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  • Re: rereading Lensman series using current books

    From Ted Nolan @21:1/5 to lynnmcguire5@gmail.com on Fri Apr 26 03:40:32 2024
    In article <v0efvn$37535$1@dont-email.me>,
    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
    I am thinking about rereading the Lensman series using dead tree books.
    But, I guess that I lost all of my Lensman dead tree books in the Great
    Flood of 1989.

    So, I found this 4 lb monster on Big River: "The LENSMAN Super Pack >(Positronic Super Pack)" by E E Doc Smith for $34.99. Pricey. Heavy.
    1,182 pages in a 6 inch by 9 inch trade paperback.
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/151546086X/

    "Collected together in one binding for the very first time are all six >Lensman novels and the final book of Lensman short stories for 7
    complete books with over eleven hundred pages and six hundred thousand
    words of pulse-pounding science fiction adventure. This epic space opera >covers more than 3000 years of human evolution and their desperate fight
    for freedom."

    "Included are:
    Triplanetary
    First Lensman
    Galactic Patrol
    Gray Lensman
    Second Stage Lensmen
    Children of the Lens
    The Vortex Blaster"

    Any advice on procuring a new Lensman series of books in dead tree form ?

    Thanks,
    Lynn

    I don't have any advice on this edition, just that it's important to get
    the right version of _Triplanetary_, which is sometimes hard to tell on
    Amazon. I would assume that explicitly doing a Lensman omnibus would
    get it right..

    If you're looking for less expensive, the old Pyramid paperbacks should
    still be readily available, and if you want hardback, the SFBC did a two
    volume omnibus "Chronicles Of The Lensmen" back in 1999 that is probably available used somewhere.
    --
    columbiaclosings.com
    What's not in Columbia anymore..

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Christian Weisgerber@21:1/5 to ted@loft.tnolan.com on Fri Apr 26 13:55:12 2024
    On 2024-04-26, Ted Nolan <tednolan> <ted@loft.tnolan.com> wrote:

    I don't have any advice on this edition, just that it's important to get
    the right version of _Triplanetary_, which is sometimes hard to tell on Amazon.

    Is there more than one? I mean, has the original non-Lensman
    _Triplanetary_ ever been re-published?

    An omnibus re-edition of the original versions from _Galactic Patrol_
    to _Children of the Lens_ would be something, because, frankly, the
    added material feels just extraneous: _Triplanetary_ is a very
    square peg in a round whole, _First Lensman_ is weak sauce, and
    _The Vortex Blaster_ is essentially unconnected.

    And, as I think Dorothy once pointed out, explaining the Arisia/Eddore
    conflict right away is essentially a spoiler for the main storyline
    where our heroes originally peeled the onion of evil layer by layer
    without knowing where it would lead.

    --
    Christian "naddy" Weisgerber naddy@mips.inka.de

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Paul S Person@21:1/5 to lynnmcguire5@gmail.com on Fri Apr 26 08:52:26 2024
    On Thu, 25 Apr 2024 15:55:17 -0500, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    I am thinking about rereading the Lensman series using dead tree books.
    But, I guess that I lost all of my Lensman dead tree books in the Great >Flood of 1989.

    So, I found this 4 lb monster on Big River: "The LENSMAN Super Pack >(Positronic Super Pack)" by E E Doc Smith for $34.99. Pricey. Heavy.
    1,182 pages in a 6 inch by 9 inch trade paperback.
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/151546086X/

    A small monster. Consider <https://www.amazon.com/Flashpoint-Anniversary-Omnibus-Geoff-Johns/dp/1779509774/ref=sr_1_1?crid=5LGNVW1X9RP8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Lys_S-w8DoTuveGgLndzqMH0ls06OPCk2z7HHzCn2yRtHmKlAvXJscpduTL4OgQ6vo5cGKEHDMFRvj7X3p9uLa07FuBqXlVar1CFKV0Q_
    8gW1b6ykVmttKL4xVAP1VBWnpa1RpPLlbiEkJNW5zfM2E6E4Y4XdLVSZeogYyO93XdtViwVARPvPe-xIxz8Dk9ic0ugwP6Fg3nPY-C2HhzQpQO0KIE7Ilqzt3zE8S-LVig.sp7IgVm5yzCp7Ao6Y_qNVAPRas74fE1HcFdO0oxAAq4&dib_tag=se&keywords=flashpoint+omnibus+10th+anniversary&qid=1714146011&sprefix=
    flashpoint+om%2Caps%2C300&sr=8-1>
    /Flashpoint: The 10th Anniversary Omnibus/. This is a hardcover, so it
    costs a bit more. It also weighs in at 8 lb. That's a bigger monster.

    These things appear to be coming out more now. Or maybe I'm just
    noticing them more.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Ted Nolan @21:1/5 to naddy@mips.inka.de on Fri Apr 26 15:16:32 2024
    In article <slrnv2nci0.1iko.naddy@lorvorc.mips.inka.de>,
    Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> wrote:
    On 2024-04-26, Ted Nolan <tednolan> <ted@loft.tnolan.com> wrote:

    I don't have any advice on this edition, just that it's important to get
    the right version of _Triplanetary_, which is sometimes hard to tell on
    Amazon.

    Is there more than one? I mean, has the original non-Lensman
    _Triplanetary_ ever been re-published?

    An omnibus re-edition of the original versions from _Galactic Patrol_
    to _Children of the Lens_ would be something, because, frankly, the
    added material feels just extraneous: _Triplanetary_ is a very
    square peg in a round whole, _First Lensman_ is weak sauce, and
    _The Vortex Blaster_ is essentially unconnected.

