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chrisgordon65's review against another edition
4.0
This was one of the most beloved series of my childhood, and my introduction to space opera, so there was a bit of trepidation in going back to see if the magic was still there.
Largely, but not completely, yes.
In some respects this is one of the most influential science fiction works of all time. It's one of the earliest space operas and many (including me) credit it for inspiring Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5 and many other Space Opera staples. In fact the Jedi aren't all that far removed from Lensmen (who you don't get to meet in this first volume) and the Green Lantern Corps in DC comics are entirely based on the Lensmen, with DC acknowledging that by naming two lanterns Eddore and Arisia.
But back to this book.
For a start this volume was retrofitted to provide an introduction to the subsequent books in the Lensmen series. The main part of the novel was written in 1934 and the first half was added in 1948 to provide a running start through history that describes how the Arisians became aware of the Eddorians, how they intervened in a bit of genetic manipulation involving that cheeky planet Earth, and how the characters possessing the traits of "red-bronze-auburn hair and gold-flecked, tawny eyes", and usually the name Kinnison, took centre stage in significant moments in history.
So it reads a bit disjointed for that remixing, but I didn't mind that. For me the bits that jar are occasions where the dialog aims to be romantic, but is now extremely dated, unrealistic and even nauseating, taking you out of the already stretched suspended disbelief) and also the the pseudo scientific explanations offered for space travel and defensive measures (inertia-less drive, rods, beams, rays and screens, to name a few, that seem to overlap and become hard to visualise).
That being said, this second go at the series DID bring back a rush of memories and enjoyment. I was a massive fan of pulps, including Tarzan, Conan and Sherlock Holmes, in my early teens and would read these whenever a chance presented. As a regular pulp reader, I have a fairly high tolerance for dated or unrealistic dialog but Smith should really leave "the feels" to others.
The ideas are still, in many cases, breathtaking even if some of the political and social subtext and narrative are more a product of the pre and post war period it belongs to. Ironically, while the romantic dialog ratchets the cheese right up to 11, Robert Heinlein suggests that Smith's plan for future books was to have the genetically perfect Kinnison siblings breed amongst themselves which was quite a daring thought for its day and anything but corn-ball.
My fondness for the books probably elevates the star rating I gave it... and that includes the fact that I know subsequent books, where the Galactic Patrol and the Lensmen come into being, are stronger. But I found myself flying through the pages, which is a good sign. I think true fans of ANY genre do well to read the classics and this certainly qualifies. Without reading this, I wouldn't have read the Foundation series, Dune series, Riverworld series, Pliocene Exiles etc etc.
For all it's flaws, the swashbuckling style is in every page and that's harder to recreate or find in later works. One thing old science fiction pulps offer is a world unrestrained by all of today's pesky science that prohibits so many out-there ideas. Also, a lot of them hail back to a more optimistic time, and that's not a bad thing at all. And if nothing else attracts you, it's cheap as chips on Kindle, so I suggest you give it a crack.
Largely, but not completely, yes.
In some respects this is one of the most influential science fiction works of all time. It's one of the earliest space operas and many (including me) credit it for inspiring Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5 and many other Space Opera staples. In fact the Jedi aren't all that far removed from Lensmen (who you don't get to meet in this first volume) and the Green Lantern Corps in DC comics are entirely based on the Lensmen, with DC acknowledging that by naming two lanterns Eddore and Arisia.
But back to this book.
For a start this volume was retrofitted to provide an introduction to the subsequent books in the Lensmen series. The main part of the novel was written in 1934 and the first half was added in 1948 to provide a running start through history that describes how the Arisians became aware of the Eddorians, how they intervened in a bit of genetic manipulation involving that cheeky planet Earth, and how the characters possessing the traits of "red-bronze-auburn hair and gold-flecked, tawny eyes", and usually the name Kinnison, took centre stage in significant moments in history.
So it reads a bit disjointed for that remixing, but I didn't mind that. For me the bits that jar are occasions where the dialog aims to be romantic, but is now extremely dated, unrealistic and even nauseating, taking you out of the already stretched suspended disbelief) and also the the pseudo scientific explanations offered for space travel and defensive measures (inertia-less drive, rods, beams, rays and screens, to name a few, that seem to overlap and become hard to visualise).
