Perry Rhodan
Encyclopedia
Perry Rhodan is the name of a science fiction
series published since 1961 in Germany
, as well as the name of the main character. It is a space opera
, dealing with several themes
of science fiction
. Having sold over one billion copies (in pulp booklet
format) worldwide, it is the most successful science fiction book series ever written. The series and its spin-offs have captured a substantial fraction of the original German science fiction output and exert influence on many German writers in the field. The series is told in an arc storyline
structure. An arc—called a "cycle"—would have anywhere from 25 to 100 issues devoted to it, similar subsequent cycles are referred to as a "grand-cycle".
-size installments in the traditional German Heftroman (pulp booklet
) format. The series was created in 1961 by K. H. Scheer
and Clark Darlton. Initially conceived for thirty volumes, it endured and passed 2600 installments in June 2011. There have been several reissues (five printings and a sixth ebook version), and a revised, edited version in hardcover format. Significant spin-offs include the Atlan series and the Planetenromane ("Planet Novels") paperback
s that provide additional playgrounds for stories set in the Perry Rhodan universe, often used to fill in the gaps between the 'cycles' of stories.
Over the decades there have also been comic strip
s, numerous collectibles, several encyclopedias, audio plays, inspired music, etc. The series has seen partial translations into several languages. It also spawned the movie Mission Stardust
(1967), which is considered so appallingly bad that fans of the series playfully deny its very existence.
Coinciding with the 50th anniversary World Con, on September 30th 2011 a new series named Perry Rhodan Neo began publication gaining to attract new readers with a reboot of the story starting in the year 2036.
by U.S. Space Force Major Perry Rhodan and his crew, who discover a marooned extraterrestrial space ship. Appropriating the alien technology, they proceed to unify Terra
and carve out a place for humanity in the galaxy and the cosmos. (The concepts for two of the technical accomplishments that enable them to do so—positronic brains and starship drives for near-instantaneous hyperspatial translation—are direct adoptions from Isaac Asimov
's science fiction universe.)
As the series progresses major characters, including the title character, are granted relative immortality
. It is Relative in the sense that they are immune to age and disease, but could suffer a violent death. The story continues over the course of millennia, including flashbacks thousands and even millions of years into the past, and the scope widens to encompass other galaxies, extremely remote parts of space, parallel universe
s and weirder cosmic structures, time travel, paranormal powers, weird/cute/aggressive aliens, bodyless entities (some with sheer god-like powers).
and Dark Energy
are currently not used in the series, and sometimes the laws of nature follow old theories that have been disproven—to protect the plot.
This Einstein-universe is only one in a large ensemble of universes, which are different to various degrees (for example a universe in which time ran slower, an anti-matter universe, a shrinking universe). Additionally, each universe possesses a large ensemble of parallel timelines, which are usually unreachable from each other.
The Einstein-Universe is embedded in a high-dimensional manifold, called hyperspace. This hyperspace consists of several subspaces, that are used by different technologies for faster-than-light travel. The exact traits of those higher dimensions are not thoroughly explained. The border of the universe is a dimension called the deep (once used for construction of the gigantic discworld "deepland").
The Moralic Code crosses through all universes, and is linked to the Psionic Web. It is subdivided into the Cosmogenes, which are again subdivided into the Cosmonucleotids. (These names and associations to DNA were given by the cosmocrats, and should not be misunderstood as having an absolute ethical meaning.) The Cosmonucleotids determine reality and fate themselves for their respective parts of a given universe, via messengers.
Higher beings are trying to gain control of this possibility to rule reality itself. The Moralic Code itself was not installed by the higher beings, the higher powers by themselves have no clue why or by whom the Code was made.
Once the cosmocrats ordered Perry Rhodan to find the answers to the three ultimate questions; apparently they have known the answer to the first and second question but not to the third, which reads "Who initiated the LAW and what does it cause?".
Perry Rhodan had the chance to receive the answer at the mountain of creation, but he refused, knowing that the answer would destroy his mind.
It is known that the negative Superintelligence Koltoroc had received the answer to the last ultimate question, 69 Million years BC at the negan mountain, but it is not known if it made any use of that knowledge.
