Sunday, September 02, 2012

Gregory Kern and Cap Kennedy

Gregory Kern was the pen-name of the late E. C. 'Ted' Tubb. I wrote an obit for Ted for The Guardian, so I won't bother with repeating myself. You can find out about Ted's achievements here, or at the SFE or Wikipedia.

Ted was better than this series would have you believe. The idea was to create a monthly pulp-era-inspired SF hero like Captain Future or Perry Rhodan. A couple of the books reworked ideas from novels he had written in the 1950s, so there was a genuine air of that era's space opera about Cap Kennedy's adventures.

Tubb managed to keep up the monthly pace for some time, publishing 14 novels in 15 months from September 1973. Two more followed in 1975, but the Cap Kennedy series came to a grinding halt in the USA. However, the series was more popular in Germany where a 17th novel by Tubb appeared in 1976 (only later given an English language edition in 1983); the series – with Kennedy known as Commander Scott, Agent der Erde – was then continued by German authors Horst Pukallus, Manfred Wegener, Ronald M. Hahn, etc. The German series from Bastei-Verlag ran to 42 volumes.

Listed below are the English language editions in publication order. Here in the UK we only saw six stories. The next two novels were scheduled for 1977 but failed to appear.

Galaxy of the Lost. New York,  DAW, Sep 1973; London,  Mews, Apr 1976
Slave Ship From Sergan. New York,  DAW, Oct 1973; London,  Mews, May 1976
Monster of Merelaze. New York,  DAW, Nov 1973; London,  Mews, Jun 1976
Enemy Within the Skull. New York,  DAW, Jan 1974; London,  Mews, Jul 1976
Jewel of Jarhan. New York,  DAW, Feb 1974; London,  Mews, Sep 1976
Seetee Alert!. New York,  DAW, Mar 1974; London,  Mews, Oct 1976
The Gholan Gate. New York,  DAW, Apr 1974
The Eater of Worlds. New York,  DAW, May 1974
Earth Enslaved. New York,  DAW, Jun 1974
Planet of Dread. New York,  DAW, Jul 1974
Spawn of Labon. New York,  DAW, Aug 1974
The Genetic Buccaneer. New York,  DAW, Sep 1974
A World Aflame. New York,  DAW, Oct 1974
The Ghosts of Epidoris. New York,  DAW, Nov 1974
Mimics of Dephene. New York,  DAW, Apr 1975
Beyond the Galactic Lens. New York,  DAW, Dec 1975
Das Kosmiche Duel. Germany: Bastei Verlag, 1976; as The Galactiad, New York,  DAW, Jul 1983.

Galaxy of the Lost (New York, DAW Books, Sep 1973)
Mews 0452-00003-3, Apr 1976, 110pp, 40p. Cover by Tim White
Free Acting Terran Envoy  F.A.T.E.
Captain Kennedy, Earth's trouble shooter carries the Banner of TERRAN against the unknown sciences and alien psychologies of a thousand worlds.
__The crack in the cosmos that has to be sealed.
__FATE is the space hero series that has become a must wherever Science Fiction is read. A solid space adventure more exciting than "Startrek" [sic] and far more real than "Perry Rhodan". Look out for further titles in this exciting series. No. 2 Slave Ship from Sergan.
Slave Ship From Sergan (New York, DAW Books, Oct 1973)
Mews 0452-00010-6, May 1976, 110pp, 40p. Cover by Tim White
Captain Kennedy, Earth's trouble shooter carries the Banner of TERRAN against the unknown sciences and alien psychologies of a thousand worlds.
__A vicious battle of human versus alien life.
__The reptile minds of the planets of Sergan and Obrac have joined in an unholy alliance to defy Terran's orders against interplanetary kidnapping, space hijacking and human slavery. To them the lives of others were as nothing.
__To Captain Kennedy came the order: Life values must be preserved. Stop them.
__Stopping them proved one of the most dangerous and dramatic adventures of his career.
Monster of the Metelaze (New York, DAW Books, Nov 1973)
Mews 0452-00023-8, Nov 1973, 112pp, 40p. Cover by Tim White
What were the unknown scientific marvels on the world of Metalaze? Who was the demagogue who had seized them and was preparing to utilize them against the nations of Terra?
__These are two vital questions which Captain Kennedy, the man called F.A.T.E. – Free Acting Terran Envoy – was to find answers for. He must stop this monster out of time and space but how?
__F.A.T.E. is the most exciting new science fiction series in years – more real than Perry Rhodan and more adventurous than Star Trek.
__Watch out for more titles in this successful series.
Enemy Within the Skull (New York, DAW Books, Jan 1974)
Mews 0452-00027-0, Jul 1976, 110pp, 40p. Cover by Tim White
Alien scientists had learned how to release the ravening beast-instincts buried in the recesses of the human brain from the far distant past.
__Now they were willing to sell their knowledge to the highest bidder in exchange for an alliance against Terra. And they had many willing to bargain with them.
__Captain Kennedy, the top man of the Free Acting Terran Envoys – FATE – was assigned to stop this terrifying menace. But he knew immediately that his greatest danger lay within himself – and that by challenging the alien scientists he could turn himself and his friends into beasts beyond imagining!
Jewel of Jarhen (New York, DAW Books, Feb 1974)
Mews 0452-00038-6, Sep 1976, 111pp, 45p. Cover by Tim White
Captain Kennedy lay between life and death after his mind had been hurled a million years into the past.
__To break the spell of teh Jewel of Jarhen which held the Captain in its thrall, three members of FATE had to pit all their formidable skills against a terrible enemy.
__The danger to Captain Kennedy's life was matched by the peril to an entire world. It was an inexorable race against time for the FATE team as they tried to break the mystery of the pre-galactic artifact on which all the horror hinged.
Seetee Alert! (New York, DAW Books, Mar 1974)
Mews 0452-00050-5, Oct 1976, 111pp, 50p. Cover by Tim White
Seetee is the most dangerous substance in the universe – bring it into contact with the most stable of normal material and it explodes with enormous energy and destruction.
__When Captain Kennedy and his crew, the top men of F.A.T.E. – Free Acting Terran Envoys – accidentally brush against some Seetee they not only thank their lucky stars for their escape, but realise it signals an emergency of the highest order.
__Because such a swarm as they have encountered could cause the destruction of an entire solar system. And they have reason to believe it is directed at our Sun – including particularly the Earth!

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