That being said, this second go at the series DID bring back a rush of memories and enjoyment. I was a massive fan of pulps, including Tarzan, Conan and Sherlock Holmes, in my early teens and would read these whenever a chance presented. As a regular pulp reader, I have a fairly high tolerance for dated or unrealistic dialog but Smith should really leave "the feels" to others.
The ideas are still, in many cases, breathtaking even if some of the political and social subtext and narrative are more a product of the pre and post war period it belongs to. Ironically, while the romantic dialog ratchets the cheese right up to 11, Robert Heinlein suggests that Smith's plan for future books was to have the genetically perfect Kinnison siblings breed amongst themselves which was quite a daring thought for its day and anything but corn-ball.
My fondness for the books probably elevates the star rating I gave it... and that includes the fact that I know subsequent books, where the Galactic Patrol and the Lensmen come into being, are stronger. But I found myself flying through the pages, which is a good sign. I think true fans of ANY genre do well to read the classics and this certainly qualifies. Without reading this, I wouldn't have read the Foundation series, Dune series, Riverworld series, Pliocene Exiles etc etc.
For all it's flaws, the swashbuckling style is in every page and that's harder to recreate or find in later works. One thing old science fiction pulps offer is a world unrestrained by all of today's pesky science that prohibits so many out-there ideas. Also, a lot of them hail back to a more optimistic time, and that's not a bad thing at all. And if nothing else attracts you, it's cheap as chips on Kindle, so I suggest you give it a crack.
weaselweader's review against another edition
2.0
The grand-daddy of all galactic royal rumbles!
Two civilizations, the Arisians and the Eddorians, old beyond imagining and evolved to the point where their mental skills alone command energy and forces that are unthinkable for lesser species such as humans from our beloved Earth or even the reptilian Nevians, battle for dominance of the universe. In Triplanetary, Doc Smith has left no room for doubt concerning the identity of the "good guys" versus the "bad guys". The Eddorians, quintessentially and unabashedly evil, have set themselves a modest but extraordinarily clear mission - "to tear down and destroy every bulwark of what the weak and spineless adherents of Civilization consider the finest things in life - love, truth, honor, loyalty, purity, altruism, decency and so on." The Arisians, of course, represent all of those virtues which the Eddorians are so bent on removing from the Universe.
Triplanetary is the grand-daddy of all space opera adventure novels - a non-stop, red hot action-oriented, plot driven space battle that is a positively orgasmic geekfest of techno-babble on steroids. One need only read a single chapter to envision the origins of the special effects in modern movie and television versions of Star Trek, Babylon 5, Andromeda or Battlestar Galactica. If you like your battles hot, your villains ugly and nasty, and your heroes manly (how could a hunk named "Conway Costigan" be anything but a two-fisted, steely-eyed man's man?), then you'll probably enjoy Triplanetary!
On this basis alone, Triplanetary is probably worth reading as the acknowledged progenitor of every space war novel that was ever written. One could even make a very strong case that Steven Spielberg, Gene Roddenberry and the entire world of special effects in visual media owe much to Smith's fertile imagination!
But does Triplanetary deserve membership in a library of what we now call science fiction classics? I think not. There is so much wrong with Triplanetary on the literary side, it's really quite difficult to know where to start.
Other than cartoonish heroic stereotypes, character development is negligible. Dialogue is stilted and the romantic interludes, in particular, are so trite as to be laughable. The raging purple prose is so positively brimful of superlatives and absolutes that one wonders how any progress was made at all, any goal achieved or any enemy defeated - barriers were impassable, obstacles were insurmountable, chances of success were only one in numberless millions, beams of destruction were relentless, forces were cataclysmic, objects were immovable, tractor beams were irresistible - well, it just got tiresome because this was the nature of the entire novel. Science, even as it was known at the time, was effectively ignored and technology in the novel crossed the line from imaginative into purely fantasy.
Recommended as a fast, enjoyable read from the standpoint of understanding the roots and growth of science fiction as a genre. But the novel has not stood the test of time and is weak gruel indeed compared to many of its contemporaries.