The main shells are:
The superintelligences are the next step above normal minds. They are born, for example, when a species collectively gives up its bodies and unites their spirits. Those superintelligences claim a domain as theirs, consisting of up to several galaxies ( the entity known as "IT" has the Local Group
as personal domain ). The superintelligence nourishes mentally on the species in its domain, sometimes symbiotically (positive SI), sometimes parasitically (negative SI). Again, these attributes should not be treated as ethical description, although negative superintelligences are in general described as being more sinister.
The matter-fountains/matter-sinks are born, when a superintelligence fuses with all life and matter in its domain while shrinking. Little more is known, except that the process is gradual and that the resulting object doesn't have the intense gravitational pull it would have if the contraction produced a black hole.
The "high powers" are the highest known life-forms. They live in an unimaginable, distant dimension and have great powers in ruling over lower beings. However they are not omniscient and they are unable to directly interact with lower beings. To enter a regular universe, they have to put on a mortal shape, reducing their powers and sometimes their knowledge/memory. This is known as the transform-syndrome. Due to this, they interact with lower beings rarely and instead enlist individuals, organisations or entire species.
galaxy was victim of a full-fledged military assault by the forces of chaos trying to establish a bastion of chaos, a negasphere, in the nearby galaxy Hangay.
Recently it was revealed to the protagonists that life itself has become a rival to the higher powers. It has spread uncontrollably among the universe and can be found in virtually every niche. The cosmocrats and chaotarchs both use life for its tendencies to create order and chaos alike. Its unplanned and unregulated cosmological actions and manipulations are a constant disturbance for the plans of the cosmocrats and the chaotarchs alike. The pangalactic statisticians (a neutral organization of observers) have stated that 21% of all cosmological manipulations are executed by cosmocrat-servants, 16% are executed by chaos-servants and 63% are executed by the vast uncontrollable life itself.
To reduce the influence of life, the cosmocrats have stopped their programs that encourage the development of life and intelligence. Additionally, they have increased the hyper-impedance, drastically reducing the effectivity and durability of most forms of hyper-technology.
organized the publication in the U.S. of an English translation of the series, with his wife Wendayne ("Wendy") doing most of the translation. Other translators on the series included Sig Wahrmann, Stuart J. Byrne, and Dwight Decker. Number 1, containing German issues 1 and 2, was published by Ace Books
starting in 1969. The series was a commercial success, eventually being published three times per month. Forrest also incorporated elements from the SF pulp magazines, such as short stories, serialized novels and a film review section.
Ace ended their run of Perry Rhodan—double issue #117/118 was their last of the regular series—by publishing three "lost" episodes that had been skipped for not having enough action. They also published five of the Atlan "side series" stories (Atlan is a major character in the Rhodanverse) and one story from the 415-volume Planetenromane spin-off.
The Ackermans created Master Publications and released #119 through #137 before having to cease their subscription-only edition of the series. That was the end of an English version until the 1990s, when John Foyt founded Vector Enterprises and restarted an American version. It would be published in magazine format, against the advice of some of his employees, instead of book format. This version only lasted for four printed issues and one electronic issue—#1800 to #1804.
The German publishers, Pabel-Moewig Verlag (VPM), recently licensed FanPro to publish a translation of their recent Lemuria mini-series in the summer of 2006. , the first volume of the Lemuria story is available for purchase from Amazon.com
and the second can be reserved. FanPro's American site has only recently released information on the novels and has yet to provide book artwork to Amazon.com for the second volume of Lemuria (however, the first volume has the same artwork as the German original). Some additional material present in the German version, such as a history of generation spaceships in SF history, were dropped from the American version.
FanPro seems to have recently shut down its American operations and website. The six books are still being translated and provided to the German publishers.
Rhodan was so popular in the Spanish-speaking world that the Flash Gordon
comic strip was called "Roldán el Temerario" (Rhodan the Fearless) in a somewhat misleading attempt to identify Flash with Perry.
