========================================================================= ==== "Lensman" FAQ v. 3.65 (c) 1998 gharlane@ccshp1.ccs.csus.edu ==== ========================================================================= *** ASCII VERSION *** ================================================================== "The LENSMAN books represent that rarest of all qualities in SF: the sense of wonder, given form and texture and epic scale. "These are the books I cut my teeth on as a fan, and together comprise one of the true milestones in science fiction literature. "Let me be plainer: BUY THESE BOOKS. "You won't regret it." - J. Michael Straczynski, writer-person, the ides of April, 1997. ================================================================== Source: gharlane@ccshp1.ccs.csus.edu (c) 1991-1998. Reproduction of following *TEXT* (only the text!) authorized, as long as no changes are made, and copyright notices are retained. ================================================================== THE "LENSMAN" FAQ. CONTENTS: 0. WHAT IS THE "LENSMAN" SERIES? 1. HOW MANY BOOKS ARE THERE IN THE "LENSMEN" SERIES? 2. DOES ANOTHER BOOK FOLLOW "CHILDREN OF THE LENS?" 3. IS "MASTERS OF THE VORTEX" PART OF THE SERIES? 4. WHAT OTHER BOOKS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE "LENSMAN" UNIVERSE? 5. WHAT ABOUT THE "LENSMAN" MOVIE and COMICS? 6. WHERE TO FIND THE BOOKS! ( info ) updated 14 Sep 98 7. FOOTNOTES, CREDITS, AND APPRECIATIONS ================================================================== Source: address comments, queries, flames, idiopathic paeans of adulation, and other such wrangling to alt.dev.null. 10Q. Mail corrections and additions to "Source:" above. ...verified addenda will be included in subsequent FAQs, and contributors acknowledged. Permission to copy the text portions of this FAQ file for non-profit purposes will be granted on request, provided no changes are made, copyright notices are retained, and full credit is given. ================================================================== -- 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 Relentless, to boot. The "Lens" is an artifact, a telepathic amplifier and universal translator keyed to the individual Lensman who owns it, and will kill anyone else who tries to wear it. The 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 The Civilized Way. The series is noted for its internal consistency, long-term story planning, and breathtaking originality of plot and concept. Much of modern SF is directly derived from it, and the entire field owes a huge debt to the Lensmen. The series was created by Edward Elmer Smith, PhD (2 May 1890 - 1 Sep 1965). Smith's primary education took place around the turn of the century, and his writing style reflects this. Smith's 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. Unlike most fantasists, he had a strong technical education, and this contributed to the coherence and believeability of even his most grandiose concepts. 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. ========================================================================= -- 1 -- HOW MANY BOOKS ARE IN THE "LENSMAN" SERIES? Originally, 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 85-page outline, 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, Jr. who would use the impetus of stories by Smith, Heinlein, 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 of the basic series are: GALACTIC PATROL," serialized in "ASTOUNDING," Sep '37 - Feb '38; 1st book, Fantasy Press hardbound, 1950; GRAY LENSMAN," serialized in "ASTOUNDING," Oct '39 - Jan '40; 1st book, Fantasy Press hardbound, 1951; SECOND-STAGE LENSMEN," serialized in "ASTOUNDING," Nov '41 - Feb '42; 1st book, Fantasy Press hardbound, 1953; and CHILDREN OF THE LENS," serialized in "ASTOUNDING," Nov '47 - Feb '48. 1st book, Fantasy Press hardbound, 1954.

