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nwhyte's review against another edition
http://nhw.livejournal.com/937871.html[return][return]The Lensman books are sitting on the shelf, looking at me; and every time I feel I need to cut down the "unread" pile by another notch, they look like an easy quick option. I will probably trudge through them all in the end, but this is another whinge: awful style, awful plotting (especially the way in which important concepts and characters are just plonked into the story without introduction), and the political message being that democratic institutions should be taken from the corrupt ordinary humans and handed over to the control of supermen. *rubs his eyes wearily*
shendriq's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
danlemke's review against another edition
3.0
The Lensman series is pretty straight forward, with good and evil painted as clear as black and white, so this book is not so much thrilling as it is a simple fun read. Smith reads a lot like Heinlein, and the elements of this story will be instantly clear to anyone who knows a good amount about science fiction literature. Everything here is so original it's old-hat.
bookwomble's review against another edition
5.0
Don't trust my rating for this book. See this
review for why.
review for why.
gerd_d's review against another edition
I have to agree with what's been said above, it's kind of fun to read this for its influence on the later comic and SF field, but I'm glad that I started reading E.E.Smith with his "d'Alembert" books which are no less dated but a lot more refined than this book.
The main problem I had with the Lensmen is for me that there are no real characters in the book, no one the reader could identify with or at least care for.
It's worth reading for historical context but it's not a very entertaining book to read these days.
The main problem I had with the Lensmen is for me that there are no real characters in the book, no one the reader could identify with or at least care for.
It's worth reading for historical context but it's not a very entertaining book to read these days.
raerei's review against another edition
3.0
So I'm planning to read many of the SF classics that I've never gotten around to. And by read, I mean listen to the audio book while I do other things since I obviously haven't wanted to sit down and read most of these books. Much of this book I listened to while designing an ultra modern Sims2 apartment complex. Although this is book 2 in the series - I have foolishly listened to it first and there was a bit of an issue with the first two chapters. They probably make much more sense in situ than alone. Oh well. I listened to it twice and once the story proper started, it worked.
I actually enjoyed this book, you can tell it comes from quite a strong political background and it is definitely a product of its time, but I've heard of the Lensmen on and off throughout the years and am glad I know where they're coming from and what they are.
Reading this book feels like a collection of lensmen characters and events. There isn't much (any) character development or internal struggles and it stays very high level. You flit from event (smuggling drugs) to event (policial dances) to event (mining disasters) with only the smallest thread tying them together. And the "enemy" just pops out of nowhere. Some of that comes from the occasional "you" reference - this is pretending to be a historical summary from time to time (especially near the end), and the rest comes from the fact that the five years just fly by and no single event is the sole issue at hand.
But I still enjoyed it and will be looking into reading more of this "classic" series.
I actually enjoyed this book, you can tell it comes from quite a strong political background and it is definitely a product of its time, but I've heard of the Lensmen on and off throughout the years and am glad I know where they're coming from and what they are.
Reading this book feels like a collection of lensmen characters and events. There isn't much (any) character development or internal struggles and it stays very high level. You flit from event (smuggling drugs) to event (policial dances) to event (mining disasters) with only the smallest thread tying them together. And the "enemy" just pops out of nowhere. Some of that comes from the occasional "you" reference - this is pretending to be a historical summary from time to time (especially near the end), and the rest comes from the fact that the five years just fly by and no single event is the sole issue at hand.
But I still enjoyed it and will be looking into reading more of this "classic" series.
smcleish's review against another edition
3.0
Originally published on my blog here in August 2009.
The second novel in Smith's Lensman series, First Lensman is a unified narrative (unlike Triplanetary which precedes it). It follows on directly from the events of the first book, detailing the later stages in the fight against drugs and corruption led by Virgil Samms. (Samms plays a comparatively small part in [b:Triplanetary|444944|Triplanetary|E.E. Smith|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1174842467s/444944.jpg|1104949], which was more concerned with the swashbuckling adventures of his sub-ordinates.)
The first half of the novel is an explanation of the origins of the Lens after which the series as a whole is known. Various problems are beginning to dog the Triplanetary Service. Corruption is taking hold, particularly in the fight against drugs; criminals are impersonating officers of the Service, using faked ids. A mysterious conviction grows that answers to these problems can be found through a visit to the planet Arisia, shunned as a "ghost planet" both by legitimate spacemen and by pirates and drugs runners.
Arriving at Arisia, Samms meets an entity who calls itself "Mentor". He is given a mysterious artefact, a Lens; it is a telepathic crystal, tuned to his mind alone and capable of enhancing the powers that his mind possesses. Mentor assures him that no one will be given a Lens who is unworthy of one, and that only the incorruptible will wear them.
Samms is a bit bemused by this generosity, but the reader knows the background to it: the eons-old war between the Arisians and Eddorians, the Arisians continually trying to build up civilisation, the Eddorians to knock it down.
