Cheese!
Feeling I ought to improve my knowledge of the classics of space opera, I have begun reading The Imperial Stars, selected because unlike the Lensman series, it doesn't prominently feature telepathy (a theme I find tedious) and unlike the Skylark series, I managed to find the first one on the shelf before it was time to run for the train.
My initial impression of E.E. 'Doc' Smith is that you can definitely tell he was a food technician by training. I have never read such concentrated cheese in my life. It takes cheese to a whole new level. It may not be entirely E.E.'s own fault - apart from part of the first novel, the D'Alembert series was written by someone else based on a novella by Smith - but it's still like falling head first into a fondue pot. I've already detected one B5 influence, too.
My initial impression of E.E. 'Doc' Smith is that you can definitely tell he was a food technician by training. I have never read such concentrated cheese in my life. It takes cheese to a whole new level. It may not be entirely E.E.'s own fault - apart from part of the first novel, the D'Alembert series was written by someone else based on a novella by Smith - but it's still like falling head first into a fondue pot. I've already detected one B5 influence, too.