WHAT THE %&*# IS PERRY RHODAN?

I'm reprinting my last column for the AMAZING STORIES website here because... because I feel like it, that's why. You got a problem with that?

If you are a fan of science fiction and if, as I do, you have a particular love for space opera, then you probably have come across the name Perry Rhodan.

If you're anything like me then you would have spent many hours scouring paperback aisles or racks looking for science fiction paperbacks. Sometimes in drug stores or supermarkets or maybe in second-hand book stores. Either way you are bound to have come across a paperback edition or two of the Perry Rhodan books. The English editions, anyways.

And if you are like me you would have asked yourself: what is this Perry Rhodan thing? And you probably would have been warned away from it as I was many times.

Perry Rhodan is a weekly German science fiction pulp magazine series that has run uninterrupted since 1961. That translates into over two thousand five hundred issues released so far not counting reprints, books and spinoffs.

Lets let that sink in for a moment. Can you think of a similar North American science fiction hero who has had such a run? The closest I can think of is Doctor Who and his run was certainly not uninterrupted.

Does this not sound like the most successful science fiction series ever? So how come hardly anyone outside of Germany knows about it?

The magazine was originally founded by Karl-Herbert Scheer and Walter Emsting, two German science fiction writers. Initially it was only conceived to run for thirty volumes, which was ambitious enough. Its popularity within Germany allowed it to run well past the original thirty volumes and now it is still being developed and written by an ever-changing team of authors.

So what is Perry Rhodan all about? Well, according to Perry-Rhodan.us:

The series begins with the first manned moon landing (in 1971) led by U.S. Space Force Major Perry Rhodan. However, things do not go as planned and the astronauts discover a stranded alien spaceship from a star system called Arkon and its crew who need medical help. The realization that mankind is not alone in space and access to the aliens' advanced technology lead to the (not entirely trouble-free) political unification of Earth under the eponymous hero-protagonist Rhodan, first expeditions into the cosmic neighborhood, and the eventual founding of first colonies on other planets, all the while trying to keep the more powerful established factions out there (especially the decadent Empire of Arkon, which had dominated local space for twenty millenia) from finding out just where the newcomers hail from.

Over time (over the course of the entire series so far, more than three thousand years pass in-universe), Earth and its colonies evolve into a major power in their own right while other space-faring races lose some of their traditional influence.

Well that all sounds pretty standard space opera, doesn't it? There are elements of Doc Smith's Lensman stories as well as Star Trek. But why has Perry Rhodan lasted for so long, achieved this level of popularity in Germany but not elsewhere in the world? How can a franchise inspire Books, spin-offs, games, music albums (including one by Tangerine Dream's Christopher Franke) and even a movie back in 1966 (although Perry Rhodan fans will tell you that there never was a movie made... EVER! That's how bad it was) and not have been able to break out of its regional popularity the way Doctor Who has? Is it a German thing? Does it not translate outside of the German cultural ouvre?

I guess the question I'm really asking is: Is it any good?

At this point I should come clean and tell you that I have not read any Perry Rhodan. I have several of the English language paperbacks but I have never read them. I have been warned away from the books by fellow science fiction fans, yet, there is an appealing allure about the existence of such a successful franchise that very few people, even the science fiction community, has even heard about.

My question then is the one in the title of this piece: What the %&*# is Perry Rhodan? Who out there knows and can share what it is about this series that has captured your imagination?

Who out there knows just what this Perry Rhodan thing is all about? Who out there knows and can tell me why it has endured? And who has any theories about why it hasn't become a breakout world-wide success like other sf franchises?

LASER BOOKS

Does anyone remember LASER BOOKS?

Laser Books was a line of 58 paperback science fiction (SF) novels published from 1975 to 1977 by Canadian romance powerhouse Harlequin Books (http://www.eharlequin.com/). Laser published three titles per month, available by subscription as well as in stores. The books were limited to 50,000-60,000 words. They were numbered as a series, though each was a standalone novel. All the covers were painted by Hugo Award winning artist Kelly Freas.

Harlequin edited the Laser books to conform to the standards then imposed on the Harlequin Romances. This included prohibition of blasphemous and scatological words and explicit sexual scenes, but not of sexual situations and implied sex. There was also a tendency to edit to correct grammar and exclude slang in exposition but not in dialogue.

When Harlequin closed the Laser line, all rights were reverted to the authors. The Laser line was important to many beginning writers and greatly expanded the market for 50,000 to 60,000 word books. Many Laser books were later published by Pocket, Ace Books, and Tor. Some remain in print.

Back in the 70's these Laser titles showed up pretty much anywhere you could find a paperback rack (remember those?) I remember as a youngster coming across these books with some frequency. They all had gorgeous Frank Kelly Freas covers and they looked exciting. I never picked them up, at the time, though.

