Short Story Collections
Bob Sherman has a strength of character and purpose that would make Spencer Tracy. But signing on to the crew of the yacht Bonito, he'll need every ounce of his strength and courage to overcome the forces arrayed against him in Sea Fangs. He'll take on the forces of nature—a hurricane smashing into the boat off the Venezuelan coast. He'll stand up to the forces of ignorance—Bonito's incompetent captain. He'll defy the forces of corruption—the boat's owner, who stripped him of his land years ago. And he'll fight the forces of evil—a ruthless band of pirates who take all aboard, including the owner's daughter, to the uncharted Island of Death. His fate intertwined with a woman whose father stole everything he valued, Sherman is about to discover that there's one force as powerful, unpredictable and dangerous as the sea itself … the force of a beautiful woman's love. Hubbard had vast experience at sea. By the time he'd written this story, he had traveled twice to China on Naval vessels, had signed on a twin-masted schooner plying the Chinese coast, and had organized a five-thousand-mile expedition aboard a four-masted schooner. He had first-hand experience of the violence of the sea—and of the men who ply it—as he depicts in Sea Fangs. “A must for his legions of fans and an impressive tribute to his storytelling skills.” —The Midwest
As daring and defiant as Kirk Douglas journeying 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, there's no stopping diver Hawk Ridley as he takes the plunge into a briny world of untold riches and danger. The Caribbean is a fortune hunter's dream, salted with the gold of galleons long ago claimed by the deep. Now Hawk's headed for the Windward Passage of Haiti to stake his claim. But a rival team has also picked up the scent, and they're willing to turn the sea red with blood to get to the gold first. Fighting off ruthless competitors is nothing new to Hawk...but fighting off a beautiful woman is a different story. Is she an innocent stowaway or a seductive saboteur? Between the cool millions lying on the bottom of the ocean, and the boiling-hot race to grab it, Hawk's about to find the answer and make a discovery Twenty Fathoms Down that will blow you out of the water. When it came to research, Hubbard was not one to head for the library. He always went to the source--in this case a U.S. Navy deep-sea diver who agreed to show him the ropes and the danger. Hubbard admits it was daunting--even frightening--but he returned from the experience with all the first-hand knowledge he needed to fathom the true nature of life and death underwater. "Primo Pulp Fiction." -- Booklist
Cast Spencer Tracy as Speed Kyle, master-builder of the hottest, fastest planes around. Then give the role of Cal Bradley, daredevil test pilot who pushes those planes to the limit, to a young hotshot like Tony Curtis. Add Grace Kelly as Speed's blond bombshell daughter who fears that Cal will go too far--and you've got a winner. And as far as Speed and Cal are concerned, winning is everything. Speed's company is bleeding cash, and they need money quick. They're competing in the upcoming National Air Meet, and to the victor goes the spoils--some extremely lucrative contracts. But there's sabotage in the air and love on the ground--and together they make a very volatile mix. If you love fast planes, fast action and unforgettable women, grab onto Hurtling Wings and hold on for dear life. As a barnstorming pilot in the early days of aviation, Hubbard was dubbed "Flash" Hubbard by the aviation magazines of the day. He covered air meets and the latest developments in aviation, advising pilots on flying in adverse conditions. His unique and pioneering insight of flight streaks across the page in novels like Hurtling Wings.
Vic Kennedy is in one hell of a jam. Quick-witted and sharp-tongued with Nicholas Cage’s maverick sense of adventure, Vic’s flown out of trouble by the skin of his teeth … and straight into the jaws of disaster. He chose the wrong side of a rebellion, and now the French have bid him adieu and the British have said off you go. It seems the only place that will have him is Greece. The problem with that is, as soon as the Greeks get him, they plan on giving him a real send off—at the gallows. But Vic has a better idea, plotting a course for an oasis in the Sahara … where things are looking up. A gorgeous captive princess mistakes Vic for a genie—The Sky Devil—and if he gets his wish, well, this Sky Devil will certainly have his day. If he lives to see it.…. In 1933, when L. Ron Hubbard began his professional writing career, he entered a crowded and competitive field. But he very quickly separated from the pack, making a name for himself as a writer who was both good and fast. So good and fast, in fact, that in 1935 the three stories included in this volume were all published in the same issue of an all-fiction magazine. Fully a quarter of the issue had been written by Hubbard—though readers didn’t know it, two of the stories appearing under two different pseudonyms. Also includes the adventures Buckley Plays a Hunch , in which an adventurer seeks to solve the mystery of three castaways who refuse to be rescued, and Medals for Mahoney , the story of man who journeys into the heart of darkness to thwart a murderous conspiracy.
