Lensman==>Incest
Jeff Suzuki
: This a speculation.
: Would the sequel to the "Children of The Lens"
: Require the siblings involved to interbreed among themselves.
I've seen the incest idea bandied about, but I just don't see it
making any _sense_, except that it preserves the genetic
characteristics of the Kinnison kids. (We can plausibly dispose of
the real biological reasons against incest, under the assumptions that
the Arisians would have made sure that none of the kids had a
dangerous recessive; given "all wise" Arisians, you can also dispose
of the evolutionary reasons against incest, though less plausibly)
Still, a few hints from Heinlein: in "Larger Than Life" (in _Expanded
Universe_), he does say that Smith told him the ending to the series;
he also says that the novel was "unpublishable --- then". Given the
time (early 1960s), this makes the incest idea plausible. Also, he
suggested it followed from "inescapable clues", and the incest
solution seems to be the only one that pops out. (One wonders: _if_
the solution was incest, _did_ Heinlein consciously or otherwise try
and make it "more acceptable" by incorporating it into so many of his
novels?)
And yet I wonder...
The non-lensman book set in the Lensman universe was _Masters of the
Vortex_ (and I think there was a sequel, published long after Doc
Smith died). "Storm" Cloud is identified as "called" for some unknown
purpose (except that it's not being a lensman). His calling remains a
mystery.
In _Children of the Lens_, Mentor says that a man already exists
appropriate for the girls. Now, he _might_ mean Christopher Kinnison,
but he might not: there aren't enough clues to be certain about it.
Jeffs
Arnold Bailey
> This a speculation.
> Would the sequel to the "Children of The Lens"
> Require the siblings involved to interbreed among themselves.
>customs that are followed today.
> Imho this would seem to be the only logical conclusion that
>would satisfy the culimation of the eons long project undertaken
>by the elders of Arisa(spelling?).
> Being influenced by RAH,I see that this is no great evil or
>horror
>If the people involved chose to do it willingly,It is Definately
>None of My bloody business to poke into their affairs.
>
>Just a few thoughts?
>Any one care to flame me?
>Yo are welcomed
>Abaddon NG
>
The conventional morality against incest (between adults, children another
matter) is to prevent reinforcement of bad genes carried by both siblings.
Heinlein's point and also applicable to the Children of the Lens is that if
both have a clean gene chart there is no danger of defective children.
--
Arnold Bailey - aba...@bix.com - aba...@webwrights.com
WebWrights - Web Services, Web Pages and Web Site Management
http://www.webwrights.com/
Vincent Archer
> By our conventional morality ,this would go against all
> customs that are followed today.
Given the era in which the book was written, probably even more then.
However, Mentor specially states, as the girls start to wonder about
their future that one day they will love, etc... with the clear
implication that the man they'll love won't be their brother...
--
Vincent ARCHER -=-=- Herve Schauer Consultants -=-=- arc...@hsc.fr.net
Tel: +33 1 46388990 Fax: +33 1 46380505
R. Urban
Just as an aside, the Lensmen series was still the best SciFi I have ever
read.... I wonder if the other EE Doc Smith books comparable, i.e. The
Skylark Series (I think).
Harvey White
>
>Still, a few hints from Heinlein: in "Larger Than Life" (in _Expanded
>Universe_), he does say that Smith told him the ending to the series;
>he also says that the novel was "unpublishable --- then". Given the
>time (early 1960s), this makes the incest idea plausible. Also, he
>suggested it followed from "inescapable clues", and the incest
>solution seems to be the only one that pops out. (One wonders: _if_
>the solution was incest, _did_ Heinlein consciously or otherwise try
>and make it "more acceptable" by incorporating it into so many of his
>novels?)
Mentor made each so different that only Kit overlapped them at all.
Other than the genetics needed to make them look human, he told them
that they were not human at all. (I presume he used the prevailing
species as an example).
>And yet I wonder...
>The non-lensman book set in the Lensman universe was _Masters of the
>Vortex_ (and I think there was a sequel, published long after Doc
>Smith died). "Storm" Cloud is identified as "called" for some unknown
>purpose (except that it's not being a lensman). His calling remains a
>mystery.
What's the sequel? I can't think of anything EES wrote that would
qualify as a sequel to Children of the Lens. No criticism, just very
curious to see what it might be. BTW: David Kyle books are not,
temporally/plotline speaking sequels.
I'd say that Storm's calling was to "solve" the Vortex crisis, and
preserve the life of the galaxy against what the Cahuitans might do if
they thought the problem with the incubators was that the planet
needed to be cleaned off first. No intelligent life, just something
they didn't understand. They'd be very thorough...
He was also a six. As to what he might have gone on to do, I don't
know. His was an evolution outside of what Mentor might have been
considering. Although I have no idea that Mentor might not have
known, and just didn't care. That would mean that the L2's are not
higher than threes, but Storm, a six, is definitely not an L3.
Different definitions, I think, remembering the purpose of the L2s and
L3s.
>In _Children of the Lens_, Mentor says that a man already exists
>appropriate for the girls. Now, he _might_ mean Christopher Kinnison,
>but he might not: there aren't enough clues to be certain about it.
Considering that there was no genetic relationship (or not much of
one), then the taboos are sociological and not genetic/practical.
I never thought otherwise, considering that Mentor rigged the dice.
We definitely know he did.
>Jeffs
***
I just read minds,
I don't explain them
***
Steve Smoot
Re: Smith's "unpublishable novel"
Actually, thinking about it, incest isn't the only unpublishable option.
They could need a group marriage with Cloud, or something to that effect.
wife-sharing not being particurally publishable in the 50's (and earlier)
either.
-s
Jon Leech
[elided]
>And yet I wonder...
>
>The non-lensman book set in the Lensman universe was _Masters of the
>Vortex_ (and I think there was a sequel, published long after Doc
>Smith died). "Storm" Cloud is identified as "called" for some unknown
>purpose (except that it's not being a lensman). His calling remains a
>mystery.
>
>appropriate for the girls. Now, he _might_ mean Christopher Kinnison,
>but he might not: there aren't enough clues to be certain about it.
Cloud wasn't even an L2; presumably that would be a minimum requirement
for such a man.
Jon
__@/
Gharlane of Eddore
<stuff>
Herewith, a text version of the FAQ:
(.html version is up, but not yet in its permanent home;
URL will be posted in the near future.)
