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* CompleteMonster: Many, including both alien horrors such as the [[EmotionEater Delgonian Overlords]] and more mundane villains like [[TheSociopath Herkimer Herkimer III]]. Interestingly, the more overtly monstrous ones tend to be lower-level operatives, while the top tiers are more concerned with [[PragmaticVillainy ruthless efficiency]] than sadism.
** And then there is Kandron of Onlo, the horrible exception to that rule, who is best described as a superintelligent, sadistic SerialKiller with telepathic powers. Also the head of one of Boskonia's secret intelligence services.


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* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: [[SerialKiller Kandron of Onlo]] is responsible for the worst of it, in ''Children of the Lens''. When Nadreck investigates him, he compiles a file of roughly a ''thousand'' cases of hitherto respected and admired citizens suddenly committing the most unthinkably savage and sadistic violent crimes (due to Kandron's [[BrainWashed brainwashing]]). The description includes summaries of a few of them, which are probably enough to give sensitive persons nightmares.
** The Delgonian Overlords are almost certainly objectively worse than Kandron, though their activities are thankfully not described in much detail. What they do to Kinnison in ''Gray Lensman'', though, ''almost'' matches him at his worst.
*** The brief but haunting description of how the minds of the Overlords' surviving victims work after they have had their way with them in ''Children of the Lens'' makes their ''routine'' procedures at ''least'' as horrifying as anything Kandron ever did.
** Herkimer Herkimer's treatment of Jill Samms in ''First Lensman''. Not quite up to the standards set above, but made worse by the fact that unlike the people in those entries, he is not a monstrous alien, but a human (and FauxAffablyEvil) psychopath.
** Kinnison's experiencing a planet subjected to Boskonia's covert [[MindVirus subliminal propaganda]] campaign. It's fast-acting enough that he can observe in real time how the planet goes from a happy and prosperous modern society to a CrapsackWorld under martial law and on the verge of imminent breakdown, as more and more its population goes crazier and crazier.
** On a more "realistic" scale, the description of one of Boskonia's SpacePirate subcontractors massacring one of the Patrol's hospital ships in ''Galactic Patrol''. It's not especially lurid or even graphic by modern standards, but it rams home very effectively the horrors of fighting a war against an utterly lawless enemy.
** Similarly, what can be deduced of [[AntiVillain Illona of Lonabar's]] life in Boskonia from her debriefings after the Patrol captures her -- And by implication, what life for ''most'' people in Boskonia may well be like. Again, [[HumansAreBastards Humans Are The Real Monsters]]. This one probably also qualifies as a TearJerker.
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* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: The anime, according to Derek The Bard's review, especially during the battle between Kim and Helmuth.

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* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: The anime, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN09SUtsgzI according to Derek The Bard's review, review]], especially during the battle between Kim and Helmuth.
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* SnarkBait: The series is often victim of this due to Smith's lackluster prose and SeinfeldIsUnfunny being in full effect.

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* SnarkBait: The series is often victim of this due to Smith's lackluster simplistic prose and SeinfeldIsUnfunny an ValuesDissonance being in full effect.
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* SnarkBait: The series is often victim of this due to Smith's lackluster prose and SeinfeldIsUnfunny being in full effect.

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* MainstreamObscurity: Despite being one of the TropeCodifier of modern Space Operas, it isn't a very well known series.


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* MainstreamObscurity: Despite being one of the TropeCodifier of modern Space Operas, it isn't a very well known series.
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* MainstreamObscurity: Despite being one of the TropeCodifier of modern Space Operas, it isn't a very well known series.
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Old link pointed to a \"You do not have permission to view this\" error page.


* SerialNumbersFiledOff: The shareware game ''[[http://www.jalada.eu/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=179&Itemid=258 Children of Arisia]]'' takes place on the planet Medon, where the player, a third-level intellect, must fight against the forces of Boskone and the Overlords of Delgon who are attaching humanity via a hyper-spacial tube...

