats off frightful beasts and inhuman foemen intent on blocking her path to a rightful royal inheritance.

It’s action science fiction, heroic fantasy, and high romance under the twin suns of Antares in Scorpio.

For more information, free samples, and to check availability of Seg the Bowman, please go here.

The thirty-first volume of the saga of Dray Prescot of Earth and of Kregen, is now available from Fictionwise.com and all other good ebookstores. Masks of Scorpio by Alan Burt Akers is the final book of the Pandahem Cycle, although Seg the Bowman, an independent novel following Seg’s adventures in Pandahem after he is seperated from Dray, is also usually included as part of the Cycle.

Here is the blurb:

For Dray Prescot, the task of burning out the cult of the Silver Leem had been given Star Lords priority. Although he was emperor of Vallia, still he had to work incognito on an enemy island until that task was done.

Sided by his warrior daughter, Ros the Claw, and aided by a valiant crew of piratical swashbucklers, Dray invaded the capital of the secret order only to find treachery and terror where he had thought to find treasure and triumph.

It became a battle of golden masks against silver masks - and behind each facepiece could be hiding the bony features of the Grim Reaper himself!

For more information on Masks of Scorpio, and for details of availability, please see here.

Volume thirty, Talons of Scorpio by Alan Burt Akers is now available from all good ebookstores, including Fictionwise and Mobipocket. It is also the fourth book of the Pandahem Cycle.

Here is the blurb:

To finish the job of destroying the hideous cult of the Leem was just one of the problems confronting Dray Prescot, Earthman on Antares’ wonder planet. For he had also to rally all the world’s forces to combat the onslaught that was on its way from the unexplored Southern Hemisphere.

While rescuing kidnapped children from the altars of sacrifice, Dray found himself fighting side by side with his own worst enemy, his renegade daughter, Ros the Claw, who had pledged his death. Caught in the talons of fate, he would first have to unravel that vicious web or be torn asunder by monstrous adversity.

The greatest other world adventure series since Edgar Rice Burroughs stopped writing!

For more information about Talons of Scorpio and current availability, please go here.

Fires of Scorpio is volume twenty-nine in the saga of Dray Prescot of Earth and of Kregen by Alan Burt Akers and is now available from Fictionwise.com and all other good online ebook shops (please see the list on the right). Fires of Scorpio is also the third book of the Pandahem Cycle.

Here is the blurb:

Triple trouble always dogged Dray Prescot, especially when he thought he had things under control. This time, involved with setting things right on the continent of Pandahem, the Star Lords yank him away from his friends, and dump him, weaponless, at the gates of the terrible temple of the Leem.

To rescue a girl sacrifice was but the start, for next he had to help Pompino to torch all the temples of the Silver Wonder, and take to the sea to confront the next wave of the fish-headed marauders from Kregen’s Southern Hemisphere.

There’s always lots more going on in Dray Prescot’s adventures on the world of Antares in Scorpio, for this colorful series is the best thing of its kind since Burroughs stopped writing!

For more details and availability information, please see the Fires of Scorpio page.

Volume twenty-eight in the saga of Dray Prescot of Kregen and of Earth by Alan Burt Akers is now available from Fictionwise.com and all the other wonderful ebookstores (see the list on the right). Get it quick to take advantage of some good introductory discounts, such as 15% off for the first week at Fictionwise.

Delia of Vallia is a departure from the story of Dray Prescot himself, telling instead one episode from the life and adventures of Delia, Empress of Vallia, and gives some insight into the mysterious and secretive Sisters of the Rose.

Here is the blurb:

The world of Kregen revolving around the double suns of Antares holds many wonders. There are warrior men and warrior beasts with mighty fraternities of valor and courage. There are whispers of similar organizations among the high-born women of many lands. But men knew little of these save the name Sisters of the Rose and that somewhere there was a secret fortress retreat where martial arts were taught that men never learned.

Now Dray Prescot has at last laid bare the story of these fighting sororities. Here is a thrill-packed adventure of Delia of Vallia, leader of a mystic guild, and of her mission to bring justice to one who had betrayed her blood oath and her empress.

A novel of intrigue, combat, and vengeance that was to bring Delia face to face with the traitress Jilian in the hidden arena of the whip and the claw.

And this is from the introduction:

Delia of Vallia, the story of a lady of quickness and passion, of cool irony and high resolve, is complete in itself and separate from the saga of Dray Prescot.

The Star Lords who brought Dray Prescot to Kregen appear to be changing in their attitude to him, even though he is a mere mortal man. They have favored him with an insight into their plans for that marvelous and mysterious world four hundred light years from Earth, where men and women of many different and exotic races mingle and strive to work out their own destinies under the red and green fires of Antares.