This entry is about 430 lines of information about the "LENSMAN"
novels of E.E. Smith, PhD. If you're not interested, hit the
"N" key *NOW*.
=====================================================================
Date: Jan 31 1996 16:25:23 PST
=====================================================================
THE "LENSMEN" FAQ. << v3.61, 31 Jan 96>>
Source: ghar...@ccshp1.ccs.csus.edu (C) 1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996
Electronic reproduction authorized as long as no changes are made
and copyright notices are retained.
warning: This sucker is about 430 lines in length.
CONTENTS:
QUESTION #0: WHAT IS THE "LENSMAN" SERIES?
QUESTION #1: HOW MANY BOOKS ARE THERE IN THE 'LENSMAN' SERIES?
QUESTION #2: WAS ANOTHER BOOK PLANNED AFTER 'CHILDREN OF THE LENS?'
QUESTION #3: ISN'T "MASTERS OF THE VORTEX" PART OF THE SERIES?
QUESTION #4: WHAT OTHER BOOKS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE "LENSMAN" UNIVERSE?
QUESTION #5: WHAT ABOUT THE "LENSMAN" MOVIE and COMICS?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
QUESTION #0: WHAT IS THE "LENSMAN" SERIES?
The "Lensman" series is a set of books concerning the most noble
set of Good Guys ever to run loose in Science Fiction. A Lensman
is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient,
Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent; and Well-Educated,
Athletic, and Relentless, to boot.
The "Lens" is an artifact, a telepathic amplifier and universal
translator; keyed to the individual Lensman who owns it, it will kill
anyone else who tries to wear it.
The Lensman fight the arch-villains of the universe, and each time
they eradicate a big, bad set of villains, they discover the villains
they've just vanquished were merely fronts for bigger, badder villains;
this goes on until they identify, and extirpate, the Evillest Villains
In Two Universes, leaving both universes safe for Truth, Justice, and
The Civilized Way.
The series is noted for its internal consistency, long-term
story planning, and breathtaking originality of plot and concept.
Much of modern SF is directly derived from it, and the entire
field owes a huge debt to the Lensmen.
The series was created by Edward Elmer Smith, PhD ( 2 May 1890 --
1 Sep 1965). Smith's primary education took place around the
turn of the century, and his writing style reflects this.
His use of language might be considered florid by modern standards,
but his unabashed command of vocabulary and complex sentence structure
are quite enjoyable, particularly when you realize that what he was
writing was, by Victorian standards, leaned-down and Hemingwayesque.
Unlike most fantasists, he had a strong technical education, and
this contributed to the coherence and believeability of even his
most grandiose concepts.
The Lensman series was originally contracted for by F. Orlin
Tremaine, then editor of "ASTOUNDING" magazine, in 1937. Due to
staff changes, the series was actually edited by John W. Campbell,
Jr, who, along with EES' cohorts, the "Galactic Roamers," contributed
no small amount to the series.
QUESTION #1: HOW MANY BOOKS ARE THERE IN THE 'LENSMAN' SERIES?
Originally, the "Lensman" saga was specifically designed as a
400,000-word novel, to be broken into FOUR segments.
Smith knew exactly where he was going with the four books,
had a complete outline, and actually wrote the ending of the
fourth book before he began work on the first one.
EES submitted his detailed 85-page outline, as long as some
short novels, to F. Orlin Tremaine, the editor of "ASTOUNDING,"
in early 1937. Just prior to his departure from the editorial
helm, Tremaine committed "ASTOUNDING" to buying and printing
the entire package. (The new editor was John W. Campbell, who
would use the impetus of stories by Smith, Heinlein, and Van
Vogt to drive "ASTOUNDING" to the forefront of the field and
keep it there for the next three decades.)
The FOUR lensman novels of the basic series are:
"GALACTIC PATROL," serialized in "ASTOUNDING," Sep '37 - Feb '38;
1st book, Fantasy Press hardbound, 1950.
"GRAY LENSMAN," serialized in "ASTOUNDING," Oct '39 - Jan '40;
1st book, Fantasy Press hardbound, 1951.
"SECOND-STAGE LENSMEN," serialized in "ASTOUNDING," Nov '41 - Feb '42;
1st book, Fantasy Press hardbound, 1953.
and
"CHILDREN OF THE LENS," serialized in "ASTOUNDING," Nov '47 - Feb '48.
1st book, Fantasy Press hardbound, 1954.
--The book dustjackets and interior illustrations are credited to
Ric Binkley, and strongly derived from earlier "ASTOUNDING" artwork,
primarily that of Charles Schneeman and Hubert Rogers.
It should be noted that there are textual differences between the
serialized versions and the hardbacks; in the magazine versions,
the Evil Eddorians aren't even known to exist until the last book.
In fact, at the end of "SECOND-STAGE LENSMEN," EES uses such a hoary
old plot device to end the book that some of his fans were more than
a little put out. EES was concerned over this, even in his original
outline, because he knew he needed a strong "phony ending" for a
break between SSL and COTL, while the Children grew to maturity,
and he couldn't come up with one that he really liked.
When Lloyd Arthur Eshbach, the owner of Fantasy Press, set up his deal
with EES to publish the four books in hardbound, he came up with the
entrepreneurial inspiration of conning EES into rewriting an earlier book,
"TRIPLANETARY," to fit into the "Lensmen" universe; and writing a "bridge"
novel, "FIRST LENSMAN," to connect it onto the beginning of the series.
( The earlier, *non*-"Lensman" version of "TRIPLANETARY" had appeared
in "AMAZING" magazine, Jan '34 - Apr '34.)
Since Fantasy Press printings of EES' other novels were already
selling like hotcakes on a cold morning during the potato famine,
Eshbach had no trouble marketing two "new" EES books as an introduction
to the main "Lensman" series.
This is why there are SIX books in the post-1950, post-Eshbach,
series, and why the first book is so unlike the rest in style and
content. Those "first" two FP "Lensman" books are:
"TRIPLANETARY," Fantasy Press hardbound, 1948; and
"FIRST LENSMAN," Fantasy Press hardbound, 1950.
--Dustjacket paintings and interior illustrations are credited to
A.J. Donnell.
( In 1954, Fantasy Press ran off 75 boxed, leather-bound sets of the
six books, and marketed them under the title "THE HISTORY OF CIVILIZATION."
If anyone knows the location of one of these that's for sale, I'd be
interested in hearing the price-tag on it.)