Paul Weiss
Two civilizations, the Arisians and the Eddorians, old beyond imagining and evolved to the point where their mental skills alone command energy and forces that are unthinkable for lesser species such as humans from our beloved Earth or even the reptilian Nevians, battle for dominance of the universe. In Triplanetary, Doc Smith has left no room for doubt concerning the identity of the "good guys" versus the "bad guys". The Eddorians, quintessentially and unabashedly evil, have set themselves a modest but extraordinarily clear mission - "to tear down and destroy every bulwark of what the weak and spineless adherents of Civilization consider the finest things in life - love, truth, honor, loyalty, purity, altruism, decency and so on." The Arisians, of course, represent all of those virtues which the Eddorians are so bent on removing from the Universe.
Triplanetary is the grand-daddy of all space opera adventure novels - a non-stop, red hot action-oriented, plot driven space battle that is a positively orgasmic geekfest of techno-babble on steroids. One need only read a single chapter to envision the origins of the special effects in modern movie and television versions of Star Trek, Babylon 5, Andromeda or Battlestar Galactica. If you like your battles hot, your villains ugly and nasty, and your heroes manly (how could a hunk named "Conway Costigan" be anything but a two-fisted, steely-eyed man's man?), then you'll probably enjoy Triplanetary!
On this basis alone, Triplanetary is probably worth reading as the acknowledged progenitor of every space war novel that was ever written. One could even make a very strong case that Steven Spielberg, Gene Roddenberry and the entire world of special effects in visual media owe much to Smith's fertile imagination!
But does Triplanetary deserve membership in a library of what we now call science fiction classics? I think not. There is so much wrong with Triplanetary on the literary side, it's really quite difficult to know where to start.
Other than cartoonish heroic stereotypes, character development is negligible. Dialogue is stilted and the romantic interludes, in particular, are so trite as to be laughable. The raging purple prose is so positively brimful of superlatives and absolutes that one wonders how any progress was made at all, any goal achieved or any enemy defeated - barriers were impassable, obstacles were insurmountable, chances of success were only one in numberless millions, beams of destruction were relentless, forces were cataclysmic, objects were immovable, tractor beams were irresistible - well, it just got tiresome because this was the nature of the entire novel. Science, even as it was known at the time, was effectively ignored and technology in the novel crossed the line from imaginative into purely fantasy.
Recommended as a fast, enjoyable read from the standpoint of understanding the roots and growth of science fiction as a genre. But the novel has not stood the test of time and is weak gruel indeed compared to many of its contemporaries.
Paul Weiss
brettmurray's review against another edition
3.0
A mixed bag of early space opera, that shows the transition from the Flash Gordon era of campy pulp fantasy-in-space, towards the era of classic modern sci-fi of Vonnegut and Asimov.
For every great chapter, there's a mediocre one, lacking in the worldbuilding and character development that you'd expect to find in a modern sci-fi - Triplanetary definitely suffers from the 'Mary Sue' trope of almost every character being almost perfect in almost every way, which becomes tiring.
It gets old towards the end of book, especially when the height of an incurring space war starts seeing touches of the current events from the time when this was written in the 1940's. There should maybe be a trigger warning for borderline genocide for the last couple of chapters. That, and the overtly typical male gaze for the single female character in all its hundreds of pages.
For every great chapter, there's a mediocre one, lacking in the worldbuilding and character development that you'd expect to find in a modern sci-fi - Triplanetary definitely suffers from the 'Mary Sue' trope of almost every character being almost perfect in almost every way, which becomes tiring.
It gets old towards the end of book, especially when the height of an incurring space war starts seeing touches of the current events from the time when this was written in the 1940's. There should maybe be a trigger warning for borderline genocide for the last couple of chapters. That, and the overtly typical male gaze for the single female character in all its hundreds of pages.
sonofthunder's review against another edition
3.0
Speaking of classic sci-fi...this novel was originally published in serialized form in...wait for it...1934! So back we go! My paperback version I picked up was a 1949 version. Still four years before Dad was born!! This is another book that isn't a masterpiece, but still highly enjoyable, partly just for getting a window into the 1930s mindset! This book has a lot of great action pieces that are a bit ridiculous but...hey, it's still good old fashioned fun. You can tell when it was written because one of the most deadly weapons in the book (used twice) is a type of nerve gas (still very much on the minds of people back in the post Great War days). The dialogue in this book is fantastic...mostly because it's really not how people talk today, but it tickled my imagination to have all these futuristic characters using 1930s American slang! Love it. I haven't yet decided if I will get any more books in this series, but I definitely enjoyed reading it. A good book to read on the airplane as I flew to Tampa a few weeks ago...
trike's review against another edition
3.0
This is available online at Project Gutenberg here: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/20782
Apparently this is the original version of the story as serialized in Amazing Stories. At some point Smith revised it to be part of his Lensmen series, which later inspired Star Wars, Independence Day, Mass Effect, and the like.
