Looking for L. Ron Hubbard

[HarryT]

I enjoyed "Battlefield Earth", although it is a little over-long (but hardly alone in that fault). Let's not forget that while Hubbard may have had some off-beat religious ideas, he was also a damned good SF author.

"Mission Earth" is a different kettle of fish altogether. I think it's doubtful that Hubbard had much involvement with the writing of it, and it's pretty bad.

[jerryleejr]

I totally agree.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by jerryleejr

I am trying to find the Mission Earth series and Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard. They are for sale of course for the Kindle and secure Mobi. Any Ideas?

Just out of curiousity, why?

Hubbard was a pulp stalwart back in the day, did some nice Arabian Nights style fantasy for Unknown Worlds, and was a regular contributor to Astounding. He stopped writing fiction when he contrived Dianetics, and spent his time running the Dianetics operation, before accepting a buyout and retiring to a yacht in the Mediterranean, while the Dianetics operation morphed into Scientology.

Hubbard's return to fiction with Battlefield Earth was a quandry. Folks I knew couldn't figure out whether it was an unpublished manuscript lying in a desk drawer for 30 years that finally saw the light of day, or he simply hadn't learned anything new about writing since he put down the pen.

I passed on the Mission: Earth series, though that had it's question marks as well. Hubbard died part way through the series, and there was a suggestion that the late A. E. Van Vogt ghostwrote the last five or so. That would make sense: Van Vogt and Hubbard were contemporaries, and Van Vogt was an early associate of Hubbard's in Dianetics, before starting his own spin-off called Dianology.

It's possible that there are depths and quality to Hubbard's later work I'm simply not seeing, and I'm curious what you find worthy in them.
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Dennis

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I enjoyed "Battlefield Earth", although it is a little over-long (but hardly alone in that fault). Let's not forget that while Hubbard may have had some off-beat religious ideas, he was also a damned good SF author.

I'd amend that to "He was a damned good pulp author". He was able to turn out publishable quality work on demand and to deadline. As with any pulp writer, the quality varied widely. For instance, I think the fantasies he did for John W. Campbell's Unknown Worlds hold up, as do works like Fear and Typewriter in the Sky, but the "Old Doc Methuselah" stories are just dreadful.

I don't consider him a damned good SF author, only a competent one.

"Mission Earth" is a different kettle of fish altogether. I think it's doubtful that Hubbard had much involvement with the writing of it, and it's pretty bad.

Hubbard died part way through the series, and there was amusement locally when Bridge Publications took out full page ads in places like Variety commemorating him -- "They actually admitted he's dead!" There had been local questions about his status earlier. At the same time Battlefield Earth was on the best seller lists, his estranged son was filing a Habeus Corpus suit against the Church of Scientology in Federal court in NYC, essentially saying "You claim my father is alive? Produce him in court where I can see him!" You would think the status of an author with a book on the NYT best seller list would be better known.

The rumor I heard was that A. E. Van Vogt ghost wrote the later B:E books.
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Dennis

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

IJerry, would you mind emailing Galaxy Press and express your interest? If you can't find their email address you might just drop them a note here: http://www.galaxypress.com//contact_us.php. Wouldn't hurt to let Sony know, too.

NB: Galaxy Press seems to be a spin-off specifically created to handle Hubbard's fiction. His work was all originally published by Bridge Publications, the publishing arm of the Church of Scientology, but Bridge seems devoted to Scientology related material now.

(An old friend used to be an executive editor at one of the mass market houses, and described with bemusement folks from Bridge coming to call to discuss possible collaborations. They were apparently quite clueless about the publishing industry, which was no particular surprise. I'd be quite surprised if Bridge or Galaxy were actually profitable stand-alone, rather than being subsidized by the Church of Scientology to promote Hubbard's work.)
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Dennis

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

I'd amend that to "He was a damned good pulp author". He was able to turn out publishable quality work on demand and to deadline. As with any pulp writer, the quality varied widely. For instance, I think the fantasies he did for John W. Campbell's Unknown Worlds hold up, as do works like Fear and Typewriter in the Sky, but the "Old Doc Methuselah" stories are just dreadful.

I don't consider him a damned good SF author, only a competent one.

All I'm saying, Dennis, is that I personally enjoyed "Battlefield Earth", and it's a book that I still occasionally re-read. The movie that was made from it, on the other hand, was utter garbage.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by HarryT

All I'm saying, Dennis, is that I personally enjoyed "Battlefield Earth", and it's a book that I still occasionally re-read. The movie that was made from it, on the other hand, was utter garbage.

That's fine. I was less enthused than you are, but we all have different itches particular kinds of books scratch.

As a general rule, I don't think one can apply the same standards to all books. You have to ask yourself "What kind of book was the author trying to write?", and judge how well the author succeeded. I don't apply the same sort of standards to pulp SF, for example, as I do to something considered literary.

And Hubbard raises the issue of separating that author of pulp SF and fantasy from the one who created what became Scientology. Feelings about the latter can negatively influence opinions of the former.

Like I said, I Think he was a good pulp writer. He was capable of writing brisk and enjoyable adventures, though his quality was uneven. I think he might have become a "damned good SF writer", had he chosen to develop his craft and try to transcend his pulp roots, instead of looking for a get rich quick scheme and finding one.

And yes, the movie was utter garbage, which got made because John Travolta wanted to do it. He believes in Hubbard and Scientology, and it was a labor of love. It also shot his career in the foot. He's a fine actor, but Battlefield Earth made him hard to take seriously, and his output after that film was wildly uneven because of that. He stopped being a "bankable star", and started being viewed as a risk by producers casting films.
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Dennis

[jerryleejr]

I received an email today from Galaxy Press that basically said they are in talks with Sony and I should see their publications appearing at the Connect Store with in the next couple of months, Now maybe my email barrage can get Sony to match Amazon prices.


JJ

[JSWolf]

VC Andrews is the hardest working dead author ever.

[HarryT]

Never heard of him/her, I'm afraid!

[JSWolf]

http://www.deadoraliveinfo.com/dead....-nf/Andrews+VC

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/v-c-andrews/

As you can see, VC Andrews is definitely dead yet look at all the books published after death.

[jerryleejr]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

VC Andrews is the hardest working dead author ever.

I thought Everyone had heard of Flowers in the Attic

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by jerryleejr

I thought Everyone had heard of Flowers in the Attic

No, I'm afraid I've not come across that one. Reading about it, though, it doesn't really sound like my sort of book, which probably explains why the name didn't stick in my mind.

[jerryleejr]

The only reason I knew was when the movie was out my local bookstore put out a big display with all the books written by V.C. Andrews

[ethan3186]

i happened to have the complete 10 volume mission earth in txt format.

sorry for any inappropriate / inconvenience as i am new to this bbs.