Spirit of the Century™ Presents Books in Order

Spirit of the Century™ Presents takes its cue from pulp adventure. The stories share the world of the Century Club, a group built for big mysteries, improbable inventions, faraway danger, and heroes who keep moving even after the plan has clearly gone wrong. Stephen Blackmoore's contribution, Khan of Mars, leans into that spirit with a tale that is brisk, strange, and deliberately larger than life.

The central figure is Professor Khan, an erudite talking ape with the manners of a scholar rather than the instincts of a swashbuckler. His partner on this particular trip is Bulls-Eye Gutierrez, a rough-and-ready cowboy. They make an unlikely team, which is part of the fun. Their adventure begins when they are sent on a one-way trip to Mars.

Mars is not empty.

Instead, Khan and Gutierrez arrive in a world of rival peoples, political tension, and open conflict. Princess Cyclone, the Weather Witch, rules through fear while resistance to her power grows across the Red Planet. The pair must deal with local intrigue, war, and the urgent question of whether the Century Club can find a way to bring them home.

The book is a science-fiction adventure with the pace and flavor of older planetary romances. It has strange creatures, far-flung settings, outlandish science, and a hero whose intelligence does not automatically make him ready for a sword-and-sandals campaign. Khan has to become more than the bookish professor he expects himself to be, while Gutierrez brings a more direct, action-first approach to their problems.

Readers do not need to be familiar with the tabletop role-playing game to follow Khan of Mars. The premise is clear, the central partnership arrives quickly, and the main stakes are easy to grasp: survive an unfamiliar planet, understand its conflicts, and find a way back. Familiarity with other Century Club stories can add context, but this adventure stands on its own.

Expect pulp science fiction with humor, action, and a fondness for wild ideas. The appeal is not realism. It is the sight of a learned ape, a cowboy, and a dangerous alien world colliding in a story that knows the journey should be as entertaining as the destination.