Triplanetary / E.E. Doc Smith

Triplanetary
by E.E. Doc Smith

Science fiction... Space opera

Published 1948
Read in January 2013... and many times before

rating 8 out of 10: really quite good

Really quite good... or really quite bad: your choice! This is space opera: over the top, boys own adventures in space. Love it, or...

Well, no. Just love it :-)

I don't like to bias my opinions by reading other views of books. (At least, not till my own review is posted.) But it seems to me that this first book of the series was written after most of the others. Whatever.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there was this race of super intelligent aliens. Then there were two races. One was good, the other was evil... Unlike Smith's Skylark series, there is no doubt: the lines are clearly drawn between good and evil.

Unfortunately the good aliens are not powerful enough to defeat the evil aliens. So they spend this -- and six more books -- developing a race which will be able to wipe evil from the galaxy.

And that race... is humanity.

Surprise!

Atlantis falls. Rome declines. World wars come and go. And then the serious space-based action begins.

Fishy aliens destroy human space fleets. And a major city or two. Humans respond with destruction of a major city, plus the killing of all the inhabitants of another city.

Then they each realise that it was all based on a misunderstanding... Hands, flippers and tentacles are shaken all round. A treaty of trade and cooperation is signed.

If only our real wars could end on such a reasonable note.

This is a universe of weird aliens, fierce battles, great science and sensible outcomes. Space opera at its best.

No need to believe it.

Just enjoy it :-)

====
Problems ? Solved

Empire & Ecolitan / L.E.Modesitt Jr

Empire & Ecolitan

category: Science fiction, author:

L.E.Modesitt Jr

books  2 & 3 of Galactic Empire original copyright 1989, 1990

read in July 2012

Agamedes' opinion: 6 out of 10, read to pass the time

Two books in one volume. Value for money :-)  Both novels are... okay.

 First up is The Ecolitan Operation. Old style space opera. Unbelievable but fun. With some environmental overtones: could an ecologically sound culture really be that good?!

 Large scale death and destruction, cardboard characters, problems solved with fist or ray gun. All that is asked of the reader is, a willing suspension of disbelief.

 Immediately following that action-packed adventure is The Ecologic Secession.

 The second book aims for less flash and more depth. It does not work very well.

 The romance is... well, what can I say...? Stilted? Just short of embarrassing? A worthy attempt but not great.

 The political dithering is realistic, on both sides of the secession. The flow of the book is more complex ( than Operation) and it works. I would say, an author improving his technical skills. And attempting to improve the quality of his story.

I enjoyed both of these books. But would not go out of my way to read more.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

PissWeakly: the Index

A Princess of Mars / Edgar Rice Burroughs

A Princess of Mars

category: fantasy, space opera, author:

Edgar Rice Burroughs

book 1 of Barsoom
original copyright 1913

read in March 2012 (and before, quite a few years ago)

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10: well worth reading

When I read the pre-release publicity blurb for the movie John Carter I thought, has the director ever read the book?! So, I thought, time to re-read, A Princess of Mars.

Now I have still not seen the movie. But there are some stories that have come back from those who have...

First, an apology to the screen-writers: Okay, the story is introduced by (supposedly) Burroughs himself. Perhaps, grasping at straws, my memory had been affected by details from the book:

"My first recollection of Captain Carter is... just prior to the opening of the civil war" (from the Foreword). "I was then a child of but five years." So the Burroughs of the Foreword would be about nineteen years old when Edgar Rice Burroughs was born...

What we have, is the standard, "I found a manuscript..." approach with the less standard "and 'I' am the author..." If you see what I mean:-)

Still, when I heard that ERB himself could be dragged into a sequel movie, I groaned. Yet, perhaps, that Foreword does leave room for later authorial engagement in the action. So. I apologise.

Then there's the leaping.

Look, it's just the lighter gravity on Barsoom! Not super-powers, just Earthly strength -- of a very fit man -- on a lighter planet.