They don't call him Caution Jones for nothing. An ace pilot, ever since his barnstorming father was killed in an air stunt, Jones has stuck strictly to business—as the no-nonsense general manager of Trans-Continental Airlines. But, like Robert Redford in The Great Waldo Pepper, he's about to find that, sometimes, if you want to get anywhere, you have to throw caution to the wind. The race is on for a monster contract: the U.S. Postal Service. But to get it, Trans-Continental will have to circle the globe and beat its top competitor to the prize. And there's only one pilot with the skill to do it: Caution Jones. He'll have to dust off his wings and soar to heights even his father never dreamed of. The wild blue yonder has never been wilder as Jones discovers that the competition will go to any length to bring his plane down. But an even greater challenge sits in his own cockpit—his co-pilot. She's blonde, she's brazen, and she just might get Caution Jones to take the biggest risk of all. . . . L. Ron Hubbard, the pilot, was a sensation in his flying days. As an article in the July 1934 issue of The Pilot magazine said, "Wherever two or three pilots are gathered together around the Nation's Capital, whether it be a Congressional hearing, or just in the back of some hangar, you'll probably hear the name of Ron Hubbard mentioned . . . for the flaming haired pilot hit the city like a tornado a few years ago and made women scream and strong men weep by his aerial antics. He just dared the ground to come up and hit him." And straight from the cockpit to the typewriter, Hubbard brought all the thrills and chills of his flight experience to his stories. Includes the aviation adventure Boomerang Bomber, in which a former U.S. Army officer undertakes a mission for the Chinese only to end up in the crosshairs of Japan's Imperial military. In a world of double- and triple-crosses, this is one conflict that can only be settled in battle . . . in the sky. “Wild adventure.” —The Midwest Book Review
Stop the presses! One hundred thousand dollar reward offered for the return of George Harley Rockham! That’s more than enough to turn Shanghai newspaperman Jimmy Vance’s head. Throw in the gorgeous dame who’s offering the reward—Rockham’s daughter Virginia—and he might lose his head altogether. As fast-talking as Jimmy Stewart in The Philadelphia Story, Vance jumps at the chance . . . the money . . . and the girl. But as Jimmy quickly discovers, there are several billion reasons to watch his back. Because that’s how much Rockham is worth, and there are some very hard cases out there willing to kill to separate the old man from his money. Next thing Jimmy knows, Virginia’s tied to a chair, and he’s got a couple of guns pointed at his head. But it’ll take more than a little rope and a couple of firearms to keep this reporter down. The truth is tied to the mysterious fate of a steamship named Shanung—and what Jimmy finds could be the biggest story of his life . . . if he lives to tell it. In the issue of Smashing Novels where this story first appeared the editor wrote: “Loot of the Shanung is a soul-stirring tale of the China Sea, a story of modern piracy set in the Far East. L. Ron Hubbard wrote it. He knows China. He has been there. He traveled through the country and met the people and observed their customs. Smashing Novels will have other stories from him—stories of far-off places and little known people. He knows of what he writes.”
A charming rogue cut from the same cloth as Robert Mitchum, American engineer Dan Courtney is learning fast that it takes more than a little charm to lay the groundwork for a railroad. Particularly when the plan is to build it across some of the roughest and most dangerous territory on earth. Courtney’s been hired to survey the land that would link up the Uganda Railway to the Anglo-Egyptian railroad. Running through desert, jungle and mountains, this is one line—and story—with more twists and turns than the New York City subway system. Diamond smugglers. A fearsome native tribe. A beautiful young American woman . . . and a man determined to kill her. Put them all together and you’ve got a world where All Frontiers Are Jealous. It’s up to Courtney to tame those frontiers—take on the tribe, save the woman, and save the future of the railroad . . . before his blood ends up on the tracks. L. Ron Hubbard based this story on the real-life history of the countless harrowing attempts in the late 19th and early 20th century to link up the two railroads. An experienced civil engineer and surveyor himself, Hubbard had worked in rough and dangerous terrain as part of the West Indies Mineralogical Expedition. All Frontiers Are Jealous may be a work of fiction, but as far as Hubbard was concerned, in his own life, the adventure couldn’t have been more real. “Terrific from beginning to end.” —Midwest Book Review
Lucky Martin is a daredevil of the skies—a test pilot who lives to break the rules and push the envelope. Sound like a perfect role for Errol Flynn? It did to Hollywood, as Flynn was cast in the movie of the same name. Lucky’s a trailblazer—flying higher and faster than any pilot out there. His latest invention could change the face of air warfare and alter the balance of world power. It’s The Dive Bomber—a perfectly designed aircraft for the U.S. Navy. There’s only one problem—up to now every test flight has ended in disaster. The reason: sabotage.America’s enemies will go to any length to get their hands on his design—from savage attacks to kidnapping his fiancée. Lucky’ll have to push his luck to the very limit to save his plane, save his girl . . . and save his country. As a barnstorming pilot in the early days of aviation, Hubbard was dubbed “Flash” Hubbard by the aviation magazines of the day. Expanding his knowledge even more, he visited Boeing in Seattle where the president and chief engineer gave him an inside look at their test pilot program. His unique and pioneering insight of flight streaks across the page in novels like The Dive Bomber. “Hubbard grounds his cliffhanger adventure firmly in aeronautical details that make it thrilling.” —Publishers Weekly
Fighter pilot Gary Forsythe is a man on fire. He’s tough, steely-eyed, hunted by many and feared by all. He’s British Secret Service—a striking predecessor to James Bond—with a chip on his shoulder and a .50 caliber machinegun in his flying killing machine. He is The Devil—With Wings. The Japanese have invaded Manchuria, and Forsythe has made it his mission to stop them. Japanese Military Intelligence has made it their mission to knock the Devil out of the skies. But a dogfight with the Imperial Japanese Air Force is child’s play compared to the challenge that awaits him…. Her name is Patricia Weston. Japanese spies have falsely accused the British pilot of murdering her brother—and now she wants vengeance. And for once in his life, Forsythe is disarmed—by his love for a woman who has vowed to kill him. As a young man, Hubbard visited Manchuria, where his closest friend headed up British intelligence in northern China. Hubbard gained a unique insight into the intelligence operations and spy-craft in the region as well as the hostile political climate between China and Japan—a knowledge that informs stories like The Devil—With Wings. “A rousing…adventure thriller…fast action.” —Publishers Weekly
The Japanese military has turned the once-thriving Chinese city of Nencheng into a reeking pile of blood and ash. And now the Japanese Rising Sun threatens to scorch the ancient—and oil-rich—Kingdom of the Silver Lake. Can the Chinese survive the onslaught? Do they have a prayer? The answer is about to fall out of the sky. He is The Falcon Killer. China's ace fighter pilot and scourge of the Japanese air force, he is, in fact, Bill Gaylord, an American orphaned and self-reliant—a man without a country and without fear. Like William Holden, he's the guy every man wants to be … and every woman wants to be with. Shot down over Nencheng, Gaylord parachutes into the arms of the one woman who can give him reason to live … and to rejoin the fight against Japan—as he squares off against their top spy. His prey is in his sights, and catching it will change everything … for The Falcon Killer. As a young man, Hubbard visited Manchuria, where his closest friend headed up British intelligence in northern China. Hubbard gained a unique insight into the intelligence operations and spy-craft in the region as well as the hostile political climate between China and Japan—a knowledge that informs stories like The Falcon Killer.