In 1956, Fantasy Press produced what we'd call today a "trade paperback"
edition of "GALACTIC PATROL;" paperbound copies from the 1951 print run.
At least one Fantasy Press hardbound, "GRAY LENSMAN," was reprinted
by Gnome Press, around 1961, apparently using a simple photo-offset
reproduction of the original Fantasy Press version. The only apparent
changes were the removal of the Fantasy Press name and colophon from the
title page (and "Gnome Press," without the famous Edd Cartier-designed
Gnome colophon, added.) The copyright date is still given as 1951, and
although it's the second edition, it claims to be the first.
The dust jacket on the first FP printing of GL mis-spelled the title
as "GREY LENSMAN." The Gnome version, as is usual for that publisher,
seems to have been printed on cheap paper, and the Gnome dust jacket is
not a full-color reproduction of the original.
The first mass-market paperback editions of the six "Lensman" novels
appeared from Pyramid in '64, '65, and '66. There have been a huge
quantity of printings and translations, from many publishers, since.
QUESTION #2: WAS ANOTHER BOOK PLANNED AFTER 'CHILDREN OF THE LENS?'
EES had a plotline in mind for what occurred after the last book,
but, as far as I can find out, never had any intention of writing it.
Heinlein reports discussing it with him in some detail, but says
he's unaware of any of the book ever having been written or even
outlined on paper.
EES made references to it on two occasions when I encountered him
in person, but declined to discuss it in detail.
Lloyd Eshbach reports that EES said "NO!" in capital letters
whenever approached on the subject of writing sequels.
The subsequent storlyine seems obvious, since the encapsulation
of the last book ("CHILDREN OF THE LENS") is addressed to any
third-level entity capable of obtaining it and reading it, and the
closing salutation refers to "your race;" this implies the existence
of third-level species besides Kit and his sisters...... which means
that Kit & Co. have replaced the Arisians and are guiding other
civilizations into producing third-level minds, or have discovered
or created a new race of third-level intellects.
(Since the Children are genetically perfect, as EES keeps reminding
us, inbreeding might not be dangerous, with no dangerous recessive
genes to be expressed. Of course, there is no reason to presume
the Children have any *need* to reproduce their kind; their species
might well be effectively immortal.)
QUESTION #3: ISN'T "MASTERS OF THE VORTEX" PART OF THE SERIES?
------
---->> NO.
------
F. Orlin Tremaine, the editor who'd left "ASTOUNDING" in 1938,
was working on a new magazine, "COMET," which was having major
financial and circulation problems. Tremaine asked Smith if he
could help out. Since Smith couldn't sell a "Lensman" novel
to a competitor of "ASTOUNDING," he came up with the idea for
a different series, set in the same universe. Unfortunately,
Tremaine's ballyhooing of the new EES series didn't get the
magazine out of the red in time. "THE VORTEX BLASTER" appeared
in the the *last* issue of "COMET", in July, 1941.
This story is about the first 25 pages of the hardbound book.
John Campbell, the editor of "ASTOUNDING," reportedly took a dim
view of this situation, since Tremaine had bragged, in print,
about how he was going to drive "ASTOUNDING" out of business.
Campbell once said he felt that EES's loyalty to a friend who
wasn't that good an editor was mis-placed, and constituted a kind of
underhanded use of "ASTOUNDING"'s material to support the competition.
While Campbell loudly supported competition, it may be noteworthy
that EES (with the exception of "CHILDREN OF THE LENS," six years
later) made only one other sale to "ASTOUNDING." ("SUBSPACE
EXPLORERS," July 1960.)
More "VORTEX BLASTER" stories, the stories "STORM CLOUD ON DEKA"
and "THE VORTEX BLASTER MAKES WAR," appeared in "ASTONISHING STORIES"
in June and October of 1942.
With no major markets paying full rates for the V.B. stories,
EES telescoped the multi-volume outline into something that would
fit into one book, and the three published stories became the first
sections of the book. One character, Vesta the Vegian, is very
appealing, and one of his best-realized alien characters.
"THE VORTEX BLASTER" first appeared in hardback from Gnome Press
in 1960. (According to Eshbach, the normal printing schedule was
inverted, so the tiny (about 300 copies) Fantasy Press edition, with
the better binding and paper, was actually the *second* printing.)
Due to the way contract rights had been assigned on the first story,
it was available for solo reprint in collections; it appeared in
"MODERN MASTERPIECES OF SCIENCE FICTION," World Publishers, 1965,
and was the lead story in a MacFadden-Bartell paperback, "THE
VORTEX BLASTERS & OTHER STORIES," in 1968. I've been told that
the folks at Pyramid, in an attempt to avoid competition with
another book carrying the same title, elected to use the new title,
"MASTERS OF THE VORTEX," on their reprint of the Gnome Press novel,
and that this is why the title continued to appear.
Question 3(A): Where does "V.B." fit into the "Lensman" sequence?
Although the "VORTEX BLASTER" novel is not specifically dated,
and does not appear to refer to specific events during the final
part of the Arisian-Eddorian war, the relative quietness of the
galaxy seems to indicate that it takes place subsequent to "SSL."
Scott Drellishak (s...@soda.berkeley.edu) points out that VB
definitely dates after GL by at least a few months, and probably
after SSL, on the basis of the following points:
After GL:
In Chapter 6 of VB, there are references to superdreadnoughts
and primary beams, both of which were developed during GL.
When Cloud gets an arm shot off, it is regenerated using the
Phillips Process, also developed during GL. Availability of
this treatment to a civilian employee of the Galactic Patrol
implies at least a few months have passed since GL.
After SSL: (?)
Lensman Phil Strong says "You're the most-wanted man in the
galaxy, not excepting Kimball Kinnison." This implies Kinnison
is now a public figure, Coordinator Kinnison of Klovia, no
longer a secret agent.
Drellishak also points out that VB characters always speak of
one galaxy, not two, which might date it before SSL. (I feel
this just means the other galaxy isn't yet public information.)
Dani Zweig ( da...@netcom.com ) adds that it does look like
Kinnison is already Galactic Coordinator. "The fact that he
can undertake a search for someone to help or replace Storm is
more telling than the fact that he is the most wanted man in
Civilization."
Ron Ellik has observed:
"The events of 'The Vortex Blaster' are not decidedly before or
after "Children Of The Lens" -- Kim appears as an executive, not
merely as The Lensman, and Haynes is still at his desk although
we know that Raoul LaForge had been appointed Port Admiral by the
time of the Battle of Ploor. Nothing conclusive -- the important
thing is that VB forms a parenthesis in the stories of the Lens
universe, as it is not concerned with the Eddorian conflict."