The first language to which PR was translated was Hebrew. In 1965, the first four episodes appeared in Tel-Aviv in a pirated translation, and which for unknown reasons ceased before publication of the fifth (it was not because it was detected by the German publishers, who only heard about it many years later). The few surviving copies of this 1965 translation are highly valued by Israeli collectors.
Copies of the Ace books and the rarer magazine versions can be found in online auction
sites such as eBay
and fixed-price online store
s like Amazon.com
. Used bookstores often have some of the Ace books, but rarely the magazine versions.
Dutch ESA astronaut André Kuipers
was inspired to become an astronaut from an early age by the Perry Rhodan albums his grandmother bought for him (and that he eventually started buying himself from his allowance). When he finally launched into space on April 18, 2004, he brought his very first booklet along with him. It was number ten in the red series, Ruimteoorlog in de Wegasector ("Space War in the Vega Sector" or "Raumschlacht im Wega-Sektor").
, former member of German electronica
group Tangerine Dream
and soundtrack composer for U.S. science-fiction TV series Babylon 5
, released Perry Rhodan Pax Terra in 1996, composed of music inspired by the Perry Rhodan epic.
The German group The Psychedelic Avengers claim to be inspired by Perry Rhodan on their 2004 release And the Curse of the Universe. The group Sensus released a song Perry Rhodan ... More Than A Million Lightyears From Home in 1986 (and presented it at the Worldcon in Saarbrücken
).
, an annual science fiction convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, adopted as its mascot Perry Rhodent, a rat wearing only one shoe (or boot). Perry's image is reinvented each year for the convention's program and t-shirts, often by the convention's Artist Guest of Honor.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series published since 1961 in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, as well as the name of the main character. It is a space opera
Space opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in outer space, generally involving conflict between opponents possessing advanced technologies and abilities. The term has no relation to music and it is analogous to "soap...
, dealing with several themes
Science fiction themes
-Overarching themes:*Cosmology*Creation of the Universe*The future *History **Alternate history **Historical cycles: history repeating itself **Scientific prediction of the future **Secret history*Language...
of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
. Having sold over one billion copies (in pulp booklet
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
format) worldwide, it is the most successful science fiction book series ever written. The series and its spin-offs have captured a substantial fraction of the original German science fiction output and exert influence on many German writers in the field. The series is told in an arc storyline
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
structure. An arc—called a "cycle"—would have anywhere from 25 to 100 issues devoted to it, similar subsequent cycles are referred to as a "grand-cycle".
History
Written by an ever-changing team of authors, Perry Rhodan is issued in weekly novellaNovella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
-size installments in the traditional German Heftroman (pulp booklet
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
) format. The series was created in 1961 by K. H. Scheer
K. H. Scheer
Karl-Herbert Scheer was a German science fiction writer who wrote under the pen name K. H. Scheer.He created the long-running science fiction series "ZBV"....
and Clark Darlton. Initially conceived for thirty volumes, it endured and passed 2600 installments in June 2011. There have been several reissues (five printings and a sixth ebook version), and a revised, edited version in hardcover format. Significant spin-offs include the Atlan series and the Planetenromane ("Planet Novels") paperback
Paperback
Paperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
s that provide additional playgrounds for stories set in the Perry Rhodan universe, often used to fill in the gaps between the 'cycles' of stories.
Over the decades there have also been comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
s, numerous collectibles, several encyclopedias, audio plays, inspired music, etc. The series has seen partial translations into several languages. It also spawned the movie Mission Stardust
Mission Stardust
Mission Stardust is a 1967 Italian science fiction film.. It was based on the Perry Rhodan universe, and is considered so appallingly bad that fans of the series playfully deny its very existence.-Plot:...
(1967), which is considered so appallingly bad that fans of the series playfully deny its very existence.
Coinciding with the 50th anniversary World Con, on September 30th 2011 a new series named Perry Rhodan Neo began publication gaining to attract new readers with a reboot of the story starting in the year 2036.