--The book dustjackets and interior illustrations are credited to Ric Binkley, and strongly derived from earlier "ASTOUNDING" artwork, primarily that of Charles Schneeman and Hubert Rogers. It should be noted that there are textual differences between the serialized versions and the hardbacks; in the magazine versions, the Evil 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" had appeared in "AMAZING" magazine, Jan '34 - Apr '34.) Since Fantasy Press printings of EES' other novels were already selling like hotcakes on a cold morning during the potato famine, Eshbach had no trouble marketing 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. ( In 1954, Fantasy Press ran off 75 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.) In 1956, Fantasy Press produced what we'd call today a "trade paperback" edition of "GALACTIC PATROL;" paperbound copies from the 1951 print run. At least one Fantasy Press hardbound, "GRAY LENSMAN," was reprinted by Gnome Press, around 1961, apparently using a simple photo-offset reproduction of the original Fantasy Press version. The only apparent changes were the removal of the Fantasy Press name and colophon from the title page (and "Gnome Press," without the famous Edd Cartier-designed Gnome colophon, added.) The copyright date is still given as 1951, and although it's the second edition, it claims to be the first. Of course, the dedication page, "To Lloyd," is missing from the Gnome version. The dust jacket on the first FP printing of GL mis-spelled the title as "GREY LENSMAN." The Gnome version, as is usual for that publisher, seems to have been printed on cheap paper, and the Gnome dust jacket is not a full-color reproduction of the original. The first mass-market paperback editions of the six "Lensman" novels appeared from Pyramid in '64, '65, and '66. There have been a huge quantity of printings and translations, from many publishers, since. ========================================================================= -- 2 -- DOES ANOTHER BOOK FOLLOW "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. Lloyd Eshbach reports that EES said "NO!" in capital letters whenever approached on the subject of writing sequels. The subsequent storyline seems 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, and the closing salutation refers to "your race;" this implies the existence of third-level species besides Kit and his sisters...... which means that Kit & Co. have replaced the Arisians and are guiding other civilizations into producing third-level minds, or have discovered or created a new race of third-level intellects. (Since the Children are genetically perfect, as EES keeps reminding us, inbreeding might not be dangerous, with no dangerous recessive genes to be expressed. Of course, there is no reason to presume the Children have any *need* to reproduce their kind; their species might well be effectively immortal.) ========================================================================= -- 3 -- IS "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," reportedly 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 once said he felt that EES's loyalty to a friend who wasn't that good an editor was mis-placed, and constituted a kind of underhanded use of "ASTOUNDING"'s material to support the competition. While Campbell loudly supported competition, it may be noteworthy that EES (with the exception of "CHILDREN OF THE LENS," six years later) made only one other sale to "ASTOUNDING." ("SUBSPACE EXPLORERS," July 1960.) More "VORTEX BLASTER" stories, the 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, and the three published stories became the first sections of the book. One character, Vesta the Vegian, is very appealing, and one of his best-realized alien characters. THE VORTEX BLASTER"'s first hardback edition was Gnome Press, 1960. (According to Lloyd Arthur Eshbach, the normal printing schedule was inverted, so the tiny (about 300 copies) Fantasy Press edition, with the better binding and paper, was actually the *second* printing.) Due to the way contract rights had been assigned on the first story, it was available for solo reprint in collections; it appeared in "MODERN MASTERPIECES OF SCIENCE FICTION," World Publishers, 1965, and was the lead story in a MacFadden-Bartell paperback, "THE VORTEX BLASTERS & OTHER STORIES," in 1968. I've been told that the folks at Pyramid, in an attempt to avoid competition with another book carrying the same title, elected to use the new title, "MASTERS OF THE VORTEX," on their reprint of the Gnome Press novel, and that this is why the title continued to appear. Question 3(A): Where does "VORTEX BLASTER" fit into the "Lensman" sequence? 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." This proves not to be the case. Scholars of the Lens have spotted a number of valid internal dating clues. 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." Alan Young, (ayoung@vax.ox.ac.uk), points out that since, on page < > of "THE VORTEX BLASTER," shortly after Cloud gets his arm blown off, the Patrol mentions that the pirates were looking for Lonabarian gems; this implies that several years have passed since the demise of Menjo Bleeko in SSL, because knowledge of Lonabar and its gems has become public knowledge. In "THE VORTEX BLASTER," page < >, Cloud makes first contact with the Dhillians. In "CHILDREN OF THE LENS," page < >, the Dhilians are sufficiently well-known that Kathryn compares a summer-form Plooran to one. The best interpretation this writer can see at this date is that VB occurs at some point between SSL and COTL.

