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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780803292864
ISBN number: 0803292864
Label: Bison Books
Manufacturer: Bison Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 159
Printing Date: March 01, 2001
Publishing house: Bison Books
Release Date: February 01, 2001
Sale Popularity Level: 642722
Studio: Bison Books
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Brilliant government scientist Richard Seaton discovers a remarkable faster-than-light fuel that will power his interstellar spaceship, The Skylark. His ruthless rival, Marc DuQuesne, and the sinister World Steel Corporation will do anything to get their hands on the fuel. They kidnap Seaton's fiancée and friends, unleashing a furious pursuit and igniting a burning desire for revenge that will propel The Skylark across the galaxy and back.
The Skylark of Space is the very first and one of the best space operas ever written. Breezy dialogue, romantic intrigue, fallible heroes, and complicated villains infuse humanity and believability into a conflict of galactic proportions. The Amazing Stories publication of The Skylark of Space in 1928 heralded the debut of a major new voice in American pulp science fiction and ushered in its golden age. Legions of interstellar epics have been written since that time, but none can match the wonder, dazzle, and sheer fun of the original. This commemorative edition features the author's preferred version of the story, the original illustrations by O. G. Estes Jr., and a new introduction by acclaimed science fiction writer Vernor Vinge.
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Rated by buyers 
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I discovered E. E. (Doc) Smith in the late 1950's when I was a teenager. I, finally, had qualified to get into the adult section of the library (legally) and was hunting down science fiction stories. About 2/3 down one aisle, very near the bottom shelf, I spotted "Skylark of Space". I opened to the very first page and was hooked. Doc Smith became my second most favorite author, subsequent to Robert A. Heinlein.
This is space opera at its finest.
Richard Seaton 'discovers' what, apparently, is a new element with some astonishing properties and moves quickly to 'research' those properties and use them. However a rival, Marc DuQuesne, suspects something and being a not so nice fellow, decides that he can rule the world, by using the wonderous properties of this new element. The two men are nearly equally matched in brains and creativity. And, we begin the "Skylark" series of novels that, in many ways, is fairly mind-blowing.
I got this book home and devoured it in a few hours, the subsequent day. At the very first opportunity, I was back at the library, looking for other books in the series.
Doc Smith wrote this series in the 1920's and 1930's. Some of the attitudes and some of the author's ideas are, now, outdated. Fortunately, that does not get in the way of enjoying these books.
I recommend this story, as strongly as I can. It is, sort of, mind candy!
Rated by buyers 
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A get into space opera, if you like, with some of your standard Smith elements, good good guys, sneaky bad guys, and lots of blowing stuff up. It is not too bad, but certainly isn't the Lensman series, by any stretch, and the fact that it is an earlier work probably shows. Still, pioneering sort of stuff for the time, but shows a bit more of the late 19th century type influences, I think.
Rated by buyers 
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It's a wild ride across the galaxy, making it a safe place for all right-thinking beings who look pretty much like us. Brilliant Seaton, wealthy Crane, a beautiful if ineffectual babe for each, and an oriental houseboy who lives to grovel, all zooming from one star system to the next. Oddly enough, every where he goes, Seaton is heaped with honors - at least by the people that don't get blown to subatomic smoosh for being un-neighborly.
Since Earthman Seaton is so vastly superior to every other interstellar race in intellect, creativity, and all-American-ness, the bad guys out there are temporary annoyance. As a result, any villain worth the effort must also be from Earth: thus, we have Marc DuQuesne, as brilliant and mighty as Seaton, and as bad a bad boy as Seaton is a good boy.
The original copyright on this book is almost 80 years old now. Back then, attitudes towards women and non-European cultures were neolithic by today's standards, as were other beliefs. For example, one of the highest leaders on one of those planets is both the primate of the church and commander in chief of their military. Today, the idea of a despot of the state religion, in control of that army and destructive power - well, we just can't see it as the concentration of rectitude that Smith made it out to be.
But that was then, in that optimistic time when WWII was still so far in the future. It's like nostalgia for a time I never experienced, seeing that moral simplicity and technological optimism. I'm glad the racism and naivete are gone today, but I wonder how much else we lost in shedding them.
//wiredweird
Rated by buyers -
I think I'd give this 5 stars, just for being the original... if it WERE the original. E. E. Smith did some serious re-writing on this one, sometime during the 1950s. In this version, Greedo shoots first.
Okay, that's a joke, but the Star Wars fan-boys get what I mean. I didn't want something revised, with mushroom clouds and television sets. I wanted something written in 1915. I think that's when Smith claimed to have started "Skylark of Space".
Anyway, it's still a fun story, and since it sets you up for "Skylark 3" and "Skylark of Valeron" (both better written and more engaging), it's important reading. I think I'm like a lot of people who read something this old-- I'm trying to fill in the cracks in my understanding of the progression of sci-fi. It's an entertaining history lesson.
I can still glean what the untouched book must have been, but I wish I could actually read the original version. If you can find that one, read it. If you can't, read this one.
***UPDATE*** I've just discovered that Project Gutenberg has the original "Skylark of Space," taken from the 1928 Amazing Stories, available as a FREE html download. It includes the original cover and interior artwork. So what are you waiting for?
Rated by buyers -
This is sciece fiction in the grand old "Buck Rogers" style. Written in 1928 it is interesting to see it talking about atomic energy long before it was ever developed. It is also interesting to see the slang used in those days such as a great deed referred to as "A flash and a loud report" or a liar refered to as "A man with a paper nose". Campy to the max.
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