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A review by chrisgordon65
First Lensman by E.E. "Doc" Smith
3.0
The entire Lensman series is just a bit of fanboy crushing for me.
It was one of, if not the first space opera series I happened upon as a teen and loved every page of. And it just so happened to be one of the greatest sci-fi series of all time.
Well that's what I thought at the time. And in a way I still do. It certainly isn't gritty, the dialog is dated and a tad sexist (women cant wear a lens because why???) and some of the science is a bit fanciful and wide of the mount, but this is pure boys-own (or girls-own) adventure.
As Tarzan is to adventure, as Conan is to epic fantasy, as Sherlock Holmes is to sleuthing, this is to science fiction. Hugely influential, without the Lensmen, there'd be no Jedis, no Green lantern Corps (the original writers even admit they were inspired and have added in Easter eggs like Arisia and Eddore), and no Nova Corps, which was a copy of the GL Corps... so a copy squared.
I remember the series as being flawless, but it's not. Since the dialog is pretty corny it's tougher, as an adult, to buy into. And this book, First Lensman... the second of the season... serves as a transition book between Triplanetary and Galactic patrol... but it's still epic galaxy spanning space opera and with some great moments and sets up the rest of the series.
Probably worth 3.5 but without the half star rankings, three.
It was one of, if not the first space opera series I happened upon as a teen and loved every page of. And it just so happened to be one of the greatest sci-fi series of all time.
Well that's what I thought at the time. And in a way I still do. It certainly isn't gritty, the dialog is dated and a tad sexist (women cant wear a lens because why???) and some of the science is a bit fanciful and wide of the mount, but this is pure boys-own (or girls-own) adventure.
As Tarzan is to adventure, as Conan is to epic fantasy, as Sherlock Holmes is to sleuthing, this is to science fiction. Hugely influential, without the Lensmen, there'd be no Jedis, no Green lantern Corps (the original writers even admit they were inspired and have added in Easter eggs like Arisia and Eddore), and no Nova Corps, which was a copy of the GL Corps... so a copy squared.
I remember the series as being flawless, but it's not. Since the dialog is pretty corny it's tougher, as an adult, to buy into. And this book, First Lensman... the second of the season... serves as a transition book between Triplanetary and Galactic patrol... but it's still epic galaxy spanning space opera and with some great moments and sets up the rest of the series.
Probably worth 3.5 but without the half star rankings, three.