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* SerialNumbersFiledOff: The shareware game ''[[http://www.jalada.eu/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=179&Itemid=258 ''[[http://jalada-children-of-arisia.soft112.com/ Children of Arisia]]'' takes place on the planet Medon, where the player, a third-level intellect, must fight against the forces of Boskone and the Overlords of Delgon who are attaching humanity via a hyper-spacial tube...
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* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: The anime, especially during the battle between Kim and Helmuth.

to:

* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: The anime, according to Derek The Bard's review, especially during the battle between Kim and Helmuth.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
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* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: The anime.

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* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: The anime.anime, especially during the battle between Kim and Helmuth.

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* CultClassic: Alot of people is geniuenly fond of the anime movie.

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* CultClassic: Alot CultClassic:
** A lot
of people is geniuenly are genuinely fond of the anime movie.movie.
** The original stories were themselves published in an era when science fiction was regarded as lowbrow stuff unworthy of being called literature, ensuring that any following they had was a cult one, and they're no longer in print today. Nevertheless, in many ways they set the tone for the stories that followed in their wake and continue to attract a modest number of fans to this day.
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* CultClassic: Alot of people is geniuenly fond of the anime movie.
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** The idea that a human woman could be a ruthless, cold-blooded murderer is seen as appalling and impossible in ''First Lensman''. This is why women Lensmen aren't admitted, except for one who Virginia Samms hypothesizes would have to be some kind of monster; [[ARealManIsAKiller a real Lensman must be a killer]]. [[spoiler: Actually, this one is shown to be incorrect. Clarissa isn't any more ruthless than Virginia; it's implied that the real reason behind the ban is that women Lensmen would screw up the Arisians' breeding programs.]] Today, the idea that women ''can't'' be natural-born killers would be laughed at.

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** The idea that a human woman could be a ruthless, cold-blooded murderer is seen as appalling and impossible in ''First Lensman''. This is why women Lensmen aren't admitted, except for one who Virginia Samms hypothesizes would have to be some kind of monster; [[ARealManIsAKiller a real Lensman must be a killer]]. [[spoiler: Actually, this one is shown to be incorrect. Clarissa isn't any more ruthless than Virginia; it's implied that the real reason behind the ban is that women Lensmen would screw up the Arisians' breeding programs.]] Today, the idea that women ''can't'' be natural-born killers would be laughed at.at.
* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: The anime.
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* SeinfeldIsUnfunny

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* SeinfeldIsUnfunnySeinfeldIsUnfunny: Much like ''Literature/LordOfTheRings'' is for fantasy, this is essentially the archetype for the SpaceOpera style of science fiction. Of course, with that comes the fact that so many of the concepts that seemed fresh and new when it was first written have either been explored even further or overplayed in the intervening years.
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* SeinfeldIsUnfunny
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* ValuesDissonance - When the series started, eugenics hadn't been [[GodwinsLaw discredited by association with the Nazis yet]], so aliens "encouraging" Earth's best and brightest to [[GeniusBreedingAct make babies with each other]] was seen as the proper thing for SufficientlyAdvancedAliens to do.

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* ValuesDissonance - When the series started, eugenics hadn't been [[GodwinsLaw discredited by association with the Nazis yet]], so aliens "encouraging" Earth's best and brightest to [[GeniusBreedingAct make babies with each other]] was seen as the proper thing for SufficientlyAdvancedAliens to do. Ironically, it doubles as in-universe values dissonance; the aliens see no moral issue with trying to make humanity do this.
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* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The ''Lensman'' books are quite free of political preaching by the standards of modern sci-fi, but one thing that ''is'' made clear is that the author [[DrugsAreBad doesn't like habit-forming drugs]]. EldritchAbominations may be the [[BigBad Big Bads]] of the plot, but the real monsters are the drug dealers, who suffer unconditional death penalty when captured. In one prequel book, there's also a mild AuthorTract on the evils of drugs, including a couple of lines that are well summed up, though with some loss of nuance, [[EvenEvilHasStandards "Even the]] [[DirtyCommies Soviet Union]] [[EvenEvilHasStandards helped fight the international drug dealers.]] ''[[AnAesop That's]]'' [[AnAesop how bad drugs are."]]

