Product Description

In this exhilarating sequel to The Skylark of Space, momentous danger again stalks genius inventor and interplanetary adventurer Dr. Richard Seaton. Seaton’s allies on the planet Kondal are suffering devastating attacks by the forces of the Third Planet. Even worse, the menacing and contemptuous Fenachrones are threatening to conquer the galaxy and wipe out all who oppose them. And don’t forget the dastardly machinations of Seaton’s arch-nemesis, DuQuesne, who embarks on a nefarious mission of his own. Against such vile foes and impossible odds, how is victory possible?

Featuring even more technological wizardry, alien worlds, and all-out action than its predecessor, Skylark Three is hailed by many as the imaginative high point of the Skylark series.

A pioneer of the space opera, E. E. "Doc" Smith (1890–1965) profoundly influenced the development of American science fiction. Smith’s books include the classic Lensman series. Jack Williamson is the author of numerous classic novels, including The Humanoids and Terraforming Earth. He has been inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3835298 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

Review

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SOME REMARKS ON THE "SKYLARK THREE" AND ABOUT ERRORS. A COMPLIMENT TO DR. SMITH'S STORIES.

Editor, Amazing Stories:

Dr. Smith, in his foreword to "Skylark Three" mentions two errors which he made knowingly. I think I can recognize the astronomical one, at any rate.

Of course, the acceleration of twice 186,000 miles per second, as used in escaping the field of the great "dud" star, as told in "Skylark of Space" was impossible. Nothing could withstand that strain. Further, no gravitational field could be that intense. It would have exactly the effect Dr. Smith describes and allots to the zone of force in "Skylark Three"-it would make a hole in space and pull the hole in after it. Light would be too heavy to leave the planet. The effect on space would be so great as to curve it so violently as to shut it in about it like a blanket. The dud would be both invisible and unapproachable.

The astronomical error? I wonder how Dr. Smith solved the problem of three-or more-bodies? Osnome is a planet of a sun in a group of seventeen suns, is it not? The gravitational field about even two suns is so exceedingly complex that a planet could take up an orbit only such that one sun was at each of the two foci of the ellipse of its orbit, and then only provided the suns were of very nearly the same mass, and stationary, which in turn means they must have no attraction for each other. No, I think his complex system of seventeen suns would not be so good for planets....

Dr. Smith invited "knocks" with that foreword of his-I hope I am complying, as an interested reader, and a hopeful scientist. However, my personal opinion has always been that "Skylark of Space" was the best story of scientifiction ever printed, without exception. I have recently changed my opinion, however, since "Skylark Three" has come out.

John W. Campbell, Jr.

Review
"A marvelous epic of science fiction."-Galaxy (Galaxy )

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Customer Reviews

If you can find this book, buy it!
I first read this book during the golden age- fourteen that is. Yet it has held a special place in my mind and heart ever since. It still gives me a thrill to think about this book even though I am now 49 going on 50. For sheer breadth of imagination, scope of theme and pace of action it is one of the best books I have ever read. It is ,of course, sadly dated by todays standards- but you must realize that when this book was written the very idea of space travel was nothing but sheer fantasy to the average person. At a time when no human had ever traveled faster than 300 miles per hour E. E. Smith was writing about star travel and doing it in a convincing and entertaining manner. If you like alien villains, Smith gives you the Fenachrone, surely one of the most arrogant, vile races ever committed to paper. If you like human villains, Smith gives you "Blackie" Duqesne the pure, utterly amoral scientist. If you like heroes, Smith gives you Richard Ballinger Seaton, brilliant scientist and engineer and his friend and partner Martin Crane- not to mention their wives who play a part in the plot that is well above the level of "rescue the Damsel" that was the standard fare at the time this was written. If you like space ships and weapons that boggle the mind, Smith gives you miles-long spaceships built of materials of unbelievable strength dueling in intergalactic space. And finally, there's the Norlaminians, a race devoted heart and soul to the accumulation of knowledge of every sort- and a good thing too, for without their help, beating the Fenachrone would have been impossible. Smith has a way of writing about impossible things that makes you think: Wouldn't it be great if ......... If you can suspend your disbelief for a couple of hours I guarantee that this book will leave you wanting more.

You've got to enjoy this one...
If our reality is socially constructed as some postmodernists now suggest, the Skylark series reflects both the era and the society it was written in. Assuming that we have a better world view today is, frankly, arrogant. Suspending imagination and jumping into this well-written SF adventure will not only delight the readers in a well-turned story, but inform them about the thinking that prevailed during a first half of the 20th century and, perhaps, provide some insight into our society today. The reader will also recognize the sheer genius and insight of "Doc" Smith. I introduced them quietly to my son, to find him captivated by the stories like I was. The label "space opera," I think, does not do these books (or the Lensmen Series) justice. Explore them on your own as one might read classics from another era.

Okay, this feels right...this is where it REALLY begins
I was glad I read "Skylark of Space," because it led to this. And this rocks. Forget the science that sometimes gets a little off track... there are concepts in this book that you see over and over in sci-fi afterward. Watch "Star Trek," and you'll come across E. E. "Doc" Smith.

The atomic drive that runs on copper... yes, copper. The metal of power. I guess it would sound like a giant arc welder, wouldn't it? Like the ships in the "Flash Gordon" and "Buck Rogers" serials... I wonder. Flash and Buck definitely owe something to Richard Seaton, the overlord of an entire galaxy.

Force fields, tractor beams, energy weapons of every variety, ships the size of Star Destroyers, black holes, warp travel...
You've gotta read this.