========================================================================= -- 4 -- WHAT OTHER BOOKS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE "LENSMAN" UNIVERSE? Recent paperback printings of various "Lensman" novels have included EES' novel, "THE SPACEHOUNDS OF I.P.C." in the column of "Lensman" titles facing the title page. "THE SPACEHOUNDS OF I.P.C." doesn't even take place in the same universe, uses different technology, and can not be fitted into the series by any even marginally sane leap of imagination. 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." Michael Richards and James Corrick have provided further info: additions to this story were serialized as "NEW LENSMAN" in "PERRY RHODAN" books #61-#74, inclusive, about 1975, and followed by a stand-alone novella called "TRIPLANETARY AGENT," which appeared in "PERRY RHODAN" books #100-#105, inclusive, in 1976. "TRIPLANETARY AGENT" has apparently never been reprinted, and is reported as very poor writing; it uses the same main character as "NEW LENSMAN." The novel version, "NEW LENSMAN," compositing "MOON PROSPECTOR" and "NEW LENSMAN," was printed by Futura in 1976. James Corrick describes "NEW LENSMAN"'s use as a framing encapsulation for "MOON PROSPECTOR," which appears as chapters 8, 9, 12, 14, and 17 of the book; and says that the two stories appear to have no characters in common. Reports on quality of the book vary from "putrid" to "tolerable." I haven't read the book version, primarily due to having read the magazine piece. EES worked with a fan/writers' group called "The Galactic Roamers." These folks, aggressive and professional, 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. At the end of "SECOND STAGE LENSMEN," EES addresses specific appreciations to Dr. James R. Enright and to the following Roamers: E. Everett Evans, F. Edwin Counts, Paul Leavy, Jr, Alfred Ashley; and to Verna Trestrail. One of the later Roamers, David A. Kyle, was a long-time writer, publisher, collector and fan; using extant outlines, fragments of EES' unpublished work, and years of wrangling, arguments, and discussions as his source, he wrote three books EES had intended but never gotten around to. Cover paintings on the Kyle books, by Bob Larkin, start sloppy in story detail, portraying Worsel as a sort of large four-eyed dinosaur, and then improve both in technique and correlation to the stories. ( On the subject of Worsel's eyes, herewith a slight digression: The original illustrations from "ASTOUNDING," presumably approved by EES and Campbell, usually show Worsel with either four or six eyes on stalks. Rogers shows Worsel in flight with six stalked eyes, and Schneeman shows Worsel walking, with four; perhaps the other two are specialized for in-flight applications.....or maybe Worsel just makes however many he needs! When queried about the four-eyed dinosaurian Worsel who appears on the cover of "DRAGON LENSMAN," and about the equivalent creature in the Japanime, David A. Kyle amusedly pointed out that, in voluminous research, he has never been able to find a number of eyes specified in any manuscript or working notes! I checked. We have only the words "multiple" and "stalked," although in "SECOND STAGE LENSMEN," Worsel "thrust out a half dozen of his weirdly stalked eyes," and in "CHILDREN OF THE LENS," "eight weirdly stalked eyes curled out..." So we don't know how many eyes Worsel has, except (a) they're stalked; (b) he can muster *at least* eight! ...and, of course, (c) he has more than two. Kyle's three books are copyrighted by Verna Smith Trestrail, so they are owned by the Smith estate. They are:

"DRAGON LENSMAN" (Bantam Books, Sep '80, 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). Each of these books features one of the non-Terran second-stage Lensmen as its primary character. I'm only aware of one printing on each of these, but I've been told there were later, brief print runs of at least one or two. "Z-LENSMAN" seems to be hard to find, which is something of a pity; I liked it best of Kyle's books. Kyle's writing, while not initially fabulous, is readable, improves in the second, and is quite decent pulp SF in the third. I don't know whether this is a result of achieving a successful synthesis between his own styles and concepts and EES', or whether the editor he drew at Bantam didn't understand what he was trying to do at the outset, but it should be noted that even in the first book, Kyle adds a number of interesting plotlines to the "Lensman" universe; his machine intelligences, for example, were something EES had avoided in the original series, possibly to keep the plot complexity down to something he could handle in a mere four books. By his third book, Kyle added concepts and characters that could eventually generate a whole new cycle of novels; hopefully someone will do them right, some day, if Kyle is too busy.

