Rating: 
Summary: I am appalled!
Review: This must be one of the worst science fiction novels I've ever read,
and the fact that everyone else here has given it five stars indicates
one of three things:
i. I am a lousy judge of books.
ii. The others are lousy judges.
iii. The others are all 10 years old or under.
Let me explain.
E. E. Smith deserves 5 stars for originality; when these books came out
in the late 30's they set the standards for all space operas to come.
I gave him one star for literary quality, since today I no longer can
(or wish) to judge them according to their originality.
Lets begin with language. Smith uses long and complicated sentences,
which seem like they've come right out of the operating manual of my
my Sony dvd player. Cumbersome would be the best word to describe his
linguistical efforts.
His characters are 2 - no, wait, 1 - dimensional - no, wait, they
even have fractional dimensionality. They are not stereotypes. Stereo
would imply too much complexity. There are no moral conflicts, no
real drive for the hero - he's simply doing what he does because its
his JOB! - no fleshed out personality.
The "big" plot is fine, but it progresses in a way that reminds me of
Saturday morning cartoons: good guys fight bad guys with big ship,
bad guys fight good guys with bigger ship, good guys fight bad guys
with bigger ship, etc. This is acceptable in a 30-minutes show aimed
at kids, not in a 4-novel series!
Even the theme of the book itself is morally repugnant - eugenics.
But I won't spoil the ending (of the last book) for those who want
to go and bash their heads against the wall of Smith's literary
incompetence. It isn't "fun". This is masochism.
I'm all for a good space opera every now and then, but please, this one
is redundant. I grant it its place in the SF hall of fame, and I hope
it stays there, and away from me. I can't say how sorry I am I wasted
4 whole days of my life reading this series. If you're looking for
good science fiction, try Philip K. Dick or Stanislaw Lem. NOT Smith.
(By the way, if I didn't make myself clear - I don't like this book.)
Rating: 
Summary: One of my favorite sci-fi series of all time
Review: This series (the whole Lensman series, not just this book) is on my all-time favorite science fiction list, along with Heinlein and Asimov and Orson Scott Card and some classic short stories I have in a WONDERFUL old anthology (circa 1940-1950) I found in the closet of a house I was renting in Taiwan (funny how some of life's best things enter your life!). Classic!!!
Rating: 
Summary: The mother of all "Space Operas",this book is a good read.
Review: This vol. introduces the main character of the series and sets the tone for the next 3 vol.s to come. Written for the pulps back in the 30's, this book predicts the emergence of the international drug cartels which plague today's world. The book "Galactic Patrol" features clearly defined heros and heroines, and villenous villens, while maintaining a "G" rating (beds in this book are only for sleeping in). The rest of the books of this series, Gray Lensman, Second Stage Lensman, and Children of the Lens, just get better and better as the story builds to its ultimate climax. If you want understand where such films as "Star Wars", "Babylon 5", and "Star Trek" came from, you should read this series. It is the first "Space Opera" of the genre.
Rating:
Summary: Smith does it again! ;-)
Review: Volume three of the Lensmen books really takes-off. The two previous books seem to be mere back-story for this one book. I was caught up in the emotion and pace of the book. Every chapter is its own novelette. In fact, sometimes I believe that the story can be too quick and too terse at times.Smith has quite an active mind. It reminds me of Zeus giving birth to a full-grown Athena from his head. This series has an overwhelming ambient. Not only are the props and gizmos there, but also the social and political connections. There are layers and depths to the story he tell, it is as layered as Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and Herbert's "Dune" series. You feel that you are in a real world, and not just look at a painted background. I confess that these stories are dated in some ways. There is the quaint 1930's and 1940's slang that you see in old Bogart and Hope/Crosby movies. There is a bit of naiveté about human nature, even thought there are drug dealers and pirates. Some of the science is dated, such as ether theory and cultural progressions. Despite these things, the story holds its own, and compares to anything new in print. Many people complain that the characters are flat. I see their point. Kimball Kinnison's marriage isn't on the rocks, nor is he about to be kicked off the force, and he certainly is a loony-but-crafty vigilante like Batman. But he is an admirable character, and is someone I admire, despite being fictitious. Then again, Jean Valjean is also fictitious, but what a piece of fiction! Admittedly, the Lensmen seem to be flat because they are so morally virtuous. But you wouldn't describe their lives as boring. Kinnison can barely catch his breath as he zips across the galaxy catch the drug runners and the pirates. Kirk, Petard, and Skywalker eat his inertialess dust. Kinnison isn't flat, but he is ideal. These books are modern-day morality plays, and serve the same function as their medieval counterparts; they instruct and set a pattern for our behavior in the so-called "Real World." This Old School Sci-Fi is essential reading. I wish I had read it earlier. It is essential Sci-Fi reading, along with Wells, Verne, Asimov, Herbert, and Bradbury By the way, I have been keeping track of the names, and am surprised at how far Smith's intellectual seed has been sewn. Here is a list: Lensman LaForge = Geordi LaForge (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Mauler ships = Darth Maul from "Phantom Menace"
Planet Bennett = Jack Bennett and Bennett Family from "The Bionic Six"
Rating:
Summary: Smith does it again! ;-)
Review: Volume three of the Lensmen books really takes-off. The two previous books seem to be mere back-story for this one book. I was caught up in the emotion and pace of the book. Every chapter is its own novelette. In fact, sometimes I believe that the story can be too quick and too terse at times. Smith has quite an active mind. It reminds me of Zeus giving birth to a full-grown Athena from his head. This series has an overwhelming ambient. Not only are the props and gizmos there, but also the social and political connections. There are layers and depths to the story he tell, it is as layered as Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" and Herbert's "Dune" series. You feel that you are in a real world, and not just look at a painted background. I confess that these stories are dated in some ways. There is the quaint 1930's and 1940's slang that you see in old Bogart and Hope/Crosby movies. There is a bit of naiveté about human nature, even thought there are drug dealers and pirates. Some of the science is dated, such as ether theory and cultural progressions. Despite these things, the story holds its own, and compares to anything new in print. Many people complain that the characters are flat. I see their point. Kimball Kinnison's marriage isn't on the rocks, nor is he about to be kicked off the force, and he certainly is a loony-but-crafty vigilante like Batman. But he is an admirable character, and is someone I admire, despite being fictitious. Then again, Jean Valjean is also fictitious, but what a piece of fiction! Admittedly, the Lensmen seem to be flat because they are so morally virtuous. But you wouldn't describe their lives as boring. Kinnison can barely catch his breath as he zips across the galaxy catch the drug runners and the pirates. Kirk, Petard, and Skywalker eat his inertialess dust. Kinnison isn't flat, but he is ideal. These books are modern-day morality plays, and serve the same function as their medieval counterparts; they instruct and set a pattern for our behavior in the so-called "Real World." This Old School Sci-Fi is essential reading. I wish I had read it earlier. It is essential Sci-Fi reading, along with Wells, Verne, Asimov, Herbert, and Bradbury By the way, I have been keeping track of the names, and am surprised at how far Smith's intellectual seed has been sewn. Here is a list: Lensman LaForge = Geordi LaForge (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Mauler ships = Darth Maul from "Phantom Menace"
Planet Bennett = Jack Bennett and Bennett Family from "The Bionic Six"
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