Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.14 AVERAGE
3.14 AVERAGE
This is definitely a product of its time. But I just couldn't deal with the sexism, the simplicity of the plot later in the book, and overall old style and triumph of humans. In the first several sections of the book, it is supposed to be showing the conflict between the two elder races via proxies, but it is totally unclear that that is happening. The events in Atlantis and ancient Rome seem totally unrelated to the rest of the book.
I wonder if anyone ever counted how many times words like "violently" and "furiously" appeared in this book? Rated at three stars because it serves as an example of how NOT to write. Now I understand why Stephen King gets so triggered by adverbs. :)
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
This series is supposed to be one of the early space operas, and influenced a lot of modern scifi. That’s why I decided to check it out.
I won’t be continuing the series. The ideas in the story are interesting. The writing is very dated, and not very good either.
When main characters run into problems, they somehow coincidentally have whatever skill or reach just the right supposedly logical conclusion to overcome.
The couple female characters are unimportant to the story, completely undeveloped, have cliched reliance on a male character, and are actually only there as a device for that male character’s development. The wife, the secretary, the love interest. The only slight positive is that the love interest, Clio Marsden, is sort of a member of the hero’s crew, but she’s still subservient to Conway Costigan as crew member, love interest, damsel in distress, and plot device.
I suppose it’s another way that Triplanetary hasn’t aged well.
Triplanetary is actually a prequel, written well after the first published book. That might explain some of the seeming discontinuities between parts of the book. But I don’t plan to find out.
My rating: 2.6/5
I won’t be continuing the series. The ideas in the story are interesting. The writing is very dated, and not very good either.
When main characters run into problems, they somehow coincidentally have whatever skill or reach just the right supposedly logical conclusion to overcome.
The couple female characters are unimportant to the story, completely undeveloped, have cliched reliance on a male character, and are actually only there as a device for that male character’s development. The wife, the secretary, the love interest. The only slight positive is that the love interest, Clio Marsden, is sort of a member of the hero’s crew, but she’s still subservient to Conway Costigan as crew member, love interest, damsel in distress, and plot device.
I suppose it’s another way that Triplanetary hasn’t aged well.
Triplanetary is actually a prequel, written well after the first published book. That might explain some of the seeming discontinuities between parts of the book. But I don’t plan to find out.
My rating: 2.6/5
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.
Hmm. A manly sci-fi book full of manly scientists doing manly things. As a historical artifact, I’m glad I read it, but that’s about the extent of it.
Reread this - classic SF. A saga of conflict between Arisia (good) and Eddore (bad). Humans become one of the 4 species to fight on behalf of Arisia to overcome Eddore. The books were written in the late 1940s and it's intriguing to see how they imagined advanced technology then.
Geez - I know this is the progenitor of the Space Opera genre, but wow. When the preface has to warn the reader (or listener, in this case) about the reason that the first three sections are a little disjointed, and about the nature of the protagonists and other characters being very much a product of the times they were produced in, it's kind of telling. Even so, it wasn't the traditional gender splits that got to me. It wasn't even the naked xenophobia or the calm, elitist superiority of the characters at the top of their game. It was the use of passive voice, oddly enough, that drove me bananas after a few chapters. I apologize to anyone who read any of my pretentious collegiate essays and dinged me (unfairly, I thought at the time) for use of the passive voice - it really is grating when overdone.
That said, the book does pick up once the main storyline gets going. I will probably give the next volume a try once I've cleared a few other items in my wish list.
That said, the book does pick up once the main storyline gets going. I will probably give the next volume a try once I've cleared a few other items in my wish list.