The best interpretation I can see at this date is that VB
occurs at some point between SSL and COTL.
QUESTION #4: WHAT OTHER BOOKS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE "LENSMAN" UNIVERSE?
Recent paperback printings of various "Lensman" novels have
included EES' novel, "THE SPACEHOUNDS OF I.P.C." in the column of
"Lensman" titles facing the title page.
"THE SPACEHOUNDS OF I.P.C." doesn't even take place in the same
universe, uses different technology, and can not be fitted into the
series by any even marginally sane leap of imagination.
William B. Ellern wrote a short piece called "MOON PROSPECTOR,"
set in the Lensman universe. It was published, with EES' knowledge
and approval, in the April, 1966 "ANALOG." Michael Richards and
James Corrick have provided further info: additions to this story
were serialized as "NEW LENSMAN" in "PERRY RHODAN" books #61-#74,
inclusive, about 1975, and followed by a stand-alone novella called
"TRIPLANETARY AGENT," which appeared in "PERRY RHODAN" books #100-#105,
inclusive, in 1976. "TRIPLANETARY AGENT" has apparently never been
reprinted, and is reported as very poor writing; it uses the same main
character as "NEW LENSMAN."
The novel version, "NEW LENSMAN," compositing "MOON PROSPECTOR" and
"NEW LENSMAN," was printed by Futura in 1976. James Corrick describes
"NEW LENSMAN"'s use as a framing encapsulation for "MOON PROSPECTOR,"
which appears as chapters 8, 9, 12, 14, and 17 of the book; and says
that the two stories appear to have no characters in common. Reports
on quality of the book vary from "putrid" to "tolerable." I haven't
read the book version, primarily due to having read the magazine piece.
EES worked with a writers' group called "The Galactic Roamers."
These folks, aggressive and professional, delighted in tearing apart
anything vulnerable in EES' works in progress; they were a great help
in his writing, as well as being good friends.
At the end of "SECOND STAGE LENSMEN," EES addresses specific
appreciations to Dr. James R. Enright and to the following Roamers:
E. Everett Evans, F. Edwin Counts, Paul Leavy, Jr, Alfred Ashley;
and to Verna Trestrail.
A later Roamer, David A. Kyle, was a long-time writer, publisher,
collector and fan; using extant outlines, fragments of EES' unpublished
work, and years of wrangling, arguments, and discussions as his source,
he wrote three books EES had intended but never gotten around to.
Cover paintings on the Kyle books, by Bob Larkin, start sloppy in story
detail, portraying Worsel as a sort of large four-eyed dinosaur, and then
improve both in technique and correlation to the stories.
( On the subject of Worsel's eyes, herewith a slight digression:
The original illustrations from "ASTOUNDING," presumably
approved by EES and Campbell, usually show Worsel with either
four or six eyes on stalks. Rogers shows Worsel in flight
with six stalked eyes, and Schneeman shows Worsel walking, with
four; perhaps the other two are specialized for in-flight
applications.....or maybe Worsel just makes however many he needs!
When queried about the two-eyed dinosaurian Worsel who
appears on the cover of "DRAGON LENSMAN," and about the
equivalent creature in the Japanime, David A. Kyle
amusedly pointed out that, in voluminous research, he has
never been able to find a number of eyes specified in any
manuscript or working notes! I checked. We have only the words
"multiple" and "stalked," although in "SECOND STAGE LENSMEN,"
Worsel "thrust out a half dozen of his weirdly stalked eyes,"
and in "CHILDREN OF THE LENS," "eight weirdly stalked eyes
curled out..."
So we don't know how many eyes Worsel has, except (a) they're
stalked; (b) he can muster *at least* eight! ...and, of course,
(c) he has more than two.
Kyle's three books are copyrighted by Verna Smith Trestrail, so
they are owned by the Smith estate. They are:
"DRAGON LENSMAN" (Bantam Books, Sep '80, ISBN 0-553-13741-7, $1.95);
"LENSMAN FROM RIGEL" (Bantam Books, Oct '82, ISBN 0-553-20499-8, $2.50);
"Z-LENSMAN." (Bantam Books, Aug '83, ISBN 0-553-23427-7, $2.75).
Each of these books features one of the non-Terran second-stage
Lensmen as its primary character.
I'm only aware of one printing on each of these, but I've been told
there were later, brief print runs of at least one or two.
"Z-LENSMAN" seems to be hard to find, which is something of a pity;
I liked it best of Kyle's books.
Kyle's writing, while not initially fabulous, is readable, improves
in the second, and is quite decent pulp SF in the third.
I don't know whether this is a result of achieving a successful
synthesis between his own styles and concepts and EES', or whether
the editor he drew at Bantam didn't understand what he was trying to
do at the outset, but it should be noted that even in the first
book, Kyle adds a number of interesting plotlines to the "Lensman"
universe; his machine intelligences, for example, were something EES
had avoided in the original series, possibly to keep the plot
complexity down to something he could handle in a mere four books.
By his third book, Kyle added concepts and characters that could
eventually generate a whole new cycle of novels; hopefully someone
will do them right, some day, if Kyle is too busy.
QUESTION #5: WHAT ABOUT THE "LENSMAN" MOVIE and COMICS?
There have been many Japanese editions of the "Lensman" books
over the years; for example, Al Lewis's EES bibliography lists
"GREI RENZUMAN" from Tokyo Sogensha, a 1966 paperback.
Some years ago, the same Japanese anime studio which had done
the "BATTLESHIP YAMATO" series (re-packaged as "STAR BLAZERS"
in the U.S.) got hold of the rights to the "LENSMEN" yarns and
did a screen adaption.
Worsel has only two eyes, and looks like a bipedal dinosaur
instead of a snaky winged reptile; Clarissa MacDougall suddenly
stopped being a beautiful redhead and has BROWN eyes....
There are other noxious details, like Kinnison being a farmboy
who gets his Lens from a Crashed Space Hero, etc...... *wince*
The anime movie, "THE LENSMEN," is available on tape and laserdisk.
Don't say I didn't warn you.
Comics. I've been told there are a slew of "Lensman" comic books out
there. If, as I hear, they're based on the Japanime storyline,
I'd appreciate it if no one ever shows me one.