There are all kinds of crazy, but there’s only one Yukon Madness. And Royal Mountie Tommy McKenna—a role made for Canadian-born Glenn Ford—has seen first-hand the terror that follows in its wake … his partner murdered and fed to a pack of wolves. But that’s only a taste of the horrors to come. Bent on revenge, McKenna sets out to find the madman himself—a monster who goes by the name Itauk. He quickly finds, however, that there’s only one way to get to the beast—through the man’s raven-haired beauty of a girlfriend, Raja. But whose side is Raja on? Can McKenna win her over? Or will he too end up dead meat? The bait has been cast, the scent has been taken, and the trap has been set. The only question is, who is the predator and who is the prey? Hubbard never wrote a word, conceived a character, or described a setting without first finding out all he could about the people and places that drove his stories. He wrote: “I began to search for research on the theory that if I could get a glimmering of anything lying beyond a certain horizon, I could go deep enough to find an excellent story ... I began to read exhaustively … I wanted information and nothing else.” His exhaustive research—and search for the excellent story comes through in this book three times over. Also includes the adventures The Cossack which takes place in revolutionary Russia and explores the high price one man pays for refusing to kiss a Duchess, and The Small Boss of Nunaloha, the exotic story of a man who may be short, but who stands tall when it comes to defending his turf—an island in the Pacific.
Is Greed good? The future of Earth and all of mankind may hang on that one question. And George Marquis Lorrilard—a space age ace-pilot, adventurer and fortune-hunter to rival Hans Solo of Star Wars—is just the man to answer it. The world is divided between Asia and the United Continents—two great super powers locked in eternal warfare. But the balance of power is about to shift in Asia’s favor. They have developed a top-secret weapon—the cohesion projector–that could lead to annihilation on an unprecedented scale.… But as far as Lorrilard is concerned, the number one problem with the projector is that it stands in the way of his profits. Can he find a way to subvert the powerful weapon and resume his enterprising exploits through leadership and self deception? For millions of people on Earth survival may ultimately depend on the power of one man’s need speed and Greed. Greed was the last L. Ron Hubbard story published in Astounding Science Fiction in April 1950, marking the end of an era. Over a decade before, he had been a key figure in the opening of the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Now, as he turned his attention to other writings, the Golden Age drew to a close. But some three decades after this story appeared, Hubbard would make a triumphant return to the field with the publication of his bestselling novel Battlefield Earth and the extraordinary ten-volume series Mission Earth. Also includes the science fiction adventures, The Final Enemy, in which Earth discovers it faces a distant, yet devastating new foe, the identity of which is the most shocking blow of all, and The Automagic Horse, the story of a Hollywood special effects wizard who is about to apply his movie magic to a project that is out of this world. “A wonderfully rich and textured experience, complete with realistic sound effects and moody atmospheric music.” —Publishers Weekly Listen Up Award winner for 2008 New York Times Bestselling Author L. Ron Hubbard Fiction Book
If you love Star Trek, you will love Ole Doc Methuselah. He’s renowned throughout the universe, a star among stars. . . Ole Doc Methuselah is his name, and saving the universe is his game. He journeys with his bag of tricks to the far corners of the cosmos, cutting out the corruption and cruelty, and containing the warped psychology plaguing mankind. So if you’re looking for an adventure to remember, this is just what the doctor ordered. “Classic adventures by a classic writer.” —Roger Zelazny
This book is a collection of a series of seventeen adventure stories which first appeared in Argosy magazine over forty years ago. Each of these stories is based on one of the hazardous occupations Mr. Hubbard had experienced at one time or another. The slang and terminology employed by the people in these professions is used in the stories to give a more authentic feel for the reader.
U.S. Navy Lieutenant Steve Craig is in one hell of a mess. Being accused of murder is bad enough, but the local police are convinced he’s killed his own father. Alfred Hitchcock couldn’t have conceived a more diabolical plot for Cary Grant … and now, for Steve Craig, the plot is about to get down and dirty. Steve’s safe from the cops as long as he stays aboard his Navy ship—but the word safe isn’t in his vocabulary. He slips off the vessel and vanishes into the seamy underside of the city, determined to find out who took his father’s life … even if it means risking his own. He follows a trail of smoke and mirrors and sudden violence to the Brass Keys to Murder. With them, Steve will seek to unlock the terrible truth behind his father’s death … and an astonishing secret that will change his life—and that of the woman he loves forever. Ron knew well the life at sea and the world surrounding it. Not only was he the son of a naval officer, he traveled back and forth across the Pacific, plied the China coast in a working schooner and commanded an expedition aboard a four-masted ship to the Caribbean. He walked the waterfronts of countless ports, sharing stories with the colorful—and often shady—characters inhabiting them. Originally published in April 1935 under the pen name Michael Keith, Brass Keys to Murder is a direct result of those adventures.