Plot
The story line starts in 1971 with the first manned moon landingMoon landing
A moon landing is the arrival of a spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. This includes both manned and unmanned missions. The first human-made object to reach the surface of the Moon was the Soviet Union's Luna 2 mission on 13 September 1959. The United States's Apollo 11 was the first manned...
by U.S. Space Force Major Perry Rhodan and his crew, who discover a marooned extraterrestrial space ship. Appropriating the alien technology, they proceed to unify Terra
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
and carve out a place for humanity in the galaxy and the cosmos. (The concepts for two of the technical accomplishments that enable them to do so—positronic brains and starship drives for near-instantaneous hyperspatial translation—are direct adoptions from Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
's science fiction universe.)
As the series progresses major characters, including the title character, are granted relative immortality
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
. It is Relative in the sense that they are immune to age and disease, but could suffer a violent death. The story continues over the course of millennia, including flashbacks thousands and even millions of years into the past, and the scope widens to encompass other galaxies, extremely remote parts of space, parallel universe
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
s and weirder cosmic structures, time travel, paranormal powers, weird/cute/aggressive aliens, bodyless entities (some with sheer god-like powers).
Cosmology
The series employs physical theories as they are currently known, making it more logical and realistic than several other SF-series. For example, special relativity and its effects are regularly mentioned. (Same goes for geology, biology...) Further "hyperphysical" theories are added to explain the SF-plot. However, they are not contrary, as the authors sometimes use real and fictional physics in unison to explain something.Universe and multiverse
The universe in which the plot regularly takes place is named Einstein-universe (occasionally "Meekorah"). Its laws are mostly identical to those of our real universe. Newer theories about Dark MatterDark matter
In astronomy and cosmology, dark matter is matter that neither emits nor scatters light or other electromagnetic radiation, and so cannot be directly detected via optical or radio astronomy...
and Dark Energy
Dark energy
In physical cosmology, astronomy and celestial mechanics, dark energy is a hypothetical form of energy that permeates all of space and tends to accelerate the expansion of the universe. Dark energy is the most accepted theory to explain recent observations that the universe appears to be expanding...
are currently not used in the series, and sometimes the laws of nature follow old theories that have been disproven—to protect the plot.
This Einstein-universe is only one in a large ensemble of universes, which are different to various degrees (for example a universe in which time ran slower, an anti-matter universe, a shrinking universe). Additionally, each universe possesses a large ensemble of parallel timelines, which are usually unreachable from each other.
The Einstein-Universe is embedded in a high-dimensional manifold, called hyperspace. This hyperspace consists of several subspaces, that are used by different technologies for faster-than-light travel. The exact traits of those higher dimensions are not thoroughly explained. The border of the universe is a dimension called the deep (once used for construction of the gigantic discworld "deepland").
Psionic Web and Moralic Code
The Psionic Web crosses invisibly through the whole universe, constantly emitting "vital energy" and "psionic energy", guaranteeing normal (organic among others) life and the well-being of higher entities.The Moralic Code crosses through all universes, and is linked to the Psionic Web. It is subdivided into the Cosmogenes, which are again subdivided into the Cosmonucleotids. (These names and associations to DNA were given by the cosmocrats, and should not be misunderstood as having an absolute ethical meaning.) The Cosmonucleotids determine reality and fate themselves for their respective parts of a given universe, via messengers.
Higher beings are trying to gain control of this possibility to rule reality itself. The Moralic Code itself was not installed by the higher beings, the higher powers by themselves have no clue why or by whom the Code was made.
Once the cosmocrats ordered Perry Rhodan to find the answers to the three ultimate questions; apparently they have known the answer to the first and second question but not to the third, which reads "Who initiated the LAW and what does it cause?".
Perry Rhodan had the chance to receive the answer at the mountain of creation, but he refused, knowing that the answer would destroy his mind.
It is known that the negative Superintelligence Koltoroc had received the answer to the last ultimate question, 69 Million years BC at the negan mountain, but it is not known if it made any use of that knowledge.
