- Smith, Edward E.
Galactic Patrol.
Baltimore: Old Earth Books, [1937-1938, 1950] 1998.
ISBN 1-882968-11-5.
-
Although this is the third volume of the
Lensman
series, it was written first;
Triplanetary
(June 2004)
and
First Lensman
(February 2005)
are “prequels”, written more than a decade after Galactic
Patrol ran in serial form in Astounding Science
Fiction beginning in September 1937. This was before John W.
Campbell, Jr. assumed the editor's chair, the event usually
considered to mark the beginning of the Golden Age of science
fiction. This volume is a facsimile of the illustrated 1950 Fantasy
Press edition, which was revised somewhat by the author from the
original magazine version.
While I enjoy the earlier books, and read them in order in
this fourth lifetime trip through the saga, Galactic
Patrol is where the story really takes off for me. If you're new
to Doc Smith, you might want to begin here to experience space
opera at its best, then go back and read the two slower-paced
prior installments afterward. Having been written first,
this novel is completely self-contained; everything introduced
in the earlier books is fully explained when it appears here.
March 2005 