Lester del Rey

Image of Lester del Rey
Lester del Rey
ISFDB
Encyclopedia of SF
Wikipedia
Wikipedia

See first quotes from Lester del Rey

32 Quotations from Lester del Rey

antimatter n. 1959 ‘L. del Rey’ Mine Host, Mine Adversary in Fantastic Universe Oct. 8/2 The ship must still be equipped with an antique boron-fusion motor; no anti-matter inverter ever made that much racket. But the leap to hyperspeed was smooth, indicating the engineer knew his job.
dimensional adj. 1963 ‘L. del Rey’ The Sky Is Falling in Two Complete Novels 11 ‘You mean dimensional travel?’ Dave asked. He'd seen something about that on a science-fiction television program.
disaster adj. 1976 ‘L. del Rey’ Reference Library in Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact Feb. 171/1 No Blade of Grass, by John Christopher (Equinox, $1.95, 190 pp.) may be the best of the ‘British disaster’ type of science fiction, classically exemplified by H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. Here the disaster is a virus that attacks all grass, including the cereals that provide food for most of mankind.
Earthbound adj. 2 1939 ‘L. del Rey’ Luck of Ignatz in Astounding Science-Fiction Aug. 10/1 Even veteran spacemen were usually mudsuckers on Venus, and Anne was Earthbound up to now.
earth person n. 1942 ‘L. del Rey’ Wings of Night in Astounding Science-Fiction Mar. 51/2 His thoughts were full of some Earth person of the female element.
everywhen n. 1942 ‘L. del Rey’ My Name is Legion in Astounding Science Fiction June 72/2 The plenum is—”well, the composite whole of all that is and was and will be—”it is everything and everywhen, all existing together as a unit, in which time does not move, but simply is, like length or thickness.
ferry n. 1962 ‘L. del Rey’ Thunder in Space in Amazing Stories June 21/1 The little ferry ship used between the ships and the station was still here, too. It could be used to bring the fuel back easily, since it had been equipped with tanks for moving fuel between supply rockets and the balloons.
flying saucer n. 1963 ‘L. del Rey’ Outpost of Jupiter ii. 28 ‘Are there any other stories of alien spacecraft?’ Bob asked finally. ‘I mean, like the old flying saucer accounts we studied in school?’ ‘You studied, maybe,’ Red said. ‘Nobody on the out-planets takes such courses. I thought they’d found out all about the atmospheric disturbances that caused people to think they saw flying discs.’
fugghead n. 1979 ‘L. del Rey’ World of Science Fiction 1926–1976 xxxi. 321 Fugghead: someone who is stupid or hopelessly confused. Like entropy, fuggheadedness tends to increase.
fuggheadedness n. 1979 ‘L. del Rey’ World of Science Fiction 1926–1976 xxxi. 321 Fugghead: someone who is stupid or hopelessly confused. Like entropy, fuggheadedness tends to increase.
hyperspeed n. 1959 ‘L. del Rey’ Mine Host, Mine Adversary in Fantastic Universe Oct. 8/2 The leap to hyperspeed was smooth, indicating the engineer knew his job.
ion drive n. 1955 ‘L. del Rey’ In the Still Waters in Fantastic Universe June 23/1 He served for a year on one of the old ion-drive passenger lines, and he was quite sentimental about all ion-drive ships.
Lunarite n. 1942 ‘L. del Rey’ Wings of Night in Astounding Science Fiction Mar. 50/1 The one who thought of himself as Slim—massive though he appeared—turned to the approaching Lunarite. ‘What and who are you?’
mech n. 1938 ‘L. del Rey’ Helen O’Loy in Astounding Science-Fiction Dec. 119/2 We naturally mulled over the future of the mechs. He was sure that the robots would beat men some day.
non-human n. 1942 ‘L. del Rey’ Wings of Night in Astounding Science-Fiction Mar. 52/1 Fats has some funny ideas about nonhumans, but he’s a good-hearted sort, on the whole.
out-planet adj. 1955 ‘L. del Rey’ In the Still Waters in Fantastic Universe June 25/1 Zeke and his men like him had built the outplanet colonies and when the blowtorches could go no further ships like the Midas had been the lifeline for all colonization projects beyond Jupiter.
