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Family d'Alembert #10
Revolt of the Galaxy
After the destruction of most of the conspiracy's fleet, including the ship carrying the evil Lady A, the family D'Alembert uncovers a plot on the planet Newforest, proving that the conspiracy led by the mysterious C was greater than they had supposed
186 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
About the author
E.E. "Doc" Smith
259 books332 followersEdward Elmer Smith (also E.E. Smith, E.E. Smith, Ph.D., E.E. “Doc” Smith, Doc Smith, “Skylark” Smith, or—to his family—Ted), was an American food engineer (specializing in doughnut and pastry mixes) and an early science fiction author, best known for the Lensman and Skylark series. He is sometimes called the father of space opera.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 22, 2019
This is the final novel in a 10 novel series which was mostly written by Stephen Goldin. Doc Smith wrote a novella called Imperial Stars which Goldin expanded into the first novel, and then Goldin wrote another 9 novels in a long story arc. But Smith is the famous one, so his name appears in large letters everywhere and Goldin is barely mentioned.
The setting is a universe where a Russian Feudal system has somehow become the dominant mode of government and of the language, so we see Russian words sprinkled throughout the conversations. Humanity has spread to a number of planets with varying characteristics. One of these is DesPlaines, a high gravity planet whose inhabitants have adapted by becoming shorter and stockier, and which has developed a unique attraction, The Circus of the Galaxy. What people don't know is that this circus is also a key part of the secret service SOTE, the Service Of The Empire. This allows for an interesting twist for space opera, a series where the heroes do not have secret weapons or super powers, merely acrobatic training.
We finally find out what is behind the conspiracy, and who is behind Lady A. And at long last they will be defeated and the Empire made safe for the Empress Edna. But at what cost? The Empire is very nearly destroyed in the attempt. The book is fast-paced and a good combination of space opera with spy thriller. But since this a 10-novel story arc, each novel builds on what went before, so do not read them out of order.
The setting is a universe where a Russian Feudal system has somehow become the dominant mode of government and of the language, so we see Russian words sprinkled throughout the conversations. Humanity has spread to a number of planets with varying characteristics. One of these is DesPlaines, a high gravity planet whose inhabitants have adapted by becoming shorter and stockier, and which has developed a unique attraction, The Circus of the Galaxy. What people don't know is that this circus is also a key part of the secret service SOTE, the Service Of The Empire. This allows for an interesting twist for space opera, a series where the heroes do not have secret weapons or super powers, merely acrobatic training.
We finally find out what is behind the conspiracy, and who is behind Lady A. And at long last they will be defeated and the Empire made safe for the Empress Edna. But at what cost? The Empire is very nearly destroyed in the attempt. The book is fast-paced and a good combination of space opera with spy thriller. But since this a 10-novel story arc, each novel builds on what went before, so do not read them out of order.
March 13, 2024
While this is a good conclusion to one of my favourite science fiction series, I was struck reading it this time around by the way that computers are depicted.
On the one hand, it's ahead of its time. The idea that computers could be corrupted was still very new in 1985 (the first computer virus to be seen outside a computer lab was in 1982, according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compute...), let alone the idea of a sentient computer antagonistic to humanity. The modern reader is likely to work out that the computer is the villain, or at least, controlled by the villain, long before the characters in the book: much effort goes into checking the loyalty of computer operators, but none into investigating the computer itself.
On the other hand, Goldin has completely failed to predict modern networking. You'll notice I said "computer" in the previous paragraph, not "computers" - that is because of the nature of the computers in the series. There is one hugely powerful central computer, the PCC, which is networked, but in a hierarchical fashion - it controls terminals and provides data to smaller computers elsewhere. It's the hub of a network of spokes. Modern computer networks are connected in far more complicated ways, and there are huge numbers of them: there is no way that anyone could even conceive of implementing the solution used to stop something like the PCC happening again in this novel, which is to have no networking, and all transmission of data between computers to go through a human operator.
The other thing missing is the all pervasive computing we see today - almost every device we own has a computer in it, and they enable almost every aspect of our lives (including the delivery of food to be available to buy in our shops, to pick just one crucial dependency).
On the one hand, it's ahead of its time. The idea that computers could be corrupted was still very new in 1985 (the first computer virus to be seen outside a computer lab was in 1982, according to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compute...), let alone the idea of a sentient computer antagonistic to humanity. The modern reader is likely to work out that the computer is the villain, or at least, controlled by the villain, long before the characters in the book: much effort goes into checking the loyalty of computer operators, but none into investigating the computer itself.
On the other hand, Goldin has completely failed to predict modern networking. You'll notice I said "computer" in the previous paragraph, not "computers" - that is because of the nature of the computers in the series. There is one hugely powerful central computer, the PCC, which is networked, but in a hierarchical fashion - it controls terminals and provides data to smaller computers elsewhere. It's the hub of a network of spokes. Modern computer networks are connected in far more complicated ways, and there are huge numbers of them: there is no way that anyone could even conceive of implementing the solution used to stop something like the PCC happening again in this novel, which is to have no networking, and all transmission of data between computers to go through a human operator.
The other thing missing is the all pervasive computing we see today - almost every device we own has a computer in it, and they enable almost every aspect of our lives (including the delivery of food to be available to buy in our shops, to pick just one crucial dependency).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 1, 2016
This is an enjoyable 10-book space opera series. I had a lot of fun reading t.
It's not as large in concept as the Lensman or Skylark series but an exciting romp nonetheless.
Actually I think this would adapt well to a television series.
It's not as large in concept as the Lensman or Skylark series but an exciting romp nonetheless.
Actually I think this would adapt well to a television series.
January 1, 2008
read 07.26.86
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January 18, 2019Very good
The concluding part of this galactic saga and they find themselves up against the ultimate enemy. I will not spoil the ending though.
The concluding part of this galactic saga and they find themselves up against the ultimate enemy. I will not spoil the ending though.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews