Quote:
Originally Posted by ZodWallop
I don't think that statement needs any correcting.
From what I gathered through reading some of his work and what I've read of his Xenu story, he seems to belong to the old school of sci-fi. Guys like E.E. Doc Smith who wrote westerns in space, rather than the Campbell crowd (Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein).
Though I doubt it was his plan, Scientology preserved his legacy.
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I think it does need some correcting. He, in fact, considered himself as part of the Campbell crowd and if he can be believed, Campbell did also. Read his lengthy introduction in Battlefield Earth.
I have only read Battlefield Earth by L. Ron but I feel that it is quite a good SF novel. I first read it because in my younger days it exactly fit my criterion of a good book i.e. it was over 1000 pages long. But I have since re- read it several times over the years because I enjoyed it.
Perhaps his other SF works have rightfully earned him a "crappy SF writer" title but Battlefield Earth does not fall into that category. As Jon said, perhaps it should have ended a couple of hundred pages earlier but it is worth reading before dismissing L. Ron Hubbard as a SF author.