tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post5452558425936360025..comments2024-03-27T10:50:17.270-05:00Comments on Rough Edges: Forgotten Books: Triplanetary - Edward E. "Doc" Smith, Ph.D.James Reasonerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18049917964433932612noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-9086132580961833532016-12-10T12:06:20.853-06:002016-12-10T12:06:20.853-06:00I read the SKYLARK series in junior high. I've...I read the SKYLARK series in junior high. I've tried multiple times to read TRIPLANETARY but have never made it past the first chapter. But no one has ever suggested I start with GALACTIC PATROL. Maybe I'll try that . . .Duane Spurlockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06102074370101800708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-86887872676598174212016-12-04T17:17:00.394-06:002016-12-04T17:17:00.394-06:00I have FIRST LENSMAN ready to go on my Kindle. Pro...I have FIRST LENSMAN ready to go on my Kindle. Probably be a while before I get to it, though.James Reasonerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18049917964433932612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-72648581359073741302016-12-04T09:39:07.851-06:002016-12-04T09:39:07.851-06:00I was a precocious reader and was given Galactic P...I was a precocious reader and was given Galactic Patrol by my father when I was 9 years old. I loved it, and the Lensman series, with the unbounded love you can only feel for something at that age. I re-read the books several times before I got out of junior high (middle school to today's kids) and moved on. <br />But I could never bring myself to read the final volume, Children of the Lens. Haven't read it to this day and am sure now that I never will. I loved that series too much to see it end. Be kind of foolish to go back and break that magic spell today.<br /><br />John HockingAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-21864720434586851722016-12-03T00:36:05.088-06:002016-12-03T00:36:05.088-06:00Given that Triplanetary is in the Public Domain, I...Given that <i>Triplanetary</i> is in the Public Domain, I've occasionally thought that rewriting it into non-purple prose with somewhat more modern gender sensibilities would make a good NaNoWriMo project.Ray Radleinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12072567524407934089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-30994499051358637372016-12-02T16:11:19.374-06:002016-12-02T16:11:19.374-06:00Carroll John Daly and Doc Smith! Now there is a t...Carroll John Daly and Doc Smith! Now there is a twosome! But I have to agree with James about Daly being a much better writer than Smith. For instance the dialog in a Doc Smith novel often sounds like two kids talking. But in Daly, I may hate it when Race Williams starts to talk directly to the reader, but I don't see the dialog as a teenage boy talking. <br /><br />Speaking of Daly, the new Altus Press second volume of the Race Williams series from BLACK MASK is out. The book looks like a big, black tombstone and is called THE SNARL OF THE BEAST. A must buy if you have any liking for hard boiled literature. Too tough sure, but once you read Race, you never forget him. Joe Shaw didn't like him but the readers loved him...Walker Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16089880902426182100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-74982681269107485002016-12-02T11:57:23.533-06:002016-12-02T11:57:23.533-06:00I agree with Walker. I found Smith unreadable even...I agree with Walker. I found Smith unreadable even as a teenager when I was devouring both sides of every Ace double.Steve Oerkfitznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-37063270538342228462016-12-02T11:05:57.833-06:002016-12-02T11:05:57.833-06:00I think Daly was a much better writer than Smith. ...I think Daly was a much better writer than Smith. As Keith said above, being in the right frame of mind may be the key to enjoying Smith's work. The same might be said of Daly, especially his early stories. He seems to me to have gotten better as he went along.James Reasonerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18049917964433932612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-66960789082993377812016-12-02T10:57:24.018-06:002016-12-02T10:57:24.018-06:00Sounds like SF's Carroll John Daly!Sounds like SF's Carroll John Daly!Stephen Mertzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08531248810283345577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-38689888582555136862016-12-02T10:44:28.539-06:002016-12-02T10:44:28.539-06:00I read TRIPLANETARY way back in the 1960s. Then I...I read TRIPLANETARY way back in the 1960s. Then I read the whole LENSMAN series. Loved it! Armchair Books just published a new edition of TRIPLANETARY in a very nice format.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04546161337366365635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-15530359101377439432016-12-02T07:43:25.924-06:002016-12-02T07:43:25.924-06:00I have this exact cover copy of Triplanetary. I re...I have this exact cover copy of Triplanetary. I read it long and long ago and liked it well enough. I think I did start with one of the later in the series though, because our small town library didn't have them all. Smith certainly gave rise to many of the most enjoyable tropes in SF. For me at least. But yes, clunky work in many ways.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-3239779693809151852016-12-02T07:15:03.430-06:002016-12-02T07:15:03.430-06:00I have to admit the clunky prose, poor characteriz...I have to admit the clunky prose, poor characterization, and silly dialog defeated my attempt to read Doc Smith and I even started with the so called better serials in ASTOUNDING. He's a hopeless writer and I found him unreadable. Concerning the great ideas argument, Stapledon was far better. <br /><br />I know many readers like Doc Smith but he is really dated and even John Campbell realized this and stopped using his work in ASTOUNDING back in the forties.Walker Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16089880902426182100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-12836890390411037242016-12-02T06:00:23.485-06:002016-12-02T06:00:23.485-06:00I have toyed with reading at least some of this se...I have toyed with reading at least some of this series because of its impact on works that came later. I've seen the suggestion (more than once) that a certain young filmmaker ripped off the Lensmen series rather extensively, along with the Foundation series and several other series from that period.<br /><br />The thing I would have trouble getting past as a phyicist is the idea of using iron as a power source. It takes more energy to initiate a fusion reaction in iron than you get out of the reaction. This is why stars go supernova. *resists urge to explain*<br /><br /><br />Still, if I can get in the right frame of mind, I would probably enjoy the series.Adventuresfantastichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16907562789681407416noreply@blogger.com