Product Details

• Published on: 2007-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 200 pages

Customer Reviews

Excellent read, gripping series, a must have sci-fi book
This is the first of 4 books which chart the rival scientists discovery of a secret which releases ultimate energy. They battle it out over 4 books to see who can control the secret. They meet a lot of different races on different worlds and amass an army on both sides. A book you cannot put down but must read to the end! Well worth the money!

The original space opera
Do not expect the technological accuracy of hard science fiction or the social commentary of soft SF; this is Space Opera, adventure on a grand scale. In Skylark, the men are real men, the women are real women, and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri just do not stand a chance.

E.E. "Doc" Smith is hailed as being the creator of both interstellar science fiction and of the Space Opera sub-genre. His visions of epic space battles by the greatest of heroes against the evilest of villains inspired many great SF writers through the 20th century, eventually leading to its eminent descendant Star Wars. This is were it all began, boldly going to galaxies far far away, seeking out new worlds and ways of writing SF. Skylark's faults may be many, but they are forgivable. If later works seem more refined, it is because this is the mother lode. Forget characterisation and realism: just hold on tight and enjoy the ride. All aboard?

Space opera at it's best
A great story, pure space opera. First published in 1928. Where Einstein's theory of relativity was just a theory and disproved in the book. Heroes were heroic, heroines were there really to scream and point and do the cooking (??) and no one had ever heard of a computer.

It's a great story one of the original and IMO best of the "early" sci fi. My only complaint, is the quality of this edition. On at least 2 occasions paragraphs are repeated or just seem to stop mid stream. An indicator of a rushed production which needed some more quality control.

So story 5 stars, this edition 4. There are only a couple of errors that I saw and they can be distracting.

One question. Given there's no copyright notice anywhere, are these being reprinted from the original because the copyright has expired? If so does that mean you can read them for free in Google books?