First Lensman (Pyramid SF, N2925)

by E.E. "Doc" Smith

Book Overview

In First Lensman, we find the benevolent super-beings of Arisia ready to bestow the first "lens" on a human being (which, among other things, will give humans telepathic powers). The honor goes to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0515029254
• ISBN13: 9780515029253
• Release Date: December 1964
• Publisher: Pyramid Books
• Length: 252 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Fast Paced--leaves me panting and dizzy with excitement1

Smith rewove his spell with his second prequel to the Lensmen books. I confess that I have never read anything so energetic and face paced; in fact, every chapter is a novelette in its own right. Why haven't these books been made into films or miniseries?!This book is essentially the story of the call of Virgil Samms as the First Lensman. With his lens, he is able to crack a futuristic drug ring. Many subplots involve the expansion of the Lensmen corps, the election of one of the Lensmen as North American President, and the formation of the Galactic Patrol.So is this book Sci-Fi? Is it crime drama, a la "Dragnet?" Is it politics? I don't know: it crosses many genera and is as thick as "Dune" or "Lord of the Rings." I am impressed with the leap from the thin stories of Verne and Wells, to this tick and meaty tale of the future.Admittedly there are some anachronisms, such as references to the Ether Theory, and vacuum tubes on the space ships. One character even references a "Slip-stick," which is a slide rule. But this aid to the charm and quaintness, and do not detract from a great story.The originally thin characters round out and actually become people in this novel. I think this series finally comes alive in this book, and breaks out of the pulp mold. I see seeds of Smith's world cropping up in Star Trek, Star Wars, Forbidden Planet, Babylon Five, and other pre-WWII sci-fi novels. Truly, it was a golden age.I am absolutely hooked on this series and eagerly await reading the remaining books.

Return to a more innocent future....

Yes, the writing is sexist. Yes, the style is dated. What was once original and cutting edge seems clumsy and cliched, but it is we who have changed. Reading these stories is a wonderful ride to an earlier time and a less jaded vision of the future. I suggest reading "The First Lensman," before "TriPlanetary". You will not be disappointed as you devour the rest of the series.

A series all true SF fans MUST read

Space opera as an art form from the golden age of SF. E.E.Doc Smith (a Dr. of nutrition of all things!) wrote one of the best (if somewhat dated) SF series. The Lensman spawned cartoons, comics, and a second, much lamer, series (not by Smith.) This is the ultimate battle between good and evil, dark and light, spanning time and space. Corny - you bet. Unforgetable? Yep. If you like SF (and you must, otherwise you would not be here, right?) then read this series. It was out of print for many years - now it's back. Grab it while you can!

Interstellar "space opera" by the man who invented the genre

This is the second book in the Lensman series, about a group of people--the "Lensmen" who are entrusted with the safety of the galaxy. They fight pirates! They fight alien species! They bring peace to all the galaxy... This is a very old story and more modern readers may not appreciate the simpler style of the early years of science fiction, but to any afficionado, this is a must read. It covers the beginnings of the Galactic Patrol and is STUFFED with action, politics, science and (naturally enough) love. Get it.

Excellent, technical novel for pure science fiction lovers.

When I was eight years old, my parents bought me a science fiction book titiled "Tom Corbet, Space Cadet". From that moment on I was an avid science fiction reader. That was some forty-one years ago and I still read sci-fi today. THE most meaningful and well written series I have ever read is the 'Lensman' series by E.E. "Doc" Smith. These stories created extremely vivid images of unknown forces such as the Lens of Arisia, fantastic ships with amazing, yet believeable weaponry, and, of course Boskone, the epitomy of Organized Crime. This classic struggle of Good against Evil is epoch with characters who became the best roll models a young person could have; those with an unyielding sense of right and a desire to make the universe (world) a better, safer place to live. I read my paperback copies of these books until they were no longer readable, but I still have them. I have collected science fiction for forty plus years and have a fairly large collection. Of all those books, only a few have the metal it takes to be remembered years after they were read and the Lensman series is one of those. I am so glad to find them in hardcover and would recommend them not only to the young sci-fi reader, but also the true sci-fi reader who is young at heart