Triplanetary - E.E. Doc Smith

This is the first in internal order, but not in order of publication, in the Lensman series - superlatives a specialty. It does connect to Asimov; older reviewers than I have drawn the comparison. It's also been reissued by Ripping Stories Ltd. This is not fair reflection on either; the Lensman stories are of much higher quality - and I am aware of how ridiculous that sounds - than most of the execrable trash put out by Ripping. (I have an older, much battered and OJ - stained set of Grafton editions.) This is something I doubt anyone would or could write today; space opera on the grand scale, without any trace of self-mockery or self-doubt, utterly serene ...  Read the complete review