The onion-shell-model
To all life, an evolutionary theory called the "onion-shell-model" is employed. It states, that there is a continuous evolution from lower life-forms (bacteria) to higher life-forms like intelligent life and finally bodyless entities. Upon invention, the onion-shell-model was used by the authors as if there are definite and discrete stages in cosmological evolution. However, later in the series further life-forms, representing stages between the known shells, were introduced.The main shells are:
- life-less matter
- bacteria
- higher animals
- intelligent species
- intelligent species, that have contacted other species
- superintelligences (SI)
- matter-fountains/matter-sinks
- cosmocrats/chaotarchs (high powers)
The superintelligences are the next step above normal minds. They are born, for example, when a species collectively gives up its bodies and unites their spirits. Those superintelligences claim a domain as theirs, consisting of up to several galaxies ( the entity known as "IT" has the Local Group
Local Group
The Local Group is the group of galaxies that includes Earth's galaxy, the Milky Way. The group comprises more than 30 galaxies , with its gravitational center located somewhere between the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy...
as personal domain ). The superintelligence nourishes mentally on the species in its domain, sometimes symbiotically (positive SI), sometimes parasitically (negative SI). Again, these attributes should not be treated as ethical description, although negative superintelligences are in general described as being more sinister.
The matter-fountains/matter-sinks are born, when a superintelligence fuses with all life and matter in its domain while shrinking. Little more is known, except that the process is gradual and that the resulting object doesn't have the intense gravitational pull it would have if the contraction produced a black hole.
The "high powers" are the highest known life-forms. They live in an unimaginable, distant dimension and have great powers in ruling over lower beings. However they are not omniscient and they are unable to directly interact with lower beings. To enter a regular universe, they have to put on a mortal shape, reducing their powers and sometimes their knowledge/memory. This is known as the transform-syndrome. Due to this, they interact with lower beings rarely and instead enlist individuals, organisations or entire species.
The conflict between the high powers
Among the high powers are two factions known as the cosmocrats and the chaotarchs. The cosmocrats want to transform all universes into a state of absolute order, while the chaotarchs want to transform all universes into a state of absolute chaos. Accordingly, they are engulfed in a cataclysmic neverending war, stretching among almost all known universes. They are ruthlessly using, manipulating and dooming whole species for their actions. However, open warfare is just one tool among many in their epic conflict. In the previous cycle (2300–2499) the Milky WayMilky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
galaxy was victim of a full-fledged military assault by the forces of chaos trying to establish a bastion of chaos, a negasphere, in the nearby galaxy Hangay.
Recently it was revealed to the protagonists that life itself has become a rival to the higher powers. It has spread uncontrollably among the universe and can be found in virtually every niche. The cosmocrats and chaotarchs both use life for its tendencies to create order and chaos alike. Its unplanned and unregulated cosmological actions and manipulations are a constant disturbance for the plans of the cosmocrats and the chaotarchs alike. The pangalactic statisticians (a neutral organization of observers) have stated that 21% of all cosmological manipulations are executed by cosmocrat-servants, 16% are executed by chaos-servants and 63% are executed by the vast uncontrollable life itself.
To reduce the influence of life, the cosmocrats have stopped their programs that encourage the development of life and intelligence. Additionally, they have increased the hyper-impedance, drastically reducing the effectivity and durability of most forms of hyper-technology.
English translation
In the 1960s, science-fiction fan Forrest J AckermanForrest J Ackerman
Forrest J Ackerman was an American collector of science fiction books and movie memorabilia and a science fiction fan...
organized the publication in the U.S. of an English translation of the series, with his wife Wendayne ("Wendy") doing most of the translation. Other translators on the series included Sig Wahrmann, Stuart J. Byrne, and Dwight Decker. Number 1, containing German issues 1 and 2, was published by Ace Books
Ace Books
Ace Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction and fantasy books. The company was founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns...
starting in 1969. The series was a commercial success, eventually being published three times per month. Forrest also incorporated elements from the SF pulp magazines, such as short stories, serialized novels and a film review section.
Ace ended their run of Perry Rhodan—double issue #117/118 was their last of the regular series—by publishing three "lost" episodes that had been skipped for not having enough action. They also published five of the Atlan "side series" stories (Atlan is a major character in the Rhodanverse) and one story from the 415-volume Planetenromane spin-off.
