Lit by the ruby and emerald fires of Antares, the planet Kregen, four hundred light years away from Earth, is a world harsh yet beautiful, terrible yet alluring. There any man or woman may achieve what the heart desires if they plan and struggle and keep faith with their innate purpose. Kregen has its share of weaklings and the faint of heart, but their names are not writ large in the footnotes to the sagas to be found under the Suns of Scorpio. Dray Prescot has adventured widely over Kregen both at the behest of the Star Lords and to further his own vision. Now he is in the subcontinent of Balintol, where strangeness unlike any that he has previously encountered awaits him... Gangs of Antares is the forty-fifth book in the epic fifty-two book saga of Dray Prescot of Earth and of Kregen by Kenneth Bulmer, writing as Alan Burt Akers. The series continues with Demons of Antares.

Fame and fortune may await the winners of the life and death game called Jikaida, but for Dray Prescot his triumphs seemed only to bring infamy and misfortune. An Earthman transposed to the distant world that circles the twin suns of Antares, Prescot had to find a way out of his Jikaida City exile - for his homeland needed him in its hour of danger. But it seemed that fate now would place him in an even more terrifying game - a treasure hunt played out in the illusion webbed catacombs of a haunted valley where desperate men came to find fortunes at the risk of their followers lives and their own sanity.

Four hundred light years from Earth, Kregen is a marvelous world, peopled by wonderful beings, filled with the light and clamor and furor of life lived to the hilt. But Kregen has its darker side, where horror and terror bind innocent people, where sorceries rend reason, where injustice denies light. Down in the island of Pandahem, Prescot and his comrades, having burned a temple or two, must now press on and open a fresh campaign against the Silver Wonder. Of course, life is not as simple as that, particularly on the horrific and fascinating world of Kregen where, under the mingled streaming radiance of the Suns of Scorpio, the unexpected is always to be expected. Talons of Scorpio: Finishing the job of destroying the hideous cult of the Leem is just one of the problems confronting Dray Prescot. For he must also rally all the world's forces to combat the onslaught that is on its way from the unexplored Southern Hemisphere. While rescuing kidnapped children from the altars of sacrifice, Dray finds himself fighting side by side with his own worst enemy, his renegade daughter, Ros the Claw, who has pledged his death. Masks of Scorpio: The task of burning out the cult of the Silver Leem had been given Star Lords priority. Although Dray Prescot was emperor of Vallia, still he has to work incognito on an enemy island until that task is done. 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! Seg the Bowman: Dray Prescot's fighting comrade, Seg, is the finest archer in 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. On an enemy island, Seg becomes knight-protector of the mysterious lady Milsi, and by her side he beats off frightful beasts and inhuman foemen intent on blocking her path to a rightful royal inheritance. This edition includes a glossary of the Pandahem cycle and the short story “Green Shadows”

On the magnificent and mysterious, beautiful and terrible world of Kregen, a planet orbiting Antares four-hundred light-years from Earth, much may be achieved and much lost. Far more than merely a strong sword arm is required for victory. Far more than a cunning and devious brain is needed to secure success. Having won his princess, Delia of Delphond, Delia of the Blue Mountains, and having become the Emperor of Vallia with Delia at his side as Empress, Dray Prescot has renounced the crown and throne. Any thoughts of a quiet life are foolish, as he well knows. Among the many problems besetting him, the most important are uniting the lands of Paz and beating off the viciously hostile raiders from over the curve of the sea, the feared and hated Shanks. Scorpio Ablaze:Under the twin sun, Antares, the planet Kregen is a world of wonder and terror, of beauty and horror. Now, in the streaming mingled lights of the Suns of Scorpio, Prescot, slave of the Shanks, takes up the Krozair brand to attempt to save his friends who are about to be killed by the vicious Shank lord. Next he must rally the coalition of forces from Vallia, Hamel and Tsungfaril to expel the Shanks from Tarankar. But things rarely go according to plan on Kregen... Scorpio Drums:The forces of Paz have driven off the Shanks and the mysterious Carazaar from the city of Taranjin. People are beginning to call Dray Prescot the Emperor of Emperors, the Emperor of Paz. As he enters the city to assist in the rout of the Shanks and their slaving allies, the whiptailed Katakis, to his horror he sees Delia being carried off by a group of the slavers, galloping off astride zorcas. Frenziedly he charges after them... Scorpio Triumph:Many expeditions have ventured below the City of Eternal Twilight into the Realm of the Drums in search of one of the rubies of the Skantiklar. A Wizard of Loh, Na-Si-Fantong, is collecting the rubies, and it is believed he wants them for no good purpose. He has succeeded in obtaining a ruby and vanishes into the maze of tunnels under the city. Not really convinced of the importance of the Skantiklar, Prescot has to go in pursuit. Alone, he threads his way through the labyrinth, already feeling he will never catch Na-Si-Fantong... This edition includes a glossary to the Lohvian cycle.

