Perry Rhodan #4: Twilight of the Gods

Author:  Walter Ernsting (Clark Darlton)

First Publication:  1969

Source:  Bookstore

Publisher:  Ace Books

Series:  Perry Rhodan (German) #4

In many ways this is a major story is a major piece of history in the Perry Rhodan universe.  As the various countries try to blow up Perry’s ship with a nuclear bomb, other events are coming together to give Perry additional firepower.  

Mutants have popped up all over the world.  “Twilight of the Gods” shows the beginnings of Perry’s powerful group “The Mutant Corps”.  The members introduced to us in this story include a telepath, a telekinetic, a teleporter and another teleporter who is able to teleport through time.  I always grouped the time teleporter with Ferro Lad of the Legion of Super-Heroes.  Both end up sacrificing their lives to save the universe…or do they?  That is a mystery that is many stories away.  

The other big event in this story is Perry and his right hand man Reggie get hypno trained the way the Arkonides do.  I thought that Ernsting’s writing was not up to its usual standard but this is still worth reading as the series starts to gain steam.

S.T.A.R. Flight by E. C. Tubb

S.T.A.R. Flight was a book I read as a teenager. I remembered liking it but did not recall any of the details.

Earth is suffering from overpopulation when the Kaltich arrive. They offer us immortality and star travel if we supply them with some of our natural resources. Now, it is years later and the only way to receive immortality is to pay for it. The Kaltich continue to take our materials but we are no closer the stars. S.T.A.R.(Secret Terran Armed Resistance) forms to change the balance of power. Martin Preston is recruited to slip through the Kaltich stargate, steal their technology, and bring it back to Earth.

E. C. Tubb wrote a book about a very interesting secret. The secret of the Kaltich managed to suprise me the first time I read the book. With this re-reading I still enjoyed this short novel enough though I remembered the solution. Tubb does a good job of showing how Earth has deteriorated over the years. The space program was in development but had not produced a ship capable of taking mankind to the stars, let alone find a planet that could be set up as a colony. The arrival of the Kaltich seemed like a miracle.

The Kaltich, and this book in general, is a thematic ancestor to the television series "V". The visitors offer to extend our life span, cure diseases, and take us to the stars. All they ask for in exchange is the use of some of our natural resources. Of course things are never what they appear to be. The plot of the book revolves around a team of resistance fighters who try to infiltrate the Kaltich and discover their secrets. The more I think about this book, it seems like the plot of "V" was taken straight out of this novel. The secret of the Kaltich is definitely different from the secret of the Visitors in "V". If you are enjoying the television series, and I do like it, then I would recommend reading this book.