I can't remember exactly why because I do remember finding them very exciting books. I imagine it was probably a lack of pocket money that was responsible. My meagre funds were earmarked for purchasing Bantam DOC SAVAGE paperbacks or the James Blish STAR TREK novelizations or any and sundry PLANET OF THE APES books I could get my grubby little hands on.

Looking back I wish I had collected them. They are an interesting footnote in the sf publishing world.

Here is a complete list of all the Laser Books courtesy of the Wikipedia:

0. Seeds of Change by Thomas F. Monteleone, 1975, ISBN 0-88950-900-X

1. Renegades of Time by Raymond F. Jones, 1975, ISBN 0-373-72001-7

2. Herds by Stephen Goldin, 1975, ISBN 0-373-72002-5

3. Crash Landing on Iduna by Arthur Tofte, 1975, ISBN 0-373-72003-3

4. Gates of the Universe by Robert Coulson with Gene DeWeese, 1975, ISBN 0-373-72004-1

5. Walls Within Walls by Arthur Tofte, 1975, ISBN 0-373-72005-X

6. Serving in Time by Gordon Eklund, 1975, ISBN 0-373-72006-8

7. Seeklight by K. W. Jeter, 1975, ISBN 0-373-72007-6

8. Caravan by Stephen Goldin, 1975, ISBN 0-373-72008-4

9. Invasion by Aaron Wolfe (pseudonym of Dean R. Koontz), 1975, ISBN 0-373-72009-2

10. Falling Toward Forever by Gordon Eklund, 1975, ISBN 0-373-72010-6

11. Unto the Last Generation by Juanita Coulson, 1975, ISBN 0-373-72011-4

12. The King of Eolim by Raymond F. Jones, 1975, ISBN 0-373-72012-2

13. Blake's Progress by R. F. Nelson, 1975, ISBN 0-373-72013-0

14. Birthright by Kathleen Sky, 1975, ISBN 0-373-72014-9

15. The Star Web by George Zebrowski, 1975, ISBN 0-373-72015-7

16. Kane's Odyssey by Jeff Clinton, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72016-5

17. The Black Roads by J. L. Hensley, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72017-3

18. Legacy by J. F. Bone, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72018-1

19. The Unknown Shore by Donald Malcolm, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72019-X

20. Space Trap by Juanita Coulson, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72020-3

21. A Law for the Stars by John Morressy, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72021-1

22. Keeper by Joan Hunter Holly, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72022-X

23. Birth of Fire by Jerry Pournelle, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72023-8

24. Ruler of the World by J. T. McIntosh, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72024-6

25. Scavenger Hunt by Stephen Goldin, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72025-4

26. To Renew the Ages by Robert Coulson, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72026-2

27. The Horde by Joseph Green, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72027-0

28. The Skies Discrowned by Timothy Powers, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72028-9

29. The Iron Rain by Donald Malcolm, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72029-7

30. The Seeker by David Bischoff with Christopher Lampton, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72030-0

31. Galactic Invaders by James R. Berry, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72031-9

32. Then Beggars Could Ride by R. F. Nelson, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72032-7

33. The Dreamfields by K. W. Jeter, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72033-5

34. Seas of Ernathe by Jeffrey Carver, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72034-3

35. I, Aleppo by Jerry Sohl, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72035-1

36. Jeremy Case by Gene DeWeese, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72036-X

37. The Meddlers by J. F. Bone, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72037-8

38. Ice Prison by Kathleen Sky, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72038-6

39. Brandyjack by Augustine Funnell, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72039-4

40. Master of the Stars by Robert Hoskins, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72040-8

41. Future Sanctuary by Lee Harding, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72041-6

42. Cross of Empire by Christopher Lampton, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72042-4

43. Spawn by Donald Glut, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72043-2

44. But What Of Earth? by Piers Anthony and Robert Coulson, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72044-0

45. Finish Line by Stephen Goldin, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72045-9

46. Dance of the Apocalypse by Gordon Eklund, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72046-7

47. Epitaph in Rust by Timothy Powers, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72047-5

48. Rebels of Merka by Augustine Funnell, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72048-3

49. Tiger in the Stars by Zach Hughes, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72049-1

50. West of Honor by Jerry Pournelle, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72050-5

51. Mindwipe! by Steve Hahn, 1976, ISBN 0-373-72051-3

52. The Extraterritorial by John Morressy, 1977, ISBN 0-373-72052-1

53. The Ecolog by R. Faraday Nelson, 1977, ISBN 0-373-72053-X

54. The River and the Dream by Raymond F. Jones, 1977, ISBN 0-373-72054-8

55. Shepherd by Joan Hunter Holly, 1977, ISBN 0-373-72055-6

56. Gift of the Manti by J. F. Bone and Roy Myers, 1977, ISBN 0-373-72056-4

57. Shadow on the Stars by Robert B. Marcus Jr., 1977, ISBN 0-373-72057-2

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio