''The Skylark of Space'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univ ...

novel by American writer Edward E. "Doc" Smith, written between 1915 and 1921 while Smith was working on his doctorate. Though the original idea for the novel was Smith's, he co-wrote the first part of the novel with Lee Hawkins Garby, the wife of his college classmate and later neighbor Carl Garby. The novel starts as an

edisonade "Edisonade" is a term, coined in 1993 by John Clute in his and Peter Nicholls' ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'', for fictional stories about a brilliant young inventor and his inventions, many of which would now be classified as science fict ...

, but turns into a space travel adventure when the characters go into deep space. ''The Skylark of Space'' is considered to be one of the earliest novels of

interstellar travel Interstellar travel is the hypothetical travel of spacecraft from one star system, solitary star, or planetary system to another. Interstellar travel is expected to prove much more difficult than interplanetary spaceflight due to the vast dif ...

and the first example of

space opera Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and soci ...

. Originally serialized in 1928 in the magazine ''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances i ...

'', it was first published in book form in 1946 by the Buffalo Book Co. The novel was followed by three sequels, beginning with '' Skylark Three''.

Plot synopsis

: ''Note: This synopsis is consistent with the novel in its later forms (1946 and subsequent editions) but differs in detail from the original 1928 text as transcribed at Project Gutenberg. There were significant changes between the 1928 magazine publication and the 1946 hardcover, and between the early hardcovers and the late 1950s and later paperback editions.'' ''The Skylark of Space'' is the first book of the ''Skylark'' series and pits the idealistic

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

, Dick Seaton, against the mercantile

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, ri ...

Marc "Blackie" DuQuesne. At the beginning of the story, Seaton accidentally discovers a workable space drive in combining pure

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish- ...

with a newly discovered ictionalelement "X" (suggested to be a stable transactinide element in the

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

group) in solution. Having failed to re-create the effect, Seaton realizes that the missing component is a field generated by DuQuesne's

particle accelerator A particle accelerator is a machine that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to very high speeds and energies, and to contain them in well-defined beams. Large accelerators are used for fundamental research in particl ...

, and thereafter sets up a business with his millionaire friend, Martin Crane, to build a spaceship. DuQuesne conspires to sabotage Seaton's spaceship and build his own from Seaton's plans, which he uses to kidnap Seaton's fiancée, Dorothy Vaneman, to exchange for the "X". In the resulting fight, DuQuesne's ship is accidentally set to full

acceleration In mechanics, acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. Accelerations are vector quantities (in that they have magnitude and direction). The orientation of an object's acceleration is given by ...

on an uncontrolled

trajectory A trajectory or flight path is the path that an object with mass in motion follows through space as a function of time. In classical mechanics, a trajectory is defined by Hamiltonian mechanics via canonical coordinates; hence, a complete ...

, until the copper 'power bar' is exhausted at a vast

distance Distance is a numerical or occasionally qualitative measurement of how far apart objects or points are. In physics or everyday usage, distance may refer to a physical length or an estimation based on other criteria (e.g. "two counties over") ...

from Earth's

Solar System The Solar System Capitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar ...

. Using an "Object Compass" that once locked on an object, always points toward that object, Seaton and Crane follow DuQuesne in their own spaceship (the eponymous ''Skylark'') to rescue Dorothy and her fellow-hostage, Margaret "Peg" Spencer, until the ''Skylark'' discovers DuQuesne's ship derelict in orbit around a massive dead star (resembling a cold

neutron star A neutron star is the collapsed core of a massive supergiant star, which had a total mass of between 10 and 25 solar masses, possibly more if the star was especially metal-rich. Except for black holes and some hypothetical objects (e.g. w ...

). Having obtained the hostages, Seaton extracts a promise from DuQuesne to "act as one of the party until they get back to Earth", in which relationship they leave orbit and travel further in search of additional fuel. On an Earthlike

exoplanet An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first possible evidence of an exoplanet was noted in 1917 but was not recognized as such. The first confirmation of detection occurred in 1992. A different planet, ini ...

