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Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers (1973) is a comic science fiction novel by Harry Harrison. It is about two young men who accidentally invent a device that can transport them through space, powered by a substance called "Cheddite", which is created by irradiating cheddar cheese.
Anyone who has read E. E. Smith's Skylark and Lensman series will quickly realise the basis of the book. While the book is humorous in its own right, only those who have read Smith's books would be aware of much of the original material which is being parodied; the sci-fi genre in general is heavily lampooned, as is the popular American culture of the day. The book also positively addresses very important themes, including race, prejudice, and stereotype.
The wild, galaxy-hopping adventures of brash young scientists Jerry Courtenay and Chuck van Chider are at the core of this classic space opera. When the two college students develop a faster-than-light space drive in their homemade work shed, they decide to sneak it aboard their football team's airplane as a prank. The boyish plan backfires, however, and the boys find themselves, along with their crush Sally and the seemingly lovable school caretaker, Old John, hurtling through the solar system towards Titan--an icy moon of Saturn inhabited by hideous ice creatures. Titan and the 20th century are only square one as the foursome becomes embroiled in a vast, intergalactic, century-jumping battle.
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