SF-LOVERS Digest          Wednesday, 13 Jan 1993       Volume 18 : Issue 30
 
Today's Topics:
 
                          Books - Anthony & Smith
 
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Date: 13 Jan 93 06:20:08 GMT
From: jvessey@husc11.harvard.edu (Jonathan Vessey)
Reply-to: sf-lovers-written@Rutgers.Edu
Subject: Kilobyte
 
Let me start this off with a disclaimer: like some of the other people I've
seen posting here, Piers Anthony was one of the first fantasy writers I
read (7-9 grade or so). I read Xanth, Apprentice Adept, the Cluster series,
etc.  As someone else put it, either my taste matured or he starting turn
out crap, so I haven't read anything he's put out for a number of years.
 
That said, I was in a bookstore today and saw a book by him called
Kilobyte.  It's about a fantasy game played online (I think - I know it's a
multiplayer interactive sort of thing). There's a mystery because someone
in the game wants to kill our heros, not just in the game but in real life
(this is according to the jacket blurb). To be honest, this sounds sort of
like _Dream Park_ put inside a computer, but the premise sounded sort of
interesting, and if the work is like most of his stuff, I doubt it would
take too long to read.  My question, though, is has anyone read it? What
did you think (and how do you generally stand on Anthony's stuff?)? If it's
good, I'd considering breaking with tradition, but during the school year,
recreational reading time is precious enough as it is, so I'd like to hear
an opinion or two before I jumped right in.
 
Thanks.
 
Jon Vessey
jvessey@husc.harvard.edu
 
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Date: 9 Jan 93 19:49:18 GMT
From: gharlane@nextnet.ccs.csus.edu (Gharlane of Eddore)
Reply-to: sf-lovers-written@Rutgers.Edu
Subject: LENSMAN FAQ (semi-final, pre-penultimate version 2A)
 
CONTENTS:
 
QUESTION #0:   WHAT IS THE "LENSMAN" SERIES?
QUESTION #1:   HOW MANY BOOKS ARE THERE IN THE 'LENSMAN' SERIES?
QUESTION #2:   WAS ANOTHER BOOK PLANNED AFTER 'CHILDREN OF THE LENS?'
QUESTION #3:   ISN'T  "MASTERS OF THE VORTEX"  PART OF THE SERIES?
QUESTION #4:   WHAT OTHER BOOKS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE "LENSMAN" UNIVERSE?
QUESTION #5:   WHAT ABOUT THE "LENSMAN" MOVIE and COMICS?
 
QUESTION #0:    WHAT IS THE "LENSMAN" SERIES?
 
   The "Lensman" series is a set of books concerning the most noble set of
Good Guys ever to run loose in Science Fiction.  A Lensman is trustworthy,
loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty,
brave, clean, and reverent; and well-educated, athletic, and noble to boot.
   The "Lens" is an artifact worn on the wrist; it's a telepathic amplifier
and universal translator, and it's keyed to the individual Lensman who owns
it; it will kill anyone else who tries to put it on.
   Lensman fight the arch-villains of the universe, and each time they
eradicate a big, bad set of villains, they discover the villains they've
just vanquished were merely fronts for bigger, badder villains; this goes
on until they identify, and extirpate, the Evillest Villains In Two
Universes, leaving both universes safe for Truth, Justice, and
Civilization.
 
    The series was created by Edward E. Smith, PhD ( 2 May 1890 - 1 Sep
1965).  Smith's primary education took place around the turn of the
century, and his writing style reflected this.  His use of language might
be considered florid by modern standards, but his unabashed command of
vocabulary and complex sentence structure are quite enjoyable, particularly
when you realize that what he was writing was, by Victorian standards,
leaned-down and Hemingwayesque.
 
    The Lensman series was originally contracted for by F. Orlin Tremaine,
then editor of "ASTOUNDING" magazine, in 1937.  Due to staff changes, the
series was actually edited by John W. Campbell, Jr, who, along with EES'
cohorts, the "Galactic Roamers," contributed no small amount to the series.
 
QUESTION #1:    HOW MANY BOOKS ARE THERE IN THE 'LENSMAN' SERIES?
 
