New at Project Gutenberg (7 August 2010)

Actually, these might have been posted anytime during the last fortnight; I've not been regularly checking the feeds recently.

Links on author, publisher, or year fetches more matching fiction.

1. Algernon Blackwood's "Three John Silence Stories"; download: Looks like horror. Contents are: "A psychical invasion", "Ancient sorceries", & "The nemesis of fire".
2. [novel] E E "doc" Smith's "Spacehounds of IPC"; download; Amazing Stories, July-September 1931.

Related: Fiction from old "pulps".

New at Project Gutenberg (6 June 2010)

Links on author, publisher, or year fetch more matching fiction.

1. Robert Moore Williams' "Planet of the Gods"; download; Amazing Stories, December 1942: "Two planets circling Vega! But a more amazing discovery waited the explorers when they landed!"
2. [novel] E E Smith's "Triplanetary"; download; 1948: This is chronologically the first book in author's well-known "Lensman" series of space opera.
   
   Original shorter version of this story that appeared in Amazing Stories in 1934 is already online at Project Gutenberg; newly posted version appears to be a later novelization.
3. Frank Quattrocchi's "The Sword"; download; If, March 1953: "There were but three days in which to decipher the most cryptic message ever delivered to earth."
4. Paul W Fairman's "Deadly City"; download; If, March 1953: "You're all alone in a deserted city. You walk down an empty street, yearning for the sight of one living face--one moving figure. Then you see a man on a corner and you know your terror has only begun."

Related: Fiction from old "pulp" magazines.

Larry Shone's brief comments on some genre works

Fellow novels' blogger talks of some authors first read during 2009, & some of their works.

Couple of comments:

1. Jack London: "never came across any of his books anywhere!"
   I've a feeling most of what he's written is now in public domain. Try places like Project Gutenberg.
   
   I've'nt read a lot by him, but he can be hard to read except perhaps for native English speakers. Uses a lot of colloquial words, if I recall correctly - probably North American slang.
2. Lensman series of "doc" Smith: I've read only the first 3 books. The real classic so far has been the first half of the 3rd book ("Galactic Patrol", I think). Also, the first book in the series, "Triplanetary", is online at Project Gutenberg.
3. Jack Vance: One of the best known novels of linguistic sf is his "The Languages of Pao". I've'nt read a lot of his novels, but what I've read of his short fiction is generally very cool.

"Thrilling Wonder Stories", June 1939 (magazine, free): Annotated table of contents

Scans of the magazine are available online as a CBR file as part of a larger package.

Table of contents.

1. [short novel] Stanley G Weinbaum's "Down of Flame": "Immortal Morgot can conquer the world - but not the heart of Hull Tarvish, who defies the Master of the Centuries!"
2. [novelet] John Taine's "The Ultimate Catalyst": "Kadir rule Amazonia - but the animal & plat kingdoms are beyond his sway."
   
   I'm not sure, but I've a feeling I've read it in some anthology too.
3. [novelet] John Coleman & Hulbert Burroughs' "The Man Without a World": "A son of the intersteller void blazes the uncharted space-trails to Nova Terra!"
4. [novelet] E E "doc" Smith's "Robot Nemesis": "The metal brains of the Ten Thinkers plan for humanity's great armada - but science fights fire with fire!"
5. [ss] Otis Aldebert Cline's "Stolen Centuries": "Fred Jorgeson, the human fly, could scale anything - even the walls of time!"
6. [ss] Eando Binder's "Moon of Intoxication": "An Ether-Jag on Io plays tricks with an earthman trader's sulfer-xipho swap".
7. [ss] Jack Williamson's "Passage to Saturn": "An interplanetary outlaw escapes the death block & heads for the grim Kappa Space - from which there is no escape!"
8. [ss] Dr David H Keller's "No More Friction": "Timothy Tompkins had an invention that could annihilate all friction - but there was one rub!"
   

Related: Fiction from Thrilling Wonder Stories.

Free fiction: Scans & HTML of 5 issues of "Thrilling Wonder Stories" - June 1939, December 1940, December 1947, February 1948, & Spring 1945

At Crosseyed Cyclops, as CBR files in 3 numbered RAR packs - #1, 2, 3. Numbers, however, do not tell which issues are inside the pack; my list below does (item 1 is the contents of pack numbered 1, etc).
Note: Sole HTML - December 1947 - is also inside its own CBR file. Just change file's extension to RAR & extract. All other issues are as scans only.

