The Lensman Series by E. E. Smith
The Lensman Series is a science fiction saga created by E.E. "Doc" Smith, centered around an epic struggle between the Arisians and the Eddorians following the catastrophic merging of two galaxies. The Arisians, with the goal of establishing a galaxy-wide civilization, engage in a long-standing conflict against the Eddorians, who seek total domination. Central to the narrative is the character Virgil Samms, who, after being gifted a unique device known as the Lens, helps form the Galactic Patrol to combat Eddorian influence and criminality. The series features key protagonists, Kimball Kinnison and Clarrissa MacDougall, products of an Arisian breeding program, whose union is destined to create a new generation capable of defeating the Eddorians.
Spanning several volumes, the storyline unfolds through various conflicts, including battles against pirates and deep conspiracies involving interstellar empires. The later installments follow the children of Kinnison and MacDougall as they continue the fight, ultimately leading to a climactic confrontation with the Eddorians. The series explores themes of heroism, sacrifice, and the evolving nature of civilization, leaving a lasting legacy in the realm of science fiction literature.
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The Lensman Series
First published:Triplanetary (1948; serial form, Amazing Stories, January-April, 1934), First Lensman (1950), Galactic Patrol (1950; serial form, Astounding Stories, September, 1937-February, 1938), Gray Lensman (1951; serial form, Astounding Science-Fiction, October, 1939-January, 1940), Second-Stage Lensmen (1953; serial form, Astounding Science-Fiction, November, 1941-February, 1942), and Children of the Lens (1954; serial form, Astounding Science-Fiction, November, 1947-February, 1948)
Type of work: Novels
Type of plot: Science fiction—galactic empire
Time of work: From the ancient past to a thousand years in the future
Locale: Earth, elsewhere in the solar system, and worlds throughout the galaxy
The Plot
The background to the Lensman series is a cataclysmic coalescence of two galaxies in the distant past, which precipitated a conflict between the humanoid Arisians and the monstrous Eddorians. The two races began a long war for control of the many new planets spawned by the coalescence. The Arisians planned to build a galaxywide civilization, while the Eddorians sought to subjugate all worlds to their totalitarian rule. An Arisian group mind named Mentor initiated and supervised a special breeding program intended to produce beings capable of battling the Eddorians, using the human inhabitants of Earth as raw material.
After brief interludes set in Atlantis, Rome, and the arenas of three world wars, Triplanetary describes the Eddore-inspired assault led by the Adepts of Jupiter against the human-dominated inner planets of the solar system. The assault causes the planets to unite and, after their victory, to make plans for human expansion into the galaxy. In First Lensman, humans make contact with Arisia, where Mentor arranges that Virgil Samms, the founder of the Galactic Patrol, comes into possession of the Lens, a device that serves as a universal translator. Each individual lens is a semiliving entity attuned to a single wearer. It defies all attempts at analysis or duplication. Armed with lenses, the elite members of the Galactic Patrol fight against the various criminal activities inspired and organized by Eddore’s agents.
The four volumes that compose the main part of the series tell the story of Kimball Kinnison and Clarrissa MacDougall, the penultimate products of Arisia’s breeding program. Their union will bring forth the children destined to destroy Eddore. Galactic Patrol describes how the newly graduated Kinnison fights the pirates of Boskone, winning a spectacular victory against enormous odds. In Gray Lensman, Kinnison, possessing mental powers achieved through advanced Arisian training, carries the fight to the Boskonians, eventually penetrating the defenses of their home planet, Jarnevon.
In Second-Stage Lensmen, Kinnison, having discovered that a much deeper conspiracy lies behind the power of Boskone, traces that activity back to the planets Lyrane II and Lonabar. Clarrissa MacDougall becomes the first female wearer of the Lens in order to work with the matriarchal Lyranians. She discovers the role played in their affairs by the Eich and the Thralians, whose interstellar empire is ruled by Alcon. Kinnison manages to assassinate Alcon, but his initial attempts to take control of the Thralian empire are thwarted when Prime Minister Fossten—the power behind Alcon’s throne— reveals that he has powers as great as an Arisian’s. Even so, Kinnison destroys this further adversary, but without realizing that Fossten is, in fact, Gharlane of Eddore, Mentor’s chief adversary since the dawn of their conflict.
In Children of the Lens, the children of Kinnison and MacDougall—their son Christopher and four daughters, all partnered with second-stage lensmen—carry on the fight against the masters of Boskone. After suffering setbacks, they travel to Arisia to undergo the third stage of their training, which they are uniquely fit to receive. They supervise the defense of Arisia against the Ploor-ans, the last of Eddore’s pawns, then combine the collective mental power of the Galactic Patrol and Arisia for an assault on Eddore itself, where their father is being held prisoner. When this battle is won, the children become the new guardians of civilization, and the Arisians pass on to a further phase of existence beyond the limits of time and space.