=========================
Primary references used in the above compilation have been personal
knowledge; my own collection; Sam Moskowitz' error-ridden biographical
sketch of EES; the excellent concordance, "THE UNIVERSES OF E.E. SMITH"
by Ron Ellik and E.E. Evans; Robert A. Heinlein's appreciative article
"Larger Than Life," in "EXPANDED UNIVERSE;" sections of Lloyd
Arthur Eshbach's publishing history, "OVER MY SHOULDER;" and fifteen
years of insegrevious input from Jamie Hanrahan, (j...@cmkrnl.com),
constructor of the first non-Arisian Lens, who also declines any and
all responsibility for anything pertaining to Japanese anime versions
of "LENSMAN" novels.
Regards and appreciation to the EES fans named in the article above;
- to Bill Higgins--Beam Jockey, HIG...@FNAL.FNAL.GOV; inventor
of the Amazing Radioactive Fan, who has been identified by
"WEEKLY WORLD NEWS" investigators as a disguised Plooran;
- to James A. Corrick, who graciously provided accurate detail info
concerning the Ellern stories, and the 1968 "Blaster" paperbacks;
- to Michael Richards, rich...@maths.ox.ac.uk; and
- Jeff Cohen, je...@netcom.com, who spotted the *real* maximum
number of Worsellian optical sensors; and
- to Michael F. Hodous, mho...@cscs.ch, who caught me in an
insegreviously pfzticated set of name errors in an earlier
version of this FAQ.
Respectful homage to David A. Kyle, who, with great patience and
courtesy, politely suffered a number of inquisitional grillings
at WorldCon, 1993.
Source: ghar...@ccshp1.ccs.csus.edu (C) 1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996
address comments, queries, flames, idiopathic paeans of adulation, and
other such wrangling to alt.dev.null. 10Q.
Genuine additions of information to Source: above;
verified addenda will be included in subsequent FAQs,
and contributors acknowledged.
Electronic reproduction in whole is specifically authorized, as long
as no changes are made, copyright notices are retained, and full
credit is given.
=====================================================================
Jon Leech
Well, Smith himself mentioned group marriages (among Osnomians) in the
Skylark series, at a much earlier date.
Jon
__@/
Gavin Williams
wrote:
>
>Just as an aside, the Lensmen series was still the best SciFi I have ever
>read.... I wonder if the other EE Doc Smith books comparable, i.e. The
>Skylark Series (I think).
I wonder if anyone from publishing companies read this group. The E.
E. 'Doc' Smith books come up again and again and again, and yet
they're not available.
BTW: Re. The Skylark series, the books are very good. The theatre of
the milieu is not as epic, but nevertheless, still very good.
Question for the group...... Does anyone remember the name of
Blackie's sidekick??
Gavin
---------------------------------------------------------
|Alastair Gavin Williams | |
|awil...@iol.ie | Plus qu'il n'en faut |
|agw...@syncentral.com | |
---------------------------------------------------------
Jeff Suzuki
: What's the sequel? I can't think of anything EES wrote that would
: qualify as a sequel to Children of the Lens. No criticism, just very
: curious to see what it might be. BTW: David Kyle books are not,
: temporally/plotline speaking sequels.
The sequel I was talking about was one to _Masters of the Vortex_...as
I said, I'm not sure if one exists, but I _thought_ I saw something
billing itself as being a sequel to _MoV_: it was one of those "based
on notes..." books. Anyone have any information?
Jeffs
Harvey White
>Harvey White (ma...@ix.netcom.com) wrote:
>Jeffs
Jeff: if that was based on notes, then there is one series that does
qualify: Subspace Explorers by EES, and Subspace Encounter, first
published by Berkley in paperback, 1983. Esbach did the completion.
I approve of it, it does have his old style.
There was a short story, Masters of the Vortex, that differed in
several respects with the first part of MOV as either hardback or
paperback. I wish I knew a sequal to MOV, also.
Somebody wanted to find the Omicron Invasion by EES, I don't know if
it was D'Alembert or what. It wasn't Masters of Space, unless they
reprinted under another title. Could this be a British
edition/retitle?
Harvey
Corinne Aragaki
ma...@ix.netcom.com (Harvey White) wrote:
>Somebody wanted to find the Omicron Invasion by EES, I don't know if
>it was D'Alembert or what. It wasn't Masters of Space, unless they
>reprinted under another title. Could this be a British
>edition/retitle?
That somebody was probably me <g>
Omicron Invasion was the 9th book in the 10 book Family d'Alembert series.
It's also the only semi-EES book that I am missing.
>
>Harvey
>
>
>***
> I just read minds,
> I don't explain them
>***
>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corinne Aragaki | What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence.
cara...@ucla.edu | Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
Gharlane of Eddore
"R. Urban" <a#ur...@ccmail.ceco.com> wrote:
>
> Just as an aside, the Lensmen series was still the best SciFi I have ever
> Skylark Series (I think)
>
Try to find copies of his last two books, the "SUBSPACE ENGINEERS" stories.
The first part, "SUBSPACE SURVIVORS," was printed in "ANALOG" about 35
years ago. EES tried to finish off the story, writing a "sequel" that
was really the last 2/3 of the S.S. novel. Smith wasn't able to fit the
material all into one book, so he outlined and rough-wrote the material
of two books in the series. He published "SUBSPACE EXPLORERS" in
hardbound, Canaveral Press, in 1965. The fragments of the sequel were
nearly completed by the time EES died in '65, but had been put on
"hold" while EES worked on his "Family D'Alembert" yarns, and the
details of an "insert" for the "Subspace" books, intended to create a
trilogy by using the originally-planned two as the first and third volumes,
with the second volume, apparently unrelated, setting up plot threads
to be resolved in the third.
With Doc Smith's passing, there was no one to write the "middle" book,
and Lloyd Arthur Eshbach was the one who did the final assembly and
"smoothing" pass on the extant material. Eshbach has specifically stated
that all he did was assemble EES' already-done work, and that he only
wrote about 10,000 words of "bridging" material and slight embellishments
of certain scenes and events.
This final book was published as "SUBSPACE ENCOUNTER," as by E.E. Smith,
edited and with an introduction by L.A.E.
I've only seen a paperback edition of "SUBSPACE ENCOUNTER," which
by then had been re-titled as "SUBSPACE ENGINEERS," if memory
serves. I recall a Schoenherr painting on the cover, a lady with
red hair in tight curls in a space-suit, if that's any help in
tracking it down. (*I* don't have a copy to refer to; the folks
who bought copies seem to have kept them, and my one copy is in
another state.)