Star Trek’s Captain Kirk has a kindred soul in Lars the Ranger, a commander of his own star fleet. But whereas Kirk’s mission is to boldly go where no man has gone before, Lars is boldly going where other men are—in a desperate attempt to save his home planet … Earth. He’s not exploring the final frontier. He is our last hope. Earth is way past global warming. It’s totally fried—an environmental disaster—and most of its inhabitants have cut out for greener pastures, colonizing distant worlds. Lars leads an expedition across the galaxy to visit those worlds in hopes that he return with the resources needed to bring Earth back from the brink of extinction. But Lars has apparently failed. A mammoth fleet of mysterious starships are descending on the third planet from the sun. Is Earth history? Yes … and that may just be its saving grace. By the spring of 1938, Hubbard’s stature as a writer was well established. As author and critic Robert Silverberg puts it: he had become a “master of the art of narrative.” Hubbard’s editors urged him to apply his gift for succinct characterization, original plot, deft pacing and imaginative action to a genre that was new, and essentially foreign, to him—science fiction and fantasy. The rest is SciFi history. Also includes the science fiction adventures, Battling Bolto , the story of a giant, con man who’s running an interstellar scam, while the biggest trick of all lies right under his nose; and Tough Old Man , in which an aging constable’s lack of feelings is not a matter of insensitivity, but of a secret—and surprising—side of his character.
If Lars Marlin had three wishes, two have already been granted: he has escaped from Devil’s Island … and he has come face to face with the man who put him there—Paco Corvino. But the third wish—putting a bullet in Corvino—will have to wait. They’re off to sea, and not since Fletcher Christian and Captain Bligh set sail on the Bounty have two more heated enemies been in the same boat. Corvino is a convict, con-man and killer who has schemed his way into a position as chief steward on a luxury yacht sailing out of Rio de Janeiro. And, in a twist as devious as it is diabolical, he’s managed to install Lars—his hated rival—as captain of the very same vessel. And there are even darker twists to come.… Lars is determined to find out what Corvino has up his sleeve … and what killer cargo he’s hiding on board. But the yacht owner’s daughter proves to be a beautiful—and dangerous—distraction. Will Lars be safe in her arms … or is she part of Corvino’s plot—a deadly trap set with honey? Like several leading writers of the day, L. Ron Hubbard was invited to Hollywood to write scripts, where his superior talent and productivity attracted numerous lucrative offers from the studios. But, as he wrote in a letter to the editor of Argosy magazine in August 1937: “I love to tie a yarn and try to make it blaze in print. The mags will never lose me to the movies. Never, at any salary!” And as Argosy gleefully responded in its pages: “Next to exorcise the Hollywood virus from his veins was L. Ron Hubbard … he has set to work to give Argosy some more of his rousing yarns. The first, ‘Cargo of Coffins,’ is due to appear in the November 13th issue, and a serial is likely to follow.”
Primed for promotion to the World-Journal city editor, grizzled senior reporter Pop is stunned when it's announced that young Leonard Caulborn, the publisher's son-in-law, will get the post. Worse, the lad wants him out. In protest, Pop demands to be given a beat again and gets his wish. . . only now he's got just two days to find the ''''real'''' story about a dead-end assignment a month-old physics lecture or be fired. When Pop starts searching for the story's source, a professor named Pertwee, he lands in the middle of the story of a century after the Empire State Building, Grant's Tomb and Grand Central Station all disappear. Apparently, Pertwee's the mastermind behind it all. But Pop soon discovers that, instead of inventing a new way to blow things up, the professor may be doing quite the opposite.
After Billy Newman strikes gold while mining in the Phillipines, he believes Lady Luck favors him so much that he buys his own South Seas island for a bargain price . . . or so he thinks. But when the natives fall ill from plague and crops start failing, the tribal chiefs blame Billy for angering the local god Tadamona. Their solution: sacrifice a beautiful young girl before the 75-foot god. Appalled, Billy argues to stop the ritual, but the chiefs demand he cure their ills in just one day or allow the killing to go forward. Desperate, he denies that the deity even exists and dares Tadamona to show himself. Not only does Billy get his wish, he draws a beastly wrath upon the entire island.
Step back in time with this riveting tale. Colorful daredevil air racer Smoke Burnham is known not only for his ability to cross the finish line ahead of the pack, but also for his unusual flying companion, a pet cheetah named Patty. On the eve of entering an international air race to win much - needed prize money, Smoke and Patty face the usual and the impossible. The race involves a dangerous, grueling flight down Central America, over the Andes and across the Brazilian jungle - that's typical. The real challenge is that a publicity - hungry newspaper mogul is trying to sabotage Smoke's plane, the ''Super - Comet,'' and make sure that this race is his last. Plus, the beautiful woman he loves resents his supposed infatuation with height and speed. Now Smoke must somehow win her over, against lethal odds piled high in the turbulent sky. ''...primo pulp fiction...'' - Booklist
Step back in time with this thrilling tale. Bat Conroy of World Press is the best news correspondent covering the Japanese invasion of China. But now it's his legendary reputation of getting the story first that's under serious attack. No matter how fast he files his war pieces, Bat ends up being scooped by Perry Lane of International Service, a reporter he's never seen near the fighting (or anywhere, for that matter). When the biggest story of the war comes Bat's way, he's given an ultimatum: outwit Lane and somehow get his story in first or be blackballed from ever working as a reporter again. Before his boss can fire him, Bat sets out to track down his enterprising competitor, little knowing that the real identity of the mysterious newshound is uncomfortably close to home! ''Riveting cliff - hanger action.'' - Midwest Book Review
Riveting, historical accounts of daredevils, pilots and brutal madmen... Tom Bristol's career as first mate of the Maryland bark Randolph abruptly ends during shore leave when he is press - ganged into serving aboard the British HMS Terror. Toil under the cruel whip of England is Crew members are treated as little more than cha...
