Skylark Duquesne

Rating:
Summary: Grand conclusion to the Skylark series!
Review: This is the last of the Skylark books, and in true Smith style the scale is grander than ever. Seaton and Duquesne, who have long been enemies, must pool their resources and work togeather against the most formidable opponent either has ever seen - not a hostile ship, or ruler, or even a planet, but an entire galaxy militarized by the Chlorians! This has all the qualities readers have come to identify as E.E. "Doc" Smith - powerful weapons, powerful enemies, and unstoppable heros, but in this novel the character of Duquesne assumes more complexity than any other Smith character I can recall. He is definitely the most interesting - a criminal, power hungry, brilliant, yet at the same time he will never break his word, even when it could mean achieving his goals. Cold and heartless, logical to a degree unapproached by any other human character Smith wrote save Fernidad Stone, yet possessing no hatred for even his archrival, Seaton. This book is very highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Most Different? Best? Worst? All of the above?
Review: This was the last of the Skylark books and it goes WAY over the top - I mean atleast 2 unstoppable alien races, discussions of why people are people, sex, love, witches, mining, ESP, Fenacrome, world domination, how to run a civilization - it's got it all! They even blow up not one but TWO galaxies! talk about bodycount!

Personally, I could never imagine this as a live-action movie but there's any number of japanese anime directors I'd love to have do this - but that's just me.

Anyway, this is the last and possibly the best from one of the first in the field and he put his heart and soul in it and it's well worth the price at any price! And best of all, even if you absolutely hate it; compared to today's foot-crushing books this'll be a real quick read - it's only afew hundred pages, and boy, will it suck you in when you start reading them!