I got to (very briefly) talk about the "SUBSPACE" books with EES,
back around '64. He thought of them as the best books he'd
ever written, and was very proud of the way the stories were
shaping up. He said "I won't get any awards, but they are one
heck of a lot better than I'd have done twenty, or even ten,
years ago. I'm still learning, and it's wonderful."
In <3115357...@news.syncentral.com> awil...@iol.ie writes:
>
> I wonder if anyone from publishing companies read this group.
> The E. E. 'Doc' Smith books come up again and again and again,
> and yet they're not available.
>
.....
Waste of time. The Estate is all fouled up, no one wants to
market the rights; one report had it that Verna, prior to her
death, was so enraged by the Anime and comic book mis-treatments
that she refused to release ANY rights once the current contract
expired... but this is hearsay, and I have no concrete references.
My own addition to the series, "AI LENSMAN," has been sitting on
the shelf for over a decade, unmarketable, since I can't even
find out who to ask for permission to send it in to a publisher.
If I can stay alive until 2015, perhaps I'll be able to legally
market it without formal clearance, who knows.....
> BTW: Re. The Skylark series, the books are very good. The theatre
> of the milieu is not as epic, but nevertheless, still very good.
You're kidding, right? For the era in which they were written,
they were approximately as important as "20,000 Leagues Under
the Sea," or perhaps the "Odyssey."
Heck, E.E. Smith invented the concept of a "Keyboard Macro"
and the idea of CAM three decades before we had computers
that didn't run on tubes, or cogwheels.....
The entirety of modern SF is firmly rooted in the work of Verne,
Wells, Campbell, E.E. Smith, Heinlein, Williamson, and Nowlan.
Pre-1950, those were the critically important folks.
> Question for the group...... Does anyone remember the name of
> Blackie's sidekick??
*Which* sidekick? "Baby Doll" Loring, or Dr. Stephanie DeMarigny?
Steph was a *lot* neater..... Caitlin Brown would be the current
best choice to play her, and Duncan Regehr (sp?) for DuQuesne.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
| __ __ |
| We are dreamers, shapers, singers and makers. / | / \ |
| We study the mysteries of laser and circuit, -|---+----+- |
| Crystal and scanner, holographic demons, | | | |
| And invocations of equations. |_/ \__/ |
| |
| These are the tools we employ. And we know... many things. |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
David Dyer-Bennet
>In _Children of the Lens_, Mentor says that a man already exists
>appropriate for the girls. Now, he _might_ mean Christopher Kinnison,
>but he might not: there aren't enough clues to be certain about it.
That, in combination to the description of how dancing with Kit was so
different and so much better than dancing with any other man, make it
seem reasonably likely that he *did* mean Kit. But I wouldn't call it
explicit, no.
--
David Dyer-Bennet d...@network.com, d...@terrabit.mn.org, d...@gw.ddb.com
SF cons: http://www.ddb.com/4th-Street, http://www.mnstf.org/minicon31
Me: http://www.ddb.com/~ddb (photos, Olympus photo eqpt. for sale, sf)
David Dyer-Bennet
Gavin Williams <awil...@iol.ie> wrote:
>Question for the group...... Does anyone remember the name of
>Blackie's sidekick??
He doesn't have one, in the usual sense of a continuing character that
he's good friends with. If you mean the mobster he borrows from
Perkins for the trip where he discovers the Fenachrone and steals
their ship, that would be "Baby Doll" Loring, I believe. Books are at
home, I can't check.
Joel Rosenberg
>In article <4elol5$2...@news.bu.edu>, Jeff Suzuki <je...@bu.edu> wrote:
>>In _Children of the Lens_, Mentor says that a man already exists
>>appropriate for the girls. Now, he _might_ mean Christopher Kinnison,
>>but he might not: there aren't enough clues to be certain about it.
>That, in combination to the description of how dancing with Kit was so
>different and so much better than dancing with any other man, make it
>seem reasonably likely that he *did* mean Kit. But I wouldn't call it
>explicit, no.
>--
I think we need to differentiate between something being explicit and
something being awfully clearly implied. I don't see how his auctorial
comments can be fairly read other than to suggest that Kit was the perfect guy
for his sisters.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joel Rosenberg | jo...@winternet.com | http://www.winternet.com/~joelr
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I marvel at the resilience of the Jewish people.
Their best characteristic is their desire to remember.
No other people has such an obsession with memory.
-- Elie Wiesel
David Dyer-Bennet
R. Urban <a#ur...@ccmail.ceco.com> wrote:
>Just as an aside, the Lensmen series was still the best SciFi I have ever
>read.... I wonder if the other EE Doc Smith books comparable, i.e. The
>Skylark Series (I think).
I find the Skylark series as good overall, but in a strange way; the
first two books aren't really up to it, and the last book (_Skylark
DuQuesne_) pulls out all the stops and catches up, and you need the
previous books to follow it. My impression is that this is something
of a minority opinion.
I'm also *very* fond of _The Galaxy Primes_ and _Spacehounds of IPC_
and even _Subspace Explorers_. I wasn't all *that* fond of the Family
D'alembert series (mostly Steven Goldin's work anyway). And then
there was _Masters of Space_, which I thought sucked dead diseased
rodents through a straw -- i.e. I didn't like it much.
Steve Simmons
>Question for the group...... Does anyone remember the name of
>Blackie's sidekick??
Surely you're not thinking of Hunkie DeMagarie, or however the heck it was
spelled?
John Robert Shaw
There is also a strong implication that the children are not "human" but some stage
beyond. This might imply that reproduction for the children may differ from our
natural methods...so there is no "incest". The Arisians are asexual and implications
the beings at their stage of development and beyond are asexual is prevalent in the
books (tho it has been some years since I last read them)
/bob/
Jonathan Mavor
David Dyer-Bennet (d...@gw.ddb.com) writes:
> In article <3115357...@news.syncentral.com>,
> Gavin Williams <awil...@iol.ie> wrote:
>
>>Blackie's sidekick??
>
> he's good friends with. If you mean the mobster he borrows from
> Perkins for the trip where he discovers the Fenachrone and steals
> their ship, that would be "Baby Doll" Loring, I believe. Books are at
> home, I can't check.
