Swordships of Scorpio

Swordships of Scorpio

Cover of first edition
Author	Kenneth Bulmer
Cover artist	Tim Kirk
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Dray Prescot series
Genre	Sword and planet
Publisher	DAW Books
Publication date	1973
Media type	Print (Paperback)
ISBN
Preceded by	Warrior of Scorpio
Followed by	Prince of Scorpio

Swordships of Scorpio is a science fiction novel written by Kenneth Bulmer under the pseudonym of Alan Burt Akers, and is volume four in his extensive Dray Prescot series of sword and planet novels, set on the fictional world of Kregen, a planet of the Antares star system in the constellation of Scorpio. It was first published by DAW Books in 1973.

The Dray Prescot series is made of several cycles of novels, each cycle essentially forming a series within the series. In addition to being the fourth volume in the series as a whole, Swordships of Scorpio is also the fourth volume in the Delian Cycle and, like the second and third volume, is set on the fictional continent of Turismond but also introduces the island of Pandahem for the first time.

The 52 completed novels of the Dray Prescot series were written by Bulmer between 1972 and 1997, when a stroke stopped his writing, also the later Dray Prescot books, after 1988, were originally only published in German. The series is in the spirit of Edgar Rice Burroughs John Carter of Mars series.

The stories follows on directly from Warrior of Scorpio with Dray Prescot being abandoned through treachery in the hostile territories of Turismond. He travels on foot and manages to rescue a young local girl from the hands of a savage tribe. He successfully crosses the Owlarh Wate and eventually reaches the Klackadrin, a natural barrier between the hostile territories and the coastal lands. The Klackadrin is a barrier of poisonous gases and Prescot is taken prisoner by the Phokaym, a lizard-like race, when he tries to cross. He is prepared to be sacrificed in a pit of lizard predators. At this stage the story stops with the explanation that the tapes Dray Prescot recorded in Africa finish here.

The story resumes, now with new tapes sent from South America. Prescot has reached the east coast of Turismond and is recovering in the city of Pa Mejab, a colony of the Tomboram, a nation of the island of Pandahem, a fierce rival of Vallia. Prescot is initially quite weak from his journey through the Klackadrin but recovers and joins a trade caravan as a guard. The caravan is warned by an injured man, Inch of Ng'groga, of an impending attack. Like Seg Segutorio in Warrior of Scorpio, Inch of Ng'groga would become one of Prescots lifelong friends. Like Segutorio, Inch hailed from the continent of Loh, from the southeastern part of it in his case. Prescot and the other guards fought off the attack on the caravan successfully, reached the trading outpost of Pa Weinob and eventually returned to Pa Mejab.