Customer Reviews

A Fortune for Kregen (Dray Prescot, No. 21)

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Alan Burt Akers is the psuedonym of Kenneth Bulmer. This is volume 21 of 52 novels written in the style of Edgar Rice Burroughs. These books are directly like Burroughs 11 classic John Carter of Mars novels. The protagonist Dray Prescott is a Napoleonic era British naval lieutenant who was teleported from the deck of his ship to the planet Kregen around the star Scorpio. His story is recounted in short cycles of three to six novels describing parts of his life and adventures. Prescott was summoned by 'Magic Level Technology' entities to guide the many human and xeno races of the planet towards an unknowable future of their devising. Prescott is not the only champion, nor does he desire to be their champion. He makes a family and life for himself while being repeatedly transported without instructions or equipment into battle zones to tip the outcome of the battles. Once he has discovered his objectives and succeeded he then attempts to make his way home again.

In this particular novel Prescott is far from home in a city where living 'Battle Chess' called jikaida is the primary athletic sport. It is a combination of gladiatorial combat and chess. In the first chapters Prescott is kidnapped, forced to battle as a piece, and sold into slavery. As a slave he is taken to a pyramid studded desert and goes underground as part of a several hundred man dungeon adventuring expedition. He is separated from his owners and adventures with chance companions throughout a dungeon the size of New York.

This story can best be summarized as Tarzan, John Carter, or Conan meets the Dungeons and Dragon ultimate dungeon crawl.

I love this series, and this is my favorite of all the novels.