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* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The ''Lensman'' books are quite free of political preaching by the standards of modern sci-fi, but one thing that ''is'' made clear is that the author [[DrugsAreBad doesn't like habit-forming drugs]]. EldritchAbominations {{Eldritch Abomination}}s may be the [[BigBad Big Bads]] {{Big Bad}}s of the plot, but the real monsters are the drug dealers, who suffer unconditional death penalty when captured. In one prequel book, there's also a mild AuthorTract on the evils of drugs, including a couple of lines that are well summed up, though with some loss of nuance, [[EvenEvilHasStandards "Even the]] [[DirtyCommies Soviet Union]] [[EvenEvilHasStandards helped fight the international drug dealers.]] ''[[AnAesop That's]]'' [[AnAesop how bad drugs are."]]
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This isn\'t actually YMMV. Moving.


* BrokenAesop: The DrugsAreBad Aesop is applied unclearly; in fact, it's only applied to the dealers of a completely fictional drug which is solely manufactured and distributed by the bad guys' food chain. By contrast, the main character picks a marijuana-equivalent drug to adopt as part of a persona, and it's almost completely harmless (the text even takes note of him learning that the drug is better taken after alcohol instead of beforehand). So...[[SpaceWhaleAesop drugs are bad if they're specifically designed]] [[FantasticAesop to fund the Evil Empire]]?
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* GeniusBonus ''Galactic Patrol'' includes a very amusing technobabble explanation for the unlikely properties of one of Smith's favorite inventions, Duodecpylatimate, AKA Duodec, the ultimate chemical explosive. You have to understand scientific notation to figure out the joke. Smith was reportedly delighted to be called out on this "mistake".
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* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The ''Lensman'' books are quite free of political preaching by the standards of modern sci-fi, but one thing that ''is'' made clear is that the author [[DrugsAreBad doesn't like habit-forming drugs]]. EldritchAbominations may be the [[BigBad Big Bads]] of the plot, but the {{Complete Monster}}s are the drug dealers, who suffer unconditional death penalty when captured. In one prequel book, there's also a mild AuthorTract on the evils of drugs, including a couple of lines that are well summed up, though with some loss of nuance, [[EvenEvilHasStandards "Even the]] [[DirtyCommies Soviet Union]] [[EvenEvilHasStandards helped fight the international drug dealers.]] ''[[AnAesop That's]]'' [[AnAesop how bad drugs are."]]

to:

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The ''Lensman'' books are quite free of political preaching by the standards of modern sci-fi, but one thing that ''is'' made clear is that the author [[DrugsAreBad doesn't like habit-forming drugs]]. EldritchAbominations may be the [[BigBad Big Bads]] of the plot, but the {{Complete Monster}}s real monsters are the drug dealers, who suffer unconditional death penalty when captured. In one prequel book, there's also a mild AuthorTract on the evils of drugs, including a couple of lines that are well summed up, though with some loss of nuance, [[EvenEvilHasStandards "Even the]] [[DirtyCommies Soviet Union]] [[EvenEvilHasStandards helped fight the international drug dealers.]] ''[[AnAesop That's]]'' [[AnAesop how bad drugs are."]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


** The idea that a human woman could be a ruthless, cold-blooded murderer is seen as appalling and impossible in ''First Lensman''. This is why women Lensmen aren't admitted, except for one who Virginia Samms hypothesizes would have to be some kind of monster. [[spoiler: Actually, this one is shown to be incorrect. Clarissa isn't any more ruthless than Virginia; it's implied that the real reason behind the ban is that women Lensmen would screw up the Arisians' breeding programs.]]

to:

** The idea that a human woman could be a ruthless, cold-blooded murderer is seen as appalling and impossible in ''First Lensman''. This is why women Lensmen aren't admitted, except for one who Virginia Samms hypothesizes would have to be some kind of monster.monster; [[ARealManIsAKiller a real Lensman must be a killer]]. [[spoiler: Actually, this one is shown to be incorrect. Clarissa isn't any more ruthless than Virginia; it's implied that the real reason behind the ban is that women Lensmen would screw up the Arisians' breeding programs.]]]] Today, the idea that women ''can't'' be natural-born killers would be laughed at.
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None


** On another note, pacifistically inclined modern readers may be uncomfortable with the Galactic Patrol's willingness to use [[EarthShatteringKaboom overwhelming force]] against Boskone's fortified planets, or feel that they do so without due regard for [[HumanShield collateral damage]]. Whereas the books were written during and immediately after WorldWarII, when [[KnightInSourArmor the Allies]] were indiscriminately pouring megatons of explosives over German and Japanese cities and few people found anything questionable in this.

to:

** On another note, pacifistically inclined modern readers may be uncomfortable with the Galactic Patrol's willingness to use [[EarthShatteringKaboom overwhelming force]] against Boskone's fortified planets, or feel that they do so without due regard for [[HumanShield collateral damage]]. Whereas the books were written during and immediately after WorldWarII, when [[KnightInSourArmor the Allies]] were indiscriminately pouring megatons of explosives over German and Japanese cities and few people found anything questionable in this.this.
** The idea that a human woman could be a ruthless, cold-blooded murderer is seen as appalling and impossible in ''First Lensman''. This is why women Lensmen aren't admitted, except for one who Virginia Samms hypothesizes would have to be some kind of monster. [[spoiler: Actually, this one is shown to be incorrect. Clarissa isn't any more ruthless than Virginia; it's implied that the real reason behind the ban is that women Lensmen would screw up the Arisians' breeding programs.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* BrokenAesop: The DrugsAreBad Aesop is applied unclearly; in fact, it's only applied to the dealers of a completely fictional drug which is solely manufactured and distributed by the bad guys' food chain. By contrast, the main character picks a marijuana-equivalent drug to adopt as part of a persona, and it's almost completely harmless (the text even takes note of him learning that the drug is better taken after alcohol instead of beforehand).

to:

* BrokenAesop: The DrugsAreBad Aesop is applied unclearly; in fact, it's only applied to the dealers of a completely fictional drug which is solely manufactured and distributed by the bad guys' food chain. By contrast, the main character picks a marijuana-equivalent drug to adopt as part of a persona, and it's almost completely harmless (the text even takes note of him learning that the drug is better taken after alcohol instead of beforehand). So...[[SpaceWhaleAesop drugs are bad if they're specifically designed]] [[FantasticAesop to fund the Evil Empire]]?
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* BrokenAesop: The DrugsAreBad Aesop is applied unclearly; in fact, it's only applied to the dealers of a completely fictional drug which is solely manufactured and distributed by the bad guys' food chain. By contrast, the main character picks a marijuana-equivalent drug to adopt as part of a persona, and it's almost completely harmless (the text even takes note of him learning that the drug is better taken after alcohol instead of beforehand).
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

** Also, it's taken for granted that libertarianism is the right form of government. At one point, government is loftily mentioned as having been "reduced to its proper sphere and concentrated in the Patrol."
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Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
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* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The ''Lensman'' books are quite free of political preaching by the standards of modern sci-fi, but one thing that ''is'' made clear is that the author [[DrugsAreBad doesn't like habit-forming drugs]]. EldritchAbominations may be the [[BigBad Big Bads]] of the plot, but the CompleteMonsters are the drug dealers, who suffer unconditional death penalty when captured. In one prequel book, there's also a mild AuthorTract on the evils of drugs, including a couple of lines that are well summed up, though with some loss of nuance, [[EvenEvilHasStandards "Even the]] [[DirtyCommies Soviet Union]] [[EvenEvilHasStandards helped fight the international drug dealers.]] ''[[AnAesop That's]]'' [[AnAesop how bad drugs are."]]