One hundred and fifty feet horizontal, thirty feet high. That's about it. Fifty metres along, ten metres up. It's jumping, not flying. No big thing.

Did the movie cover the Martian telepathy? Now that is almost a super-power. Except that every Barsoomian can do the same... A very ordinary super-power.

But enough of the movie... I write about books!

And this book is a lot of fun.

Ridiculously over-the-top, supremely violent, very lightly plotted, fun.

A series of adventures, loosely tied together into a flimsy plot.

Which -- and I'm sorry to harp back to the movie -- which could explain why the movie is, apparently, rather hard to follow.

John Carter arrives... mysteriously... on Mars. Fights and wins the respect of a tribe of green men. Fights and escapes from a different batch of green men. Meets and makes friends with a red man, then more red men from a different city. Realises that the second lot of red men are threatening the only woman in the book, so Carter battles the second lot of red men. Before escaping, to save a green man in the middle of a battle between the two green tribes that he had met earlier. Leads half the green men (the winners of the battle) back to sack red city one (with the help of red men), then to break the siege at red city two.

Upon which he marries the princess, lives for ten years in wedded bliss interspersed with incredible battles. Is the only person who can single-handedly save Barsoom -- which he may or may not have done... Only to be snatched back to Earth, even before his and the princess' heir and egg has hatched... Oh dear, how sad.

There... you try to put all that into a coherent movie script!

Oh, and a further comment on the movie "adaptation": I look at the cover of my book. And think, Why did the movie over-dress its stars?

And finally, a story which I rather like. True or not...

The book is called, A Princess of Mars. The hero is John Carter. The movie was to be called, "John Carter: A Princess of Mars". Focus groups found that no boy would go to a movie with "Princess" in the title. So the name would be, "John Carter of Mars". Except that further focus groups found that no girl would go to a movie with "Mars" in the title... So we get, "John Carter".

Which is a pity, really.

Since no-one knew who John Carter was.

Argh! forget the movie! Get the book, and enjoy some space opera fun.

---

PS: Look, you do know who Edgar Rice Burroughs is, don't you? He wrote Tarzan... And he wrote the Barsoom series, set on Mars, and the Venus series. (Martians call their planet Barsoom. Venusians call their planet Amtor.)

Burroughs wrote a whole lot of books. Tarzan, Barsoom and Amtor have similarities: intelligent, tough, heroic man in strange environments, battling hordes of very alien creatures. (Even Tarzan found some amazingly alien creatures in the depths of the jungles of Africa.) Hero fights with sword and fists. Usually against insuperable odds... which turn out to be less-than-insuperable after all. Hero is motivated by honour, decency and a drive to save the heroine, sometimes for another man.

Burroughs' books are packed with action, packed with imagination and loaded with an enormous variety of good tribes and bad tribes, where at least one member of the bad tribe turns out to be good after all.

If you like one, you'll like them all.

I have not read them all. So far, I have enjoyed every Burroughs book that I have read.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

PissWeakly: the Index

Debatable Space / Philip Palmer

Debatable Space

category: science fiction, author:

Philip Palmer

original copyright 2008

read in Jan 2012

Agamedes' opinion: 6 out of 10: read to pass the time

Imagination. Action. Breadth. Motivation. Justification. Tedium.

Tedium!?

It was a struggle to finish this book.

There is a grand scale to this galactic adventure. Backstory provides an understanding of the main characters. But it just goes on and on... and on.

All very well to provide a history of a key character. To explain her reasons for being as she is, for doing as she did. Yet it becomes a major block to the development of the main story.

Okay, perhaps the author wants us to see the future history of human expansion into the galaxy. The technology of planetary settlement and control is clever, worth writing about. The life story of Lena is just too much.

Other characters provide insights into the technology and the cruelty of the Earth-galactic dictator. They provide their insights in simple stories of a couple of pages each... While Lena gets half the book to explain her own part on the plot.

