[BOTM] - READER PICK - Triplanetary by E.E. Doc SMith

[Anna]

Triplanetary by E.E. "Doc" Smith is our READER PICK for the month of June. And for those who don't know, E.E. Doc Smith is considered the father of modern space opera.



"Eddore and Arisia fought desperately to control the Universe. The ultimate battleground was a tiny, backward planet in a remote galaxy--Earth. And only a few Earthmen knew of the titanic struggle--and of the strange, decisive role they were to play in the war of the super-races..."

This book is out-of-copyright and *FREE* on several platforms:

Amazon (kindle): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004TS0CQG

Apple iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/trip...

Project Guttenburg (all platforms): http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32706

Why not download this classic space opera tale and discuss it with your fellow community members. It's okay to discuss what you think about the book or post links to your reviews below, just remember to be nice and block out any spoilers using the < + spoiler> and then the end-spoiler function = end + spoiler> (to learn more, when you go to comment, click (some html is ok) and it will tell you how to do all those fancy little things).

[Tim]

Read this as a nipper but can't remember much

For those who like me want a refresh while working....

http://youtu.be/CtZ-UamQoxM

[Anna]

I read this as a teenager ... in the original cover, too boot. I vaguely recall I liked it at the time, though who knows now that I've gotten old and picky. Time for a re-read. :-)

[Tim]

Anna wrote: "I read this as a teenager ... in the original cover, too boot. I vaguely recall I liked it at the time, though who knows now that I've gotten old and picky. Time for a re-read. :-)"

it's better than I remember so far, though I loved it as a kid....I think that's because I was a kid and your tastes change as you mature.

Only a couple of chapters in thus far though so that might change when the "prolouge" part catches up

[Pete]

I've Just finished reading Triplanetary. Despite being mindful that this was written in the 1930's, I still found the language a little difficult. I guess this was how speculative fiction was written all those many years ago. The story was good and I was entertained. Sometimes I like it when ideas are a little stuck in a particular era; I guess that's why steampunk is so popular. The parts about Roger being something more than a normal mortal man was intriguing. The Nevians were very interesting and this was where the book gripped me the most. The descriptions of the space battles, although fascinating, seemed a little over dramatic in their language, to the point where I laughed out loud. On the whole some great ideas, especially for the time.

[Jim]

I described this book to a friend as "antebellum south" meets "Buck Rogers". I kept envisioning the action as an old black and white sci-fi, with cultural modesty, social rules and male/female sterotypes. I loved the directness in the dialogue and the manner in which the author evolved the character of Clio. At times I though it just unbelievable that Costigan was so awesome and so capable but then I remembered this was written at a time when heroes were much bigger and brasher than life. Heroes of that time were created to give people hope and an ideal to cling to.

This was published in 1933, just after the last two years of tribulation in the German Reichstag by the NSDAP and the appointment to chancellor in January 1933 of a little grey man in a little grey suit. The alluding to a mystical background of Roger seemed very akin to the promoted mystical "superior race" of das Herrenvolk from Nazi ideology. (view spoiler)[I think the smashing of Roger, his lieutenants and inherent destruction of what he was trying to build on the alien planet is as much desire as political statement. (hide spoiler)]

I really was surprised by the technology of the book. (view spoiler)[The iron engines were almost a deal breaker for me as just too abstract. However, the neutron had just been discovered in 1931 and nuclear energy would not be something pursued until the late 1930's. I think the iron energy of this novel was a look forward by the author to the eventual harnessing of the atom. (hide spoiler)]

In the end, the book ended far too soon. I wanted more of the bold & brash heroics. I wanted more of the fully clothed and virtuous leading lady. I wanted far more from Bradley than was delivered. I really have to put out there that for any fan of science fiction, this book needs to be on your "have read" list.

[Anna]

Jim wrote: "In the end, the book ended far too soon. ..."

A lot of E.E. Doc Smith's books are FREE over at Project Guttenberg in all e-reader formats (although I think Triplanetary is the only one in the Lensman series). Our local sci-fi con is called ARISIA after the Lensmen characters, and a lot of the characters/tropes in the Green Lantern comic/movie series were shamelessly plagiarized from the Lensmen characters:

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho...

And don't forget that community member and author Stephen Goldin co-authored some of E.E. Doc Smith's later works. It's why I picked Tsar Wars as the MOD PICK for June ... it has that same all-encompassing feel as Lensman to it (minus some of the cornier 1930's elements). He's got that book listed for free on Smashwords with a coupon just for us.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Betcha didn't realize we have a legacy space opera author amongst our ranks :-)

[Paul]

I finished rereading this earlier in the week but have been really busy.

Some thoughts:

For the time period, Clio is a remarkable character. She is smart, spunky, and doesn't cower waiting to be saved. She is proactive. I think you can see in her the basis of some of Heinlein's female characters, such as PeeWee from Have Space Suit—Will Travel or even Podkayne of Mars. At a time when most women in genre fiction were there for the ripped bodice on the cover, these women started being real people and sometimes the stars.

I have always loved the deep time presented in Triplanetary. There are many things, of course, that you won't understand until you read further into the series. This book and the next are really just filling in the background for the last four books.

Finally, the technology. Supersonic jets, war fought with ballistic nuclear missiles against civilian targets, space-based missile defenses. Yeah. Remember that many scientists were still saying supersonic jets were impossible. The armored space suits were still evolving in this story, but you have the roots of powered armor, making Starship Troopers, The Forever War, and Armorpossible.

Come to think of it. Lasers hadn't been invented yet.

This book has always been, and will always be, an inspiration for me. It isn't my favorite Lensmen novel, but it is great none the less.

[Shannon]

I loved this book.

Here's my review, where I explain why. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/451136628

[Anna]

Shannon wrote: "I loved this book. Here's my review, where I explain why..."

Pulp! I love pulp! Great review :-)

[Paul]

Shannon, considering what you liked in this book, you're going to really love Kim Kinnison and the later books. Galactic Patrol is may favorite of the whole series, buy KK rocks.

[Tim]

I begin to realise why I didn't like this much when I first re read it.

Great as a young kid raiding my Grandad's old book collection but the writing style gets a little much after a while as an adult.

I think it's the handling of time I find most frustrating, or rather the way they seem to flit from battle to battle in what feels like a day or so yet in that time they've developed new weapons/counter measures etc.

Still, I do still love the concept of the Eddore Arasia conflict almost as much as I remember it firing my imagination as a kid.