Update, 15 December 2009: An additional CBR file from RAR #2 can be extracted by telling WinRAR to "ignore broken files" during extraction. This yields Spring 1945 issue, with errors - means it might have some pages missing.

1. December 1947 (scans + HTML) & February 1948. Henry Kuttner & Ray Bradbury are among the authors represented.
   
   This gave me a lot of trouble downloading - apparently heavy server overload. But it did eventually download.
2. June 1939, & Spring 1945. Stanley Weinbaum, E E "doc" Smith, Eando Binder, & Jack Williamson are among the authors included.
   
   Note that this RAR - containing more than one CBR files - is corrupt. Tell WinRAR to "ignore broken files" during extraction, & it will get both files; else it will not get Spring 1945 issue. In either case, it issues errors which I ignored.
   
3. December 1940.

Related: Fiction from Thrilling Wonder Stories.

Free fiction: A selection of Edward E Smith's online stories

This is a couple of days old.

Dark Worlds links several online stories of E E "doc" Smith. [also via QuasarDragon]

E E "Doc" Smith's "First Lensman" (novel, space opera): Lensman Series, Book 2 of 6

This is chronologically the second book of this grand daddy of space opera series, but was published last among the 6 books.

This book is not to be read for enlightenment. But it's an entertaining light read.

Story summary.

Much of the story is about tracking down a gang of drug peddlers, as the first menace handled by "Galactic Patrol" - destined to be galactic scale non-democratic nominated-by-elite government of multiple species. It's effectively sponsored by god-like Arisians, who have a way of ensuring that only deserving candidates ever make it to Patrol.

Early in the story, we see the appointment of Virgil Samms, chief of Triplanetary Service from "Triplanetary", as the First Lensman - by Arisians. Members of Galactic Patrol will all be Lensmen - those who have in their possession a bracelet-like gadget with magical properties called "Lens of Arisia".

Only Arisians can grant the Lens. It not only serves as hacker-proof ID tailored to specific individual, it performs a lot of other functions too. The ones described most often are as a telepathic all-species communications device, & the ultimate code breaker.

Current owners of Lens recommend potential new recruits. They are sent to Arisia. If Arisians find them suitable, they grant the Lens. Arisians state many reasons for doing the favor - among them a sense of responsibility because the life in the galaxy originated from Arisian spores.

As the story develops, we see the development of "Civilization" - the community of good intelligent species of the galaxy. Arisians are their protectors. To make story interesting, there are bad elements too - aligned to Eddorians, the other god-like ancient elder race.

We will see conversion of one such bad world into good, & promise of their integration into Civilization - near the end of the story. We will also see effectively the end of familiar politics & government - on earth, throughout Sol, & with hints of its extension to other alien & human worlds. And at the heart of this new galactic order sits North America - the saviors & good guys of Civilization!

Political & social ideas in the story.

I found the political underpinnings of the story rather idealistic, or may be juvenile. That someone can identify good guys, & they offer the best way of governing our affairs & collecting our taxes. Anyone living in a democracy knows it stinks, but at least offer a better solution if you are planning to fix the rot?

Near the end of the story is US President's election campaign. One side is controlled by a crook. Other side by the good guys of Galactic Patrol - never mind the good guys grossly misuse taxpayer's money for this election campaign!

Also, the formally differential treatment of males & females in the story sounded awkward. I'm sure Smith was writing according to mores of his times & society, but they sound so alien today.

Note: Indexes below of things, characters, gadgets, etc are from first half of the book. I didn't have patience, when writing this post, to go over the marks I made in later half! Takes too long. Sorry.

Planets, alien races, other places, & related stuff.

