The Purity Plot: Family D'Alembert Book 6

Family d'Alembert #6

by E.E. "Doc" Smith, Stephen Goldin

What is happening on Purity - an obscure planet peopled only by religious introverts? Hitherto the hairshirt brigade have turned their backs on the rest of the Empire. But now, inspired by the aggressive zeal of sinister evangelist Tresa Clunard, the Puritans are preparing to fight a holy war.
Time, once more, for SOTE's crack agents, the Family d'Alembert, to spring into action. And the responsibility for this mission rests with the new time of Yvette and Pias Bavol. Theirs is an awesome task, for the future peace of Stanley Ten's interstellar civilisation hangs in the balance . . .

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Space Opera, Fantasy

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Edward Elmer Smith (also E.E. Smith, E.E. Smith, Ph.D., E.E. “Doc” Smith, Doc Smith, “Skylark” 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.

Reviews

[Kevin O'Brien · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the sixth in a 10 novel series which was mostly written by Stephen Goldin. Doc Smith wrote a novella called Imperial Stars which Goldin expanded into the first novel, and then Goldin wrote another 9 novels in a long story arc. But Smith is the famous one, so his name appears in large letters everywhere and Goldin is barely mentioned.

The setting is a universe where a Russian Feudal system has somehow become the dominant mode of government and of the language, so we see Russian words sprinkled throughout the conversations. Humanity has spread to a number of planets with varying characteristics. One of these is DesPlaines, a high gravity planet whose inhabitants have adapted by becoming shorter and stockier, and which has developed a unique attraction, The Circus of the Galaxy. What people don't know is that this circus is also a key part of the secret service SOTE, the Service Of The Empire. This allows for an interesting twist for space opera, a series where the heroes do not have secret weapons or super powers, merely acrobatic training.

Purity is a planet settled by fundamentalist religious groups, who seem to compete to see who can suffer the most, and the planet is perfect for suffering being cold and miserable. But now they are creating an army to take their ideas to the rest of the galaxy and purify everyone else. But are they doing this on their own, or is this part of the plot from Lady A.? The book is fast-paced and a good combination of space opera with spy thriller. But since this a 10-novel story arc, each novel builds on what went before, so do not read them out of order.

[Derek · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. What little remains of Smith's influence is solely in the compulsively scientific description of three planetary gravities as an "accelleration".

Dynamically plotted but shallowly characterized, with a dull planetary culture.

[ricky]

Very good

More adventures of the d'Alembert family as they try to find out more about the conspiracy against the galactic empire.