>
> David Dyer-Bennet d...@network.com, d...@terrabit.mn.org, d...@gw.ddb.com
> SF cons: http://www.ddb.com/4th-Street, http://www.mnstf.org/minicon31
> Me: http://www.ddb.com/~ddb (photos, Olympus photo eqpt. for sale, sf)
There is also Hunky in the last book. And the bodiless mind-entities.
L8r,
Jon
--
/-------------------------------------
Arnold Bailey
>I've only seen a paperback edition of "SUBSPACE ENCOUNTER," which
>by then had been re-titled as "SUBSPACE ENGINEERS," if memory
>serves. I recall a Schoenherr painting on the cover, a lady with
>red hair in tight curls in a space-suit, if that's any help in
>tracking it down. (*I* don't have a copy to refer to; the folks
>who bought copies seem to have kept them, and my one copy is in
>another state.)
>
I recently got a used copy of "Subspace Encounter" published by
BerkleyBooks 1983
ISBN 0-425-06244-9. Bills itself as First Publication anywhere. Cover by
Mark Bright.
Kevin H. Thomas
>Gharlane of Eddore wrote:
>>I've only seen a paperback edition of "SUBSPACE ENCOUNTER," which
>>by then had been re-titled as "SUBSPACE ENGINEERS," if memory
>>serves. I recall a Schoenherr painting on the cover, a lady with
>>red hair in tight curls in a space-suit, if that's any help in
>>tracking it down. (*I* don't have a copy to refer to; the folks
>>who bought copies seem to have kept them, and my one copy is in
>>another state.)
>>
>I recently got a used copy of "Subspace Encounter" published by
>BerkleyBooks 1983
>ISBN 0-425-06244-9. Bills itself as First Publication anywhere. Cover by
>Mark Bright.
>--
>Arnold Bailey - aba...@bix.com - aba...@webwrights.com
>WebWrights - Web Services, Web Pages and Web Site Management
>http://www.webwrights.com/
If so, they lied.... I found some really elderly copies of the 2
subspace books once (early 60's)
Ben Yalow
>I find the Skylark series as good overall, but in a strange way; the
>first two books aren't really up to it, and the last book (_Skylark
>DuQuesne_) pulls out all the stops and catches up, and you need the
>previous books to follow it. My impression is that this is something
>of a minority opinion.
We certainly do disagree on that. I thought the Skylark series started
well, despite the problems that come from reading eight decade old work.
And they get better through _Valeron_. And then, for me, all the stops
*do* come out, and Smith descends into self-parody.
I usually stop rereading with _Valeron_. I've probably read _DuQuesne_
several dozen fewer times than the other three.
>--
>David Dyer-Bennet d...@network.com, d...@terrabit.mn.org, d...@gw.ddb.com
>SF cons: http://www.ddb.com/4th-Street, http://www.mnstf.org/minicon31
>Me: http://www.ddb.com/~ddb (photos, Olympus photo eqpt. for sale, sf)
Ben
--
Ben Yalow yb...@panix.com
Not speaking for anybody
Corinne Aragaki
>aba...@BIX.com (Arnold Bailey) wrote:
>>Gharlane of Eddore wrote:
>>>I've only seen a paperback edition of "SUBSPACE ENCOUNTER," which
>>>by then had been re-titled as "SUBSPACE ENGINEERS," if memory
>>>serves. I recall a Schoenherr painting on the cover, a lady with
>>>red hair in tight curls in a space-suit, if that's any help in
>>>tracking it down. (*I* don't have a copy to refer to; the folks
>>>who bought copies seem to have kept them, and my one copy is in
>>>another state.)
>>>
This recollection is of the 1965 Ace Books edition of SUBSPACE
EXPLORERS. (Quite a fantastic memory, Gharlane! Perfect description
of the cover!) EES was apparently (according to Lloyd Arthur
Eschbach) reediting SUBSPACE ENCOUNTER, a sequel to SUBSPACE
EXPLORERS, when he died in 1965. SUBSPACE ENCOUNTER was first
published in 1983, when it was discovered by LAE, Frederik Pohl, and
Verna Smith Trestrail.
>>I recently got a used copy of "Subspace Encounter" published by
>>BerkleyBooks 1983
>>ISBN 0-425-06244-9. Bills itself as First Publication anywhere. Cover by
>>Mark Bright.
>>--
>>Arnold Bailey - aba...@bix.com - aba...@webwrights.com
>>WebWrights - Web Services, Web Pages and Web Site Management
>>http://www.webwrights.com/
>If so, they lied.... I found some really elderly copies of the 2
>subspace books once (early 60's)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corinne Aragaki | What we cannot speak about we must pass over in silence.
cara...@ucla.edu | Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus
David Empey
> In <4f8cik$u...@gw.ddb.com> d...@gw.ddb.com (David Dyer-Bennet) writes:
>
>
> >I find the Skylark series as good overall, but in a strange way; the
> >first two books aren't really up to it, and the last book (_Skylark
> >DuQuesne_) pulls out all the stops and catches up, and you need the
> >previous books to follow it. My impression is that this is something
> >of a minority opinion.
>
> We certainly do disagree on that. I thought the Skylark series started
> well, despite the problems that come from reading eight decade old work.
> And they get better through _Valeron_. And then, for me, all the stops
> *do* come out, and Smith descends into self-parody.
>
> I usually stop rereading with _Valeron_. I've probably read _DuQuesne_
> several dozen fewer times than the other three.
Me too. One of the problems is a rather glaring continuity error between
DuQuesne and _Skylark Three_, viz. how could that Fenachrone scientist in
_SDQ_ (was his name Sleemet?) know about the 'sixth-order rays' when the
Fenachrone had not yet even discovered the 'fifth-order rays' used by
the Norlaminians? Also I find the sudden appearance of a much bigger
and better organized branch of the Party of Postponement seems rather
glaringly ad hoc (although Seaton's remark that it'd probably be damn
near impossible to kill _all_ the members of a spacegoing race has some
merit.)
--
David Empey (dge...@cats.ucsc.edu)
Flash Sheridan
>In <4f8cik$u...@gw.ddb.com> d...@gw.ddb.com (David Dyer-Bennet) writes:
> I thought the Skylark series started
>well, despite the problems that come from reading eight decade old work.
