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Lensman #5.5
Masters of the Vortex
Runaway Vortex!
A churning nuclear fireball, appearing out of nowhere, bringing utter destruction--and countless numbers of them were menacing planets throughout the Galaxy!
"Storm" Cloud, nucleonic genius, set out in his spaceship Vortex Blaster to track and destroy the mysterious vortices--and embarked on a saga of adventure, discovery and conflict among the far stars that could have been told only by the incomparable "Doc" Smith.
A churning nuclear fireball, appearing out of nowhere, bringing utter destruction--and countless numbers of them were menacing planets throughout the Galaxy!
"Storm" Cloud, nucleonic genius, set out in his spaceship Vortex Blaster to track and destroy the mysterious vortices--and embarked on a saga of adventure, discovery and conflict among the far stars that could have been told only by the incomparable "Doc" Smith.
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1960
65 people are currently reading
893 people want to read
About the author
E.E. "Doc" Smith
227Ìýbooks324ÌýfollowersEdward Elmer Smith (also E.E. Smith, E.E. Smith, Ph.D., E.E. “Docâ€� Smith, Doc Smith, “Skylarkâ€� Smith, or—to his family—Ted), was an American food engineer (specializing in doughnut and pastry mixes) and an early science fiction author, best known for the Lensman and Skylark series. He is sometimes called the father of space opera.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
January 12, 2015
Nice to read a novel set in the Lensmen universe, but not starring one of the Lensmen (although they still feature prominently in this tale). It was also interesting to note that computers make their first appearance in the series and that absolutely no one uses a slide rule in this book. In fact, Dr. Neal Cloud is a human computing machine, performing feats of calculation unmatched by other mortals. He is partnered with Joan Jankowski because of her expertise with computers, which are improving but are still no match for Cloud’s brain.
In many ways, this book felt like an episode of Star Trek (TOS). There are telepathy, super-human abilities, a cast which includes many interesting aliens, a mysterious source of “nuclear vortices,� a Dudley-DoRight type main character and a romantic sub-plot. Dr. Neal Cloud starts out more like the Lone Ranger (with Joan as Tonto), but ends up with a band of aliens (largely female) who refuse to leave his side. I loved the cat-woman, Vesta, and her unabashedly sensual ways! Also loved the cigar-smoking female engineer (I pictured her as rather reptilian).
Of course, Neal and Joan end up being strongly attracted to one another. I do love Smith’s insistence on providing intelligent female companions for his heroes. Mind you, when Cloud manages to become a telepath, he rates 6 on a scale of 5 and is acknowledged by all for his superiority! (Poor old Joan is only rated a 3). No ordinary heroes with average abilities for Doc Smith. He manages to convey a lot of romantic atmosphere with very little description, no doubt necessary for the morays of the time (published in 1960).
This is book number 154 of my science fiction and fantasy reading project.
In many ways, this book felt like an episode of Star Trek (TOS). There are telepathy, super-human abilities, a cast which includes many interesting aliens, a mysterious source of “nuclear vortices,� a Dudley-DoRight type main character and a romantic sub-plot. Dr. Neal Cloud starts out more like the Lone Ranger (with Joan as Tonto), but ends up with a band of aliens (largely female) who refuse to leave his side. I loved the cat-woman, Vesta, and her unabashedly sensual ways! Also loved the cigar-smoking female engineer (I pictured her as rather reptilian).
Of course, Neal and Joan end up being strongly attracted to one another. I do love Smith’s insistence on providing intelligent female companions for his heroes. Mind you, when Cloud manages to become a telepath, he rates 6 on a scale of 5 and is acknowledged by all for his superiority! (Poor old Joan is only rated a 3). No ordinary heroes with average abilities for Doc Smith. He manages to convey a lot of romantic atmosphere with very little description, no doubt necessary for the morays of the time (published in 1960).
This is book number 154 of my science fiction and fantasy reading project.
