The cycle (story arc) “Master of the island” (MDI - Meister der Insel, German), is one of the most famous ones in the Perry Rhodan series. It consists of 100 stories (~6000 pages) in which the struggle of the human Solar Empire against the masters of Andromeda takes place.

I finished it and I was impressed, to which literary heights the series comes in the end. I read all stories up to 199 when it starts with the visit of one of the most interesting characters: Icho Tolot - a monstrous living fighting machine from planet Halut. You see him at the cover on #200, title illustration by Johnny Bruck, first released in 1965.

Or She or It, a very early SF impression of asking if you could be a mother and a father simultaneously, in some way. Taken in account the history of Icho Tolot and his race, which is in detail described in the M87 cycle following MDI, this is an extremly deep plot.

The reader knows most of the characters very well, what drives them, what worries them, when MDI starts. It is hard to not spoiler the end, even if very likely most of you will not read the MDI cycle.

In the last story there is a diffcult and sad decision to take, which will break your heart when you followed the up and downs of immortality, friendship and allegiance of Perry Rhodan and his fellows. One of the stories which when ended lets you sit down for a couple of minutes to take breath and think. What would I have done? Were there really no other ways to decide?

By the way the whole MDI surely has it heights and depths, but most of the time it is a good space opera with astonishing places, races and ideas. For example the incredible hollow world of Horror or the Moby living planets.

I bought 550 issues of the 4th edition in late 1990 (sadly I do not own the original first edition issues), now you can buy them easily on Amazon (Kindle).