   The "Lensman" saga was specifically designed as a 400,000-word novel, to
be broken into FOUR segments.
   Smith knew exactly where he was going with the four books, had a
complete outline, and actually wrote the ending of the fourth book before
he began work on the first one.
   EES submitted his detailed outline, which was as long as some short
novels, to F. Orlin Tremaine, the editor of "ASTOUNDING," in early 1937.
Just prior to his departure from the editorial helm, Tremaine committed
"ASTOUNDING" to buying and printing the entire package.  (The new editor
was John W. Campbell, who would use the impetus of stories by Heinlein,
Smith, and van Vogt to drive "ASTOUNDING" to the forefront of the field and
keep it there for the next three decades.)
 
The FOUR lensman novels were:
 
 "GALACTIC  PATROL,"    serialized in "ASTOUNDING," Sept '37-Feb '38;
                        Fantasy Press hardbound, 1950.
 
 "GRAY LENSMAN,"        serialized in "ASTOUNDING," Oct '39 - Jan '40;
                        Fantasy Press hardbound, 1951.
 
 "SECOND-STAGE LENSMEN,"  serialized in "ASTOUNDING," Nov '41-Feb '42;
                          Fantasy Press hardbound, 1953.
 
 and "CHILDREN OF THE LENS," serialized in "ASTOUNDING," Nov '47-Feb '48.
                             Fantasy Press hardbound, 1954.
 
 The book dustjackets and interior illustrations are credited to Ric
 Binkley, and strongly derived from the earlier "ASTOUNDING" artwork,
 primarily by Hubert Rogers.
 
It should be noted that there are textual differences between the
serialized versions and the hardbacks; in the magazine versions, the
Eddorians aren't even known to exist until the last book.  In fact, at the
end of "SECOND-STAGE LENSMEN," EES uses such a hoary old plot device to end
the book that some of his fans were more than a little put out.  EES was
concerned over this, even in his original outline, because he knew he
needed a strong "phony ending" for a break between SSL and COTL, while the
Children grew to maturity, and he couldn't come up with one that he really
liked.
 
   When Lloyd Arthur Eshbach, the owner of Fantasy Press, set up his deal
with EES to publish the four books in hardbound, he came up with the
entrepreneurial inspiration of conning EES into rewriting an earlier book,
"TRIPLANETARY," to fit into the "Lensmen" universe; and writing a "bridge"
novel, "FIRST LENSMAN," to connect it onto the beginning of the series.  (
The earlier, *non*-"Lensman" version of "TRIPLANETARY" first appeared in
"AMAZING" magazine, Jan '34 - Apr '34.)
  Since the Fantasy Press printings of EES' "Skylark" novels were already
selling like hotcakes on a cold morning during the potato famine, Eshbach
had no trouble selling two "new" EES books as an introduction to the main
"Lensman" series.
   This is why there are six books in the post-1950, post-Eshbach, series,
and why the first book is so unlike the rest in style and content.  Those
"first" two FP "Lensman" books are:
 
 "TRIPLANETARY,"    Fantasy Press hardbound, 1948;   and
 "FIRST LENSMAN,"   Fantasy Press hardbound, 1950.
 
 Dustjacket paintings and interior illustrations are credited to A.J.
 Donnell.
 
   ( Fantasy Press ran off a batch of boxed, leather-bound sets of the six
books, and marketed them under the title "THE HISTORY OF CIVILIZATION."  If
anyone knows the location of one of these that's for sale, I'd be
interested in hearing the price-tag on it.)
 
   Almost all Fantasy Press books were reprinted in second print runs with
the original plates, using slightly less expensive bindings and paper;
these are the Gnome Press editions, which show up a lot at library and
estate sales.  They're not as valuable, but are nice to have.
 
 
QUESTION #2:    WAS ANOTHER BOOK PLANNED AFTER 'CHILDREN OF THE LENS?'
 
   EES had a plotline in mind for what occurred after the last book, but,
as far as I can find out, never had any intention of writing it.  Heinlein
reports discussing it with him in some detail, but says he's unaware of any
of the book ever having been written or even outlined on paper.
   EES made references to it on two occasions when I encountered him in
person, but declined to discuss it in detail.
   It's fairly obvious, since the encapsulation of the last book ("CHILDREN
OF THE LENS") is addressed to any third-level entity capable of obtaining
it and reading it; this implies the existence of third-level folks besides
Kim and his sisters...... which means that either Kim & Co. have replaced
the Arisians and are guiding other civilizations into producing third-level
minds, or have founded a new race of third-level intellects themselves.
(Since they are genetically perfect, as EES keeps reminding us, inbreeding
wouldn't be dangerous; there are no dangerous recessive genes to be
expressed.)
 