August 29, 2015
I just finished the entire Lensman series, all seven books in seven weeks. It was a rollicking good ride. Pure pulp space opera. It reminds me of Jack Kirby's Fourth World, in that the plots are unpredictable in a good, mind blowing way. It has the snappy dialogue like Hammett. It reminds me of Star Wars Episode IV, with its bickering romance of Han and Leia. It reminds me of Heinlein's powerfully unique characters who talk like no one really talks, but who cares because it's entertaining. It reminds me of PKD's wonderfully unpolished, almost amateurish writing that ignores half of the established conventions of narrative and just tells its crazy plot the way the author wanted to tell it, v with reckless abandon, joyfully ignoring what a staid editor would have wanted to fix. It reminds me of these things and many more, but how could that be when it predates all these things? It's more accurate for me to say that the Lensman series informed all these things, spawned them into our cultural consciousness. This last of the series is unique in that it makes the Lensman secondary characters. Instead the story is more grounded in a relatively normal Joe's POV, seeing the Lensman universe more like us readers would if we were in that weird, wacky, wonderfully unpredictable world that grew out of the feverishly fertile brain of E.E. "Doc" Smith. I'm sad the ride is over.
March 19, 2018
Doc Smith stories are pulp Sci-Fi, and just so much fun to read. If you want action, heroism, and no moral ambiguity, anything he writes is for you.
In this installment of the Lensman series, a man who lost his family in an atomic vortex figures out how to eliminate them. The story culminates in his harrowing flitter trip into the heart of the vortex.
In this installment of the Lensman series, a man who lost his family in an atomic vortex figures out how to eliminate them. The story culminates in his harrowing flitter trip into the heart of the vortex.
October 28, 2018
This book is available on audio and I listened to it. I thought the book has some wonderful elaborations on the vortex and the MC. For that I would have given a 4. However, I found it very hard to keep all the characters separated on the ship. The adventures were really well done but the rest of the supporting characters very flat in my opinion.
January 20, 2025
An interesting, mostly fun, and surprisingly philosophical Sci-fi story.
June 21, 2019
Reread for first time in several decades, so I had forgotten almost all of the plot points. It’s extremely dated. The treatment of women is grating although there are female characters who are competent. The entire premise is a bit hard to swallow (the vortexes and governments allowing tech that has chances of accidents that create vortexes). With that said it did keep my attention, which I didn’t expect.
Odds are very low that I’ll want to reread this in the future.
Odds are very low that I’ll want to reread this in the future.
February 19, 2015
A good story, pacy as ever, however it is slightly divorced from the rest of the Lensman series which really ended with "Children".
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 23, 2016
This book is the least in the series is not as awesome as the main Lensman series but a very good classic space opera style SiFi series by one of the early masters. Very recommended
June 6, 2018
Masters of the Vortex, the last Lensman novel by E E Smith, is not actually about the lensmen but takes place in the same setting, sometime between Second Stage Lensman and Children of the Lens. Neal “Storm� Cloud is studying loose atomic vortexes when his family is killed by one. Having extraordinary mathematical abilities and no sense of self preservation he’s able to figure out how to extinguish them, by flying close and using a big bomb.
This makes everyone very keen for him to visit their planet and put out their atomic vortexes. Also he tangles with criminals, especially one Fairchild, a radiation scientist that is able to use his knowledge to make thionite, the galaxy’s best drug, and also make loose atomic vortexes to attack his enemies.
Cloud picks up some castaways who become his crew, and then a computer scientist who wants to build a machine to take his job away from him. She succeeds and also teaches him telepathy, and they fall in love. He promptly discovers the secret behind the loose atomic vortexes so as not to be upstaged by the computer built by a woman.
It’s a fun adventure, a bit more episodic and unfocused than the other ones in the series. Because of this there are asides which don’t quite work; there’s a certain amount of discussion of statistical analysis to determine suspicious patterns, but no one actually does that or acts on it until late in the story. Also there’s a moment when they start telepathing and all the women are obsessing about babies which seems a bit over the top. Although Cloud is a member of the Galactic Patrol, he’s a little closer to ground level than Kinnison in the mainline Lensman stories so we see a bit more of ordinary life on planets. Which is cool.