Triplanetary is pure Space Opera with flawless heroes, a lone plucky girl as love interest, superscience, space pirates and interstellar war. It combines utterly ridiculous over-the-top swashbuckling story bits with some solid science and extrapolation.
I’m fairly impressed by the inventiveness of Smith, although I don’t know how common these ideas were back in the 1930s. (This was published in 1934.) I know that two-way video was fairly common, but Smith also has a form of videotape recording using wire recorders. Wire recording had been around for years by then and commercial decks were available in the early 1920s, but adding the video component is kind of a leap. I mean, we didn’t even have television yet, and talkies (movies) were a pretty recent innovation.
The story is pedal-to-the-metal thrilling, roaring along at breakneck speed. No sooner are we introduced to our first granite-jawed supercompetent hero Conway Costigan and his soon-to-be love interest Clio Marsden than they are attacked by space pirates! Costigan fights against the advancing hordes as the only one to be awake below decks following a sleep gas attack, rescues the damsel in distress and secures her in a lifeboat then hightails it to the bridge, finding the embattled crew being snuffed out by a mysterious beam. Only Captain Bradley and Costigan make it to the lifeboat before their ship is destroyed. Turns out Costigan is a genius commando working undercover for the Triplanetary Secret Service, and he has all sorts of ultra-advanced tech ordinary spacemen don’t have access to. That’s why he was so quick to react to the attack and respond, allowing them to get away on the escape pod in the nick of time. All this is tersely explained and then they’re taken captive by the creepy pirate known as Roger! End of chapter one.
Roger’s space ship is basically the Death Star, and I have no doubt George Lucas read this book as a kid. After our three heroes are captured, Roger monologues at them like a proper supervillain, and Costigan figures out a way to get a message out to the cruiser Chicago, which comes to their rescue. Another Triplanetary Secret Service commando is aboard that ship, and he basically takes over. As the Chicago and Roger’s planetoid do battle, Costigan breaks Clio and Bradley out of their cells so they can all escape. But suddenly an alien vessel appears and starts attacking both the pirate ship and the Chicago! Our three stalwarts barely escape in a smaller lifeboat! But then they are captured by the alien amphibians known as the Nevians!
From here it gets crazy. Like I said, it’s a nonstop rollicking ride.
I did like how Smith employed restarts of certain adventures to fill us in on what happened. I’ve only read a few novels from this era but I don’t think I’ve seen that employed before. For instance, when the Triplanetary League is testing an experimental new ship to combat the aliens, it apparently explodes on launch. The story goes along with the people on the ground and cuts away to Costigan et al being held prisoner, then he skips back aboard the ship to just after the launch to show what happened to it. (Spoiler: it didn’t explode, it just took off so fast it basically teleported, destroying the launch facilities.)
On the other hand, the dialogue is hilariously clunky at times with its fake tough-guy patter.
In one of their scape attempts, Costigan literally kills an entire city of Nevians, but by the end that’s just chalked up to one of those things and golly can’t we all just get along? Gee whiz, we sure can!
So yeah, it’s pretty silly, and it’s easy to see why Space Opera was saddled with so much disdain over the years, but dang if it’s not a whole lot of fun. If you’re a straight white guy from the good ol’ US of A, of course. Dames are for kissing and saving while foreigners are bad guys who work for evil space pirates.
Apparently this is the original version of the story as serialized in Amazing Stories. At some point Smith revised it to be part of his Lensmen series, which later inspired Star Wars, Independence Day, Mass Effect, and the like.
Triplanetary is pure Space Opera with flawless heroes, a lone plucky girl as love interest, superscience, space pirates and interstellar war. It combines utterly ridiculous over-the-top swashbuckling story bits with some solid science and extrapolation.