1. The Hill: Underground & heavily fortified headquarters of "Triplanetary Service" of "Triplanetary". At the beginning of this book, it is "the headquarters of the half-organized Solarian Patrol". By the end of this book, it would be the headquarters of the Galactic Patrol. Located somewhere in the US.
2. Tellus: Earth. I didn't get why author renamed earth to make it sound alien!
3. Tellurian: Of earthly origin, including humans.
4. Arisians, Arisia, Eddorians, Eddore: See "Triplanetary" post.
5. Civilization: Intelligent races, including humans, under the protection of Arisians.
6. Rigel Four, Velantia, Palain Seven: Besides earth, these are the 3 planets Arisians care most about. During the story, first Lensmen will be recruited on Rigel Four & Palain Seven by Samms. Rigel Four is an extremely hot world, with twice the earth gravity; Palain Seven is utterly cold & dark.
7. Rigellian: Aliens of Rigel Four. Their looks: "the oil-drum of a body, the four blocky legs, ... tentacular arms, that immobile dome of a head, the complete lack of eyes and of ears". And their communications are telepathic.
8. Palainians: Aliens of "Palain Seven". They've long since colonized Pluto, & claimed it as their own. They are ultra-conservative, telepathic, and - hold your breath - four dimensional! So a human can never really visualize their shape.
9. Aldebaran II: A human colony world 57 light years from earth.
10. Procia: An alien world populated with "people as human as we are". Friendly to humans.
11. Vegia: An alien world populated with people who would be as human as we are, "if it weren't for their tails". Friendly to humans.
12. Procyon, Vega: Alien worlds "inhabited by highly advanced races", & friendly to humans.
13. Boskone: Code name for the unknown bad guys world. They keep attacking earth, & are often referred to as pirates.
14. Bennett: A human colony planet already inhabited with humanoids indistinguishable from us! In the story, this will serve as the secret spaceship fleet manufacturing world.
15. Trenco: A very dangerous super-stormy uninhabited world whose vegetation is processed by bad guys into their very potent drug "thionite".
16. "emmfozing": Palainian equivalent of having sex. No details are described, except a hint that it doesn't take long.

Characters.

1. Virgil Samms: He is a "Solarian Councillor" at the beginning of the book. Early in the book, he will become the First Lensman - founder & head of Galactic Patrol. Was in-charge of enforcing laws with inner planets (Venus, Earth, Mars) in "Triplanetary" - as head of "Triplanetary Service". He is the main hero of this story, if there is a hero here.
2. Virgilia "Jill" Samms: 23 year old daughter of Virgil Samms; has a "doctorate in psychology". She will be denied Lens by Arisians because of her sex: "Women's minds and Lenses don't fit. There's a sex-based incompatibility. Lenses are as masculine as whiskers". But she will be with good guys of Galactic Patrol. Her primary job seems to be to seduce her dad's rivals to gain information.
3. George Olmstead: A blood relation & look alike of Virgil Samms. Samms will personally penetrate the drug runners' gang, posing as George! George is also a Lensman.
4. Ray Olmstead: Brother of George Olmstead, & a Lensman.
5. Commissioner Roderick K Kinnison: Second person to receive the Lens. Number 2 in Galactic Patrol, after Samms, & in charge of its military operations ("Port Admiral of the Galactic Patrol"). At the end of the book, he will be the good guys candidate for US President, & win by misusing public resources for his election.
6. Joy, Betty: Roderick Kinnison's wife & daughter, respectively.
7. Master Pilot John "Jack" K Kinnison: Son of Roderick Kinnison, & himself a Lensman.
8. Master Electronicist Mason "Mase" Northrop: Another Lensman, a friend of Jack, & lover of Virgilia Samms.
9. Gharlane of Eddore: Number 2 in what can be called Eddorian government. He is their chief appointee to foment trouble in "Civilization".
10. Drounli, Kriedigan, Nedanillor, and Brolenteen - all of Arisia: The four Molders of "Civilization". By telepathically fusing their minds, they become the "Mentor of Arisia". They are responsible, respectively, for 4 worlds: earth, Rigel IV, Velantia, and Palain VII.
11. Dr Nels Bergenholm: A scientist of Norwegian descent, working at the Hill. His parents - father Dr Hjalmar Bergenholm & mother Dr Olga Bjornson - are both "nuclear physicists", & he is suspected to be a mutant. He is being telepathically controlled by one Arisian or another - to help protect humans, & via them the Civilization. He is the one who will get the idea that Samms should go to hitherto unapproachable Arisia - where Samms will receive his Lens & become the first Lensman. He is also the one who fixed the faster than light & inertia-less "Rodebush-Cleveland" drive that powered the ultimate human spaceships in "Triplanetary"; we are told that original version was a killer, until Nels fixed it. He often has no justification for his insights; they appear to be intuition. Always correct, since planted there by Arisians.
12. Conway Costigan: Hero of "Triplanetary". He will play a substantial role in this story, & will be one of the Lensmen.
13. Clio: Heroine of "Triplanetary", & wife of Conway Costigan in this book. The couple have two kids.
14. Senator Morgan: Leader of the villains - will eventually be killed by his alien controllers. Kingpin of drug dealers, & is helping alien pirate raiders of earth. He wants absolute power, & Patrol is coming in the way.
15. Herkimer Herkimer Third: One of the villains. Seduced by Jill to get information. Jill will once foil his plan to kill her dad. He will eventually be killed by Patrolmen when he will kidnap Jill & torture her to try getting information about the Lens. He is a close associate of Senator Morgan.
16. Isaacson: Another villain & underling of Morgan - in charge of drug peddling.
17. Knobos, Dalnalten: Two aliens that appear often in the story. Both Lensmen. I think former is Martian, later Venusian ("Venerian") - but it may be the other way round.
18. Ossmen: A Venerian on the side of bad guys. Appears more than once in the story. Is involved in moving drugs around. His cover is as a "highly reputable merchant, with such large interests on Tellus that he has to spend most of his time here."
19. Rularion: An alien from Jupitor, & a Lensman.
20. Tallick: First Palainian recruited as Lensman by Samms.
21. Dronvire: A Rigellian Lensman.