Apparently Smith intended to write more spin off novels but never did.
Read This: For an entertaining if somewhat disjointed space opera adventure.
Don’t Read This: If you don’t want to read about travelling to odd societies that are measured according to how they differ from 1940s America
My reviews of the rest of the series:
This makes everyone very keen for him to visit their planet and put out their atomic vortexes. Also he tangles with criminals, especially one Fairchild, a radiation scientist that is able to use his knowledge to make thionite, the galaxy’s best drug, and also make loose atomic vortexes to attack his enemies.
Cloud picks up some castaways who become his crew, and then a computer scientist who wants to build a machine to take his job away from him. She succeeds and also teaches him telepathy, and they fall in love. He promptly discovers the secret behind the loose atomic vortexes so as not to be upstaged by the computer built by a woman.
It’s a fun adventure, a bit more episodic and unfocused than the other ones in the series. Because of this there are asides which don’t quite work; there’s a certain amount of discussion of statistical analysis to determine suspicious patterns, but no one actually does that or acts on it until late in the story. Also there’s a moment when they start telepathing and all the women are obsessing about babies which seems a bit over the top. Although Cloud is a member of the Galactic Patrol, he’s a little closer to ground level than Kinnison in the mainline Lensman stories so we see a bit more of ordinary life on planets. Which is cool.
Apparently Smith intended to write more spin off novels but never did.
Read This: For an entertaining if somewhat disjointed space opera adventure.
Don’t Read This: If you don’t want to read about travelling to odd societies that are measured according to how they differ from 1940s America
My reviews of the rest of the series:
July 10, 2022
(Do I really need a spoiler warning for a book written over 60 years ago?)
This is traditionally the last book in E.E. "Doc" Smith's Lensman series. While it is undoubtedly set in the Lensman universe, and a Lensman is a supporting character, it could be set anywhere.
Various planets are being infested by Atomic Vortexes. Tremendous concentrations of atomic destruction disintegrate anything solid, turning the very soil into molten lava and emitting toxic vapors and hard radiation. The theory of extinguishing these conflagrations was simple - a large enough explosive at an exact yield in a precise location in the vortex. But if either of these constantly-changing requirements were off, the vortex would fracture into several loose vortexes, instantly killing the unfortunate operator. The problem was predicting the activity of these unstable vortexes far enough into the future to deliver the explosive charge and get out of the area before it explodes (the inertialess drive was a godsend for the latter part, of course).
Enter Neal Clous, a mathematical prodigy. He had been living a quiet life as a paper-pusher with a wife and child and a house in the suburbs when someone's failed attempt to extinguish a vortex split off several new vortexes, one of which landed on the Cloud home! With nothing left to live for, he is convinced to pit his mathematic genius against the oldest (and largest) vortex on Earth/Tellus. With a small, fast ship and a hold full of missiles with various explosive yields, Cloud launches the appropriate missile, and suddenly, a nuclear vortex is extinguished! As Cloud continues to destroy vortexes on his home planet, requests, pleas, and demands from all over the galaxy flood into Galactic Patrol headquarters. The Galactic Patrol outfits Cloud with a spaceship containing an even more extensive assortment of explosive missiles and a list of priorities.
A deep space rescue mission ends up with Captain Neal Cloud unexpectedly having a multi-racial crew, and suddenly The Vortex Blasters are hunting down Zwilnicks between blowing out vortexes. But there is a secret to the creation of vortexes that neither the Vortex Blasters nor the Zwilniks can guess at.
(By the way, I know that the proper plural of "vortex" is "vortices". I used the one truer to the author's usage.)
This is traditionally the last book in E.E. "Doc" Smith's Lensman series. While it is undoubtedly set in the Lensman universe, and a Lensman is a supporting character, it could be set anywhere.
