Rating: 
Summary: Foundational Sci-fi on a par with Asimovs I-Robot
Review: At last a re-print ! Hard to believe it ever went out of print, unless it could be that the Politically Correct Thought Police forced it out. Yes it is a little 50's, and yes, Men are men a la 'John Wayne's true grit' but maybe we need some real men for a change. I don't dig the femme-fatal or Bimbo images of women, but note that they are rarely defensless, or safe, and always teh men respect the women with awe ! The ideas and imagination are awesome and unbeatable. This is the series that inspired BABYLON 5 and the epic saga of the Shadows and Vorlons on ? Check out the Full lensman series :- 1. triplanetry, 2. First Lensman, 3. Galactic Patrol, 4. Grey Lensman, 5. Second Stage lensman, 6. Children of the lens and 7. Masters of the Vortex. Also check out 'Skylark' series by same author, and the potumously written 'lensmen' series written by David A Kyle under license from the Smith estate. (Book 1 The Dragon Lensman)
Rating:
Summary: The best of the best!
Review: Before Star Trek, before Star Wars, before all the other Space Opera's, there was E.E. "Doc" Smith's LENSMAN (or History of Civilization) series. Make no mistake about it: this is THE classic sci-fi work! Galactic Patrol is the first novel in the series which chronicles an epic struggle between Good and Evil -- and Mind and Matter, incidentally, if you want to look for a deeper meaning. OK, chronologically, its the third, but it was the first one written, suitably revised for inclusion in the series. If you want to get started in Sci-fi, this is the series for you. If you want to start the younger generation, it's even better! Written in the 1930's, it's long on action, but the love affairs and language are mild by today's standards, perfect for young readers. (although the vocabulary is pretty advanced). It's strong on family values and democratic ideals, but don't make the mistake of thinking it's preachy or sentimental. Just good, solid, Outer Space adventure throughout. I first read these novels in the eighth grade, and I've read them fifteen times since; my original copies have long since disintegrated. The Lensmen novels truly rank with Tolkien as one of the classics of Sci-fi/fantasy genre. Do yourself a favor and read this series.
Rating:
Summary: The best of the best!
Review: Before Star Trek, before Star Wars, before all the other Space Opera's, there was E.E. "Doc" Smith's LENSMAN (or History of Civilization) series. Make no mistake about it: this is THE classic sci-fi work! Galactic Patrol is the first novel in the series which chronicles an epic struggle between Good and Evil -- and Mind and Matter, incidentally, if you want to look for a deeper meaning. OK, chronologically, its the third, but it was the first one written, suitably revised for inclusion in the series. If you want to get started in Sci-fi, this is the series for you. If you want to start the younger generation, it's even better! Written in the 1930's, it's long on action, but the love affairs and language are mild by today's standards, perfect for young readers. (although the vocabulary is pretty advanced). It's strong on family values and democratic ideals, but don't make the mistake of thinking it's preachy or sentimental. Just good, solid, Outer Space adventure throughout. I first read these novels in the eighth grade, and I've read them fifteen times since; my original copies have long since disintegrated. The Lensmen novels truly rank with Tolkien as one of the classics of Sci-fi/fantasy genre. Do yourself a favor and read this series.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding, BEST of "The Lensman" series.
Review: Can be read as stand alone or integral part of the "Lensman" series. This is the book that "hooked" me on scifi. It includes a preface that sets the stage for the entire series and shows the tremendous scope of Smith's imagination. The action is fast and furious and you will empathize with the heroes and villains. Smith makes you want to believe in them. Caution: after you read this you will never be satisfied till you find everything else written by the author...
