Ace 1st printing June 1973 paperback. Cover by ???, 190 pages, 95 cent cover price. Condition is near-Fine: tight and square with flat spine (spine has a couple of short raised ridges - as printed); barest trace of overall wear; age tanning is mild and uniform. No stamps, marks or writing.

The Dumarest series lasted about 30 books, and I would recommend most of the early ones (particularly the Ace-Doubles) as good reading. If you're not familiar with the premise, Earl Dumarest was born on Earth, but wandered so far from it in a crowded galaxy that people in the region he is currently in think that Earth is but a legend, like "El Dorado." (The Traveller gaming system, with High and Low Passage, quicktime and basic, is loosely based on the very populated galaxy Dumarest travels in.) He picks up friends and enemies, and occaisionally a clue pointing towards Earth.

Veruchia - Still searching for his lost home planet Earth, Earl Dumarest found himself in the middle of the gladiator's arena on the planet Dradea. In defeating his opponent, he found himself the personal servant of Veruchia, a mysterious woman who had won him in a wager… But after the Owner was poisoned, it looked as though planetary power would pass into the hands of tyrants unless they could proove that Dradea was rightfully Veruchia's - and, if they could, she and her consort would probably die for it. This is one of the better "Dumarest" novels.