Four hundred light years from Earth, Kregen is a marvelous world, peopled by wonderful beings, filled with light and clamor and furor of life lived to the hilt. But Kregen has its darker side, where horror and terror bind innocent people, where sorceries rend reason, where injustice denies light. The Spikatur Cycle brings Prescot closer to the realization of many of his dreams. He is determined to do what he feels is laid upon him; but he finds it is not so easy, particularly when the Empress Delia and his comrades are determined to keep him out of trouble. But, he is Dray Prescot, Lord of Strombor and Krozair of Zy, and that canny old leem hunter will not be prevented from buckling up the brave old scarlet breechclout and hurtling off beneath the Moons of Kregen into fresh headlong adventure with a sword in his fist... The marvelous adventures of Dray Prescot on Kregen, the world of wonders that orbits the twin suns of Antares in Scorpio, have become a science fiction saga to rival and perhaps surpass the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs and others of the heroic fantasy band. Beasts of Antares:Dray Prescot, lone Earthman, once a pawn of cosmic powers, rallies the warriors of Vallia for a final stand against the foes that encircle them. Then, in an act of true Prescot bravado, undertakes single handed to rescue three old friends from slavery in a distant land. The beasts of Antares are many and terrifying, but Prescot does not belong to the faint hearted and he will need every ounce of courage this time! Rebel of Antares:At last Prescot has come in sight of his goal to overthrow the slavers and their evil empires, that he shares with the Star Lords. On the island kingdom of Hyrklana his course now seems clear: overthrow its decadent queen, lead a rebellion against the cruel Arena, and free the princess who is its rightful ruler. It is a hard task, but for Dray Prescot, against whom sorcerers and swordsmen have contended, it is the only course he could follow. Legions of Antares:For too long the iron legions of the evil empress of Hamal have devastated the neighboring lands and islands of Kregen. Dray Prescot has battled Empress Thyliss all the way, and at long last finds himself nearing the end of his long campaign. Gathering about himself old allies and former enemies, Dray prepares to challenge the empress at the very doors of her capital city, until he discovers that she is about to spring her secret weapon: the super-science of the mad wizard of Loh. Allies of Antares:Dray Prescot has made himself into a rallying point of strength on Kregen. Now, after the worst war between the humanoid lands has finally concluded, Prescot again confronts the Star Lords, only to learn that the hard won peace is just a transition to a great hemispheric invasion that was even then raiding over the horizon. This book contains a glossary of the Spikatur cycle.

Four hundred light years from Earth, Kregen is a marvelous world, peopled by wonderful beings, filled with the light and clamor and furor of life lived to the hilt. But Kregen has its darker side, where horror and terror bind innocent people, where sorceries rend reason, where injustice denies light. Called to be the Emperor of Vallia, Dray Prescot, 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... Mazes of Scorpio: 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. An old conspiracy has been given a new and darker impetus which leads him to the jungle continent of Pandahem. 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! Delia of Vallia: On Kregen 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. Delia of Vallia, leader of the mystic guild The Sisters of the Rose, is on a mission to bring justice to one who has betrayed her blood oath and her empress. A novel of intrigue, combat, and vengeance that will bring Delia face to face with the traitress Jilian in the hidden arena of the whip and the claw. Fires of Scorpio: Triple trouble always follows Dray Prescot, especially when he thinks he has things under control. This time, while 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. Rescuing a girl sacrifice is only the start, for next he has 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. This edition includes the short story “Lallia the Slave Girl”.

On the magnificent and mysterious, beautiful and terrible world of Kregen, a planet orbiting Antares four-hundred light-years from Earth, much may be achieved and much lost. Far more than merely a strong sword arm is required for victory. Far more than a cunning and devious brain is needed to secure success. Having won his princess, Delia of Delphond, Delia of the Blue Mountains, and having become the Emperor of Vallia with Delia at his side as Empress, Dray Prescot has renounced the crown and throne. Any thoughts of a quiet life are foolish, as he well knows. Among the many problems besetting him, the most important are uniting the lands of Paz and beating off the viciously hostile raiders from over the curve of the sea, the feared and hated Shanks. Scorpio Reborn:Sent by the Star Lords to save a life from a fire, Dray Prescot finds himself utterly helpless in a strange land. Confused and unable to move, he is cared for by Mevancy, a woman with a strange and wonderful secret. But why have the Star Lords left him there? Who is he expected to protect, and how is he supposed to do it? Flying a kite one moment, battling through an inferno the next, Prescot is flung headlong into fresh adventures under the mingled streaming lights of the Suns of Scorpio. Scorpio Assassin:The Star Lords require that a high spirited lady called Kirsty be queen, and have ordered Leone killed so that she cannot return through reincarnation. With the aid of the kregoinya Mevancy nal Chardaz and of the kregoinye Caspar the Peaker, and with the assistance of Trylon Kuong and of Llodi the Voice, Prescot decides to risk all to defy the all-powerful Star Lords... Scorpio Invasion:Dray Prescot must answer to the Star Lords for his disobedience. But the Star Lords argue over him and Dray is dropped accidentally in a walled garden. He is lost. Even the Star Lords don't know where he is. He knows he is on the splendid if horrific planet of Kregen, and in the continent of Loh, but nothing is familiar. He must find his way back to Makilorn, and from there to Tarankar to train an army to repel the Shanks...

