The Skylark of Space: The Original 1928 Edition

This is an early example of space opera, which attempted to add scientific elements. The father of the term ‘science fiction’ Hugo Greensback was dissatisfied with Edgar Rice Burroughs style space opera, where other planets were just a setting for adventures. He wanted the story to educate readers a......more

Check out my full, spoiler light, video review HERE. Written from 1915 to 1921 but published in 1928, so this is an old one. Cowritten with the wife of a coworker Lee Hawkins Garby. Heralded as the first interstellar ‘Space Opera’. Mostly a space adventure with intentional and unintentional humor th......more

I'd always wanted to read this series (actually, I want to also read the Lensman series) and finally got around to the first book in it. People say E.E. Smith "invented" what we now call space opera, and boy, I'm here to tell you those people are right. The Skylark of Space reads like a comic strip o......more

This is a quick moving story, an icon of the Pulp Age of SF. It was interesting to read this again after so many decades, but one such is enough. I can see how much this influenced The Black Star Trilogy by John W. Campbell Jr. who is often seen as the most influential editor of the Pulp & Golden Ag......more

After going through the Lensman series, I figured I should read one of the earliest things E.E. "Doc" "Fella" "Bachelor's" "Master's" "Community College Degree" Smith wrote in his career. It was a little rough. The overall plot's some enjoyable silliness about a chemist stumbling into how to unlock t......more