Customer Reviews

The Avengers of Carrig

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The British author John Brunner (1934-95) was a fine writer that never short changed his readers even when he was cranking out space operas like The Avengers of Carrig/Secret Agents of Terra. His characters have depth and substance; alien environments are described in a sensible and believable manner; plot events are unexpectedly dramatic and logically propel the action.

For the record in 1962 Ace published one of John Brunner's first novels title "Secret Agent of Terra" subtitled "Vultures from the A-Power Orbit". The cover featured a shapely woman in a skin tight space suit. Using lurid titles and a sexy or horror themed cover art was typical of 50's and 60's Ace marketing for their low budget SF line. Surprisingly many excellent novels were first published in these Ace editions and are highly desired by collectors. This book was part of an Ace Double and was 126 pages in length. In 1969 Dell published an expanded version of "Secret Agents of Terra" re-titled as "The Avengers of Carrig" at 157 pages. The cheesy cover and silly subtitle was replaced and the length was bulked up 31 pages. I have read both versions and prefer "Avengers" although it has, in my estimation, one of the worst covers ever slapped on a SF paperback.

Unfortunately you will be hard pressed to find any of Brunner's 60 novels for sale in a bookstore. The sad fact is that none of his books have been reprinted in the last ten years. If you enjoy a well-written science fiction stories featuring "adventures on alien planets" seek out the early Brunner titles such as "Avengers of Carrig" on the used book market.