''Skylark DuQuesne'' is a science fiction novel by American writer

E. E. Smith Edward Elmer Smith (May 2, 1890 – August 31, 1965), publishing as E. E. Smith, Ph.D. and later as E. E. "Doc" Smith, was an American food engineer (specializing in doughnut and pastry mixes) and science-fiction author, best known for the '' ...

, the final novel in his ''

Skylark ''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are ...

'' series. Written as Smith's last novel in 1965 and published shortly before his death, it expands on the characterizations of the earlier novels (written 1919 - about 1938) with some discrepancies (some of which may relate to unwritten background developments). Marc DuQuesne, the major villain of the three previous novels, is shown to have matured, reformed, and been offered a chance at what amounts to a pardon for his prior crimes against the heroes. The book ends with Dick Seaton and DuQuesne teaming up to perpetrate a galaxy-wide

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

against the Chlorans, causing all their suns to go

nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

. This act is condoned with the argument that otherwise the Chlorans would have eventually broken out of their galaxy and taken over the entire universe; Seaton compares the Chlorans to a

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

which must be destroyed "to the last cell". The Chlorans themselves, though depicted earlier in the book as extremely cruel, were not bent on exterminating humans but only enslaving and exploiting them. ''Skylark DuQuesne'' was first serialized in '' IF Worlds of Science Fiction'' beginning in June 1965 before being published in 1966 by

Pyramid Books Jove Books, formerly known as Pyramid Books, is an American paperback and eBook publishing imprint, founded as an independent paperback house in 1949 by Almat Magazine Publishers (Alfred R. Plaine and Matthew Huttner). The company was sold to ...

. The novel was nominated for the

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier a ...

for Best Novel in 1966.

Sources

External links

* * 1965 American novels 1965 science fiction novels Novels first published in serial form Skylark series Works originally published in If (magazine) Genocide in fiction Pyramid Books books {{1960s-sf-novel-stub