Which version of the Skylark of Space are you referring to? I found the
hardback edition much tougher going that the paperback, much more like
Burroughs than anything else Smith wrote. In retrospect, the paperback
SoS feels much more like late Smith than early. There are plenty of
non-essential, non-stylistic, changes, too, e.g., Seaton's blue serge suit
changes into a Hawaiian shirt, and Mrs Seaton's wedding dress is white
rather than off-white. (I haven't read the magazine version, don't have
access to the 1911 version you allude to, and don't know whether they
differ.)
--
<LI><a href="ftp://ftp.rahul.net/pub/flasheridn/">Flash Sheridan</a>
<LI><a href="ftp://ftp.rahul.net/pub/flasheridn/snug/">Snug</a>
<LI><a href="http://www.landware.com/kwikmenu.html">KwikMenu</a>
Harvey White
Stylistically, Smith seemed to borrow a lot from Burroughs in the
hardback version. I only read it once, but I seem to remember
"doprat" for a time of day (meals?). This convention seemed to die
out with Burrough's work and Kline's work. I'm not sure, but I think
the transplantation of alien terms into the novel was designed to make
the aliens more real. Now, it seems just to clutter the novel.
II suspect this is a practice borrowed from the high
adventure/travelogue novels (which I have not read) which added
authenticity and flavor by sprinkling the novel with a liberal dosage
of native terms, some of which had no english analogue.
I think it kinda got out of hand, at times.
Comments?
Ahasuerus the Wandering Jew
> Stylistically, Smith seemed to borrow a lot from Burroughs in the
> hardback version. I only read it once, but I seem to remember
> "doprat" for a time of day (meals?). This convention seemed to die
> out with Burrough's work and Kline's work. I'm not sure, but I think
> the transplantation of alien terms into the novel was designed to make
> the aliens more real. Now, it seems just to clutter the novel.
>
> II suspect this is a practice borrowed from the high
> adventure/travelogue novels (which I have not read) which added
> authenticity and flavor by sprinkling the novel with a liberal dosage
> of native terms, some of which had no english analogue.
>
> I think it kinda got out of hand, at times.
There was an exchange between Doc Smith and some fans shortly after _SoS_
was first published (so it must be 1929 or 1930) about his use of "future
slang". Many people loved it, other people (oh gosh, what was her name?
Mrs. Something-or-other) thought Doc was going overboard. YMMV.
--
Ahasuerus http://www.clark.net/pub/ahasuer/, including:
FAQs: rec.arts.sf.written, alt.pulp, the Liaden Universe
Biblios: how to write SF, the Wandering Jew, miscellaneous SF
Please consider posting (as opposed to e-mailing) ID requests
David Dyer-Bennet
Flash Sheridan <FlaSh...@rahul.net> wrote:
>In article <4fc2hi$l...@panix3.panix.com>, Ben Yalow <yb...@panix.com> wrote:
>>In <4f8cik$u...@gw.ddb.com> d...@gw.ddb.com (David Dyer-Bennet) writes:
>
>> I thought the Skylark series started
>>well, despite the problems that come from reading eight decade old work.
>
>Which version of the Skylark of Space are you referring to? I found the
>hardback edition much tougher going that the paperback, much more like
>Burroughs than anything else Smith wrote. In retrospect, the paperback
>SoS feels much more like late Smith than early. There are plenty of
>non-essential, non-stylistic, changes, too, e.g., Seaton's blue serge suit
>changes into a Hawaiian shirt, and Mrs Seaton's wedding dress is white
>rather than off-white. (I haven't read the magazine version, don't have
>access to the 1911 version you allude to, and don't know whether they
>differ.)
I believe you are misattributing Ben Yallow's words to me above
(though if people follow the levels carefully they'll skip over the
extra header that should have been shipped.
Now, to get back to the actual discussion. I thought Mrs. Seaton's
wedding dress was wire-cloth, and the men wore tennis whites? I've
read the 1960's Pyramid paperbacks, and the little hardcover edition
that I believe is just a facsimile of something from that era.
Haven't tracked down magazines or 1st ed hardcovers.
--
David Dyer-Bennet d...@gw.ddb.com, d...@ddb.com, d...@network.com
bweb...@freenet.vcu.edu
>was first published (so it must be 1929 or 1930) about his use of "future
>slang". Many people loved it, other people (oh gosh, what was her name?
>Mrs. Something-or-other) thought Doc was going overboard. YMMV.
From _On The Ground Floor: An Index of First Stories_, ANIARA
PRESS 1995, by (ahem) Bud Webster:
(In re _The Skylark of Space_) Originally written in 1919 as a
collaboration with Mrs. Lee Hawkins Garby, it was subsequently
reprinted in paperback with her material (she apparently
supplied the "love interest") excised (PYRAMID 1958, 3rd ed.
1st printing). Smith considered this the preferred version.
Nichols (2nd ed.) indicates that she was the wife of one of
Smith's school friends.
Hope this helps.
--
************************************************************************
* Bud Webster | What's that? MY opinion, *
* SFWA member RealSoonNow | someone else's? BWAA-hah- *
* "Writer in residence at MY house." | hah-hah-hah! *
************************************************************************
Flash Sheridan
>In article <4flf3q$1...@hustle.rahul.net>,
>Flash Sheridan <FlaSh...@rahul.net> wrote:
>>and Mrs Seaton's wedding dress is white
>>rather than off-white.
> I thought Mrs. Seaton's
>wedding dress was wire-cloth,
Oops, it was Mrs Crane (of course) who was once married in white, later
in off-white; Mrs Seaton was married in green in both editions:
Pyramid, 1958, chapter 19, page 134:
"For black-haired Margaret, with her ivory skin, the Kondalian princess
had chosen an almost-white metal... Dorothy's gown was of a dark and
lustrous green..."
FFF, 1950, page 215: "...a background of a rare white metal... a peculiar
dark green shade..."
Ahasuerus the Wandering Jew
> From _On The Ground Floor: An Index of First Stories_, ANIARA
> PRESS 1995, by (ahem) Bud Webster:
>
> (In re _The Skylark of Space_) Originally written in 1919 as a
1919? Not 1915/1919-1920 as Moskowitz maintained and not "essentially
completed in 1915" as Gharlane said (not an exact quote) a few weeks ago?
Um. Also, I am not sure I am reading you correctly, but I was referring to
a *reader* of Smith's who was objecting to his use of "future" slang, not
to his collaborator. The fact that they were both "Mrs." was just a
coincidence. Unless, of course, it *was* LHG who wrote those letters to
_Amazing_, in which case I need to have my memory banks replaced.