And it is very difficult to like her.

Yawn...

Not that it isn't interesting!

Just overdone, overblown, too long, and tedious...

Then there's the plot itself: complex, clever, annoyingly multi-climactic.

Is that a word? "Multi-climactic"?

What I mean is: The story reaches a crescendo... The heroes win the big battle / conquer the key planet / succeed in their ultimate goal... Only to find that there is another battle / planet / goal to now be reached.

It becomes a standard formula: Oh look, we've won :-) Wait, the baddies have an unexpected trick, we've lost after all :-( It's okay, I expected this, here's the real battle / planet / goal which will now become our target...

The hero, apparently, planned everything in advance. Each plot climax is essential, either as a step on the way or as a step which must be attempted rather than going straight to the really difficult task... All very clever. I just wish that there were some hints in advance...

As it is, the story is very episodic. A series of separate stories, where each story must be more exciting than the last. As though the author reached the end of the book then decided, oh dear, this is still too short, what shall I write about now...

On the other hand -- each story is exciting. Imaginative. Over the top. Action-packed.

It's a fine flow of action-packed space opera.

It just suffers from too much history of civilisation.

Like the war that the story covers, I guess: episodes of life-threatening action, interspersed with long periods of mind-numbing tedium.

---

Extra note:

I did appreciate the development and explanation of the character of Lena, the female lead character. It is well done. It gives a good insight into her drives, her motives. It just slows down the story.

This book is a story of war, violence and revenge in the distant future. It is also a story which analyses the character of a woman who is born mousey and who fights her way to power.

One or the other...

Having both stories in the one book means that one is interfering with the other. Whichever story you like -- the other story gets in the way.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

PissWeakly: the Index

Battlefield Earth / L. Ron Hubbard

Battlefield Earth

category: space opera, science fiction, author:

L. Ron Hubbard

original copyright 1982

read in December 2011 (and before, many years ago)

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10

It's a simple plot: man rides horse out of his decaying, primitive village, goes on to rule the universe. A standard plot for space opera... Although, perhaps, with some twists.

My own standard for space opera is Doc Smith, the Lensman and Skylark series. In the Skylark series an Earth genius, with support from his multi-billionaire best friend, invents and builds a spaceship. He then goes on to rule the First Universe. (His arch-enemy ends up ruling the Second Universe. Doc Smith seemed to realise that the arch-enemy was a more interesting character than the somewhat saccharine hero.)

Battlefield Earth sets an even greater challenge for the hero. Yes, he is a genius but he has to learn everything -- other than how to ride a horse and kill a wild bear with a club -- from his evil captors. Having learnt everything, he utterly destroys those evil captors...

And aren't they just sooo evil! Evil and stupid! Evil, stupid, all-powerful and sooooo easily fooled by our hero!

You really have to read this book with your critical faculties switched off. The characters are cardboard. Racial stereotypes are, well, stereotyped. If you're not a good guy then you're ugly, stupid and easily defeated.

Switch off your politically correct thinking -- and enjoy!

This is space opera at its best -- or worst. It's an enjoyable romp across Earth, then across the universe. (Across the sixteen universes, actually...)

Battlefield is a book to be read and enjoyed, without too much thinking. If it were written today it would be slammed as one-eyed, racially abusive nonsense... Or would it?! I shudder to think how bad the recent movie could have been...

The book is a product of its time, the less-PC eighties.

Speaking of which...

Television last night had "The Grumpies Guide to the Eighties". Clever people paid to froth at the mouth about various topics, with "the Eighties" being last night's topic. And Battlefield Earth is a product of those Eighties...

Having freed Earth, the hero is called upon to guarantee its survival. To do this, he must impress the alien races who threaten to re-invade. The hero dresses in the best that Earth can provide:

He dons his rainbow-reflecting, skin-tight, muscle-emphasising zoot suit. Think... Freddie Mercury, if only he had access to such glittery material.