 
QUESTION #3:  ISN'T  "MASTERS OF THE VORTEX"  PART OF THE SERIES?
 
   *NO*.
 
   F. Orlin Tremaine, the editor who'd left "ASTOUNDING" in 1938, was
working on a new magazine, "COMET," which was having major financial and
circulation problems.  Tremaine asked Smith if he could help out.  Since
Smith couldn't sell a "Lensman" novel to a competitor of "ASTOUNDING," he
came up with the idea for a different series, set in the same universe.
Unfortunately, Tremaine's ballyhooing of the new EES series didn't get the
magazine out of the red in time.  "THE VORTEX BLASTER" appeared in the the
*last* issue of "COMET", in July, 1941.  This story is about the first 25
pages of the hardbound book.
   John Campbell, the editor of ASTOUNDING, took a dim view of this
situation, since Tremaine had bragged, in print, about how he was going to
drive "ASTOUNDING" out of business.  (Campbell felt that EES's loyalty to a
friend who wasn't that good an editor was misplaced, and constituted a
kind of underhanded use of "ASTOUNDING"'s material to support the
competition.  While Campbell loudly supported competition, it's noteworthy
that EES made almost no subsequent sales to "ASTOUNDING."  My records list
only "SUBSPACE SURVIVORS" in July, 1960.)
 
  Short stories, "STORM CLOUD ON DEKA" and "THE VORTEX BLASTER MAKES WAR,"
appeared in "ASTONISHING STORIES" in June and October of 1942.
   With no major markets paying full rates for the V.B. stories, EES
telescoped the multi-volume outline into something that would fit into one
book.
 
   That book is "THE VORTEX BLASTER," which first appeared in hardback from
Gnome Press in 1960.  (According to LAE, the normal printing schedule was
inverted, so the Fantasy Press edition, with the better binding and paper,
was actually the *second* printing! )
 
   At some point in the early sixties, a paperback story collection was
published under the title "THE VORTEX BLASTER" or "THE VORTEX BLASTERS."
(I don't have access to my collection to verify which.)  It based the title
use on the fact that it contained the original EES V.B. story; since you
can't copyright a title, no one contested it.
   This meant that, when Pyramid got around to printing a paperback edition
of the novel, they wanted to use a different title; that's where "MASTERS
OF THE VORTEX" came from.
 
 Question 3(A):  Where does "V.B." fit into the "Lensman" sequence?
 
   Although the "VORTEX BLASTER" novel is not specifically dated, and does
not appear to refer to specific events during the final part of the
Arisian-Eddorian war, the relative quietness of the galaxy seems to
indicate that it takes place subsequent to "SSL."
 
 Scott Drellishak (sfd@soda.berkeley.edu) points out that VB definitely
dates after GL by at least a few months, and probably after SSL, on the
basis of the following points:
 
   After GL:
   In Chapter 6 of VB, there are references to superdreadnoughts and
primary beams, both of which were developed during GL.
   When Cloud gets an arm shot off, it is regenerated using the Phillips
Process, also developed during GL.  Availability of this treatment to a
civilian employee of the Galactic Patrol implies at least a few months have
passed since GL.
 
   After SSL:  (?)
   Lensman Phil Strong says "You're the most-wanted man in the galaxy, not
excepting Kimball Kinnison."  This implies Kinnison is now a public figure,
Coordinator Kinnison of Klovia, no longer a secret agent.
 
   Drellishak also points out that VB characters always speak of one
galaxy, not two, which might date it before SSL.  (I feel this just means
the other galaxy isn't yet public information.)
 
   Dani Zweig ( dani@netcom.com ) adds that it does look like Kinnison is
already Galactic Coordinator.  "The fact that he can undertake a search for
someone to help or replace Storm is more telling than the fact that he is
the most wanted man in Civilization."
 
 Ron Ellik has observed:
 "The events of 'The Vortex Blaster' are not decidedly before or after
 "Children Of The Lens" -- Kim appears as an executive, not merely as The
 Lensman, and Haynes is still at his desk although we know that Raoul
 LaForge had been appointed Port Admiral by the time of the Battle of
 Ploor.  Nothing conclusive -- the important thing is that VB forms a
 parenthesis in the stories of the Lens universe, as it is not concerned
 with the Eddorian conflict."
 
