A classic

If you go here remember when it was written. Remember that it’s the story that matters

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Shows the Age

What did you like best about The Skylark of Space? What did you like least?

As the opening paragraphs came to a close i was transported back to my youth when i first read this series. Its great for nostalgia, but the writing and the concepts really show how off the mark people can be. Having said that, these series are the origins of space opera and so is a direct antecedent of Starwars. So listen and here where all that came from

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That was a crazy but fun space opera adventure!

Yeah, this not The Expanse, you need to check your sense of realism at the door. There's quite a bit of goofiness, some outdated language and principles, but for a book written in 1915-1921, and first published in a pulp magazine in 1928, it's an impressive tour de force.

I read the revised 1946 edition from when Skylark was published as an actual hardcover book back then. You can get the original 1928 text as a free Kindle ebook or via Project Gutenberg, but having researched both versions (relatively) intensely before picking an edition, the older text felt disjointed, incomplete, and more cringe-worthy due to even worse outdated language. I recommend the 1946 edition.

This book didn't win any literary awards, and it shows. The text is fast paced, which is fun, but this is not exactly Hugo-award winning material. Nonetheless, it was a great read, quick to go through, and well worth it, especially for the historical value as the very first work recognized as the original space opera.

The Skylark of Space is quite the Star Trek precursor, in my opinion. It wears its "original space opera" mantle well indeed:
- FTL Space Ship: check.
- Exploring various solar systems: check.
- Escape from a space anomaly: check.
- Planet with prehistoric monsters: check.
- Planet with an advanced 4D telepathic lifeform who views humanity as insignificant: check.
- Planet with human-looking green-skinned people with a tribal-like culture: check.
- Giant space ship battles full of action: check.

You get the gist. The characters aren't the most developed and can appear shallow, especially the two women, but it just isn't that kind of book. I wish DuQuesne had more three-dimensional depth as a villain, but hopefully he'll get fleshed out more in the other books in the series.

If you love sci-fi, have an appreciation for classics, and can transport yourself into the mind of a reader from a century ago, then by all means, read Skylark, it's a fun treat.

Regarding the audio narration, I only listened to it partially since I spent most of my time actually reading the book. Overall it was good, but I'm not sure I really like Richard Seaton's southern (?) accent. I thought it was kinda jarring. The other characters were great, especially that crazy advanced lifeform alien from the 4th dimension. :D

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Good Pulp Science Fiction

Skylark of Space is not sophisticated or overly thoughtful, but it is enjoyable. The narrator does a good job with the different voices so that it is easy to tell who is talking, and his pacing fits the action very well. I was listening to this book towards the end of the presidential election, and it was a very good escape from all the political babble on the radio.

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5 people found this helpful

Chapter 5

Great Book But where are chapters 1 through 4? Story was intense. Doc Smith is in the league with Jules Verne.

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2 people found this helpful

A dated classic Made better

If you could sum up The Skylark of Space in three words, what would they be?

Suspend your Disbelief and enjoy the ride

What other book might you compare The Skylark of Space to and why?

Triplanetary - both have the same themes - the striving of a select body of incoruptible men to overcome evil and establish a new world order.

Have you listened to any of Reed McColm???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes - have taken in Read's work on both the SKylark and Lensmen series. As the launch point of the classic Skylark series Read does a phenomenal job bringing depth to a story that is dated in its portrayal of women and humans relative to others...but I love the punch Read's presentation does to revitalize the story. Makes me want to update this series.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I particularly enjoyed the travails of DOrothy Vaneman after being abducted by Duquesne.

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1 person found this helpful

for the time it was written it is wonderful.

when I listened to this it felt a little like I could change the dial and catch up on the war. :-)

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Sooo…

Soo… on the downside, we have a scientifically not up-to-date take on space (even at the time, ether was already discredited)… a strangely hierarchical approach to waves, fields - there’s always a higher level discovered and put into practice immediately without any engineering issues level once the heroes beed it. And yes, the heroes and the villains - there’s no grey area here, it’s either blindingly white or super-vanta black. And let’s not forget about the not really cavalier, cringe treatment of women - starting slowly, with a strange urge of every girl to get married to every boy… working it’s way up to putting gently formulated, but incredibly self-demeaning statements into the mouths of women themselves.

Soo… why is this still pretty readable (listenable)? I’m thinking it’s because of the steady high-speed clip of the ever-expanding action. Which in turn is the product of the serialized writing and publication.

The other aspect is the pure science fiction of it all, how far advanced this was in its genre at the time. Star Trek? 40yrs earlier, this had mind-controlled (!) food replicators, force shields, cloaking devices - you name it!

I first read this in translated version almost 50 years ago, and authors comparable in background (engineering) and of around the same time (eg German author Hans Dominik) used some similar ideas… but they simply didn’t put together a universe-spanning story - they held back. EE Doc Smith didn’t hold back. He fantasized on a romp!

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Updated version .

Odd changes from 1928 version, but did have more depth than original, same result. Expanded passages are well written.

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Old favorites always satisfy

Old favorites always satisfy, and I first read this one as a teen. Good fun.

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