Lens of Arisia.

A bracelet like gadget. Only Arisians can make it. You must go to Arisia to receive your Lens. But going there requires a Lensman's recommendation - and still the gadget may be denied.

It's not granted to females. But we are told there will be a single woman in future who will receive it.

It can "identify any representative of Civilization, positively and unmistakably, wherever he may be."

It's "impossible of duplication, or even of imitation, to which end it must kill any unauthorized entity who attempts imposture. It must operate as a telepath between its owner and any other living intelligence, of however high or low degree, so that mental communication, so much clearer and faster than physical, will be possible without the laborious learning of language".

"No one man, or group of men, no matter who they are, can be trusted with" the amount of power that Galactic Patrol will bestow. Lens must make sure the wearer is incorruptible & won't misuse the power!

Lens physically looks like "a platinum-iridium bracelet carrying, wristwatch-wise, a lenticular something... It seemed to be composed of thousands - millions - of tiny gems, each of which emitted pulsatingly all the colors of the spectrum; it was throwing out - broadcasting - a turbulent flood of writhing, polychromatic light."

"It is ... endowed with what you might call a sort of pseudo-life; by virtue of which it gives off its characteristic radiation while, and only while, it is in physical circuit with the living entity - the ego, let us say - with whom it is in exact resonance. Glowing, the Lens is perfectly harmless; it is complete - saturated - satiated - fulfilled. In the dark condition it is ... dangerous in the extreme. It is then incomplete - unfulfilled - frustrated - you might say seeking or yearning or demanding. In that condition its pseudo-life interferes so strongly with any life to which it is not attuned that that life, in a space of seconds, is forced out of this plane or cycle of existence."

"A Lens cannot be brought into being except to match same one living personality; a short time after you pass into the next cycle your Lens will disintegrate." In a specific instance we see of wearer's death, the Lens simply ceased to be, no trace of it was left - it just vanished!

Also, "a Lens has no real power of its own; it merely concentrates, intensifies, and renders available whatever powers are already possessed by its wearer. You must develop your own powers and your own abilities".

Arisians guarantee that "no one will ever wear Arisia's Lens who is in any sense unworthy."

Lens also serves as a sort of remote monitoring device for Ariasians. So they can monitor the world around the wearers! Incidentally, this feature doesn't bother any wearer!

Other gadgets & "things".

1. "thionite": Extremely potent & addictive drug the bad cross-galaxy drug peddlers of the story deal in. Chasing them is the main plot of the story.
2. Story has commercial advertising messages on "low hanging artificial cloud"!
3. Interstellar Spaceways: A legal front company under Morgan's control. Isaacson had unsuccessfully tried bribing Samms to have "our exclusive franchise extended to cover the outer planets and the colonies."
4. Black Fleet: Patrol's name for the war machine of bad guys. Massive in size, alien in origin, & ultimately controlled by Eddorians. Through the book, it will attack earth twice - first to kill Samms, next to disrupt US elections!! Both attacks unsuccessful; later will, in fact, bring the defeated aliens into the fold of "Civilization". Murgatroyd is their commander.
   
5. Chicago & Boise: Two of the big warships ("superdreadnoughts") of Samms' enterprise.
6. Dillingham aka Dilly: An urban personal transport machine. A kind of car, but with only two "two fat, soft tires" - say an advanced version of Segway! Has a passanger cabin, as in a car.