I’m fairly impressed by the inventiveness of Smith, although I don’t know how common these ideas were back in the 1930s. (This was published in 1934.) I know that two-way video was fairly common, but Smith also has a form of videotape recording using wire recorders. Wire recording had been around for years by then and commercial decks were available in the early 1920s, but adding the video component is kind of a leap. I mean, we didn’t even have television yet, and talkies (movies) were a pretty recent innovation.
The story is pedal-to-the-metal thrilling, roaring along at breakneck speed. No sooner are we introduced to our first granite-jawed supercompetent hero Conway Costigan and his soon-to-be love interest Clio Marsden than they are attacked by space pirates! Costigan fights against the advancing hordes as the only one to be awake below decks following a sleep gas attack, rescues the damsel in distress and secures her in a lifeboat then hightails it to the bridge, finding the embattled crew being snuffed out by a mysterious beam. Only Captain Bradley and Costigan make it to the lifeboat before their ship is destroyed. Turns out Costigan is a genius commando working undercover for the Triplanetary Secret Service, and he has all sorts of ultra-advanced tech ordinary spacemen don’t have access to. That’s why he was so quick to react to the attack and respond, allowing them to get away on the escape pod in the nick of time. All this is tersely explained and then they’re taken captive by the creepy pirate known as Roger! End of chapter one.
Roger’s space ship is basically the Death Star, and I have no doubt George Lucas read this book as a kid. After our three heroes are captured, Roger monologues at them like a proper supervillain, and Costigan figures out a way to get a message out to the cruiser Chicago, which comes to their rescue. Another Triplanetary Secret Service commando is aboard that ship, and he basically takes over. As the Chicago and Roger’s planetoid do battle, Costigan breaks Clio and Bradley out of their cells so they can all escape. But suddenly an alien vessel appears and starts attacking both the pirate ship and the Chicago! Our three stalwarts barely escape in a smaller lifeboat! But then they are captured by the alien amphibians known as the Nevians!
From here it gets crazy. Like I said, it’s a nonstop rollicking ride.
I did like how Smith employed restarts of certain adventures to fill us in on what happened. I’ve only read a few novels from this era but I don’t think I’ve seen that employed before. For instance, when the Triplanetary League is testing an experimental new ship to combat the aliens, it apparently explodes on launch. The story goes along with the people on the ground and cuts away to Costigan et al being held prisoner, then he skips back aboard the ship to just after the launch to show what happened to it. (Spoiler: it didn’t explode, it just took off so fast it basically teleported, destroying the launch facilities.)
On the other hand, the dialogue is hilariously clunky at times with its fake tough-guy patter.
“You two got us out of that horrible place of Roger's, and I'm pretty sure that you will get us away from here, somehow or other. They may think we're stupid animals, but before you two and the Secret Service get done with them they'll have another think coming."
"That's the old fight, Clio!" cheered Costigan. "I haven't got it figured out as close as you have, but I see you, eye to eye. These four-legged fish carry considerably heavier stuff than Roger did, I'm thinking; but they'll be up against something themselves pretty quick, that is NO light-weight, believe me!"
In one of their scape attempts, Costigan literally kills an entire city of Nevians, but by the end that’s just chalked up to one of those things and golly can’t we all just get along? Gee whiz, we sure can!
So yeah, it’s pretty silly, and it’s easy to see why Space Opera was saddled with so much disdain over the years, but dang if it’s not a whole lot of fun. If you’re a straight white guy from the good ol’ US of A, of course. Dames are for kissing and saving while foreigners are bad guys who work for evil space pirates.
tarana's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this. Pulp fiction at its best. Listening to the original audiobook, read by Reed mc something (fix name) is excellent!
metaphorosis's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars - Metaphorosis Reviews
In a collision of galaxies, two powerful races begin eons-long opposition, played out through manipulation of lesser races, including humans. Much later, the Triplanetary government of Earth, Mars, and Venus, deploys its immense fleet against pirates, but is devastated by a number of mysterious and unexpected opponents.
E. E. Smith's Lensman series, which begins here, is a classic of pulp science fiction. It's one I grew up with, several decades after its first appearance. It's a great, fun series, but only if taken in the context of its time - the leadup to World War II, and a time with very different values than we enjoy today. The women are smart, plucky, and essentially decorative. The men are strong, brilliant, and brave. Most moral decisions are clearcut, and when they aren't, the way forward is nonetheless obvious. Government is good and always acting for the best.
