Badge of Infamy - Lester del Rey

Since late December I've read numerous books (many more than my normal pace of one book completed every two weeks)...

I've take a few detours from my 'Doc' Smith path - there is just some much to read, that I can't keep myself from wandering every now and again.

My latest detour took me into the realms of Lester del Rey. I don't believe that I've read any of his works in the last 30 plus years. Always a favorite, but for some reason I just had not read any of his books since Jr. High. Part of the reason might be that the local used book stores rarely had any of his books on the shelves. Couple that with a lack of del Rey books in my collection and well, I guess we have some reasons for not re-reading some very fun Science Fiction.

Anyhow, Tuesday night I finished my first full read of 'Coyote' by Allen Steele and needed something new to read (I wasn't quite ready to read 'Coyote Rising') and for some reason the name Lester del Rey popped into my head. A quick scan of books loaded in my Kindle showed a few possibilities. Unable to decide I simply opened a file at random. That random choice lead me to read 'Badge of Infamy' by Lester del Rey. This was first published in book form in 1963. Previously published in magazine form in 1959 - Satellite (issue number unknown). It took a little while to really get into the story, but once I did I finished up with a good read.

I'm looking forward to some more del Rey in the near future.

Rolling Thunder

This past week I finally took the time to read John Varley's Rolling Thunder. This is the third book in what he calls the Thunder and Lightning trilogy which began with Red Thunder and Red Lightning. That said, a fourth book (to be titled Dark Lightning) is planned, so perhaps we should call this a series rather than a trilogy ?

I'll steal this next bit, a more or less standard description of the book:

Lieutenant Patricia Kelly Elizabeth Strickland-otherwise known as Podkayne-is a third-generation Martian. Her grandfather, Manny, was one of the first men to set foot on Mars. So Poddy has some planet-sized shoes to fill. That's why she's joined the Music, Arts, and Drama Division of the Martian Navy. Though some may say her voice is a weapon in itself, Poddy passed the audition. And now she's going to Europa, one of Jupiter's many moons, to be an entertainer. But she's about to learn that there's plenty of danger to go around in the Martian Navy, even if you've just signed on to sing.

This was a book that I just couldn't put down - If it were not for work and life's other necessitates, I think I'd have been able to read this in a single sitting!

Can't wait for Dark Lightning!

Lord Tedric

I first read the Lord Tedric series about 10 years ago (1999). This series of books is based upon Smith's novelette entitled "Lord Tedric" orginally published in Other Worlds in 1952.

It was not until, approximately 13 years, after Smith's death, that Gordon Eklund published another novel of the same name about the same character, introducing it as "a new series conceived by E. E. 'Doc' Smith". Eklund later went on to publish the other novels in the series under the pseudonym "E. E. 'Doc' Smith". 

The four books in the seres are:

   1. Lord Tedric

   2. The Space Pirates

   3. Black Knight of the Iron Sphere

   4. Alien Realms

Of the four books in the series, I have have read (December 2009) the first three. I have yet to locate and obtain a copy of "Alien Realms" but have hopes of finding one in the near future. When I do obtain a copy of "Alien Realms" it will be a first time read for me.

E.E. 'Doc' Smith

A couple weeks ago I decided to start a re-read of the books by E.E. 'Doc' Smith. For some of his books it has been more than 20 years since my last reading. For others it has been just over 10 years.

Along with the books written by Smith himself, I am including the books written by Gordon Eklund (the Lord Tedirc series), Stephen Goldin (Family D'Alembert series) and Dave Kyle (additional Lensman stories).

If I read these at my normal (lunchtime reading) pace it will take just about a full year to re-read the books. However, since this is winter time I've been reading a bit more. So, at least for now I'm adding these to my nightly reading, so we maybe I'll finish up in 6 months?

The Book List:

Lensman Series:

   1. Triplanetary

   2. First Lensman

   3. Galactic Patrol

   4. Gray Lensman

   5. Second Stage Lensmen

   6. Children of the Lens

   7. The Vortex Blaster (a.k.a. Masters of the Vortex)

Skylark Series:

   1. The Skylark of Space 

   2. Skylark Three

   3. Skylark of Valeron

   4. Skylark DuQuesne

Subspace Series:

   1. Subspace Explorers

   2. Subspace Encounter

Family D'Alembert Series (by Stephen Goldin based on Smith's story Imperial Stars)

   1. Imperial Stars

   2. Stranglers' Moon

   3. The Clockwork Traitor

   4. Getaway World

   5. Appointment at Bloodstar

   6. The Purity Plot

   7. Planet of Treachery

   8. Eclipsing Binaries

   9. The Omicron Invasion

  10. Revolt of the Galaxy

Lord Tedric Series (by Gordon Eklund based on Smith's story Lord Tedric)

   1. Lord Tedric

   2. The Space Pirates

   3. Black Knight of the Iron Sphere

   4. Alien Realms

Others:

    Spacehounds of IPC

    The Galaxy Primes

    Masters of Space

The Reading Log

Way back in the 80's I used to track the books I read. The tracking was crude to say the least. For books that I kept in my library I simply noted the date read on a slip of paper and kept that slip of paper in the book. For books that were not being kept in my library, I would make a note in one of my notebooks...

Over the years my notebooks have gone missing. I now have no record of when I read what. The slips of paper , for the most part, still exist, but they are faded and are crammed full of notes for my readings.

The other day I decided I'd try starting a new reading log. This time I thought why not make the log something that others could look at and review (why anyone else might be interested in my reading habits is an unknown). I came to the decision that a simple Blog format would work well for my Reading Log. My posts won't be fancy. They won't be extensive reviews. For the most part I'll simply list what I've read along with the date I completed the book. I'll also try and add some summary information about the book. I read all types of books, so who knows what you will find here...