- Smith, Edward E.
Gray Lensman.
Baltimore: Old Earth Books, [1939-1940, 1951] 1998.
ISBN 1-882968-12-3.
-
This is the fourth volume of the
Lensman
series, following
Triplanetary
(June 2004),
First Lensman
(February 2005),
and
Galactic Patrol
(March 2005).
Gray Lensman ran in serial form in Astounding
Science Fiction from October 1939 through January 1940. This
book is a facsimile of the illustrated 1951 Fantasy Press edition,
which was revised somewhat from the original magazine serial.
Gray Lensman is one of the most glittering
nuggets of the Golden Age of science fiction. In this
story, Doc Smith completely redefined the standard
for thinking big and created an arena for the conflict
between civilisation and chaos that's larger than a
galaxy. This single novel has more leaps of
the imagination than some other authors content themselves
with in their entire careers. Here we encounter the “primary
projector”: a weapon which can only be used when no
enemy can possibly survive or others observe
because the mere knowledge that it exists may compromise
its secret (this, in a story written more that a decade
before the first hydrogen bomb); the “negasphere”: an object
which, while described as based on antimatter, is remarkably
similar to a black hole (first described by J.R. Oppenheimer
and H. Snyder in 1939, the same year the serial began to
run in Astounding); the hyper-spatial tube (like a
traversable wormhole); the Grand Fleet (composed of one million
combat units); the Z9M9Z Directrix command ship, with
its “tank” display 700 feet wide by 80 feet thick able to show
the tactical situation in an entire galaxy at once; directed
planetary impact weapons;
a multi-galactic crime syndicate; insects and worms as allies of
the good guys; organ regeneration; and more. Once you've experienced
the Doc Smith universe, the Star Wars Empire may feel
small and antiquated.
This edition contains two Forewords: the author's original, intended
to bring readers who haven't read the earlier books up to speed,
and a snarky postmodern excretion by John Clute which is best skipped.
If you're reading the Lensman series for the
first time (this is my fourth), it's best to start either at
the beginning with Triplanetary, or with
Galactic Patrol, which was written first and
stands on its own, not depending on any of the material
introduced in the first two “prequel” volumes.
August 2005 