Various planets are being infested by Atomic Vortexes. Tremendous concentrations of atomic destruction disintegrate anything solid, turning the very soil into molten lava and emitting toxic vapors and hard radiation. The theory of extinguishing these conflagrations was simple - a large enough explosive at an exact yield in a precise location in the vortex. But if either of these constantly-changing requirements were off, the vortex would fracture into several loose vortexes, instantly killing the unfortunate operator. The problem was predicting the activity of these unstable vortexes far enough into the future to deliver the explosive charge and get out of the area before it explodes (the inertialess drive was a godsend for the latter part, of course).
Enter Neal Clous, a mathematical prodigy. He had been living a quiet life as a paper-pusher with a wife and child and a house in the suburbs when someone's failed attempt to extinguish a vortex split off several new vortexes, one of which landed on the Cloud home! With nothing left to live for, he is convinced to pit his mathematic genius against the oldest (and largest) vortex on Earth/Tellus. With a small, fast ship and a hold full of missiles with various explosive yields, Cloud launches the appropriate missile, and suddenly, a nuclear vortex is extinguished! As Cloud continues to destroy vortexes on his home planet, requests, pleas, and demands from all over the galaxy flood into Galactic Patrol headquarters. The Galactic Patrol outfits Cloud with a spaceship containing an even more extensive assortment of explosive missiles and a list of priorities.
A deep space rescue mission ends up with Captain Neal Cloud unexpectedly having a multi-racial crew, and suddenly The Vortex Blasters are hunting down Zwilnicks between blowing out vortexes. But there is a secret to the creation of vortexes that neither the Vortex Blasters nor the Zwilniks can guess at.
(By the way, I know that the proper plural of "vortex" is "vortices". I used the one truer to the author's usage.)
July 8, 2017
Typically my one-star ratings are "Note to self: you started this and didn't like it. You probably won't remember it, but don't bother with this in the future." Not this one. It's crap right to the end. (There was one semi-interesting chapter two-thirds of the way in, but that was it.)
Nerds in love. Literally eye-rollingly disgusting.
The author's idea of a flawed character is one whose jaw angle measures only 89.9999 degrees. There was a line somewhere in the book stating that the protagonist was something like 'only the fifth-most important man in the history of humanity.'
I listened to this because I want to complete the series, but this was an awful slog. The series hasn't been good since book three.
Nerds in love. Literally eye-rollingly disgusting.
The author's idea of a flawed character is one whose jaw angle measures only 89.9999 degrees. There was a line somewhere in the book stating that the protagonist was something like 'only the fifth-most important man in the history of humanity.'
I listened to this because I want to complete the series, but this was an awful slog. The series hasn't been good since book three.
Want to read
March 25, 2015 The Vortex Blaster is a collection of three science fiction short stories by author Edward E. Smith, Ph.D.. It was simultaneously published in 1960 by Gnome Press in an edition of 3,000 copies and by Fantasy Press in an edition of 341 copies. The book was originally intended to be published by Fantasy Press, but was handed over to Gnome Press when Fantasy Press folded. Lloyd Eshbach, of Fantasy Press, who was responsible for the printing of both editions, printed the extra copies for his longtime customers. The stories originally appeared in the magazines Comet and Astonishing Stories.
December 2, 2010
A swashbuckling tale of a man that through a combination of circumstances is the only man in the galaxy able to blast atomic vortexes. The story is a chronicle of his adventures across the galaxy, where along with blasting vortexes he uses his knowledge of physics and his prodigy-level mathematically ability to solve crimes, rescue damsels in distress and eventually uncover the secret behind the atomic vortexes.
July 31, 2011
Sometimes you must go through hell to get the right attitude.
Audio Book MP3 downloaded from
Public Domain stories from Project Gutenberg, that are read by volunteers.
I listen to these short stories while walking to and from work.
Play Duration: 00:46:13
Read By: Gregg Margarite
Audio Book MP3 downloaded from
Public Domain stories from Project Gutenberg, that are read by volunteers.
I listen to these short stories while walking to and from work.
Play Duration: 00:46:13
Read By: Gregg Margarite
November 9, 2018
The real science of today absolutely dates this book but I really like it.