The hero has his hair done, to the ultimate of dashingly heroic impressiveness... and it's a mullet.

Ah well. Fashions change. But "good" space opera is "good", "forever"...

===

21apr21: I read it again.. enjoy it again -- though I must admit that I start skimming towards the end.

This is still an enjoyable... load of rubbish. Ridiculous. Unbelievable. And still enjoyable.  Though this time, I may return my copy to the second-hand bookshop :-)

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

PissWeakly: the Index

The Venus Series / Edgar Rice Burroughs

Pirates of Venus
and
Lost on Venus

category: space opera, author:

Edgar Rice Burroughs

book 1 & 2 of The Venus Series
original copyright 1932, 1933,
read in September 2011 (and before, in 1997)

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10

Carson Napier makes a one way trip to Venus... How does his story get back to Earth? Luckily for us, Carson was taught telepathy...

Amtor (or Venus, as we call it) is populated by humans, near-humans and sub-humans. Evolution on Amtor follows a similar path to that on Earth, with the human form being top of the evolutionary ladder. The good humans look good and the bad humans have shifty eyes.

The jungles of Amtor are populated by wild beasts -- mostly ferocious, mostly bad-tempered. There are many harmless beasts but they are generally eaten then forgotten. Only the vicious killers get more than a page of description!

These adventures on Amtor are full of heroic acts and incredible coincidences...

The Rise of the Iron Moon / Stephen Hunt

The Rise of the Iron Moon

category: science fiction: steampunk, author:

Stephen Hunt

book 3 of Jackals
original copyright 2009,
read in June 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 6 out of 10

As I started reading I thought, yes, this is quite fun. As I read on I down-graded my assessment. Part of it is the standard problem, of reading first the third book in a series.

But there's more.

Iron Moon introduces a couple of interesting characters. So far, so good. Then we jump to the characters from -- it seems -- previous books. Who -- because the author already knows them -- get just a sketchy introduction. There is a basic dissonance: thorough introductions to characters who turn out to be second-string support, weak introductions to main characters.

Reading just this one book, there is very little to attract me to the main characters.

Okay... All of that is a problem with having missed the first two books in the series. But...

There are three main characters -- and a whole lot of Star Trek ensigns...

The Life of the World to Come / Kage Baker

The Life of the World to Come

category: space opera, author:

Kage Baker

book 4 of the Company novels
original copyright 2004,
read in February 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10

This is a Boys Own adventure. A space opera set largely on Earth, though at many different eras. Time travel as a replacement for sailing off to adventure on the Spanish Main...

It would be nice, though, if the book reached a conclusion.

The Return of Tarzan / Edgar Rice Burroughs

The Return of Tarzan

category: action, author:

Edgar Rice Burroughs

book 2 of Tarzan
published by Penguin Group, original copyright 1913, read in May 2010

Agamedes' opinion: 8 out of 10

Agamedes' opinion is an 8?! Okay... I admit that this is not great literature. It's totally unbelievable, both characters and plot. It's either sadly dated... or a great window on its time. But for my own opinion -- it's great!

Read this book for a bit of heroic fantasy, for escapism, for fun. It provides all of those. Plus a plot so unbelievable that it could go straight to a Hollywood movie... Oh, wait... it already has :-) The women are beautiful, the good men are handsome. The evil men are dark and swarthy, with a tendency to lurk. Rescue is always, just in the nick of time.

What category should this book be under?

I could say, "classic" but I have no category for classic. It's not really "fantasy", just an exaggerated view of the world of the author's time. Or maybe it is fantasy? There is a note with this edition, that "Readers may note some discrepancies in the text regarding [the shape and geography of Africa]." But who checks the atlas when writing a novel?! The library has identified it as "action", so I shall stay with that.

I have also placed Tarzan in the "space opera" category.

