Bad Writing

I thought I would share with you once of the worst pieces of writing I have come across in a long time. It comes from Masters of the Vortex by E.E. "Doc" Smith, a science-fiction novel from 1960. I would like to clarify: I DID NOT WRITE THIS:

SAFETY DEVICES that do not protect.
 
"Unsinkable" ships that, before the days of Bergenholm and of atomic and cosmic energy, sank into the waters of the Earth.
 
More particularly, safety devices which, while protecting against one agent of destruction, attract magnet-like another or worse. Such as the armored cable within the walls of a wooden house. It protects the electrical conductors within it against accidental external shorts . . .

Bored yet? This was the beginning of the novel. Not exactly "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." How could Doc even think that a discussion of safety devices would hook the reader into the book? I never thought I would actually find something that literally reads like stereo instructions, but I think I did. In all fairness to Doc, he was a Hugo Award nominee and I heard this was one of his worst books. The rest of the book might be good, but I could not get past the opening.