The Ackermans created Master Publications and released #119 through #137 before having to cease their subscription-only edition of the series. That was the end of an English version until the 1990s, when John Foyt founded Vector Enterprises and restarted an American version. It would be published in magazine format, against the advice of some of his employees, instead of book format. This version only lasted for four printed issues and one electronic issue—#1800 to #1804.
The German publishers, Pabel-Moewig Verlag (VPM), recently licensed FanPro to publish a translation of their recent Lemuria mini-series in the summer of 2006. , the first volume of the Lemuria story is available for purchase from Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
and the second can be reserved. FanPro's American site has only recently released information on the novels and has yet to provide book artwork to Amazon.com for the second volume of Lemuria (however, the first volume has the same artwork as the German original). Some additional material present in the German version, such as a history of generation spaceships in SF history, were dropped from the American version.
FanPro seems to have recently shut down its American operations and website. The six books are still being translated and provided to the German publishers.
In other countries
Translations of Perry Rhodan are currently available in Brazil (#1 to #536 and #650 to #847 as of August 2011), Russia, China, Japan（#1 to #800 (5,2011)） France, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands(#1 to #2000 as of September 2009). Apart from the US version, there were also editions in Canada, Great Britain (#1 to #39), Italy and Finland. However, the latter have been discontinued.Rhodan was so popular in the Spanish-speaking world that the Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were comics such as Dash...
comic strip was called "Roldán el Temerario" (Rhodan the Fearless) in a somewhat misleading attempt to identify Flash with Perry.
The first language to which PR was translated was Hebrew. In 1965, the first four episodes appeared in Tel-Aviv in a pirated translation, and which for unknown reasons ceased before publication of the fifth (it was not because it was detected by the German publishers, who only heard about it many years later). The few surviving copies of this 1965 translation are highly valued by Israeli collectors.
Cycles
The original series is divided into the following cycles and grand cycles:- Note: Only the grandcycles The Great Cosmic Mystery and Thoregon have official names. The other grandcycles weren't planned as such. They were named by the readers in hindsight due to their shared themes.
- Milky WayMilky WayThe Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
- The Third Power (Issues 1 to 49)
- Atlan and Arkon (50 to 99)
- The Posbis (100 to 149)
- The Second Empire (150 to 199)
- Distant GalaxiesGalaxyA galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...
- Masters of the Island (200 to 299)
- M 87 (300 to 399)
- Crumbling Empire
- The Cappins (400 to 499)
- The Swarm (500 to 569)
- The Old Mutants (570 to 599)
- Cosmic Chess Game (600 to 649)
- The Council (650 to 699)
- Superintelligences
- Aphilia (700 to 799)
- BARDIOC (800 to 867)
- PAN-THAU-RA (868 to 899)
- The Cosmic Castles (900 to 999)
- Moral Code
- The Cosmic HansaHanseatic LeagueThe Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
(1000 to 1099) - The Endless Armada (1100 to 1199)
- Chronofossils (1200 to 1299)
- Netrunners(1300 to 1349)
- Tarkan (1350 to 1399)
- Cell Activators
- The Cantaro (1400 to 1499)
- The Linguids (1500 to 1599)
- Grand Cycle The Great Cosmic Mystery
- The Ennox (1600 to 1649)
- The Great Void (1650 to 1699)
- The Ayindi (1700 to 1749)
- The Hamamesh (1750 to 1799)
- Grand Cycle Thoregon
- The Tolkander (1800 to 1875)
- The Heliotic Bulwarks (1876 to 1899)
- The Sixth Messenger (1900 to 1949)
- MATERIA (1950 to 1999)
- The Solar Residence (2000 to 2099)
- Empire of Tradom (2100 to 2199)
- (still unnamed)
- The Star Ocean (2200 to 2299)
- TERRANOVA (2300 to 2399)
- The Negasphere (2400 to 2499)
- The Stardust (2500-2599)
- The Neuroverse (2600-2699); since 17.July 2011
- Milky Way
American publication history
- Ace Books
- #1 to #5—Double issues. Each volume contains two episodes, but edited to be a single novel.
