Skylark Three

If our reality is socially constructed as some postmodernists now suggest, the Skylark series reflects both the era and the society it was written in. Assuming that we have a better world view today is, frankly, arrogant. Suspending imagination and jumping into this well-written SF adventure will not only delight the readers in a well-turned story, but inform them about the thinking that prevailed during a first half of the 20th century and, perhaps, provide some insight into our society today. The reader will also recognize the sheer genius and insight of "Doc" Smith. I introduced them quietly to my son, to find him captivated by the stories like I was. The label "space opera," I think, does not do these books (or the Lensmen Series) justice. Explore them on your own as one might read classics from another era.

I was glad I read "Skylark of Space," because it led to this. And this rocks. Forget the science that sometimes gets a little off track... there are concepts in this book that you see over and over in sci-fi afterward. Watch "Star Trek," and you'll come across E. E. "Doc" Smith. The atomic drive that runs on copper... yes, copper. The metal of power. I guess it would sound like a giant arc welder, wouldn't it? Like the ships in the "Flash Gordon" and "Buck Rogers" serials... I wonder. Flash and Buck definitely owe something to Richard Seaton, the overlord of an entire galaxy. Force fields, tractor beams, energy weapons of every variety, ships the size of Star Destroyers, black holes, warp travel... You've gotta read this.

I first read this book during the golden age- fourteen that is. Yet it has held a special place in my mind and heart ever since. It still gives me a thrill to think about this book even though I am now 49 going on 50. For sheer breadth of imagination, scope of theme and pace of action it is one of the best books I have ever read. It is ,of course, sadly dated by todays standards- but you must realize that when this book was written the very idea of space travel was nothing but sheer fantasy to the average person. At a time when no human had ever traveled faster than 300 miles per hour E. E. Smith was writing about star travel and doing it in a convincing and entertaining manner. If you like alien villains, Smith gives you the Fenachrone, surely one of the most arrogant, vile races ever committed to paper. If you like human villains, Smith gives you "Blackie" Duqesne the pure, utterly amoral scientist. If you like heroes, Smith gives you Richard Ballinger Seaton, brilliant scientist and engineer and his friend and partner Martin Crane- not to mention their wives who play a part in the plot that is well above the level of "rescue the Damsel" that was the standard fare at the time this was written. If you like space ships and weapons that boggle the mind, Smith gives you miles-long spaceships built of materials of unbelievable strength dueling in intergalactic space. And finally, there's the Norlaminians, a race devoted heart and soul to the accumulation of knowledge of every sort- and a good thing too, for without their help, beating the Fenachrone would have been impossible. Smith has a way of writing about impossible things that makes you think: Wouldn't it be great if ......... If you can suspend your disbelief for a couple of hours I guarantee that this book will leave you wanting more.

THe book (also the sereis) will hold you spell bound for hours on end. It is well written,and very thought through. I hope that the publishers see that the series is reprinted. I have read the books many times over the last 35 yrs. I am looking for new copies to replace the ones I now have.

They are all out of print right? Well I have enjoyed the Skylark of Space series very much and will hold on to the books I have now . Hope someone reprints them. I like them better than the lensman series which I also enjoyed.