Rating:
Summary: The Defining Masterpiece of Space Opera
Review: Capsule Description: Old-fashioned space opera, filled with super-science, Good Guys and Bad Guys (as Bad as they get), far-flung settings, and battles on a scale unimaginable. Purple prose by today's standards, but written with energy and the true classic "Sense of Wonder". This series was and is one of the major foundations on which later SF was built. It inspired many later authors. I still find them great fun to read. Review: "Doc" Smith may not (quite) have INVENTED the "space opera" (although offhand I'd be hard put to find one written earlier than the original drafts of The Skylark of Space), but almost no one would be able to argue against the assertion that it was Doc who DEFINED it and perfected that subgenre. And the series in which he did that was the Lensman series. Originally published starting with Galactic Patrol (though now officially starting with "Triplanetary", to which the above links), the Lensman series deals with a slowly-escalating war in a far-distant future, a war that has many levels (levels we don't penetrate for several volumes). The "Lensmen" are those who have been given the mysterious device called the Lens by the inhabitants of the even more mysterious planet Arisia. How the Lens is created, no one in the Patrol understands; but what it does is give the wearer perfect telepathy -- the ability to communicate mind-to-mind -- so that no language, howsoever alien, is a barrier to communication. It cannot be worn by anyone except its owner -- to touch a Lens that is not being worn by its owner, for more than a fleeting instant, is agonizing death. It enhances all of the wearer's mental capacities, giving him access to other psychic talents, and protects him against attacks by other psychically powerful minds. The wearer of a Lens is incorruptible -- though they can feel the temptation of money, power, drugs, or other lures, they will in the end resist these lures; they have the inherent ability to do this (it's not forced on them by the Lens, but rather the Lenses are only given to those who have this characteristic). The combination makes the Lensmen the only reliable policemen for a galaxy of a million species, a million languages, a million laws. The Lens is perfect identification, a badge that cannot be faked and a translator which won't fail. And such a reliable, incorruptible force is needed, because the threat that is waiting for the Galaxy is enough to make even a stalwart Hero quake in his boots. The old-fashioned prose and simple characters often turn newcomers off from reading the series, but this is a wonderful set of stories. Doc Smith started the movement that led to everything from Star Wars to David Weber's Honor Harrington series. Give the old man a try, he's worth it, as long as you still like heroes who are Heroes and villains who give no quarter and no excuses for being as nasty as they come. Purists would insist that you start with Galactic Patrol and go on, since Triplanetary was originally not a Lensman novel and First Lensman was written after the others, and both always contained spoilers for the others, which revealed only slowly what was going on behind the scenes.
Rating:
Summary: Absolute must read
Review: DEFINITIVE science fiction! This is one of my favorite books-- vintage space opera, and tons of fun. Written in 1937, this is the first book of the series(others are set earlier chronologically, but were written later). Lots of space-battle mumbo-jumbo, plenty of fighting, great alien characters, and original vocabulary.
Rating:
Summary: Start here for the Lensman universe!
Review: Doc Smith's "Lensman" series is one of those strange cases where almost everything the reviews say -- both good and bad -- is true. The key lies in the sentence found in so many of them: "I first read this when I was a kid". I think we all retain an affection for things we loved when we were young. Nonetheless, it would be a big mistake to think these books hold nothing for adults -- I've introduce them to an adult friend who enjoyed them immensely. Other reviews on Amazon summarise the plot adequately, but I should like to add some information I think may be helpful. I, too, first met Kim Kinnison when I was a kid, in the original "Astounding" magazines that I inherited from my uncle. Chronologically, the first Lensman story was "Galactic Patrol", from 1937-38. This was followed by the next three stories: "Gray Lensman", "Second Stage Lensmen" and "Children of the Lens". When publication in book form was mooted, Smith revised his earlier "Triplanetary" to fit into the lensman universe, and wrote "First Lensman" to form a bridge between that and "Galactic Patrol". "Masters of the Vortex", another unrelated story, was likewise modified. I personally feel that the four books representing Smith's original conception are the essential ones, and the others are disposable ("Vortex", in particular, being a pot-boiler with virtually no relation to the others). Although "First Lensman" certainly has entertaining moments (as when Virgil Samms is almost deafened at a Rigellian construction site, because the Rigellians have no sense of hearing and can't understand what the problem is). There's another problem with the books, although fortunately not an insuperable one. Smith's universe, although already huge at the outset of "Galactic Patrol", expands as the series progresses. Originally, the reader didn't discover the total significance of the struggles going on within it until the end of "Children". But the books (except, for some inscrutable reason, "Patrol") feature tacked-on and needless Forewords that give away the whole plot. I *strongly* recommend first-time readers to skip these. Also, if you've never read Smith before, I'd recommend starting with "Patrol" -- "Triplanetary" is not nearly as good, neither is it "really" the first. Smith's dated (and sometimes banal) style has been an easy target, but it has some lovely moments as well: "near them there crouched or huddled or lay at ease a many-tentacled creature indescribable to man. It was not like an octopus. Though spiny, it did not resemble at all closely a sea-cucumber. Nor, although it was scaly and toothy and wingy, was it, save in the vaguest possible way, similar to a lizard, a sea-serpent or a vulture. Such a description by negatives is, of course, pitifully inadequate; but, unfortunately, it is the best that can be done." If you want mind-boggling adventure, ever-expanding vistas, BEMs and battle laid on with a trowel, you need go no further. For my money, the depth and invention of Smith's universe, and the sheer glee with which he unfolds his narrative, more than compensate for any deficiencies. These are books I will always love.
