[amtap book:isbn=1568658044]<\/p>\n
[amtap book:isbn=0739402625]<\/p>\n
Descrip\u00adtion:<\/em> The \u201cLens\u00adman\u201d<\/em><\/a> series by \u2018Doc\u2019 E E Smith<\/a> is one of the clas\u00adsics of the pulp era of sci\u00adence fic\u00adtion. A bat\u00adtle between Impos\u00adsi\u00adble oppo\u00adsites, with whole civ\u00adi\u00adliza\u00adtions as pawns and coun\u00adters in the game. There are bat\u00adtles in space between fleets so large they dwarf whole solar sys\u00adtems, weapons so immense as to stag\u00adger the imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion, and crim\u00adi\u00adnal con\u00adspir\u00ada\u00adcies that cov\u00adered galaxies.<\/p>\n Yet at the cen\u00adter of the series was the bat\u00adtle between the sup\u00adport\u00adive men\u00adtal giants of the plan\u00adet Arisia and the con\u00adquer\u00ading Eddo\u00adri\u00adans from anoth\u00ader uni\u00adverse. The Arisians find the Eddo\u00adri\u00adans too tough to take on them\u00adselves, but find their relent\u00adless phi\u00adlos\u00ado\u00adphy of con\u00adquest unpalat\u00adi\u00adble, and resolve to oppose them. To that end, the Arisians began a slow, mil\u00adlions of years long project to pro\u00adduce the men\u00adtal pow\u00ader need\u00aded to final\u00adly elim\u00adi\u00adnate the Eddorians.That tale, told in var\u00adi\u00adous stages, makes up the sto\u00adry line.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That sto\u00adry chron\u00adi\u00adcles the rise of the Lens\u00admen, the Galac\u00adtic police force that can nev\u00ader be sub\u00adorned pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly because of the Lens. The Lens is a mys\u00adte\u00adri\u00adous device of the Arisians which is both an un-repro\u00adducible badge of office and a per\u00adfect trans\u00adla\u00adtor. For those few Lens\u00admen who under\u00adstand its pow\u00ader, it is also a tele\u00adpath\u00adic ampli\u00adfi\u00ader and facilitator.<\/p>\n The first book con\u00adtains the ori\u00adgin and set\u00adting for the rest of the sto\u00adries: the meet\u00ading between the Arisians and the Eddo\u00adri\u00adans. The remain\u00ading sto\u00adries tell of var\u00adi\u00adous events on Earth that com\u00adprise the his\u00adto\u00adry of the two fam\u00adi\u00adly lines that will even\u00adtu\u00adal\u00adly be the focal point of the final bat\u00adtle. The sec\u00adond and third books detail the rise of the Galac\u00adtic Patrol and the cre\u00adation of the Lens\u00admen. The fourth and fifth books are about Kim\u00adball Kin\u00adni\u00adson, a Lens\u00adman, and his actions that are in the core of the bat\u00adtle against the agents of the Eddo\u00adri\u00adans. The last book main\u00adly con\u00adcerns the Kin\u00adni\u00adson chil\u00addren, the ulti\u00admate end of the mil\u00adlenia-long breed\u00ading pro\u00adgram that is to fin\u00adish the Eddo\u00adri\u00adans forever.<\/p>\n Com\u00admen\u00adtary:<\/em> What makes it rel\u00ade\u00advant here is that these sto\u00adries are some of the first that real\u00adly deal with the wide and var\u00adi\u00adous uses of such tele\u00adpath\u00adic pow\u00aders: not just men\u00adtal com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adca\u00adtion and mind read\u00ading, but mind con\u00adtrol (a re-occur\u00adring theme, used by both sides), tele\u00adpath\u00adic illu\u00adsions, mem\u00ado\u00adry mod\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion and implata\u00adtion, just about any con\u00adceiv\u00adable use of it is dis\u00adplayed here. The Lens\u00admen are the first and last defend\u00aders of the Galaxy and they have few scru\u00adples (but some\u00adtimes many regrets and hes\u00adi\u00adta\u00adtions) at using the awe\u00adsome pow\u00aders at their com\u00admand. And not only the Lens\u00admen: their oppo\u00adnents also have telepaths of equal abil\u00adi\u00adty and much few\u00ader regrets and nev\u00ader any hes\u00adi\u00adta\u00adtion at using them.<\/p>\n I should also point out that although the Lens gives the Lens\u00admen their author\u00adi\u00adty, they are not por\u00adtrayed as impos\u00adsi\u00adble heroes: Kin\u00adni\u00adson is braver and tougher than most (because of his her\u00aditage and train\u00ading) but some\u00adtimes he comes up against stronger, more capa\u00adble oppo\u00adnents, and he pays the price. He also puts him\u00adself at per\u00adson\u00adal risk in his inves\u00adti\u00adga\u00adtions: in one case, he takes on the per\u00adsona of a space min\u00ader, com\u00adplete with an authen\u00adtic but rather benign drug addic\u00adtion, and in anoth\u00ader, he is cap\u00adtured and tor\u00adtured to the point he suf\u00adfers mul\u00adti\u00adple ampu\u00adta\u00adtions: for\u00adtu\u00adnate\u00adly Galac\u00adtic med\u00adi\u00adcine has cre\u00adat\u00aded an exper\u00adi\u00admen\u00adtal regen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtion procedure.<\/p>\n The Lens\u00adman series is reflec\u00adtive of the times and its author, how\u00adev\u00ader, and can be seen as quite sex\u00adist. For one thing, there are few female char\u00adac\u00adters, pri\u00admar\u00adi\u00adly Vir\u00adgilia Samms and Claris\u00adsa McDou\u00adgal, and Claris\u00adsa\u2019s four daugh\u00adters, and no women will ever be award\u00aded the Lens, with a few late excep\u00adtions. Vir\u00adgilia is rec\u00adom\u00admend\u00aded for the Lens, giv\u00aden her impres\u00adsive and excep\u00adtion\u00adal psy\u00adcho\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal insight, plus being the daugh\u00adter of the first Lens\u00adman, but she is refused by the Arisians. Claris\u00adsa was only made a Lens\u00adman because Kim\u00adbal need\u00aded her and some\u00adone like her for a spe\u00adcial cir\u00adcum\u00adstance, plus she was des\u00adtined as his mate by the Arisians and pos\u00adsessed a mind equal to his. The four daugh\u00adters did\u00adn\u2019t need Lens\u00ades, being born as the replace\u00adments for the Arisians.<\/p>\n Rec\u00adom\u00admen\u00adda\u00adtion:<\/em> Very high\u00adly rec\u00adom\u00admend\u00aded. The sto\u00adries are not the best of that era but they are still good reads and are sol\u00adid sto\u00adries, nonethe\u00adless. Of spe\u00adcial inter\u00adest is the wide vari\u00adety of tele\u00adpath\u00adic abil\u00adi\u00adties described there\u00adin: very few (and I can\u2019t even think of them off-hand) are left out.<\/p>\n Note:<\/em> Even though the term \u201cspace opera<\/a>\u201d would not be cre\u00adat\u00aded (by Wil\u00adson Tuck\u00ader) until many years lat\u00ader, \u2018Doc\u2019 Smith\u2019s series here is the epit\u00ado\u00adme of the term. The inter\u00adstel\u00adlar scope and sweep of the nov\u00adels, the bound\u00adless adjec\u00adtives and the overuse of excla\u00adma\u00adtion points, all are indi\u00adca\u00adtors of it.<\/p>\n