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Lensman
The ''Lensman'' series is a series of science fiction novels by American author E. E. "Doc" Smith. It was a runner-up for the 1966 Hugo Award for Best All-Time Series, losing to the ''Foundation'' series by Isaac Asimov. Plot The series begins with ''Triplanetary'', beginning two billion years before the present time and continuing into the near future. The universe has no life-forms aside from the ancient Arisians, and few planets besides the Arisians' native world. The peaceful Arisians have foregone physical skills in order to develop contemplative mental power. The underlying assumption for this series, based on theories of stellar evolution extant at the time of the books' writing, is that planets form only rarely, and therefore our First and Second Galaxies, with their many billions of planets, are unique. The Eddorians, a dictatorial, power-hungry race, come into our universe from an alien space-time continuum after observing that our galaxy and a sister galaxy (the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grey Lensman
''Grey Lensman'' (originally ''Gray Lensman'') is a science fiction novel by American writer E. E. Smith. It was first published in book form in 1951 by Fantasy Press in an edition of 5,096 copies. The novel was originally serialized in the magazine ''Astounding'' in 1939. Grey Lensman is the fourth (originally the second) book in the ''Lensman'' series and the second to focus on the adventures of Lensman Kimball Kinnison. Plot synopsis The action in ''Grey Lensman'' picks up immediately where ''Galactic Patrol'' left off, in the middle of the battle to destroy Helmuth's Main Base and, it is hoped, fully end the threat of Boskone. After the base falls, Kinnison finds some clues that lead him to think that Helmuth was perhaps not the head of Boskone after all. The clues lead Kinnison to mount an expedition aboard the newly constructed super-dreadnought ''Dauntless'', into the Second Galaxy where he thinks the true head of Boskone might reside. The ''Dauntless'' locates a planet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second Stage Lensmen
''Second Stage Lensmen'' is a science fiction novel by author Edward E. Smith. It was first published in book form in 1953 by Fantasy Press in an edition of 4,934 copies. The novel was originally serialized in the magazine ''Astounding'' beginning in 1941. ''Second Stage Lensmen'' is the fifth volume in the ''Lensman'' series, and the last to feature Kimball Kinnison as the most powerful Lensman in the service of the Galactic Patrol. ''Second Stage Lensmen'' also features the first female Lensman, Clarissa MacDougall. The story mainly focuses upon the exploits of the "Second Stage" Lensmen: those who have gone through the advanced Arisian training Kinnison underwent in '' Galactic Patrol''. These four superior Lensmen, Kinnison, Worsel, Tregonsee, and Nadreck, are armed with mental powers allowing them to control the minds of others and see, hear, and feel without using their physical senses (the "sense of perception"). This elite cadre allows Civilization to tip the balance a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Galactic Patrol
The Galactic Patrol was an intergalactic organization in the '' Lensman'' science fiction series written by E. E. Smith. It was also the title of the third book in the series. Overview In the Lensman novels, the Galactic Patrol was a combination military force and interstellar law-enforcement agency, charged with the defense and preservation of Civilization. The Lensmen were the elite of the Galactic Patrol, and Lensmen tended to hold the majority of the senior-executive positions in the Patrol, although non-Lensmen personnel were essential to the organization's success, and garnered almost as much respect as their Lens-bearing superiors. The organization had large numbers of non-humans serving in all roles, although many of the leadership positions seem to be occupied by humanity. Organization and resources The Patrol had a great deal of political influence in Civilization. In '' First Lensman'', First Lensman Virgil Samms' first Galactic Council was made up entirely of Len ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Galactic Patrol (novel)
''Galactic Patrol'' is a science fiction novel by American author E. E. Smith. The novel was originally serialized in the magazine ''Astounding'' in 1937. The stories in this volume were the first parts written of the original ''Lensman'' saga. It was later published in book form in 1950 by Fantasy Press. Although portions of '' Triplanetary'' were written earlier, they were not originally part of the ''Lensman'' story and were only later revised to connect them to the rest of the series. ''First Lensman'' was written later to bridge the events in ''Triplanetary'' to those in ''Galactic Patrol''. Plot synopsis ''Galactic Patrol'' introduces Kimball Kinnison, who will be the hero of the next three books - '' Gray Lensman'', '' Second Stage Lensmen'' and, to a lesser extent, '' Children of the Lens''. Kinnison and Clarissa MacDougall are the penultimates of the human breeding program the Arisians set up many eons earlier. The book deals with the earliest stages of Kinnison's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Triplanetary (novel)
''Triplanetary'' is a science fiction novel and space opera by American writer E. E. Smith. It was first serialized in the magazine ''Amazing Stories'' in 1934. After the original four novels of the Lensman series, ''Lensman'' series were published, Smith expanded and reworked ''Triplanetary'' into the first of two prequels for the series. The fix-up novel ''Triplanetary'' was published in book form in 1948 in literature, 1948 by Fantasy Press. The second prequel, ''First Lensman'', was a new original novel published in 1950 in literature, 1950 by Fantasy Press. The novel covers several episodes in an eons-long human breeding project by the super-intelligences of the Arisians. This alien race is breeding two genetic lines to become the ultimate weapon in Arisia's cosmic war with their arch-enemies, the Eddorians. The initial chapters cover the ''Kinnison'' genetic line during the fall of Atlantis and Nero's reign in Rome. These tales were inserted into the novel following the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Lensman