A blind obsession. A driving ambition. A relentless, unrestrained, single-minded pursuit of a shiny metal. These are the symptoms of a condition known as gold fever, and, like Bogart in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, American mining engineer Captain Humbert Reynolds has got it bad. Possible side effects include: temporary insanity, a propensity for violence, and death. The search for gold has taken Reynolds from the ruins of the Yucatan to the mountains of Ecuador to the wilderness of northern Canada. Now, his search for a yellow brick bonanza has brought him halfway around the world, to the Gobi desert. But the lure of the precious metal is about to lead Reynolds into a Golden Hell, as he plunges into an inferno--a mountain of horrors run by an unspeakably evil gang. And if he doesn't find a way out, a path to redemption, he may find that instead of snatching the ultimate prize he will have to pay the ultimate price. In 1927 Hubbard served aboard a schooner sailing across the South Pacific bound for the coast of China. Making his way inland, he ventured deep into forbidden Buddhist lamaseries, shopped at the Thieves Market, made camp with Mongolian bandits, and witnessed the trade in stolen Chinese treasures. Drawing on those experiences as well as his time as a gold prospector, Hubbard infuses Golden Hell with extraordinary historical authenticity. Also includes the adventure "Pearl Pirate," a story of betrayal and deceit in which an American captain loses his ship to a money-lender, and the only way to get it back is to outfight and outfox a ruthless pirate and bring home a fortune in black pearls.
Things are disappearing. Parts of buildings, parts of people, parts of the whole world—they’re here today, gone tomorrow. Old Shellback—a character as crazy-smart as Christopher Lloyd in Back to the Future —thinks he needs glasses. But all he really has to do is open his eyes …and see the light. Or so says George Smiley—otherwise known as the Messiah. George claims that the reason things are vanishing is because he wants them to go away. He has no more use for the world … and so it goes. Say goodbye. But Old Shellback has a different idea, and since he is the most stubborn man in the universe, you might want to hear him out. What’s Shellback’s idea? That two can play at this game. While George is making this world disappear, Old Shellback will make another one appear. Join him on an amazing odyssey—as he heads back to a future of his own making. By the spring of 1938, Hubbard’s stature as a writer was well established. As author and critic Robert Silverberg puts it: he had become a “master of the art of narrative.” Hubbard’s editors urged him to apply his gift for succinct characterization, original plot, deft pacing and imaginative action to a genre that was new, and essentially foreign, to him—science fiction and fantasy. The rest is Sci-Fi history. Also includes the Science Fiction adventures “A Can of Vacuum,” in which a practical joke on a space station proves that a good sense of humor is timeless, and “240,000 Miles Straight Up,” the thrilling story of a race to the moon … and the one man who may be able to save the earth from Armageddon.
Soldier, adventurer, and man of the world--with a touch of con man thrown in for good measure--Phil Sheridan is a perfect role for a young Steve McQueen. But Sheridan's world-wandering ways may soon come to a very abrupt--and violent--end . . . on the long-forgotten Indonesian island of Kamling. Falling into the hands of a bloodthirsty tribe led by the notorious slave trader known as Portuguese Joe, Sheridan discovers that there's not enough room on the island for the two of them. And Portuguese Joe has the perfect solution: dispatch Sheridan to another world . . . with the help of a firing squad. But Sheridan has other plans. The island is home to a hidden fortune in gold--and a gold miner's beautiful daughter--and he means to get his hands on both of them. If he can avoid the exotic dangers lurking at every turn . . . By the age of eighteen Hubbard had already traveled via steamboat to the Far East and served as a helmsman on a twin-masted schooner off the coast of China. On those voyages he had the opportunity to explore and investigate life on the islands of the South Pacific. His insights into the people and culture gained on those journeys inform stories like Destiny's Drum.