August 6, 2017
Another tough read. Highly technical in nature, this work didn't flow well for the "layman" reader. The hard science makes this not readily available for the common man, even with the 50 or so years from the original creation date to today. I believe that the dated science actually works against the title rather than helps it along. Written during the Atomic Revolution of the 60s SF era, the vortices probably could have been more modernly called wormholes or micro-black holes but the author seemingly wanted to cash in on the new atomic scare-wagon that the era had created. Another aspect that may have worked against this piece is that it was the 7th of 7 works in a series and I hadn't read any of the prior works. Although I can't guarantee this, I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt to the author. Nevertheless, this wasn't one of the better literary works I've read recently and the score reflects that opinion. I'm definitely going to give Dr. Smith another try in the future and hopefully he won't fall as short in the next experience.
December 23, 2023
The last of this series I found the most enjoyable, as it stepped away from the ridiculously overpowered Lensmen to give something of a more personal story. It does feel like the glued-together set of short stories, shoe-horned into the Lensman world that it is, but on the other hand it does not drag like a lot of the rest of the series. The last chapter or two spoilt things by suddenly ramping up the protagonist's skills at an unbelievable rate, like a toddler learning to ride a trike and then progressing straight onto flying a jet within a week. The reason for the vortex threat and the ultimate solution feels tacked on at the end and it would probably have been better to leave it open and let the team fly off to further adventures in the reader's imagination.
October 2, 2024
Good Book, but dated
This was a very good book, if a little dated. The reader must take into account that this book was written in the1930s to1940s. This book was updated, but still uses language and ideas from that era. Ladies will have to understand that this era was very sexist and it shows in the writing. If that bothers you then this book is probably not for you. The characters were interesting, but not well developed by today's standards. This book was also written before space was explored, so there is no hard science. In one passage the main character crosses 85 parsecs of space in an hour, a parsec is 3.26 light years, so he traveled 277.1 light years in an hour.
I really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it.
This was a very good book, if a little dated. The reader must take into account that this book was written in the1930s to1940s. This book was updated, but still uses language and ideas from that era. Ladies will have to understand that this era was very sexist and it shows in the writing. If that bothers you then this book is probably not for you. The characters were interesting, but not well developed by today's standards. This book was also written before space was explored, so there is no hard science. In one passage the main character crosses 85 parsecs of space in an hour, a parsec is 3.26 light years, so he traveled 277.1 light years in an hour.
I really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it.
July 8, 2019
The Vortex Blaster is set in Smith's Lensman universe, and some Lensmen and the Galactic Patrol make an appearance, but is really a stand-alone novel that really does not need to be read as part of the series. The plot involves a man with a computer in his brain who takes on the job of snuffing out "atomic vortices" that periodically erupt from nuclear power stations. It turns out that he is the first person capable of doing this, which sets him up a tour of the galaxy and various adventures. And being in the Lensman universe, mental powers are involved, but in this case distinct from the powers of the lensmen.
May 8, 2023
Physicist Neal “Storm� Cloud loses his family to an atomic vortex, which was attracted to his new house by a series of lightning rods on the roof. Rather than setting his home on fire, the vortex detonated like a bomb, leaving no survivors. Later, another atomic vortex manifests a short distance from his lab and after convincing his superior that he has a way of destroying it, Cloud sets out in a short range aircraft with a new type of explosive called duodec.
“The Vortex Blaster,� published in Comet Stories magazine (July 1941), is a fun but plodding side adventure set in E.E. “Doc� Smith’s Lensman universe.
“The Vortex Blaster,� published in Comet Stories magazine (July 1941), is a fun but plodding side adventure set in E.E. “Doc� Smith’s Lensman universe.
June 27, 2021
Fantasy listening
Due to eye issues and damage Alexa read to me.
The last book 7 in the Lensman Series by E.E. "Doc" Smith is a very will written novel with interesting well developed characters. The story line is fast moving, intense, with some violence, and deception racing to the conclusion. I would recommend the series and author to readers of fantasy Sc-Fi adventures. Enjoy the adventures of reading 2021 🚀✨�
Due to eye issues and damage Alexa read to me.