========================================================================= -- 5 -- WHAT ABOUT THE "LENSMAN" MOVIE and COMICS? There have been many Japanese editions of the "Lensman" books over the years; for example, Al Lewis's EES bibliography lists "GREI RENZUMAN" from Tokyo Sogensha, a 1966 paperback. Some years ago, the same Japanese anime studio which had done the "BATTLESHIP YAMATO" series (re-packaged as "STAR BLAZERS" in the U.S.) got hold of the rights to the "LENSMEN" yarns and did a screen adaption. Worsel has only two eyes, and looks like a bipedal dinosaur instead of a snaky winged reptile; Clarissa MacDougall suddenly stopped being a beautiful redhead and has BROWN eyes.... There are other noxious details, like Kinnison being a farmboy who gets his Lens from a Crashed Space Hero, etc...... *wince*

The anime movie, "THE LENSMEN," is available on tape and laserdisk. Don't say I didn't warn you. Comics. I've been told there are a slew of "Lensman" comic books out there. If, as I hear, they're based on the Japanime storyline, I'd appreciate it if no one ever shows me one. ==================================================================== Paul O'Connor ( paul@latamire.oddworld.com or paul@oddworld.com ) reports that he was the writer of the comics series. Mr. O'Connor, a long-time fan of the "Lensmen" yarns, who was writing for Malibu Comics, pitched them the idea of doing the series in the late 1980's. He wanted to do the comics with careful attention to the original stories, and hoped to see the artwork done in the style of the "ASTOUNDING" covers. He reports that Malibu was interested, but discovered that the rights were tied up by the Japanese animated property. A couple of years later, he thinks about 1989, Malibu had established a relationship with Harmony Gold, the U.S. company that handled distribution of various Japanese anime products in the U.S. With Malibu's "ROBOTECH" comics doing well, Harmony Gold offered them a chance at another property they controlled, the anime version of "LENSMAN," and the folks at Malibu offered Paul O'Connor the chance to do the adaptation. He agreed excitedly, and was sent a tape of the movie and the first half-dozen episodes of the TV series. He reports having been considerably disappointed by the lack of relationship between the anime and the books he loved. Since there were no English translations extant, and all he had to work from were "nearly unintelligible" script translations, he hoped to work everything up from scratch, using the anime only for character designs and a rough episode outline, since this would afford him the opportunity to use a good deal of material from the books, and get the comics a bit closer to the actual story. In short, he hoped to come close to doing the "Lensman" BOOKS, instead of the anime. At this point, Paul O'Connor was informed by Malibu that they'd been notified by the E.E. Smith estate that Malibu's license pertained ONLY to the anime work, and *not* to the books; they were not allowed to use any of the material in the books. The books were off-limits. O'Connor and the artist, Tim Eldred, were placed in the unenviable position of trying to make something coherent out of what appeared to be a nearly senseless film and TV series. O'Connor says he tried to inject at least some of Smith's spirit of adventure, but felt very constrained by the fact that he was walking through a litigation minefield. O'Connor says that the divergence between the anime and the comic books alienated the Japanese anime fans, and the series was a bust. He adds that he was involved in two "Lensman" comics series, one based on the movie and the other on the first few episodes of the TV series; and that Tim Eldred also did a spin-off miniseries involving some of the supporting characters. (O'Connor had no involvement with the spin-off, and knows little about it.) To quote from O'Connor directly: " A sad legacy. My heart was in the right place, but it was impossible to fight the restrictions on the license. I think the scripts were fun in their own right, but they didn't have much to do with 'LENSMAN'." ========================================================================= -- 6 -- AVAILABILITY OF THE BOOKS..... Aside from the original "Fantasy Press" hardbound editions listed above, there were several dozen paperback editions of each of the Lensman books in the U.S., primarily between about 1963 and 1983, from Pyramid Books and later from Berkeley Books. I know of no complete U.S. editions between about 1983 and 1996, but I still see occasional older sets in used-book stores, typically at not more than a dollar or two per book. Since Dr. Smith's popularity has not waned, and he supply of his older editions has remained constant since the mid-eighties, it is becoming harder to find them, of course. As of Summer, 1998, we know of THREE current sources; see below. 