When it comes to big dreams and schemes, young Chuck Lambert would give Walter Mitty a run for his money. In fact, Chuck’s biggest dream of all is really out of this world. Because he’s got his eyes on a prize in the sky. Chuck wants to buy a planet of his own.… Madman Murphy, the King of Planetary Realtors, is more than happy to oblige. He’s got a whole galaxy of planets for sale. All Chuck needs is money … and a lot of it. Eleven years later, saving every penny he can scrape up, Chuck’s dream comes true. He takes possession and takes off for Planet 19453X.… One problem: Madman Murphy has sold Chuck a world of trouble. Because on Planet 19453X the water is undrinkable, the air is unbreathable, and the laws of physics don’t apply. Has Chuck’s dream turned into a nightmare? Not quite. As he’s about to discover, sometimes, to fulfill your true desire, it’s simply a matter of digging a little deeper.… By the time A Matter of Matter appeared in 1949, L. Ron Hubbard’s stature as a writer was well established. As author and critic Robert Silverberg puts it: he had become a “master of the art of narrative.” Hubbard’s editors urged him to apply his gift for succinct characterization, original plot, deft pacing and imaginative action to the genre of science fiction and fantasy. The rest is Sci-Fi history. Also includes the science fiction adventures, “The Conroy Diary,” in which the man who opens up the universe to mankind also opens himself to charges of fraud and tax evasion; The “Obsolete Weapon”, the story of an American GI involved in the 1943 invasion of Italy who slips back in time and finds himself fighting a different kind of battle—as a gladiator in ancient Rome; and “The Planet Makers”, in which a great deal is at stake for the engineers who make planets habitable, but one of them has a surprising plan all his own. “… this is a real corker, pulp fiction at its most entertaining.” —Booklist * An International Book Awards Finalist
An obscure original manuscript of Marco Polo’s travels . . . A tantalizing clue to the site of Kublai Khan’s fabled burial site . . . A chance to unearth the truth behind a long-lost treasure. It’s an opportunity that would make Indiana Jones drop everything but his whip and race off to China. But he’d be too late. Lieutenant Jonathan Daly is way ahead of him. Two bullet holes and a bad case of malaria may not be enough to stop Daly, but a crew of criminals, a brood of British agents, and the entire Chinese army are all in the game . . . and determined to keep him out of it. The stakes are too high, and the potential rewards too great, though, to let a little treachery, betrayal and human sacrifice stand in Daly’s way. He’s hot on The Trail of the Red Diamonds—a cache of exceedingly rare gems that were meant to light the way to heaven as an offering to the gods. A tomb holding the lost treasure of Kublia Khan And only God knows if Daly will manage to dig up the diamonds . . . or end up buried with them. It was on Hubbard’s second journey to East Asia that he met British Secret Service agent, Major Ian MacBean, who introduced him to a world of deception and conspiracy in the region. He also learned of the thriving—and dangerous—trade in stolen Chinese treasures. As if to underscore the authenticity of The Trail of the Red Diamonds—Hubbard published the story under the byline Lieutenant Jonathan Daly, the hero of the piece. Also includes the rousing adventure Hurricane’s Roar , the story of an American pilot in Mongolia who whips up a storm of death-defying air battles . . . in the search for peace.
American David Duane long ago gave up his dream of being a professional artist. Instead, there's something else he's good at, something that countries will pay good money for-his services as an ace fighter pilot on sale to any country whose business is war, regardless of its politics.Duane's cold-edged neutrality takes him to Finland-combating Russian Communists bent on destroying a supply base. After leading multiple attacks against the Russians and pushing them further and further back, his luck runs out when his plane is shot down. Instead of crashing in flames, Duane finds himself in an elusive netherworld-a mystery-enshrouded city of luxury and golden minarets. There, Duane discovers his true destiny, one that he half-remembers but must struggle to reject in order to save the woman he loves-a woman who happens to be an officer . . . in the Russian ranks.
Action packed and captivating tale. Captain Gordon is hired to fly a team of American anthropologists to an arid mountain region now part of Pakistan bordering the Arabian Sea. All goes well until an ancient map is discovered in an old pottery jar, revealing the site of a vast treasure that Alexander the Great was bringing to Greece from his conquest of India. More than 10,000 of Alexander's soldiers and camp followers lay buried in the high desert plains along with the loot of India - hidden in a tomb never to be reclaimed.With the map's discovery, all academic pretense is dropped. Now Gordon finds himself caught in the middle of the expedition where murder replaces scholarship as the best method to uncover the valuable hoard. ALSO INCLUDES THE ADVENTURE STORIES ''PRICE OF A HAT'' AND ''STARCH AND STRIPES''. ''An adventure story written in the great style adventures should be written in.'' - Clive Cussler
A triumphant tale of heroes, honor and impossible odds. On the trail of dope runners on the high seas, Coast Guard CPO Johnny Trescott receives an SOS from a transport plane that's crashed and sinking. With lives at stake, Johnny must cut off his pursuit and rescue the downed plane.Unfortunately, the dope - smuggling pirate he's chasing hears the same alarm, and greets Johnny and his crew at the crash scene with something far more than they bargained for. ''This is a rip - roaring, old - fashioned adventure like the kind they don't make any more. A blast for Hubbard fans and pulp fiction lovers.'' - Library Journal
Penniless, homeless and virtually lifeless, the vagrant “Doughface” Jack is about to discover that where medical marvels meet the mysteries of the human mind, amazing things happen. Like one of the comic book X-Men mutants, The Tramp acquires a capability beyond his imagination and without equal on Earth. Riding the rails, Jack runs afoul of a local sheriff and ends up with a crushed skull. He’s as good as dead until a savvy country doctor performs a bit of medical magic. Jack wakes up to find that his brain has been drastically altered. He has the power to save lives—and destroy them—with a single glance. Will Jack use his astounding power for good … or for evil? His journey of discovery takes him to New York and into the arms of a woman, who has a plan of her own. Together they’re bound for Washington, D.C., and a psychic adventure that could change the shape of history. The Tramp was originally serialized in 1938 in three issues of Astounding Science Fiction. Its respected editor, John W. Campbell, wrote: “Hubbard is a very highly experienced writer, an author with a tremendous background of writing in every field. He’s one of the few professional writers I know of who gets a genuine kick out of the story he’s writing. In The Tramp, the suspense is intensified step by step, because every step points the same way. There are no backward slips, no scattered accidents that tend in any direction other than the one toward which Hubbard is driving.” “...a series not to be missed by any true pulp-fiction fan.” —Comics Buyers Guide