The best interpretation I can see at this date is that VB
occurs at some point between SSL and COTL.
 
QUESTION #4:  WHAT OTHER BOOKS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE "LENSMAN" UNIVERSE?
 
   A writer named William B. Ellern wrote a short piece called
"MOON PROSPECTOR," set in the Lensman universe.  It was published,
with EES' knowledge and approval, in the April, 1966 "ANALOG," and
later expanded into a full-length novel, which has appeared under
variant titles in various printings.  (One correspondent reports
a British edition titled "THE NEW LENSMAN.") Reports on quality
of the book vary from "putrid" to "tolerable."  I haven't read it.
 
   EES worked with a writers' group called "The Galactic Roamers."
These folks were fans and scientists, and delighted in tearing apart
anything vulnerable in EES' works in progress; they were a great help
in his writing, as well as being good friends.  One of the Roamers, David
A. Kyle, was a long-time collector and fan; when he retired, he turned to
writing.  Using extant outlines, fragments of EES' unpublished work, and
years of wrangling, arguments, and discussions as his source, he wrote
three books EES had discussed but never gotten around to.  The three books
are copyrighted by Verna Smith Trestrail, so they are owned by the Smith
estate.  (Cover paintings, by Bob Larkin, start sloppy and get better.
<"sloppy" in story detail, not technique.> )
 
 These are:
 
 "DRAGON LENSMAN"   (Bantam Books, Sept 1980, ISBN 0-553-13741-7, $1.95);
 
 "LENSMAN FROM RIGEL" (Bantam Books, Oct '82, ISBN 0-553-20499-8, $2.50);
 
 "Z-LENSMAN."       (Bantam Books, Aug '83, ISBN 0-553-23427-7, $2.75).
 
Since Kyle was feeling his way, the writing is not good in the first book,
improves in the second, and is actually interesting in the third.
 
Each of these books features one of the non-Terran 2nd-stage Lensmen as a
primary character.
 
I'm only aware of one printing on each of these.
 
QUESTION #5:    WHAT ABOUT THE "LENSMAN" MOVIE and COMICS?
 
   Some years agone, a denizen of this and other networks, a sterling chap
hight Jamie E. Hanrahan, chanced upon a Japanese gentleman at a major
science fiction convention.  That gentleman happened to be the one
responsible for the "YAMATO"/"STAR BLAZERS" anime.
   Typically starry-eyed, young Mr. Hanrahan dragged him over to a nearby
dealers' table and thrust the "Lensman" novels upon him.
   That's where the Japanese anime version came from.  Since young Mr.
Hanrahan was unwilling to learn Japanese, relocate to Japan, and act as
technical advisor to protect our precious heritage, you can blame him for
Worsel having the wrong number of eyes, and looking like a bipedal dinosaur
instead of a snaky winged reptile; and for the fact that Clarissa
MacDougall suddenly stopped being a beautiful redhead.  Not to mention Van
Buskirk's metamorphosis into a guy named "Buskirk" and other noxious
details, like Kinnison being a farmboy who gets his Lens from a crashed
Space Hero, etc. ... *grin*
 
(Bear in mind that there have been many Japanese editions of the "Lensman"
books over the years; Al Lewis's EES bibliography lists "GREI RENZUMAN,"
from Tokyo Sogensha, a 1966 paperback, for example.  So we can't presume
that it wouldn't have happened without Jamie's well-meant gesture; it's
just that he's a convenient scapegoat.)
 
Comics.   I've been told there are a slew of "Lensman" comic books out
          there.  I'd appreciate it if no one ever shows me one, since
          they are reportedly based on the Japanese anime storyline.
 
Primary references used in the above compilation have been personal
knowledge, my own collection, Sam Moskowitz' error-ridden biographical
sketch of EES, the nearly error-free "THE UNIVERSES OF E.E. SMITH" by Ron
Ellik and E.E. Evans, Robert A. Heinlein's nearly error-free article,
"LARGER THAN LIFE," in "Expanded Universe," and insegrevious input from the
likes of HIGGINS@FNAL.FNAL.GOV (Bill Higgins).
 
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End of SF-LOVERS Digest
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