The last book 7 in the Lensman Series by E.E. "Doc" Smith is a very will written novel with interesting well developed characters. The story line is fast moving, intense, with some violence, and deception racing to the conclusion. I would recommend the series and author to readers of fantasy Sc-Fi adventures. Enjoy the adventures of reading 2021 🚀✨�
February 7, 2022
Compared to the main Lensman novels, this one has a few spokes missing from the wheel. For some reason, although it's just the way it was, the 1950s patriarchal attitude bugged me more than average, as the hero inherits a nearly all-female crew and manages to talk down to all of them. Also, the plot arc had no teeth. There's just an intellectual puzzle to solve, and when the heroes do it (actually, the male hero does it while the female watches), the entire situation resolves instantly.
November 30, 2024
This is better than average pulp science fiction by someone who was one of the best of his age (born 1890). The Lensman series is considered an all-time classic.
Smith was a legitimate engineer. He studied chemistry and chemical engineering, earned a PhD, and had a full career in the food business, and transitioned into explosives and then armored vehicles in WW2.
My rating vacillated between 2 and 3. As I interpret the GR scale based on description, average should be about 2.5.
Smith was a legitimate engineer. He studied chemistry and chemical engineering, earned a PhD, and had a full career in the food business, and transitioned into explosives and then armored vehicles in WW2.
My rating vacillated between 2 and 3. As I interpret the GR scale based on description, average should be about 2.5.
April 24, 2021
Wonderful fantasy reading 📚
Due to eye issues Alexa reads to me, a will written fantasy Sci-Fi thriller novella. The characters are interesting and will developed. The story line is fast moving and complicated leading to the conclusion. I would recommend this series to readers of fantasy Sci-Fi. Enjoy reading 🔰2021 😉
Due to eye issues Alexa reads to me, a will written fantasy Sci-Fi thriller novella. The characters are interesting and will developed. The story line is fast moving and complicated leading to the conclusion. I would recommend this series to readers of fantasy Sci-Fi. Enjoy reading 🔰2021 😉
February 6, 2024
Old (really old) school Sci-fi
Pulp space opera from way back, with real men who smokes in spaceships and rescues damsels in distress, it's quite funny (involuntarily at times).
Picked up because i thought it was a prequel to the Lensman series, which i would like to read, turns out it's a stand alone with little in common with the series..
Pulp space opera from way back, with real men who smokes in spaceships and rescues damsels in distress, it's quite funny (involuntarily at times).
Picked up because i thought it was a prequel to the Lensman series, which i would like to read, turns out it's a stand alone with little in common with the series..
September 25, 2018
In Librivox SSF collection vol 017. Another classic tale of heroic Sf from EE "Doc" Smith. Just what the doc ordered if you happen to be suffering from an atomic vortex outbreak threatening your planet!
July 6, 2021
I read this books many, many, years ago and remembered it with a touch of nostalgia for the old style science fiction.
This version was really good with excellent narration by Reed McColm who made sure all the characters were distinguishable from each other.
This version was really good with excellent narration by Reed McColm who made sure all the characters were distinguishable from each other.
October 17, 2021
Vortex Blaster Review
I have been reading and rereading the whole Lensmen Series ever since my 20’s, Everytime L read them, I get new information. That is why I give a 5 star rating.
I have been reading and rereading the whole Lensmen Series ever since my 20’s, Everytime L read them, I get new information. That is why I give a 5 star rating.
December 10, 2022
Great read
This one ,even though part of a series,stands on its own.Very good read,great plot,characters,Sun-Times plots etc.Just an exceptional book.Highly recommend on its own,as well as the series.
This one ,even though part of a series,stands on its own.Very good read,great plot,characters,Sun-Times plots etc.Just an exceptional book.Highly recommend on its own,as well as the series.
April 11, 2023
So I think Doc ‘E.E.� Smith is great story teller, but not the greatest writer. Like the story is pretty great fun, but the writing can get muddled and hard to understand at times. Really enjoy the universe he expands on in this though, wish someone would make a movie or something of these already.
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