Fact sheet.

"First Lensman", novel, review
First published: 1950.
Rating: B
Nominated for Retro Hugo Award in 2001 in novel category.
Lensman Series: "Triplanatary" (B); "First Lensman" (B); "Galactic Patrol" (not read); "Gray Lensman" (not read); "Second Stage Lensman" (not read); "Children of Lens" (not read).

E E "Doc" Smith's "Triplanetary" (novel, science fiction): Lensman Series, Book 1 of 6

This is addictive stuff - at least the last two thirds. Juvenile, not very sane, but when in mood for light reading that doesn't require any thinking, it's addictive.

This story (& may be rest of the series too?) is not only the grand-daddy of all space opera, but a lot of other genre fiction too. There are just too many things mentioned here that are found in so many genre stories. I'm not sure Smith was first to talk about them - I've not read a lot of really old fiction - but this aspect alone makes this book important.

This is a complex story, with a lot of threads - including many irrelevant threads.

Full text of this story is available for download. I've not read this online version. Since there have been at least two versions of this story - original, & revised to make it part of Lensman series, I'm not sure how far this online version will match my post.

A note on first third of the story.

First third not only goes all over the place without really starting the story, it contains too much of "Americans are the best" & things related to European history. Depending on where in the world you are from, you might find it ok to irritating, but probably not great.

A note on Lensman series.

I checked web about the series only when writing this post. Looks like the original Lensman Series is books 3-6. #1 & #2 are sort of prequels, published after rest of the series. This #1 was an older story adapted into this universe; #2 was written as sort of link to connect #1 & #3.

Commonly suggested reading order is #4-6, then #1-2. Since I'm already past #1, I guess I'll go in chronological order rather than the recommended one.

"Coalescence" event.

2 billion years ago, two galaxies collided. Not so much of a collision, as passing through each other - since most of a galaxy is empty space! Question: I thought galaxies are moving away from each other? How did they collide?

Before the collision, neither galaxy had many planets. After that, there were just too many planets in each. One of the galaxies was Milky Way. Other will eventually be called "Lundmark's Nebula" by human astronomers, & is also referred to as "Second Galaxy".

Arisians - the good guys.

Before collision, Milky Way had a single race of sentient beings - Arisians; other galaxy had none. There is a mention of "Arisia"; I suppose this must have been their world. They were an immensely ancient & advanced race. And they communicated with telepathy - even over galactic distances! They are equivalent of devs of Indian mythology.

Eddorians - the bad guys.

There is another ancient race - Eddorian. They are also telepathic, about as powerful as Arisians, & equally long lived. But they are not of our universe!

They are nomads of "space time continuum", & a power-hungry warrior race at that. They just happened to enter our universe at the time of galactic collision, & see all the new planets being born. Now they can lord over all new creatures that these planets will eventually have!

I didn't understand why the immensely powerful beings would bother with creatures yet to even happen, but that's the story. They are equivalents of danavs in Indian mythology.

Arisian/Eddorian first contact.

Both races used to think they are the only sentient beings. When Eddorians entered our universe, Arisians telepathically figured out all there was to know about them.

And Arisians conclude Eddorians are a threat. While Arisians can hold them for a while, the warriors will eventually wipe them out.

So Arisians plant a kind of jinx in Eddorian minds - that Eddorians forget about the existence of Arisians! Reminded me of Durvasa's curse to Shakuntala in one of the Kalidas' poems.

Arisians' plan is to hand hold & develop new races of intelligent beings over geological times so these child races can defeat the Eddorians!!! These ultimate victors will then be the new guardians of the galaxy; Arisians will then leave our space-time!

Story is essentially about the clash of these two races - good Arisians & bad Eddorians. I suppose good will eventually win in the last book in the series. In this book, the bad cause a lot of pain, but otherwise the battle lines are wide open.

How Atlantis sank?

Eons have lapsed. Eddorians control most planets in both galaxies; Arisians only 4 - among them earth (sometimes called "Tellus" in this story; so earthlings are "Tellurians"). Existence of Arisians is still unknown to Eddorians because of ancient jinx. Mid-way through this story, the jinx will be broken & battle lines will move in the open.

Eddorians have noticed these 4 planets are not really behaving in expected ways. They've assigned Gharlane to bring them in line.