to:

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The ''Lensman'' books are quite free of political preaching by the standards of modern sci-fi, but one thing that ''is'' made clear is that the author [[DrugsAreBad doesn't like habit-forming drugs]]. EldritchAbominations may be the [[BigBad Big Bads]] of the plot, but the CompleteMonsters {{Complete Monster}}s are the drug dealers, who suffer unconditional death penalty when captured. In one prequel book, there's also a mild AuthorTract on the evils of drugs, including a couple of lines that are well summed up, though with some loss of nuance, [[EvenEvilHasStandards "Even the]] [[DirtyCommies Soviet Union]] [[EvenEvilHasStandards helped fight the international drug dealers.]] ''[[AnAesop That's]]'' [[AnAesop how bad drugs are."]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The ''Lensman'' books are quite free of political preaching by the standards of modern sci-fi, but one thing that ''is'' made clear is that the author [[DrugsAreBad doesn't like habit-forming drugs]]. EldritchAbominations may be the [[BigBad Big Bads]] of the plot, but the CompleteMonsters are the drug dealers, who suffer unconditional death penalty when captured. In one prequel book, there's also a mild AuthorTract on the evils of drugs, including a couple of lines that are well summed up, though with some loss of nuance, [[EvenEvilHasStandards "Even the]] [[DirtyCommies Soviet Union]] [[EvenEvilHasStandards helped fight the international drug dealers.]] ''[[AnAesop That's]]'' [[AnAesop how bad drugs are."]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


** On another note, pacifistically inclined modern readers may be uncomfortable with the Galactic Patrol's willingness to use [[EarthShatteringKaboom overwhelming force]] against Boskone's fortified planets, or feel that they do so without due regard for [[HumanShield]] collateral damage. Whereas the books were written during and immediately after WorldWarII, when [[KnightInSourArmor the Allies]] were indiscriminately pouring megatons of explosives over German and Japanese cities and few people found anything questionable in this.

to:

** On another note, pacifistically inclined modern readers may be uncomfortable with the Galactic Patrol's willingness to use [[EarthShatteringKaboom overwhelming force]] against Boskone's fortified planets, or feel that they do so without due regard for [[HumanShield]] [[HumanShield collateral damage.damage]]. Whereas the books were written during and immediately after WorldWarII, when [[KnightInSourArmor the Allies]] were indiscriminately pouring megatons of explosives over German and Japanese cities and few people found anything questionable in this.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None


* ValuesDissonance - When the series started, eugenics hadn't been [[GodwinsLaw discredited by association with the Nazis yet]], so aliens "encouraging" Earth's best and brightest to [[GeniusBreedingAct make babies with each other]] was seen as the proper thing for SufficientlyAdvancedAliens to do.

to:

* ValuesDissonance - When the series started, eugenics hadn't been [[GodwinsLaw discredited by association with the Nazis yet]], so aliens "encouraging" Earth's best and brightest to [[GeniusBreedingAct make babies with each other]] was seen as the proper thing for SufficientlyAdvancedAliens to do.do.
** On another note, pacifistically inclined modern readers may be uncomfortable with the Galactic Patrol's willingness to use [[EarthShatteringKaboom overwhelming force]] against Boskone's fortified planets, or feel that they do so without due regard for [[HumanShield]] collateral damage. Whereas the books were written during and immediately after WorldWarII, when [[KnightInSourArmor the Allies]] were indiscriminately pouring megatons of explosives over German and Japanese cities and few people found anything questionable in this.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None

Added DiffLines:

* SerialNumbersFiledOff: The shareware game ''[[http://www.jalada.eu/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=179&Itemid=258 Children of Arisia]]'' takes place on the planet Medon, where the player, a third-level intellect, must fight against the forces of Boskone and the Overlords of Delgon who are attaching humanity via a hyper-spacial tube...

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