The two powerful races that start the story (in epically dense prose), the Eddoreans and the Arisians, encapsulate the ethos perfectly. The Eddoreans are selfish, arrogant, greedy - the epitome of everything cruel and evil. The Arisians are wise, generous, kind - they can do no wrong, even as they see their own shortcomings and plan for a stronger successor. That's pretty much the style of the series, and certainly of this first book (retrofitted to the series when novelized) - you'll never be in much doubt as to whom to root for. There's an attractive simplicity to that. In a time when we are blessed with SFF characters who travel in shades of grey, it can be relaxing to return to a series where good is good, and that's all there is to it.
The sexism in the series is a pervasive product of its time. It's not as easy to settle into that aspect of the book, but give Smith the benefit of his time, and focus more on the plot action, and you'll get past it. The characters here aren't deep - they're staunch and loyal, and they always do the right thing. It's the tractor beams and blaster fire that are important.
I'd forgotten just how rapidly the technology develops here. I could have sworn that shears and pressors and the inertialess drive took much longer to emerge, but they all come in right in this first book, seemingly developed over a matter of weeks by geniuses who need only one look at an enemy's polycyclic shield to immediately understand both its foundational principles, and the technology needed to go it one better.
Again, though, the Lensman series is not about credibility. It's about good beating evil. That was something people needed to hear in the middle of the last century. It's something we can stand to dream about again now. If you haven't read this series, you should. It's Science Fiction 101, and if you read it as a creature of its time, it's a lot of fun.
In a collision of galaxies, two powerful races begin eons-long opposition, played out through manipulation of lesser races, including humans. Much later, the Triplanetary government of Earth, Mars, and Venus, deploys its immense fleet against pirates, but is devastated by a number of mysterious and unexpected opponents.
E. E. Smith's Lensman series, which begins here, is a classic of pulp science fiction. It's one I grew up with, several decades after its first appearance. It's a great, fun series, but only if taken in the context of its time - the leadup to World War II, and a time with very different values than we enjoy today. The women are smart, plucky, and essentially decorative. The men are strong, brilliant, and brave. Most moral decisions are clearcut, and when they aren't, the way forward is nonetheless obvious. Government is good and always acting for the best.
The two powerful races that start the story (in epically dense prose), the Eddoreans and the Arisians, encapsulate the ethos perfectly. The Eddoreans are selfish, arrogant, greedy - the epitome of everything cruel and evil. The Arisians are wise, generous, kind - they can do no wrong, even as they see their own shortcomings and plan for a stronger successor. That's pretty much the style of the series, and certainly of this first book (retrofitted to the series when novelized) - you'll never be in much doubt as to whom to root for. There's an attractive simplicity to that. In a time when we are blessed with SFF characters who travel in shades of grey, it can be relaxing to return to a series where good is good, and that's all there is to it.
The sexism in the series is a pervasive product of its time. It's not as easy to settle into that aspect of the book, but give Smith the benefit of his time, and focus more on the plot action, and you'll get past it. The characters here aren't deep - they're staunch and loyal, and they always do the right thing. It's the tractor beams and blaster fire that are important.
I'd forgotten just how rapidly the technology develops here. I could have sworn that shears and pressors and the inertialess drive took much longer to emerge, but they all come in right in this first book, seemingly developed over a matter of weeks by geniuses who need only one look at an enemy's polycyclic shield to immediately understand both its foundational principles, and the technology needed to go it one better.
Again, though, the Lensman series is not about credibility. It's about good beating evil. That was something people needed to hear in the middle of the last century. It's something we can stand to dream about again now. If you haven't read this series, you should. It's Science Fiction 101, and if you read it as a creature of its time, it's a lot of fun.
adamdavidcollings's review against another edition
An interesting classic sci-fi read. I was surprised how well a science fiction book from 1948 stood up. It was an enjoyable space adventure with a fascinating aquatic alien race. Behind it all, the slow burning story of two advanced races, playing the less developed races, like humans, as puppets - one for good, the other for evil.
The story itself was bit disjointed, but the author pulled the threads together into a satisfying conclusion in the end.
The story itself was bit disjointed, but the author pulled the threads together into a satisfying conclusion in the end.