Skylark

Dezso Kosztolanyi belonged to a remarkable generation of Central European writers. This novel is a masterpiece. From the opening sentences, he is drawing on nuance and subtle detail; comedy and pathos. Every gesture speaks volumes…..for all the humour and the easy comedy this lively study of small life is as profound as a prayer, as subtle as a lament.

The Skylark of Space is one of the earliest novels of interstellar travel. First published in 1928, it was written between 1915 and 1921 by chemical engineer Edward E. "Doc" Smith and Lee Hawkins Garby. The Skylark of Space is often categorized as the first literary space opera (in the complimentary sense), complete with protagonists perfect in mind, body, and spirit, who fight against villains of absolute evil. The Skylark series has been in and out of print ever since its first publication, in both hardback and paperback editions, and is considered a classic of pulp science fiction. Frederik Pohl says of the book, "With the exception of the works of H. G. Wells, possibly those of Jules Verne — and almost no other writer — it has inspired more imitators and done more to change the nature of all the science fiction written after it than almost any other single work."[