Burroughs first books were (I believe) in the John Carter of Mars series. Tarzan is, really, John Carter of Earth. Both Carter and Tarzan fight the good fight, defeat evil villains and rescue fair damsels. Enormously strong, but willing and able to use weapons. Exploring new areas and discovering new, usually degenerate, civilisations.

Okay, Tarzan is not in space. But his stories fit well, in my definition of "space opera".

Back with the book, there is an old-fashioned innocence, mixed with plenty of implied sex. Tarzan, for example, is an absolute gentleman, where women are concerned... a gentleman who strolls naked through the jungle. Other characters lose their clothes though they then fashion garments from animal skins. Jane, "of course", was not expected to forage through the thorny jungle. "Her apparel was, nevertheless, in a sad state of disrepair."

Then there's the Ouled-Nail...

Tarzan is helped by a girl -- an "Ouled-Nail" -- who works in an Arab cafe. (One look at Tarzan and this girl was willing to risk her life to save him.) The girl has been a captive, a slave, forced to work for two years in this sleazy cafe. She and the other girls have individual rooms out back... with a single candle for each girl, "the better to display her charms to those who might happen to traverse the dark inclosure." Hmmm... waitresses, perhaps?

Which chapter did lead me to an internet search for "Ouled-Nail". Turns out that they are a tribe from Algeria. Who have their own style of Ouled-Nail belly dance. Which led me to YouTube. Which was, really, quite an eye-opener! I now have a better appreciation of the seductive power of "belly dance" and the more overt styles of its modern derivatives.

Read Tarzan for the action and adventure and just a lot of good fun. Follow the less common references to learn more about the world.

And if you find that there really is a Rue Maule in Paris -- please let me know!
Buy the book from Amazon and earn me a commission... Or, search the web for one of the free copies of the text.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

Prador Moon / Neal Asher

Prador Moon

category: science fiction, author:

Neal Asher

book 1 in the Polity Universe
published by Tor, original copyright 2006, read in April 2010

Agamedes' opinion: 8 out of 10

That's not "8 out of 10" because the book is great. Rather, it's great fun. As long as you have no problems with extreme violence.

On the other hand, (a) the violence is so extreme, so over-the-top, so unbelievable, that it does not have a personal impact on the reader, and (b) the violence happens to people or creatures with whom (or with which) we have not had time to develop any sympathies. It's all fast and furious -- and nasty -- but somewhat remote from our own emotions.

That said, the violence can also be satisfying. For example... A villain is preparing to leap on a hero, kill him, escape to wreak further havoc. The hero is far too well prepared, far too quick, and thumps the villain into submission. Take that! you alien-loving evil villain! Yes, it's good versus bad, everyone suffers, but in the long run baddies just don't stand a chance.

What else can I say? McGyver using extremely high tech? Captain Kirk duking it out -- using ray guns, rail guns, limpet mines -- with clawed alien crab-beasts? All with a clear plot leading -- via human heroics, AI determination, high tech invention -- to the final destruction of the major alien threat.

If you enjoyed the despairing view of humanity, the examination of childhood trauma leading to adult misery, the final moral decision left to the reader, of Oryx and Crake -- then Prador Moon is something entirely different!

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

Warp Speed / Travis S. Taylor

Warp Speed

(category: science fiction)
by

Travis S. Taylor

published by Baen in 2004
Nick read a library book, in December 2009

Nick's rating: 7 out of 10

Nick's opinion:

This book is a lot of fun! Yes, you can see the similarities to Doc Smith -- though the Warp speed science is probably a lot more plausible. Certainly sounds good, anyway :-) There's action, heroic heroes, sassy but sexy heroines, super-speed scientific development... But really, a bit weak on plot. Lots of scientific invention but -- apart from that -- very little actually happens. While I was reading, I hardly noticed how little was happening... until the last few chapters: the baddies had been exterminated (really!) yet the story carried on. Which made me realise how little "plot" had actually happened up till then. There were a few chapters of gung ho, mom & apple pie, good ol' U.S. of A... Independence Day style. Deliberately -- I hope -- over the top ! Overall, it was a great book: readable, enjoyable, entertaining, hard to put down.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your own documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

