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Moon Prospector

William B. Ellern

First published April 1966
Type Short Fiction
Length Novelette
Series Lensman Universe › New Lensman

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.

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
April 1966 Cover Analog Science Fiction -> Science Fact, April 1966 Condé Nast MAGAZINE 8
1967 Cover Great Science-Fiction Stories About the Moon Frederick Fell Anthology 21