    And, as I think Dorothy once pointed out, explaining the Arisia/Eddore >conflict right away is essentially a spoiler for the main storyline
    where our heroes originally peeled the onion of evil layer by layer
    without knowing where it would lead.


    The magazine version of _Triplanetary_ is on Gutenberg (as is the
    original _Skylark_), which means it ends up in various low-cost
    ebooks on Amazon.

    As an aside, just looking again, it appears pretty much *everything* is
    on Gutenberg.

    And just in general: Publication order is ususally the right order to
    read a series in.
    --
    columbiaclosings.com
    What's not in Columbia anymore..

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Ted Nolan @21:1/5 to psperson@old.netcom.invalid on Fri Apr 26 16:57:39 2024
    In article <vnin2j1evh2ftujd8dr8aqhs3vo7tcbvb0@4ax.com>,
    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
    On Thu, 25 Apr 2024 15:55:17 -0500, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    I am thinking about rereading the Lensman series using dead tree books. >>But, I guess that I lost all of my Lensman dead tree books in the Great >>Flood of 1989.

    So, I found this 4 lb monster on Big River: "The LENSMAN Super Pack >>(Positronic Super Pack)" by E E Doc Smith for $34.99. Pricey. Heavy. >>1,182 pages in a 6 inch by 9 inch trade paperback.
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/151546086X/

    A small monster. Consider ><https://www.amazon.com/Flashpoint-Anniversary-Omnibus-Geoff-Johns/dp/1779509774/ref=sr_1_1?crid=5LGNVW1X9RP8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Lys_S-w8DoTuveGgLndzqMH0ls06OPCk2z7HHzCn2yRtHmKlAvXJscpduTL4OgQ6vo5cGKEHDMFRvj7X3p9uLa07FuBqXlVar1CFKV0Q_
    8gW1b6ykVmttKL4xVAP1VBWnpa1RpPLlbiEkJNW5zfM2E6E4Y4XdLVSZeogYyO93XdtViwVARPvPe-xIxz8Dk9ic0ugwP6Fg3nPY-C2HhzQpQO0KIE7Ilqzt3zE8S-LVig.sp7IgVm5yzCp7Ao6Y_qNVAPRas74fE1HcFdO0oxAAq4&dib_tag=se&keywords=flashpoint+omnibus+10th+anniversary&qid=1714146011&sprefix=
    flashpoint+om%2Caps%2C300&sr=8-1>
    /Flashpoint: The 10th Anniversary Omnibus/. This is a hardcover, so it
    costs a bit more. It also weighs in at 8 lb. That's a bigger monster.

    These things appear to be coming out more now. Or maybe I'm just
    noticing them more.

    Maybe it's easier to republish when they can just source the text
    from Gutenberg?
    --
    columbiaclosings.com
    What's not in Columbia anymore..

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Paul S Person@21:1/5 to tednolan on Sat Apr 27 08:11:59 2024
    On 26 Apr 2024 16:57:39 GMT, ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan
    <tednolan>) wrote:

    In article <vnin2j1evh2ftujd8dr8aqhs3vo7tcbvb0@4ax.com>,
    Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote:
    On Thu, 25 Apr 2024 15:55:17 -0500, Lynn McGuire
    <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    I am thinking about rereading the Lensman series using dead tree books. >>>But, I guess that I lost all of my Lensman dead tree books in the Great >>>Flood of 1989.

    So, I found this 4 lb monster on Big River: "The LENSMAN Super Pack >>>(Positronic Super Pack)" by E E Doc Smith for $34.99. Pricey. Heavy. >>>1,182 pages in a 6 inch by 9 inch trade paperback.
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/151546086X/

    A small monster. Consider >><https://www.amazon.com/Flashpoint-Anniversary-Omnibus-Geoff-Johns/dp/1779509774/ref=sr_1_1?crid=5LGNVW1X9RP8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Lys_S-w8DoTuveGgLndzqMH0ls06OPCk2z7HHzCn2yRtHmKlAvXJscpduTL4OgQ6vo5cGKEHDMFRvj7X3p9uLa07FuBqXlVar1CFKV0Q_
    8gW1b6ykVmttKL4xVAP1VBWnpa1RpPLlbiEkJNW5zfM2E6E4Y4XdLVSZeogYyO93XdtViwVARPvPe-xIxz8Dk9ic0ugwP6Fg3nPY-C2HhzQpQO0KIE7Ilqzt3zE8S-LVig.sp7IgVm5yzCp7Ao6Y_qNVAPRas74fE1HcFdO0oxAAq4&dib_tag=se&keywords=flashpoint+omnibus+10th+anniversary&qid=1714146011&sprefix=
    flashpoint+om%2Caps%2C300&sr=8-1>
    /Flashpoint: The 10th Anniversary Omnibus/. This is a hardcover, so it >>costs a bit more. It also weighs in at 8 lb. That's a bigger monster.

    These things appear to be coming out more now. Or maybe I'm just
    noticing them more.

    Maybe it's easier to republish when they can just source the text
    from Gutenberg?

    That may be, and would explain some Kindle omnibuses -- not those that
    are clearly composed of other collections [1], but those composed of
    individual books -- but the topic here is really heavy physical books.

    I can say from experience that an 8-lb book can reasonably be
    described as "hard to handle without dropping and so damaging it --
    and the dust cover definitely needs to be removed while it is being
    read".

    [1] This can only be determined when examination of the overall table
    of contents shows the same titles appearing multiple times.
    --
    "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
    Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
    Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)