1997 / 1998 U.S. REPRINTS from "OLD EARTH BOOKS"... As of 14 September, 1998: In summer, 1996, Michael J. Walsh at "Old Earth Books" began an ambitious small-press project to reprint the "Lensman" saga as a boxed set of high-quality "trade paperbacks." These editions are on 20# acid-free paper with superior-quality binding, and designed to last. Mr. Walsh obtained permission to use the original dust-jacket art from the Fantasy Press editions, and retained the interior B&W frontispieces and chapter-illustration icons. Base price for the set was quoted as $15.00 per book, $10.00 for the box, $5.00 for shipping, or $100 for the boxed set, shipped as the books came off the presses, with the box to follow. The publication of all six was intended to be complete by the time of the World Science Fiction Convention in summer of 1997, but this has not been the case, due to personal situations and financial constraints, although the project has proceeded in a snail-like fashion. The Barnes & Noble chain ordered a good many copies of the first two, and Mike's print run was double or triple the size he'd originally intended for "TRIPLANETARY" and "FIRST LENSMAN." Mike has recently done a second print run on those first two, and the Final Four are currently at the printer's, expected to be available for shipping in approximately 6-7 weeks as of this writing. ( Just in time for All Hallows' E'en. ) Michael's most recent announcement on the subject: ========================================================================== | | From: MichaelWalsh@my-dejanews.com | Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 00:33:03 GMT | Message-ID: <6tho7v$clq$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> | | Dear Folks, | | Here's the latest on the Lens reprints... | Second printings of TRIPLANETARY and FIRST LENSMAN have been done. | & with a huge order that just showed up I'll be going back to press | yet again! | | As for the Final Four (Galactic Patrol, Second Stage Lensman, | Gray Lensman [note correct spelling of Gray], & Children of the Lens), | these are currently at the printer. The above mentioned huge order means | that I'll be doing an even bigger printing. With luck the Final Four | should see the light of day in seven weeks or so. | | The covers are really great looking & the second introduction by John Clute | is great. Yes, Mr Lit'ry SF likes the Lens books. | | & yes, Old Earth Books is a one person operation. & I have a more than | fulltime job in publishing (the Johns Hopkins University Press, where I | am the east coast sales rep - LOTS of travel). | | Michael Walsh | mwalsh@mail.press.jhu.edu | ========================================================================== Michael Walsh's various addresses are: ->| ->| Mike's Net mail address is: mwalsh@MAIL.PRESS.JHU.EDU ->| ->| Mike can also be reached on AOL: MJWALSH1@aol.com ->| ->| and on Compuserve: 102415.1232@compuserve.com ->| ->| And for those who wish to write, the snail mail Secret Address is: ->| Old Earth Books ->| P.O. Box 19951, ->| Baltimore, MD 21211-0951 ->| --- note that his turnaround time on e-mail response is occasionally long, due to his travel schedule. On March 26, 1998, Rob Rooney reported in e-mail that ISBN's had been assigned for the six Old Earth Books editions, even though only the first two were available at that time .... -------------------------- > > Triplanetary ISBN 1882968093 > First Lensman ISBN 1882968107 > Galactic Patrol ISBN 1882968115 > Gray Lensman ISBN 1882968123 > Second Stage Lensman ISBN 1882968131 > Children of the Lens ISBN 188296814x > In June of 1998, we got this report from a Person Who Wishes To Remain Nameless: -------------------------- > > About a month ago I found in a local rare book store an > Old Earth Press hardbound copy of Triplanetary labelled > as "History of Civilization: Volume 1" with a 1997 copyright > date, no DJ but the cover has a simulated E.E.Smith signature. > This past week I bought it and am now wondering if I have a very > unusual trial strike from one of the local (Ann Arbor Michigan) > publishers. > As of this writing ( 14 September, 1998 ) we have seen only the first two books from "Old Earth Books;" these are superior binding and print jobs ( 20# acid-free paper, good quality material and binding ) which will probably have decent longevity. 