Moon Prospector

Overview:

• Title: Moon Prospector
• Author: William B. Ellern
• Year: 1966
• Type: Short Fiction
• Series: Lensman Universe

Notes:

from the Lensman FAQ William B. Ellern wrote a short piece called "MOON PROSPECTOR," set in the Lensman universe. It was published, with EES' knowledge and approval, in the April, 1966 ANALOG. Michael Richards and James Corrick have provided further info: additions to this story were serialized as "NEW LENSMAN" in "PERRY RHODAN" books #61-#74, inclusive, about 1975, and followed by a stand-alone novella called "TRIPLANETARY AGENT," which appeared in "PERRY RHODAN" books #100-#105, inclusive, in 1976. "TRIPLANETARY AGENT" has apparently never been reprinted, and is reported as very poor writing; it uses the same main character as "NEW LENSMAN." The novel version, NEW LENSMAN, compositing "MOON PROSPECTOR" and "NEW LENSMAN," was printed by Futura in 1976. James Corrick describes "NEW LENSMAN"'s use as a framing encapsulation for "MOON PROSPECTOR," which appears as chapters 8, 9, 12, 14, and 17 of the book; and says that the two stories appear to have no characters in common. Reports on quality of the book vary from "putrid" to "tolerable." I haven't read the book version, primarily due to having read the magazine piece.

Editions/Publications:

• 1966. Analog Science Fiction -> Science Fact, April 1966 (1966, John W. Campbell, Jr. Condé Nast Publications, Inc., $0.50, 164 pages, digest, Magazine)
• 1967. Great Science Fiction Stories About the Moon (1967, T. E. Dikty Fredrick Fell, Hardcover, Anthology)

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