Earth now has advanced civilizations all over, with Atlantis the crown jewel. Due to Eddorian machinations, a nuclear war will break out - wiping out the civilization & sinking the Atlantis! A man named Captain Phryges will try to save Atlantis (& the world) along with a woman named Kinnexa; both will die & world will be gone too.

Arisians will later clean up the nuclear mess. This story of Atlantis is a tangent one, & plays no further role in the book.

End of Roman Empire.

Another irrelevant thread. Somebody named Nero was apparently a historical figure in the last days of Roman Empire & a sort of villain. We are told Nero was being telepathically controlled by Eddorian Gharlane.

We are treated to gladiators, killings, etc.

World War I.

Next irrelevant episode. We are given some glimpses of the fighting in some part of Europe, via a US military man named Captain Ralph Kinnison.

Ralph Kinnison's second innings.

An interesting story, even if still an irrelevant tangent. Another war is looming, Ralph is now an old man & not wanted by military.

He will get hired by "Entwhistle Ordnance Plant", quickly rise, discover some corruption in armament manufacture (with presumably Gharlane behind it, but I don't recall if he is explicitly mentioned), & will eventually get fired from the job.

Next War.

This story was published before World War II but apparently the political situation suggested a looming war; so we are given glimpses of the next war that involved nuclear armament.

Hero here is Ralph Kinnison's son, Theodore Kinnison. He is a fighter & will die during a battle.

This is about a third way through the novel. Time to begin the main story - set hundreds of years later.

The Triplanetary Service..

Earth, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, & Neptune all have intelligent beings of their own! First three have a common government called Triplanetary. Of the two organs of this government, one is Triplanetary Service (TS), headed by a man named Virgil Samms, & headquartered someplace in the US. Other organ is "Triplanetary Council" (I think); this doesn't play a direct role in the story.

TS is kind of administrative wing. Their primary role in the story is related to military & police operations, & espionage.

We are given some background about the wars Triplanetary have fought in the past with Jovians. But all is peace now, except for space pirates here & there.

Mystery of the disappearing ships.

Two big spaceships - Dione & Rhea - have recently vanished, I think somewhere between Mars & Jupiter (but I'm not sure).

"Interplanetary liner Hyperion" is currently on some voyage. This will be attacked & taken by "pirates" - with not many survivors.

An agent of pirates on board Hyperion will first add a poisonous gas called "Vee Two" to ship's air supply. A lot of people will die. But among the passengers is First Officer Conway Costigan of TS; he will save a 19 year old girl named Miss Marsden, warn ship's officers, & kill the saboteur. Romance of Costigan & Marsden is sprinkled through rest of the story.

Through this adventure, a team of 3 will form - Costigan, Marsden, & Hyperion's Captain Bradley. They will be one of the two human teams that will pay a key role in rest of the story.

Pirate ship has little trouble taking Hyperion. They tie the whole ship with a "tractor beam", & carry it off to their base.

The Pirates' base.

This is a planetoid invisible to humanity's instruments. And has amazing defense & offense weapons.

The place is run by a man name Gray Roger - who in turn is telepathically controlled by Gharlane! The place has a lot of robots & humans - later either zombies or otherwise made to do bidding of Roger.

Primarily with the heroics of Costigan, our team of 3 will make a daring escape in a craft stolen from the base. While there, Costigan has made enough detailed observations of the place to help scientists back home duplicate similar machinery; he will beam them home after escape.

Kidnapped the second time!

Just when the 3 escapees think they are safely on their way home, they find themselves kidnapped again, along with their ship! This time, by aliens from a world called Nevia.

Nevians are amphibians from their water world that also has other intelligent & warring creatures like "fishes" of the deep! Their main energy source is "allotropic" iron - they have a process to disintegrate its atoms! But their own iron supply is very limited - far more limited than our gold.

The Nevian ship, under the charge of Captain Nerado, has been exploring the stars for sources of iron. It apparently didn't find them in outer reaches of Sol nor in various outer planets. And deep inside Sol, it happened to be passing by our escapees' ship! Of course, ship has iron! Nevians take the 3 humans as curiosities to take back home, plus all their iron.

But our hero Costigan will end up closely observing both their systems, & battle about to happen. And will manage to send all this data back to earth - so earth can build a super-warship to take on the bad guys.

Our 3 friends will have many adventures on the alien world, including their being treated as biological test specimen, & zoo animals! They will make daring escape twice! Second time, after killing a city-full of Nevians!

