Fantastic Fiction: Perry Rhodan

One of the most interesting phenomena to emerge from the German-language speculative fiction universe is the internationally popular Perry Rhodan space opera series. Created in 1961 by Walter Ernsting and Karl-Herbert Scheer, this ongoing saga of a spaceman continues to the present day, in much the same manner as Doctor Who in the Anglophone world. According to the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, about 2,600 volumes involving Rhodan’s and others’ adventures have been published since the series began. Though some of Rhodan’s adventures take place in outer space, others happen through time travel, alternate realities, and mysterious cosmic events. Originally seen as a “pulpy” version of German SF, Perry Rhodan has evolved over the years and matured enough to stay relevant, even in the 21st century.

It took almost a decade for the series to make its way into English. In 1969, Forrest J. Ackerman acquired it for Ace Books, while his wife, Wendayne, translated the texts into English. Perry’s existence in English was intermittent, however; it was translated from 1969 to 1977, and then from 1997 to 1998 by Vector Enterprises. Rhodan’s adventures have made it into many other languages as well, including French, Dutch, Italian, and Japanese.

One strand of the Rhodan saga (or “Perryverse”) includes alternate universes that have been sufficiently explored and built up by different writers over time to become sophisticated narrative strands that stand on their own. Rhodan and his colleagues travel to the distant past and the far future, and while the beginning of the series included military conflicts, over time the writers turned Rhodan away from Earthly conflicts and out toward the universe.

The series begins with US Space Force Major Perry Rhodan landing on the Moon (here it’s 1971) and finding a stranded alien spaceship. The realization that humans are not alone in the universe prompts major changes back on Earth, including instituting a world government and human colonies on other planets.

The so-called “Perryverse” is now so extensive that it is tracked and cataloged by the Perrypedia, which is available in a number of different languages. I myself bought a copy of a Rhodan book at a used book sale in Madison, Wisconsin several years ago, and it’s been waiting patiently on its shelf ever since. I think it’s high time I read it. There’s no time like the present to visit a journey into a different future.