E. E. Smith ~6 hr read

One man discovers the terrible truth: the Fall of Rome, the wars that racked the world, all of human history, each a move in a universe-wide battle for control between two ancient, opposing powers.

E. E. 'Doc' Smith's 1948 novel opens the beloved Lensman saga. Epic, sweeping, gloriously super-scientific. Read it for the grand overture to the greatest of all space operas, the aeons-long secret war between Arisia and Eddore playing out across human history and into a galaxy-spanning future, in the cornerstone of the immortal Lensman series.

In its time

Published in 1948, during the 1940s, the golden age begins.

Reading it

~6 hr read (a novel-length work, settle in).