They will be caught by Nerado on first escape. On second escape, just as they are cornered by Nerado's ship on one side & the second Nevian ship returning its loadful of iron on the other side, there will be just in time rescue by human supership.

The Nevians.

While our 3 friends were being taken prisoner & also after their escape, detailed information about the location of pirates has been sent to TS headquarters on earth. A large military contingent is now heading towards the pirates' planetoid - with some new weapons that can hopefully meet the pirates' versions.

Before the fight breaks out, we are introduced to first member of the second human team that will play a crucial role in rest of the story - a scientist named Lyman Cleveland, "probably the greatest living expert in beam transmission". Both these are great theoreticians & can also put together amazing machines. We will meet the second member later.

During this military operation, the ship Cleveland is on ("Chicago") will be converted to a kind of war photography center. Cleaveland will quickly put together a gadget to gather the battle details. But his ship will be far from battle place.

Conflict takes place near Roger's planetoid. Roger's fleet takes casualties. When TS is coming under attack, the Nevian ship appears in the vicinity & decides to collect all the iron! Roger, with 4 assistants, will be able to escape. Everyone on his planetoid as well as the entire human fleet will go. Among the iron collected by Nevian ship will be the iron inside the bodies of people manning these fleets!

Having had its full cargo of iron, the Nevian ship heads back home. It has also sent a message home that this place is full of iron - other Nevian ship is on its way to collect more.

After the carnage, Cleveland's ship will come to the place of conflict & discover the aliens' fondness of iron. This investigation will also feed the making of human supership.

Human supership's trial run.

Cleveland's ship is heading back home to earth. His friend & fellow scientist, Frederick Rodebush - "the nuclear physicist" , has been working on supership.

Turns out, our superscientists have worked out how to use iron for fuel, build energy shields against iron-fetchers so human passengers will be safe, inertia-less drive, a ship that practically travels at infinite velocity, as well as the attack & defense weapons till now only in the arsenal of Roger & Nevians! "Boise", this magical ship, is now ready for its trial!

Only Cleveland & Rodebush will be on board during trial. After some tense action, we will learn that trial is super successful.

Second Nevian ship.

While Boise is on its trial run, second Nevian ship has arrived at "Pittsburgh", & has been collecting all the iron it can! There is a lot of loss of life & property, & human military is utterly impotent against it.

This is when Boise returns to base. Its duo learn of the situation. Take the original planned crew, & immediately go to the scene of the battle! There they will defeat the alien ship, & chase it while it's escaping.

Somewhere in deep space, there will be a battle again as Boise attacks. In the process, Nevian ship escapes, & Boise is severely damaged.

Roger's second base.

Boise can be fixed, but needs a solid planet on which to land for repairs; habitability of the planet is not an issue.

They will locate a nearby rocky planet, land, & fix the ship over the coming days. Just as they are taking off, they will learn that this place is the new base of Roger!

We are told of some of the adventures Roger went through after escape, & how he made this planet his base. Now seeing TS ship again, he comes out for attack. Roger, but not his telepathic alien controller, will be killed in this battle along with his team, ship, & base.

Our adventurers take off again out looking for the escaping Nevian ship.

The final war. And peace.

This is when the 3 human prisoners on Nevia have been making their second escape. Just when they are cornered by the two Nevian ships, Boise arrives - destroying its original query, rescuing the 3 humans, & chasing Nerado's ship.

During this chase, suspicious behavior of Nerado suggests Nevia is preparing for their welcome. They leave Nerado & rush to Nevia before the world is ready. Here they will utterly destroy one of the Nevian cities.

Now Nerado arrives. Negotiations. A peace treaty is signed - with hints that there won't be any more conflict between Triplanatory & Nevia.

See also.

1. Alfred Bester's "Adam and No Eve": A rocket propulsion system for moon travel that ends up starting a chain reaction of nuclear disintegration of iron - with disastrous consequences for earth.
2. Henry Kuttner & C L Moore's "The Iron Standard": Another story where iron is precious commodity among aliens.

Fact sheet.

"Triplanetary", novel, review
First published: As a 4-part serial in Amazing magazine, January 1934 to April 1934 (?). Am not sure about the last issue.
Rating: B
Lensman Series: "Triplanatary" (B); "First Lensman" (B); "Galactic Patrol" (not read); "Gray Lensman" (not read); "Second Stage Lensman" (not read); "Children of Lens" (not read).