The second half of the book tells of a North American presidential election (Canada, the US and Mexico together forming a single state) fought by the officers of the Triplanetary Service (as 'Cosmocrats') on the right and the pirates and drugs runners on the left. Smith's politics are one of the most difficult aspects of his writing style for a modern European reader to swallow - as they cater rather more for stereotypical American political viewpoints a US citizen may find them easier to accept. He persistently holds the belief that any intelligent person must support the right, with the left only gaining votes through stupidity, corruption and vote-rigging. It is a view perhaps explicable in an American of his time, who had lived through some of the most corrupt scandals of American town-hall politics. Smith's right wing politics were of a reasonably benign kind, characterised by a strong belief in intelligent capitalism most clearly expressed in Subspace Encounter. He was relatively free from racism, particularly when compared to contemporaries, though this is perhaps debatable given the almost complete absence of non-white human beings in his novels.
The first half of First Lensman is easier to read, then, than the second, though the ins and outs of the political campaign are an interesting change from the standard military space opera trappings of the rest of the series. If Heinlein's novels transfer an idealised American small-town background to everywhere in the universe (see my review of [b:The Rolling Stones|50848|The Rolling Stones|Robert A. Heinlein|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1290564157s/50848.jpg|2095434]), then this novel takes a similar approach with an American large town.
The second novel in Smith's Lensman series, First Lensman is a unified narrative (unlike Triplanetary which precedes it). It follows on directly from the events of the first book, detailing the later stages in the fight against drugs and corruption led by Virgil Samms. (Samms plays a comparatively small part in [b:Triplanetary|444944|Triplanetary|E.E. Smith|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1174842467s/444944.jpg|1104949], which was more concerned with the swashbuckling adventures of his sub-ordinates.)
The first half of the novel is an explanation of the origins of the Lens after which the series as a whole is known. Various problems are beginning to dog the Triplanetary Service. Corruption is taking hold, particularly in the fight against drugs; criminals are impersonating officers of the Service, using faked ids. A mysterious conviction grows that answers to these problems can be found through a visit to the planet Arisia, shunned as a "ghost planet" both by legitimate spacemen and by pirates and drugs runners.
Arriving at Arisia, Samms meets an entity who calls itself "Mentor". He is given a mysterious artefact, a Lens; it is a telepathic crystal, tuned to his mind alone and capable of enhancing the powers that his mind possesses. Mentor assures him that no one will be given a Lens who is unworthy of one, and that only the incorruptible will wear them.
Samms is a bit bemused by this generosity, but the reader knows the background to it: the eons-old war between the Arisians and Eddorians, the Arisians continually trying to build up civilisation, the Eddorians to knock it down.
The second half of the book tells of a North American presidential election (Canada, the US and Mexico together forming a single state) fought by the officers of the Triplanetary Service (as 'Cosmocrats') on the right and the pirates and drugs runners on the left. Smith's politics are one of the most difficult aspects of his writing style for a modern European reader to swallow - as they cater rather more for stereotypical American political viewpoints a US citizen may find them easier to accept. He persistently holds the belief that any intelligent person must support the right, with the left only gaining votes through stupidity, corruption and vote-rigging. It is a view perhaps explicable in an American of his time, who had lived through some of the most corrupt scandals of American town-hall politics. Smith's right wing politics were of a reasonably benign kind, characterised by a strong belief in intelligent capitalism most clearly expressed in Subspace Encounter. He was relatively free from racism, particularly when compared to contemporaries, though this is perhaps debatable given the almost complete absence of non-white human beings in his novels.
The first half of First Lensman is easier to read, then, than the second, though the ins and outs of the political campaign are an interesting change from the standard military space opera trappings of the rest of the series. If Heinlein's novels transfer an idealised American small-town background to everywhere in the universe (see my review of [b:The Rolling Stones|50848|The Rolling Stones|Robert A. Heinlein|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1290564157s/50848.jpg|2095434]), then this novel takes a similar approach with an American large town.
athenalindia's review against another edition
3.0
My expectations on sitting down to this book were not high. The previous Doc Smith book I'd read was not that impressive and had a bunch of casual racism, even though it was, for the time period, not too bad for how it depicted women.
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
Note: The rest of this review has been withheld due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here.
In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook
nomad_scry's review against another edition
2.0
For the most part, I was bored or annoyed with the characters, the story, and the writing style. I like Conway "Spud " Costigan and dislike all the others. I missed the neat scientific ideas from the earlier book and found the magical nonsense mind science for the lens to be a dissapointment.
For some reason the 80's style of EXTREME was just tiring this time around, unlike last time when it reached Flash Gordon heights of silliness. I will continue the series, but only for the historical perspective.
For some reason the 80's style of EXTREME was just tiring this time around, unlike last time when it reached Flash Gordon heights of silliness. I will continue the series, but only for the historical perspective.
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