Triplanetary is a space opera by E. E. Smith originally serialized in Amazing Stories magazine in 1934. Smith later reworked the story into the first of two Lensman prequels which was then published in 1948. This is the expanded version including chapters covering the Kinnison genetic line during the fall of Atlantis and Nero's reign in Rome and the members of the Kinnison line in World Wars One, Two and Three.. Triplanetary covers an eons-long eugenics project of the super-intelligences of the Arisians an alien race ...
Read More
Triplanetary is a space opera by E. E. Smith originally serialized in Amazing Stories magazine in 1934. Smith later reworked the story into the first of two Lensman prequels which was then published in 1948. This is the expanded version including chapters covering the Kinnison genetic line during the fall of Atlantis and Nero's reign in Rome and the members of the Kinnison line in World Wars One, Two and Three.. Triplanetary covers an eons-long eugenics project of the super-intelligences of the Arisians an alien race breeding two genetic lines to become the ultimate weapon in their cosmic war with the Eddore.
Read Less
The first thing to observe is that this edition is taken from the original 1934 magazine text. That in itself is not a problem (indeed, it's what I wanted), but the back-cover blurbs refer to the later novel edition, which Smith turned into the first volume of his "Lensman" series.
On the very first page of the story, a paragraph of text appears to be completely out of place - in fact, it's the caption for an illustration which is not reproduced. There are other blatant failures of copyediting in the first few pages.
In general, this book gives the impression a hasty copy-paste job which was never even looked over by a human being before printing.
lewis
Apr 27, 2007
the finest space opera ever written
Triplanetary is the first of a six volume series that has everything a science fiction fan will love. The catchword is cleverness. E. E. "Doc" Smith has written a saga that is extremely inventive both in technology and character development. Ray guns, space drives, offensive and defensive weapons, and best of all- the good guys vs. the bad guys. In Triplanetary we are introduced to the Arisians and the Eddorians and mankind, who atthis time only represents three planets. To combat crime, the Arisians introduce the "lens", to mankind It is a device worn on the wrist of the newly formed Galactic Patrol that enables ..... Well, you will have to read the series to find out. The only other series that even approaches the "Lensman", is the classic "Foundation" books by Isaac Asimov. Lots of smiles, loads of fun, the best space space battles you have ever read will begin the journey as you take the first step by reading "Triplaneatry".