- #6 to #108—Single issues. "Maga-book" format, or the format of a magazine in the style of a book. Letter and film review in #6. Would later include short stories—old and new—and reprints of classic serialized novels such as Edison's Conquest of Mars by Garrett P. Serviss (reprinted as Pursuit to Mars). Of special note is a lost chapter of the H.G. WellsH. G. WellsHerbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
novel The Time Machine that was published in this manner. - #109 to #118—double issues again, but each one set apart.
- Perry Rhodan Specials #1 to #5—Double issues. #1 to #3 are lost episodes published with an Atlan episode. #4 are two Atlan episodes and #5 (unnumbered) is a Planetenroman.
- Master Publications
- #119 to #136—Magazine size and format.
- #137—Book format. To fill out remaining subscription orders, the book format also printed Stuart J. Byrne's Star Man series. #137 was published with the first five episodes of Star Man in one volume. The remaining Star Man episodes were published as a separate volume.
- Vector Enterprises
- #1800 to #1803—Magazine format. #1800 is published in a manner similar to the German series. 1801 to 1803 are large-sized magazine format.
- #1804—Electronic format only.
- FanPro Games (American operation of German company FanPro)
- Lemuria #1 "The Star Ark"
Copies of the Ace books and the rarer magazine versions can be found in online auction
Online auction business model
The online auction business model is one in which participants bid for products and services over the Internet. The functionality of buying and selling in an auction format is made possible through auction software which regulates the various processes involved.Several types of online auctions are...
sites such as eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
and fixed-price online store
Online shop
Online shopping is the process whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller in real-time, without an intermediary service, over the Internet. It is a form of electronic commerce...
s like Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
. Used bookstores often have some of the Ace books, but rarely the magazine versions.
In space
André Kuipers
André Kuipers is a Dutch physician and ESA astronaut. He officially became the second Dutch and the third Dutch-born astronaut upon launch of Soyuz TMA-4 on April 19, 2004. Kuipers returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-3 11 days later.Kuipers is scheduled to become the first Dutch astronaut to...
was inspired to become an astronaut from an early age by the Perry Rhodan albums his grandmother bought for him (and that he eventually started buying himself from his allowance). When he finally launched into space on April 18, 2004, he brought his very first booklet along with him. It was number ten in the red series, Ruimteoorlog in de Wegasector ("Space War in the Vega Sector" or "Raumschlacht im Wega-Sektor").
In music
Christopher FrankeChristopher Franke
Christopher Franke is a German musician and composer. From 1971 to 1988 he was a member of the electronic group Tangerine Dream. Initially a drummer with The Agitation, later renamed Agitation Free, his primary focus eventually shifted to keyboards and synthesizers as the group moved away from its...
, former member of German electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
group Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The band has undergone many personnel changes over the years, with Froese being the only continuous member...
and soundtrack composer for U.S. science-fiction TV series Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
, released Perry Rhodan Pax Terra in 1996, composed of music inspired by the Perry Rhodan epic.
The German group The Psychedelic Avengers claim to be inspired by Perry Rhodan on their 2004 release And the Curse of the Universe. The group Sensus released a song Perry Rhodan ... More Than A Million Lightyears From Home in 1986 (and presented it at the Worldcon in Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
).
In science fiction fandom
BuboniconBubonicon
Bubonicon is an annual multigenre convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico, typically held during the last weekend of August. It is the largest general-interest science fiction convention in New Mexico and among the oldest in the Southwest.-History:...
, an annual science fiction convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, adopted as its mascot Perry Rhodent, a rat wearing only one shoe (or boot). Perry's image is reinvented each year for the convention's program and t-shirts, often by the convention's Artist Guest of Honor.
External links
- Perry Rhodan Official Homepage
- Perrypedia
- Series summary (1-1799)
- Mission Stardust (aka …4…3…2…1…morte) at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- VPM's English-language Perry Rhodan site
- Perry Rhodan - The Adventure, Computer Game site
- Technology of the Perry Rhodan Universe
- Cedric Beust's Issue Summaries
- Official French Homepage