1997 U.K. REPRINTS As of 25 February 1997, we'd been informed that Ripping Communications had secured the worldwide rights to reprint the Lensman Series outside the US, in trade-paperback format, with original cover-design artwork, with publication scheduled between April and June of 1997, with U.K. distribution through Macmillan. At the end of November, 1997, Warren James Palmer ( one of the honchos at Ripping Publishing ) reported in e-mail: -------------------------- > > Hi There, > Just to let you know that the classic E.E Doc Smith 'Lensman' series has > been re-released in paperback by Ripping Publishing in the UK. They can be > obtained from any decent UK bookshop. > They are also available from our website http://www.ripping-pub.co.uk > The website has sample chapters of not just the Lensman series, but other > Ripping titles as well! This includes the bestselling Dyason series as well > as some new authors. > There is a secure credit card order form which you can submit and the books > will be sent straight to you! > Hope you like it! > Regards > Warren Palmer / Ripping > Ripping ISBN's: -------------------------- > Triplanetary ISBN 1899884 12 2 > First Lensman ISBN 1899884 13 0 > Galactic Patrol ISBN 1899884 14 9 > Gray Lensman ISBN 1899884 15 7 > Second Stage Lensman ISBN 1899884 16 5 > Children of the Lens ISBN 1899884 21 1 > On February 25, 1998, Bob Blees reported in e-mail: > > Ripping has all 6 of the Lensman books available for immediate > shipment. I have to admit that my order took about six weeks to > arrive (not, however, through any fault of Ripping, it just takes > forever to ship from England to Calif!). The price is L5.99 each. > Believe it or not, they only charge actual shipping costs and no > "Handling" charge. The books are pretty good quality. I had > forgotten how much sheer fun they were to read. > Ripping had offered us reproductions of the cover artwork and sample copies of the books, but these have never materialized; hence I can't speak for anything pertaining to quality or material of the books, but they *are* available from Ripping, and Ripping appears to take mail orders seriously and handle them expeditiously. 1998 SF Book Club Omnibus Volume ( s ?) HARDBACK EDITION ( Well, SFBC cardboard-back edition ) The Doubleday Science Fiction Book Club has recently released one "Omnibus" hardback, "CHRONICLES OF THE LENSMEN, Volume I." It contains "TRIPLANETARY," "FIRST LENSMAN," and "GALACTIC PATROL." ( Apparently they're throwing in some sort of free poster as well. ) ...total damage, $14.98 + S&H, plus having the SFBC have your address. ( I have been told, but have no formal verification, that "Volume II" will be along at some point in the near future, so a matched set of cardboard hardbounds can be had inexpensively this way, if you want to give people sets for presents, but don't know if they'll love them enough to keep them... *grin* ) For SFBC info on "Volume I," point your browser to: http://www.sfbc.com and look under "Smith," page two; or click on the cover below: "http://www.sfbc.com:9001/mybookclub/craftycreatures/bookclubs/sfc/OnlineCatalog/OnlineCatalog.htm?PID=178202" ========================================================================= -- 7 -- Credits and Acknowledgements Primary references used in the above compilation have been personal knowledge; my own collection; Sam Moskowitz' error-ridden biographical sketch of EES; the excellent concordance, "THE UNIVERSES OF E.E. SMITH" by Ron Ellik and E.E. Evans; Robert A. Heinlein's appreciative article "Larger Than Life," in "EXPANDED UNIVERSE;" sections of Lloyd Arthur Eshbach's publishing history, "OVER MY SHOULDER;" and fifteen years of insegrevious input from Jamie Hanrahan, (jeh@cmkrnl.com), constructor of the first non-Arisian Lens, who also declines any and all responsibility for anything pertaining to Japanese anime versions of "LENSMAN" novels. Regards and appreciation to the EES fans named in the article above; - to Jeff Cohen, jeffc@netcom.com, who spotted the *real* maximum number of Worsellian optical sensors; - to James A. Corrick, who graciously provided accurate detail info concerning the Ellern stories, and the 1968 "Blaster" paperbacks; - to Bill Higgins--Beam Jockey, HIGGINS@FNAL.FNAL.GOV, and inventor of the Amazing Radioactive Fan, who has been identified by "WEEKLY WORLD NEWS" investigators as a disguised Plooran; - to Michael F. Hodous, mhodous@cscs.ch, who caught me in a bletcherously pfzticated set of name errors in an earlier version of this FAQ; and - to Paul O'Connor, paul@latamire.oddworld.com / paul@oddworld.com, for his detailed comments concerning What Happened With The Comics. - to Michael Richards, richards@maths.ox.ac.uk. - to Alan Young, ayoung@vax.ox.ac.uk, who spotted the most concrete dating information for "VORTEX BLASTER" reported to date. Respectful homage to David A. Kyle, who, with great patience and courtesy, politely suffered a number of inquisitional grillings at WorldCon, 1993. Above text (c) 1991-1998 gharlane@ccshp1.ccs.csus.edu; all rights reserved. Unaltered single-copy reproduction for nonprofit purposes is authorized, so long as no alterations are made. Please do not post electronic copies on the Web, but rather provide links to this URL so that the most recent version is available to browsers: http://168.150.253.1/~zlensman/lensfaq.html . ========================================================================= ==== "Lensman" FAQ v. 3.65 (c) 1998 gharlane@ccshp1.ccs.csus.edu ==== =========================================================================