When it comes to flying gliders, ace pilot Breeze Callaghan is as smooth as they come. He perfects a skill that will prove vitally important for decades to come—even into the jet age, as demonstrated by Captain Sully Sullenberger, who famously landed his disabled passenger plane on the Hudson River. Sully’s jet was brought down by a flock of geese, while Breeze is going up against a vulture named Badger O’Dowell. Both pilots are vying for a Navy contract, and Badger would love to shoot the Breeze … literally. Short of that he’ll do everything he can to sabotage Breeze in flight. It’s game on, and as Breeze is about to discover, Badger’s an expert at playing dirty. And there’s much more than money at stake: there’s his reputation, his life, and his love of a beautiful woman. A storm is brewing, and as for danger, the sky’s the limit when Sky Birds Dare! During his undergraduate days, L. Ron Hubbard served as the president of the George Washington Glider Club. He held numerous records for sustained powerless flight and was renowned for his wild aerial antics that, according to an eyewitness, “made women scream and strong men weep.” In short, there wasn’t a single flying feat in Sky Birds Dare! that Hubbard himself hadn’t dared to do on his own. “Highly recommended for aviation action/adventure pulp fiction fans.” —Midwest Book Review
It is one of the greatest conflicts—and a pivotal turning point—in history…the Chinese civil war. On one side stands Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalists. On the other, Mao Zedong and the Communists. And their forces are about to meet in a decisive battle…the outcome of which is in the hands of one American pilot, John Hampton, a man who, like Bogart in Casablanca, couldn’t care less… He’s a mercenary, flying for the highest bidder, his only loyalty to himself and to cold hard cash. He has nothing to believe in, and nothing to lose. But just as this is a critical moment in history, so, too, is it about to become a defining moment in Hampton’s life. What is the extraordinary experience that has the power to penetrate Hampton’s armor of cynicism and touch his heart? What is it that makes him see that there are things, other than money, that are worth fighting—and maybe even dying—for? The surprising answers spur him to undertake the ultimate mission in Red Death Over China. Hubbard experienced China in the 1930s in a way few Westerners did. Traveling from the ports of the China Sea to Beijing to the Great Wall and onto the hills of Southern Manchuria, he came to know the land and its people—soldiers, spies, outlaws, and monks—as well as any American could. It is that background that shines through in stories like Red Death Over China. Also includes the flying adventures The Crate Killer, in which a test pilot uses up his nine lives parachuting nine times from crumbling planes, only to discover that his tenth flight presents the biggest challenge of all; and Wings Over Ethiopia, the story of a pilot captured and accused of being a spy by both sides in a war—and his only means of escape is through the lens of a camera. “Highly recommended for aviation action/adventure pulp fiction.” —Midwest Book Review
Flying into action, daredevil photojournalist Johnny Brice is always looking for trouble . . . and more often than not, finding it. But he doesn’t know what real trouble is until he rescues the beautiful woman he calls Jinx from a sinking ship. Like Bogie and Bacall, they’re made for each other—even if they are a dangerous mix. Get the picture? Well, Johnny always does. The problem is, with Jinx now in the picture, all his photo-scoops are going down the drain—losing his film to water, fire or war. And it all comes to a head on assignment in China, when the Japanese shoot his plane down and take Jinx and Johnny prisoner. Their lives at risk, it’s time for Johnny to get the real story about the lady. Is she really a jinx . . . or something even more sinister? In an adventure full of surprising discoveries, getting at the truth leads to the most shocking twist of all. L. Ron Hubbard had first-hand experience of flying high with Trouble on His Wings. As a young aviator, he loved to tempt danger. One journalist wrote: “The flaming-haired pilot hit the city like a tornado a few years ago. . . . He just dared the ground to come up and hit him.” The knowledge and insight he gained during those flights is clearly evident in his aerial adventure stories. “Very dramatic, colorful locales, fascinating characters, with fascinating histories.” —Tim Powers
American Ann Halliday is as sexy as Rita Hayworth and as fiery as the Sahara sun. And now she's feeling some real heat, as the prize captive of the Berber leader Abd el Malek . . . also known as "The Killer." But Abd el Malek wants Ann alive--and in chains--subject to his every whim and fantasy. Dusty Colton, however, an American deserter from the French Foreign Legion, has a different idea. With all the swagger of Robert Mitchum, he's determined to give "The Killer" a taste of his own bloody medicine. The only problem is . . . Dusty himself is wanted for murder. Can Ann and Dusty team up and turn evil on its head? One thing's for sure--between Ann and the Hell's Legionnaire, the temperature is about to get even hotter. On the subject of North Africa, Hubbard said that writers too often "forget a great deal of the languorous quality which made the Arabian Nights so pleasing. Jewels, beautiful women, towering cities filled with mysterious shadows, sultans equally handy with robes of honor and the beheading sword." Hubbard brings this unique insight to his stories of North Africa and the Legionnaires, investing them with an authenticity of time, place and character that will keep you asking for more. Also includes the adventure stories, The Barbarians, in which a Legionnaire sets out to avenge a savage killing and makes a stunning discovery, and The Squad That Never Came Back, the story of a man who has uncovered the secret to a city of gold--a secret that could turn into a death sentence. "Action-packed . . . standout . . . hard-core graphic." --Library Journal