The first five books in the Saga of Dray Prescot of Earth and of Kregen are brought together in this omnibus edition. Together, they make up the Delian Cycle, in which Dray Prescot comes to terms with the alien world of Kregen. Here he tries to make sense of his situation: the Star Lords, the Savanti, the marvelous places, strange beasts and stranger people. And here he pursues his greatest love of two worlds, Delia of the Blue Mountains. Dray Prescot's saga has been aclaimed as the best planetary adventure series since Burroughs stopped writing about Barsoom. Transit to Scorpio On the planet Kregen that circles Antares, the brightest star of the Constellation of the Scorpion, two forces contend for the world's destiny. One of them, the Savanti, called in a human pawn from far-away Earth. His name is Dray Prescot, and only the Savanti know his role. But it soon turns out that Dray Prescot himself has to make a decision that will change him from a mere pawn to a bolder piece on the planetary chessboard... The Suns of Scorpio Slave of the colossus builders or scourge of the Inland Sea? Both roles await Dray Prescot on his return to Kregen. Torn between two contending forces, the Star Lords and the Savanti, Prescot himself wants only to find his beloved Delia of the Blue Mountains. But the powers that had drawn him across interstellar space to the world that orbit the red and green suns have set him a task, the nature of which even he cannot fully comprehend... Warrior of Scorpio Dray Prescot finds himself torn from the battles of the Inner Sea for a mission in the air. For it is now his mission to carry his beloved Delia by airboat to that far kingdom, Vallia, from whence she had come. But the route lies across the gaunt mountains and the shadowy jungles of the Hostile Territories, and there Dray will be plunged among stranger peoples and more fantastic challenges than even his Kregen princess has known. Swordships of Scorpio What does a man do when fate makes him the protector of the royal head of the land of his enemies? If he is Dray Prescot he sets aside his quest to reach Vallia and his princess Delia and help her claim her throne. But his duty is to defend Vallia's ancient foe and place its rightful heir on its throne. So when the pirate fleets known as the swordships come between the two contending demands, Dray sees that only by following his own personal star could the contradiction be resolved. Prince of Scorpio Dray Prescot has fought long and hard through perilous lands to claim the hand of the heiress to the mighty Vallia. Yet, when finally he sets foot in that long-sought empire, it is not as hero or noble. It is as an unknown, a mendicant, and finally as a condemned slave... This edition contains a map and glossary. planetary adventure, sword and planet, bulmer, adventure, series, kregen, krozair, dray prescot, sword, wizard, savanti, scorpio, antares, burroughs, gor, barsoom, sf, fantasy, science fiction, delia, pandahem, seg, kenneth bulmer, sword and sorcery, swordsman, swordfighting, alan burt akers

If you are prepared to hurl yourself into adventure, to face peril with a brave heart, to risk all, then the marvelous world of Kregen offers you everything you have ever dreamed. For Dray Prescot the challenges are enormous. His task is to unite the sub-continent of Balintol against the Shanks, but the megalomaniac striving for power of various factions looks set to send Balintol up in flames. Scourge of Antares Prescot has uncovered some of the details of a plot by the cultists of the religion of Dokerty to turn ordinary men and women into receptacles for demons, who then destroy wantonly until the frail human body can no longer support the intolerable demonic forces. Now he has escaped from the Dokerty temple with a mysterious young woman, Veda. They are fleeing for their lives as the Suns of Scorpio descend into night... Challenge of Antares Born in 1775, Dray Prescot joined the Royal Navy as a boy when his father died from the sting of a scorpion, and his mother followed soon after. Life in Nelson's Navy, harsh, intolerant, formed and molded him. He has been consistently passed over for promotion, even though he has fought his way from the lower deck through the hawsehole to the quarterdeck. He considers himself a failure. Just recently he has been experiencing unsettling dreams... Wrath of Antares The rulers of the countries of Balintol, and the people trying to usurp them, appear to care only for their own ambitions. Having saved the Illusionist of Winlan and preserved the Wall that retains the demon monsters created by Khon the Mak's Dokerty priests, Prescot now realizes to his profound horror that the phantom of his wife Delia he saw buried by falling rock was no apparition... Includes a glossary of the entire Balintol cycle.

Four hundred light years from Earth, Kregen is a marvelous world, peopled by wonderful beings, filled with light and clamor and furor of life lived to the hilt. But Kregen has its darker side, where horror and terror batten on innocent people, where sorceries rend reason, where injustice denies light. Dray Prescot's happiness with Delia, the Princess Majestrix of Vallia, is threatened as the notorious Wizard of Loh, Phu-si-Yantong, seeks to destroy Delia's father, the emperor, and take control of the empire of Vallia. And Prescot is determined to seek the whereabouts of his daughters, alienated from him during a forced absence on Earth. But the brilliant world of Kregen under Antares will always challenge Prescot with new problems and adventures. Dray Prescot knows only too well that he must continue to struggle against himself as well as the malignant fates that pursue him in the mingled streaming lights of the Suns of Scorpio.