Rating:
Summary: Start here for the Lensman universe!
Review: Doc Smith's "Lensman" series is one of those strange cases where almost everything the reviews say -- both good and bad -- is true. The key lies in the sentence found in so many of them: "I first read this when I was a kid". I think we all retain an affection for things we loved when we were young. Nonetheless, it would be a big mistake to think these books hold nothing for adults -- I've introduce them to an adult friend who enjoyed them immensely. Other reviews on Amazon summarise the plot adequately, but I should like to add some information I think may be helpful. I, too, first met Kim Kinnison when I was a kid, in the original "Astounding" magazines that I inherited from my uncle. Chronologically, the first Lensman story was "Galactic Patrol", from 1937-38. This was followed by the next three stories: "Gray Lensman", "Second Stage Lensmen" and "Children of the Lens". When publication in book form was mooted, Smith revised his earlier "Triplanetary" to fit into the lensman universe, and wrote "First Lensman" to form a bridge between that and "Galactic Patrol". "Masters of the Vortex", another unrelated story, was likewise modified. I personally feel that the four books representing Smith's original conception are the essential ones, and the others are disposable ("Vortex", in particular, being a pot-boiler with virtually no relation to the others). Although "First Lensman" certainly has entertaining moments (as when Virgil Samms is almost deafened at a Rigellian construction site, because the Rigellians have no sense of hearing and can't understand what the problem is). There's another problem with the books, although fortunately not an insuperable one. Smith's universe, although already huge at the outset of "Galactic Patrol", expands as the series progresses. Originally, the reader didn't discover the total significance of the struggles going on within it until the end of "Children". But the books (except, for some inscrutable reason, "Patrol") feature tacked-on and needless Forewords that give away the whole plot. I *strongly* recommend first-time readers to skip these. Also, if you've never read Smith before, I'd recommend starting with "Patrol" -- "Triplanetary" is not nearly as good, neither is it "really" the first. Smith's dated (and sometimes banal) style has been an easy target, but it has some lovely moments as well: "near them there crouched or huddled or lay at ease a many-tentacled creature indescribable to man. It was not like an octopus. Though spiny, it did not resemble at all closely a sea-cucumber. Nor, although it was scaly and toothy and wingy, was it, save in the vaguest possible way, similar to a lizard, a sea-serpent or a vulture. Such a description by negatives is, of course, pitifully inadequate; but, unfortunately, it is the best that can be done." If you want mind-boggling adventure, ever-expanding vistas, BEMs and battle laid on with a trowel, you need go no further. For my money, the depth and invention of Smith's universe, and the sheer glee with which he unfolds his narrative, more than compensate for any deficiencies. These are books I will always love.
Rating:
Summary: Galactic Patrol: A galaxy-sized adventure!
Review: Ever seen Star Wars? This is the book that probably had the biggest influence on it. "Doc" Smith is the real father of space opera, and his stories are nothing short of astonishing-- especially since many of them deal with fairly advanced subjects, and yet they were written in the 20s and 30s! This is good, pulpy fun-- you'll have a great time joining our hero, Patrolman Kimball Kinnison, as he joins the ranks of an elite fighing force for peace and justice, the Lensmen, and begins to unfold a galaxy-wide criminal conspiracy that is as old as time itself. Don't expect the complex moral issues of today's science fiction-- the good guys are lily-white and good as gold, and the bad guys are the blackest of the blackhearted. Loads of fun for just about any kind of reader.
Rating:
Summary: finally back in print!!!
Review: I can't wait for this next installment of the classic series to ship. I became hooked on the lensman series in grade school, again in high school and again in college. If you can get past the 40s era sterotypes of good, evil, men and women (and you can), you'll discover again and again the genius of Doc Smith. Were his many visions of future technology as prophetic as they seem or did three generations of engineers adapt to his version of the future? I've been combing used book stores for years to replace my ragged old copies with little success so I'm thrilled to be able to purchase the series with it's original artwork. In fact, I ordered several copies so that my own sons will be sure to have a chance to get hooked!
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