Skylark DuQuesne / E. E. "Doc" Smith

Skylark DuQuesne

(category: science fiction)
book 4 of Skylark by

E. E. "Doc" Smith

published by Panther Books in 1974... 79 and originally in 1965
read in September 2009 (and many times before, over many years)

Agamedes' rating: 7 out of 10

Agamedes' opinion:

Another re-reading for the umpteenth time... This is the book where Marc "Blackie" DuQuesne is -- admit it! -- the hero. Sure, he's cold, ruthless, self-centred. But he's not evil -- just doesn't care who lives or dies, as long as it supports his own view of what should be happening. At the end, he's the only one with enough of the callous, cold-blooded killer instinct to save the cosmic all. And all he really wants, is a single Universe to rule... This book was written 30 years after the first three Skylarks. The Doc has introduced references to sex (purely for the purposes of racial improvement, of course), the women are stronger (when he remembers) and the secondary characters such as Shiro have a role to play (again, when Doc remembers them). The four original Skylarkers even have children... in the first chapter. When eight people are whisked to a safe area -- the children must have been left behind. Still space opera, still much, much larger than life, still with major oversights...

..o0o..

This blog is supported by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your own documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

Skylark of Valeron / E. E. "Doc" Smith

Skylark of Valeron

(category: science fiction, space opera)
book 3 of Skylark by

E. E. "Doc" Smith

published by Granada Publishing Ltd in 1934
read in August 2009 (and before, quite a few times)

Agamedes' rating: 6 out of 10

Agamedes' opinion:

Another re-re-reading of a very enjoyable book... Grand space opera, with the hero being more heroic, the spaceships travelling even faster, the weapons getting even more powerful. In this book I begin to wonder if Smith would really like to have du Quesne as his hero... According to something I just read, this series is an “Edisonade”: young inventor defeats baddies and has the role of ruler of the universe (or similar) thrust upon him. But I must admit... It can be almost embarrassing, when Shiro is suddenly remembered, he gets frozen by the baddies (along with the other good guys) and then is forgotten... again. At least the women do get some lines, no matter how pathetic those lines are.

..o0o..

This blog is supported by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your own documents, email nick leth at gmail dot com.

Skylark Three / E. E. "Doc" Smith

Skylark Three

(category: science fiction, space opera)
book 2 of Skylark by

E. E. "Doc" Smith

published by Grafton Books, 1974... 86, first published in 1930
read in August 2009 (and before, many times, way back)

Agamedes' rating: 7 out of 10

Agamedes' opinion:

More aliens, more alien threats... The invulnerable spaceship needed to be upgraded; now it’s a lot bigger, faster and capable of inter-galactic travel. More fast and furious fun!

And if you're wondering what I'm talking about... see The Skylark of Space. Or, follow the author:smith link at the foot of this post, to see more books by Doc Smith.

The Skylark of Space / E. E. "Doc" Smith

The Skylark of Space

(category: science fiction, space opera)
book 1 of Skylark by

E. E. "Doc" Smith

published by Panther Books, 1974, first published in 1928
read in August 2009 (and before, way back, many times)

Agamedes' rating: 8 out of 10

Agamedes' opinion:

What can I say?! It’s great! I’ve read this book so many times... and enjoyed it every time. The men build the spaceships and fight the fights, the women look gorgeous and make neatly triangular sandwiches. Clothes, of course, are optional. Definitely a book of its time. This is space opera supreme! I love the way that they deal with travel at the speed of light: “Nothing can go that fast... Einstein’s Theory is still a theory... And theories are modified to fit facts. Hokay.” ... And off they go, at many times the speed of light. Take that, Einstein!