In Appreciation of E E 'Doc' Smith
James C. Rocks
I grew up on science fiction (that's "Sci-Fi" to the masses, SF to purists like me) and my first SF book was, as I recall, Robert Heinlein's "Tunnel in The Sky" which I enjoyed but, at the age of 12, I think was a little beyond me.
I went on to read more Heinlein (much to my friend and fellow author Ben's distress I rather like his work... well at least up until he started insisting on making every book a "meaningful" epic), picked up on Asimov, Aldiss, Pohl, Hugh Walters (very much a children's author), Niven, John Christopher (the "Tripod" stories) and many more excellent SF writers besides but the truth is my favourite genre is "Space Opera" and, as I grew up, I became firmly convinced that the best author of space opera was one, Edward E. "Doc" Smith. I have re-read his books many times since and, though they have dated considerably, they remain entertaining. I admit it is now possible that I've read better.
E.E. "Doc" Smith wrote many books, many of them similar in feel but all of them utterly riveting to read. He also wrote some in cooperation with others, "The Family d'Alembert" series for instance. I have read some of them and suspect, without a shred of supporting evidence, that his personal involvement in them was minimal.
The works for which "Doc" Smith (he was a real PhD, a chemical engineer apparently) is most famous are the "Skylark" and "Lensmen" series and, whilst the former was good, it is the latter upon which I will concentrate.
The Lensmen series were six, arguably seven, books written by the good doctor predicating on the ultimate battle between good & evil ... two incredibly ancient races using very similar methods but standing for diametrically opposed ideals. One race, the Arisians, were "good" inasmuch as they were relatively benevolent, represented the higher ideals of our society (freedom, advancement, intellectual, telepathic & psychological development). The other, the Eddorians, were "evil" inasmuch as they were ruthless and represented the worst aspects of human nature, believed in total domination, each individual seeking only absolute power.
The complete series, including the debatable seventh book, is as follows:
- Triplanetary
- First Lensman
- Galactic Patrol
- Grey Lensman
- Second Stage Lensmen
- Children Of The Lens
- Masters of the Vortex