planetless adj. 1944 ‘L. del Rey’ Though Dreamers Die in Astounding Science-Fiction Feb. 36/2 Five planetless suns and ninety years of searching are gone.
problem story n. 1979 ‘L. del Rey’ World of Science Fiction: 1926–1976 x. 97 ‘Locked Out’ is a problem story, dealing with the lone operator of a spaceship who gets locked out while making repairs and has nothing but his simple tool kit to use in finding a way inside.
pulp science fiction n. 1972 ‘L. del Rey’ The Hand at Issue in Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction Apr. 73/1 Yet he never sneered at honest pulp science fiction.
science fantasy n. 4 1960 ‘L. del Rey’ Introduction in Fantastic Universe Omnibus ix A functional definition…is perhaps a bit simpler. Science fantasy provides the elements which the general reader seeks when he turns to an occasional volume of science fiction, without the grotesque technical jargon which is all too often added needlessly.
Solarian n. 2 1969 ‘L. del Rey’ If…and When in Worlds of If July 133/1 [The aliens] haven’t yet found the hyperdrive, discovered three years before on Terra, and our brave Solarians can easily outmaneuvered [sic] them.
space crew n. 1939 ‘L. del Rey’ Luck of Ignatz in Astounding Science-Fiction Aug. 15/1 In an emergency, no group of men on Earth can do the work that a space-crew can turn out in a scant half-hour, and these were all seasoned star-jumpers; to them the lack of gravity was a help rather than a hindrance in the swift completion of the work.
space taxi n. 1961 ‘L. del Rey’ Moon of Mutiny 52 A sausage-shaped space taxi was approaching the ship from the Station.
spacewoman n. 1951 ‘L. del Rey’ Deadliest Female in Worlds Beyond Feb. 29 He looked at her insignia, knowing Spacewomen were never promoted higher than lieutenants—his own rank—since they were automatically retired at thirty-five.
spacewoman n. 1951 ‘L. del Rey’ Deadliest Female in Worlds Beyond Feb. 37 Then someone threw open the door, and he looked up to see a Spacewoman standing there.
spindizzy n. 1972 ‘L. del Rey’ Hand at Issue in Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction Apr. 73 He’d still used his ‘spindizzy’ field as a mere means, of course, though to a greater end. But the readers were happy. Not he. He had to go back and write a story of the great engineering study of Jupiter’s gravity that led to the spindizzy.
starfleet n. 1939 ‘L. del Rey’ Luck of Ignatz in Astounding Science-Fiction (UK ed.) 4/2 The luckiest man in the star fleet, the Master had been head tester for the new rocket models until the O.M. decided he needed a rest and sent him to Venus.
suit phone n. 1952 ‘L. del Rey’ Forgive Us Our Debts in Future Science Fiction Stories May 54/1 He [...] began a report before he reached the control room, coupling in through his suit phone. ‘They have a dozen languages, father—but one of them in the same as the language of the old records! They pronounce it oddly, but on one island they seem to be trying to revive it—they call it English! [...]’
ultrawave n. 1939 ‘L. del Rey’ Habit in Astounding Science-Fiction Nov. 124/2 The radio signals came through on the ultra-wave every so often, but the pep-talk description of the thrilling contest for endurance racing didn’t mean much when I put it up against the facts.
visiphone v. 1940 ‘L. del Rey’ in Astounding Science-Fiction Aug. 24/1 Stewart had visiphoned that he was coming under a temporary truce, so Erin was not surprised.
weird adj. 1970 ‘L. del Rey’ Reading Room in Worlds of If Jan. 157/2 One of the current series that looks least promising turns out to be almost good and certainly worth a look by anyone who likes fantasy of the weird sort. [Ibid. 158/2] Generally, it’s a rather good weird story.
xenoanthropology n. 1960 ‘L. del Rey’ Introduction in Fantastic Universe Omnibus ix Between these two forms…lies the area of science fantasy. The boundaries are lost in the distance, but I can demarcate them roughly: North lies Physics; east, Elfland; south, Xenanthropology; west, Asgard.