''First Lensman'' is a space opera novel by American author E. E. Smith. It was first published in 1950 by Fantasy Press in an edition of 5995 copies. It is, in terms of internal chronology, the second novel in the ''Lensman'' series, but the sixth (or fifth) written by Smith. (Smith had originally written '' Triplanetary'' as an unrelated work, but then rewrote it to fit into the series.) Premise The novel chronicles the founding of the Galactic Patrol by Virgil Samms, the first sentient being in our cosmos to wear the "Lens", a unique badge of authority which is actually a form of "pseudo-life" that grants telepathic Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ... powers to the defenders of Civilization. Plot synopsis ''First Lensman'' picks up more or less where '' Trip ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fantasy Press
Fantasy Press was an American publishing house specialising in fantasy and science fiction titles. Established in 1946 by Lloyd Arthur Eshbach in Reading, Pennsylvania, it was most notable for publishing the works of authors such as Robert A. Heinlein and E. E. Smith. One of its more notable offerings was the Lensman series. Among its books was '' Of Worlds Beyond: The Science of Science Fiction Writing'' (1947), which was the first book about modern SF and contained essays by John W. Campbell, Jr., Robert A. Heinlein, A. E. van Vogt and others. History Lloyd Arthur Eshbach ordered a copy of '' Skylark of Space'' from its publisher, the Buffalo Book Company, in 1945 or 1946. Like many of Buffalo's customers, Eshbach was frustrated by Buffalo's delays in publishing and lack of marketing, an area that Eschbach had some expertise in, from his job as a copywriter for Glidden. He wrote to the Buffalo Book Company offering suggestions as to how they could better market their books ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Vortex Blaster
''The Vortex Blaster'' is a collection of three science fiction short stories by American writer Edward E. Smith. It was simultaneously published in 1960 by Gnome Press in an edition of 3,000 copies and by Fantasy Press in an edition of 341 copies. The book was originally intended to be published by Fantasy Press, but was handed over to Gnome Press when Fantasy Press folded. Lloyd Eshbach, of Fantasy Press, who was responsible for the printing of both editions, printed the extra copies for his longtime customers. The stories originally appeared in the magazines ''Comet'' and ''Astonishing Stories''. In 1968, 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 (also known as Almat Publishing Corporation) (Alfred R. Plaine an ... issued a paperback edition under the title ''Masters of the Vortex'', promoting it as "the final adventu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Analog Science Fiction And Fact
''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William Clayton (publisher), William Clayton, and edited by Harry Bates (author), Harry Bates. Clayton went bankrupt in 1933 and the magazine was sold to Street & Smith. The new editor was F. Orlin Tremaine, who soon made ''Astounding'' the leading magazine in the nascent pulp science fiction field, publishing well-regarded stories such as Jack Williamson's ''Legion of Space Series, Legion of Space'' and John W. Campbell's Twilight (Campbell short story), "Twilight". At the end of 1937, Campbell took over editorial duties under Tremaine's supervision, and the following year Tremaine was let go, giving Campbell more independence. Over the next few years Campbell published many stories that became classics in the field, including Isaac Asimov's Found ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gnome Press
Gnome Press was an American small-press publishing company active 1948 – 1962 and primarily known for fantasy and science fiction, many later regarded as classics. Gnome was one of the most eminent of the fan publishers of SF, producing 86 titles in its lifespan. Gnome was important in the transitional period between the genre's publication mainly in magazines up to the 1940s to mainly paperback books in the 1960s, but the company proved too underfunded to make the leap from fan-based publishing to the professional level. The company existed for just over a decade, ultimately failing due to inability to compete with major publishers who also started to publish science fiction. In its heyday, Gnome published many major American SF authors of the era. In some cases, Gnome was the first to collect in book form narratives that were first published as separate stories, with Robert E. Howard's Conan series (published in six books from 1950 – 1955) and Isaac Asimov's Fou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foundation (book Series)
The ''Foundation'' series is a science fiction novel series written by American author Isaac Asimov. First published as a series of short stories and novellas in 1942–1950, and subsequently in three novels in 1951–1953, for nearly thirty years the series was widely known as ''The Foundation Trilogy'': '' Foundation'' (1951), ''Foundation and Empire'' (1952), and '' Second Foundation'' (1953). It won the one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966. Asimov later added new volumes, with two sequels, '' Foundation's Edge'' (1982) and '' Foundation and Earth'' (1986), and two prequels, '' Prelude to Foundation'' (1988) and ''Forward the Foundation'' (1993). The premise of the stories is that in the waning days of a future Galactic Empire, the mathematician Hari Seldon devises the theory of psychohistory, a new and effective mathematics of sociology. Using statistical laws of mass action, it can predict the future of large populations. Seldon foresees the imminent f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astonishing Stories
''Astonishing Stories'' was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published by Popular Publications between 1940 and 1943. It was founded under Popular's "Fictioneers" imprint, which paid lower rates than Popular's other magazines. The magazine's first editor was Frederik Pohl, who also edited a companion publication, '' Super Science Stories''. After nine issues Pohl was replaced by Alden H. Norton, who subsequently rehired Pohl as an assistant. The budget for ''Astonishing'' was very low, which made it difficult to acquire good fiction, but through his membership in the Futurians, a group of young science fiction fans and aspiring writers, Pohl was able to find material to fill the early issues. The magazine was successful, and Pohl was able to increase his pay rates slightly within a year. He managed to obtain stories by writers who subsequently became very well known, such as Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein. After Pohl entered the army in early 1943, wartime ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
