Triplanetary
Lensman series, Book 1 of 7

Even back before the first bits of this story hit the newsstands, the folks who published it in Amazing Stories (January through April, 1934) knew they were on to something special. "We are sure that our readers will be highly pleased to have us give the first installment of a story by Dr. Smith. It will continue for several numbers and is a worthy follower of the Skylark stories which were so much appreciated by our readers. We think that they will find this story superior to the earlier ones. Dr. Smith certainly has the narrative power, and that, joined with his scientific position, makes him an ideal author for our columns." An awful lot has gone under the bridge since 1934, but you know, the folks at Amazing were on to something. Triplanetary really is all that special, and we're thrilled to offer it to you now anew.

Amazon.com Review

This is the first of E. E. "Doc" Smith's seven Lensman books, and although it isn't as fast-paced as later Lensman novels, it sets the stage for what is perhaps the greatest space-opera saga ever told. Through a series of vignettes spanning millions of years, readers will learn how the titanic struggle between the good Arisians and the evil Eddorians first came to pass, and about how humanity was chosen (and bred) to assume the awesome power of the lens. A short foreword by science fiction scholar John Clute puts the entire series into perspective.

Review

HUGO Finalist for Best Science Fiction All-Time Series --Science Fiction Digest
Fiction, general, Science fiction, Juvenile literature, American Science fiction, Fiction, sagas
E. D. Smith, Edward Elmer Smith, Frederick E. Smith, E. E. Smith, Edward E. Smith, “Doc” E.E. Smith, E. E. &quot;Doc&quot; Smith, E.E. "Doc Smith, Edward Elmer  Smith, Edward "Doc" Smith, Edward Doc" Smith
Edward Smith was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, the son of staunch Presbyterians of British ancestry. The following winter, his family moved to Spokane, Washington, and, in 1902, to Seneaquoteen, Idaho, to farm. He received two degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Idaho in 1914. He married in 1915. One evening, while he and his wife were visiting friends, a discussion about space travel led to Smith agreeing to co-author a novel with one of the friends, although after getting about a third of the way through, they abandoned it. Smith went on to receive a Master's degree in Chemistry from George Washington University in 1917 and a doctorate in Chemical Engineering in 1918. In 1919, he became chief chemist for F. W. Stock & Sons of Hillsdale, Michigan. That same year he resumed writing his first novel, The Skylark of Space, which he finished in 1920, although multiple submissions failed to get it published until 1928. He continued to write and publish stories through the 1930s. In 1936 he took a job as a food technologist at the Dawn Doughnut Company of Jackson, Michigan, while continuing to write and sell fiction.  During World War II, he worked for the U.S. Army, and after the war he took a job with the J. W. Allen Company, which he held until his professional retirement in 1957.  After his retirement he and his wife moved to Clearwater, Florida in the winters and Seaside, Oregon in the summer.  He continued to write until his death in 1965.