, they obtain "X" from an outcrop almost purely of that mineral; then leave that planet in search of copper. Following an encounter with a "Disembodied Intelligence", they enter a cluster of stars nicknamed “The Green System” and locate a planet having

copper sulfate Copper sulfate may refer to: * Copper(II) sulfate Copper(II) sulfate, also known as copper sulphate, is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It forms hydrates , where ''n'' can range from 1 to 7. The pentahydrate (''n'' = 5), a brig ...

oceans. On the Earth-like "Osnome", they befriend the rulers of Mardonale, one of the two factions of the Osnomian natives. When the Mardonalian ruler attempts to betray Seaton and his friends, they find allies in Prince Dunark (a crown-prince of Mardonale's rival "Kondal") and his consort Princess Sitar, whom they later assist in destroying Mardonale. In gratitude, the Kondalians make new copper "power bars" and rebuild the ''Skylark'' as ''Skylark Two'', with new weapons known to Kondalian science. Thereafter Seaton's marriage to Dorothy, and Crane's to Margaret, are solemnized by the Kondalian

monarchy A monarchy is a government#Forms, form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The legitimacy (political)#monarchy, political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restric ...

, and Seaton himself declared nominal "Overlord" of Kondal. The ''Skylark'' then returns to Earth, laden with jewels, platinum,

radium Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rather ...

, and a plenitude of "X"; but near Earth, DuQuesne leaves the ''Skylark'' by

parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...

, and the story ends with the ''Skylarks landing on Crane's Field.

Reception

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first published work, the 1937 poem "Elegy to a Dead Satellit ...

says of the book: "With the exception of the works of

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;'' Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extrao ...

—and almost no other writer—it has inspired more imitators and done more to change the nature of all the science fiction written after it than almost any other single work." Mike Ashley called it "the seminal

." Despite its influence, its critical reputation is mixed;

Groff Conklin Edward Groff Conklin (September 6, 1904 – July 19, 1968) was an American science fiction anthologist. He edited 40 anthologies of science fiction, one of mystery stories (co-edited with physician Noah Fabricant), wrote books on home improvemen ...

's review of the 1950 edition noted that "This tale is the sort of thing that only insatiable fans will enjoy, being . . . uncommonly amateur and awkward", and

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (1 ...

wrote that "It had adventure of an unprecedented kind ... the first great 'classic' of American science fiction", but "As literature, it was a total flop".

Damon Knight Damon Francis Knight (September 19, 1922 – April 15, 2002) was an American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He is the author of " To Serve Man", a 1950 short story adapted for ''The Twilight Zone''.Stanyard, ''Dimensions Behind ...

, however, praised the novel for its "fast, lean plot, an air of excitement, . . . four characters who are comfortingly bigger than life ndthe feeling that adventures are waiting everywhere," concluding that "In ''The Skylark'', everything is big and simple." R. D. Mullen wrote that Smith's "great success" was "surely due first of all to the skill with which Smith mixed elements of the spy thriller and the western story . . . with those of the traditional cosmic voyage. In the science fiction novel Islands in the Sky by

Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...

a starship is named ''The Skylark of Space'' "a name apparently taken from a famous old science fiction story".Arthur C. Clarke, ''Islands in the Sky'', Signet Books, New York 1960, p. 46.

Sequels

The novel was followed by three sequels: # '' Skylark Three'' (''Amazing Stories'', Aug–Oct 1930) # '' Skylark of Valeron'' (''Astounding Stories'' Aug 1934 – Feb 1935, Fantasy Press 1949) # ''

Skylark DuQuesne ''Skylark DuQuesne'' is a science fiction novel by American writer E. E. Smith, the final novel in his ''Skylark'' series. Written as Smith's last novel in 1965 and published shortly before his death, it expands on the characterizations of the ...

'' (''Worlds of If'' Jun–Oct 1965, Pyramid Books 1966) - Hugo Award nominee

References

Sources

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External links