The destiny of the island Empire of Vallia at the moment is one of faction and disarray. Mercilessly savaged by outside foes, both physical and sorcerous, and rent by internal rivalries, the country is slowly gathering itself again after the Times of Troubles. But some unscrupulous people feel that now is the moment to strike and that one more push will bring them to the summit of their ambitions.

Against this background of color and action, intrigue and sorcery, the Star Lords have afforded Dray Prescot the privilege of vicariously sharing in the headlong adventures of Delia — Delia of Delphond, Delia of the Blue Mountains. As the narrative unfolds we know Prescot suffers. The cassettes on which the tale is told are often fuzzy and faint. But love and devotion for Delia, and pride in her courage and resourcefulness and her joyful onslaught against every challenge, stand forth clear and unashamedly. We, too, are privileged to share the story on these cassettes and go alongside Delia of Vallia as she hazards the perils of Kregen under the streaming mingled lights of the Suns of Scorpio.

Further information on Delia of Vallia by Alan Burt Akers and its availability can be found here.

Volume twenty-seven in the saga of Dray Prescot of Kregen and of Earth by Alan Burt Akers is now available from Fictionwise.com and all the other great ebookstores (see the list on the right). Get it quick to take advantage of some good introductory discounts, such as 15% off for the first week at Fictionwise.

Mazes of Scorpio is also the first book of the Pandahem Cycle, which consists of the four books, Mazes of Scorpio, Fires of Scorpio, Talons of Scorpio and Masks of Scorpio. There are also two novels which, although not part of the Pandahem Cycle narrative, are nevertheless considered part of it: Delia of Vallia and Seg the Bowman.

Here is the blurb:

Beneath the emerald and ruby glow of the double suns of Antares lies a marvelous and brilliant world of savagery and beauty. The planet Kregen, where Dray Prescot, Earthman agent of the superhuman Star Lords struggles to bring peace to the world which has become his home. But although his nemesis, the mad empress of Hamal, and her accomplice, the evil Wizard of Loh have been destroyed, Prescot finds that the strands of this enduring battle have not been tied off, for an old conspiracy has been given a new and darker impetus which leads him to the jungle continent of Pandahem, where beneath the dark and sweltering swamps lies the deadly labyrinth of the Coup Blag where Prescot clashes with a new and terrible foe in the mazes of Scorpio!

And this is from the introduction to the Pandahem Cycle:

Dray Prescot often calls himself a plain sailorman, yet the picture he paints of himself in these narratives is highly enigmatic. In Mazes of Scorpio, the first volume of the Pandahem Cycle, a completely new era in his life begins to develop. True, he was a powder monkey in Nelson’s Navy, and clawed his way through the hawsehole to the quarterdeck to become first lieutenant of a seventy four. But he was disappointed with his posting. When the Savanti, those mortal yet superhuman people of the Swinging City of Aphrasöe on far Kregen, called him to serve as a Savapim in their schemes, he crossed the gulf of four hundred light years more than willingly.

Rejected by the Savanti, he in turn spurned them for the sake of Delia. Only through the machinations of the Star Lords was Prescot brought back to Kregen. He has fought his way on that marvelous and brilliant world of savagery and beauty, and has made a name for himself. But now all that changes.

Called to be the Emperor of Vallia, he, with his comrades, has vanquished poor old mad Thyllis, Empress of Hamal, and now seeks to create a fresh and lasting unity among all the nations of Paz. They all face a common foe in the Shanks, the Fishheads who raid their coasts. And, there are worms within the bud, secret enemies who desire only to drag all down for their own selfish ends.

Dray Prescot has been described as an immensely broad shouldered man of enormous vitality, a little above middle height, with brown hair and eyes, a man conveying an impression of passion held in check, moving with the savage grace of a wild beast of the jungle. From sources outside his own testimony we know him to be a man of complete integrity, holding within himself a cool center of calm; a passionate, dominant, commanding and yet truly humble man.

A plain sailorman? Hardly. Life on Kregen under the mingled streaming lights of Zim and Genodras, the Suns of Scorpio, has changed and matured Prescot in ways unknowable to denizens of this Earth. We can guess that his headlong career has barely begun, that the many friends and foes surrounding him, the horrendous experiences he has endured, the future perils he must face, will continue to mold his character, hardening what is already harsh, softening what is already gentle.

Further information on Mazes of Scorpio by Alan Burt Akers and its availability can be found here.