[Bear_in_RoseBear]

Yep, that's the guy. He invented many of the space opera standards which later became cliche'. Keeping that in mind when reading his books helps to keep a proper perspective, I have found.

[Fedora]

> Yep, that's the guy. He invented many of the space opera standards which later became cliche'. Keeping that in mind when reading his books helps to keep a proper perspective, I have found.

Makes sense to me. I don't mind cliches in the pioneering SF writers; it's the cliches in the new stuff that bugs me! But I don't mind it in the old stuff, which I could read/watch all day--I like stuff like John Carter, Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, etc.