Han Solo of Star Wars could learn a thing or two from Firsten Guide, the tough, wise-cracking rebel leader who’s light years ahead of his time—and about to lead his crew into a battle that’s Beyond All Weapons. Because the force is most assuredly with Firsten. He and his fellow colonizers of Mars have faced a brutal crackdown engineered by Earth’s tyrannical government. But the resourceful Firsten has developed an extraordinary new fuel that enables him and his hardy band to escape into space—and time. Escape, however, is not enough. Firsten wants revenge. But the universe is full of unexpected twists and turns. Just as Prometheus flew too close to the sun, Firsten will soon discover that when you break the laws of physics, you can get burned. Hubbard was a pioneer in his use and development of Einstein’s theories of space and time as a plot point in his fiction. In Beyond All Weapons, he explains: “As mass approaches the speed of light … it approaches infinity. And, as mass approaches infinity, time approaches zero. It was only nine days back from Alpha. But in those nine days, six thousand years have passed by Earth.” It stands as one of the earliest—and most succinct—descriptions of the theory. Also includes the science fiction adventures Strain, the story of a space war’s brutality and one man’s struggle to keep a secret under the pain of torture, and The Invaders, in which the distant crystal mines are under attack until a technician crystallizes a unique strategy to undermine the attackers. “A thrilling space adventure … the terror and excitement builds through to the end.” —Publishers Weekly
Imagine that your father is one of New York City’s top gangsters, and that you want nothing to do with him or his criminal empire. Now imagine he’s been murdered . . . and the only person who gives a damn is you. Meet Mat Lawrence, a stand-up guy—think Gary Cooper—who’s got one thing on his mind: revenge. The last place Mat wants to go is back to New York, but that’s where the killers are, and he won’t stop until they’re dead . . . or he is. And there’s only one man who can help him track them down: his father’s criminal attorney—the Mouthpiece. But there’s more than a desire for revenge at play in this deadly game. When Mat’s old man went down, a million dollars went missing. Put it all together—a cold-blooded murder and a cool million gone—and it’s a pretty good bet that the one thing Mat is sure to find is some serious heat. Mouthpiece was originally published in the September, 1934, edition of Thrilling Detective. That same year, as the youngest writer ever to serve as president of the New York Chapter of the American Fiction Guild, L. Ron Hubbard sought to promote greater accuracy in the writing of detective and mystery stories. To that end he invited the coroner to speak to the Guild members over lunch. He later recounted that “they would go away from the luncheon the weirdest shade of green.” But, we can assume, they also went away better informed. Years later, expanding his studies in the area, Hubbard became a special officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. Also includes the tales of mystery, Flame City, the story of one man’s harrowing attempt to save his father and the city from a serial arsonist; Calling Squad Cars!, in which a police dispatcher goes to extraordinary lengths to bring down a gang of bank robbers after he is accused of working with them; and Grease Spot, the story of a former racecar driver, now the owner of a wrecking company, who plays fast and loose with the police . . . and may have to pay for it. * A Publishers Weekly Listen Up Award Winner
Insurance investigator Brent Calloway may be too hard-boiled to crack a smile, but he’ll go to any length to crack a case. As tough, terse and tireless as insurance man Edward G. Robinson in Double Indemnity, Calloway’s about to go to extremes to see to it that one ship makes it safely from Hawaii to the mainland. Going undercover and posing as ruthless killer Spike O’Brien, Calloway quickly discovers that on this ship nothing is what it seems, and no one can be trusted. With so much insurance money at stake, and the whole crew apparently in on the scam, this could end up being a voyage to the bottom of the sea.… And when the real Spike O’Brien shows up, it’s Calloway who’ll need a good insurance policy. Because life is cheap when the stakes are so high—on a ship of lies bearing a False Cargo. A veteran sailor who had voyaged long and far, L. Ron Hubbard knew well the life at sea. He once wrote in his journal: “There is something magnificently terrible about a savage sea in the unwholesome green of half-dawn.… The ship is an unreal, fragile thing, full of strange groans, and engine and sails are dwarfed in their puny power when matched to all the countless horsepower in wave and wind and current. The whole world is an awesome threat. Alone, wet, hungry, hand cramped upon a tiller, a sailor knows more truth in those hours than all mankind in his millions of years.” Also includes the sea adventure “Grounded”, in which a Royal Air Force lieutenant loses a friend and tarnishes his reputation, and sets out in search of redemption … no matter the price.
Sheriff Kyle of Deadeye, Nevada, is headed east to the nation’s capital. Like Dennis Weaver in the television series McCloud, Kyle’s about to discover that the law can be even wilder in the big city than in the Wild West. It’s a fact that hits home when he’s the one accused . . . of murder. Kyle’s come to the city to give a report to his senator on the misdeeds of Nevada’s filthy rich copper kings. But before he has a chance, he’s knocked unconscious, later coming to alongside his senator—now dead, with Kyle’s knife imbedded in the corpse. Welcome to Washington D.C., where corruption, intrigue and murder are all in a day’s work. Kyle’s got no alibi, no memory, and apparently doesn’t have a prayer … unless he can find a way to outwit, outfox and outmaneuver the masters of deception and double-crosses in this police procedural thriller. Much like Kyle, L. Ron Hubbard was born and bred on the western frontier and made his way east to explore and experience life in Washington, D.C. But unlike the sheriff, Hubbard enjoyed his time in the capital, where he went to college at Georgetown. He came to know the ins and outs of the city as well as he knew the arroyos and canyons of the west, giving him the kind of insights he needed to write stories like Killers Law. “...some of the most carefully and beautifully crafted trade paperbacks of our time.” —Mystery Scene
Launch into the action with this gritty tale. An American lieutenant in the French Foreign is caught in the middle of an ancient feud between the Jeppas of the Atlas Mountains and the bloodthirsty tribe of Perviz al Bahman.Tension mounts as a gorgeous female Jeppa warrior with golden red hair is drawn into the midst of the conflict and captured by Perviz's tribe. When the American lieutenant later finds her being sold on the slave market, he unthinkingly does what any man must: he rescues her. But while his actions may have saved a beauty, they have also just ignited all - out war. ''...one of the best pulp writers of the 1940s.'' - Library Journal
As a lieutenant in the US Marine Corps—as handsome and cocky as Richard Gere—Michael Stuart was once considered an officer and a gentleman. But that’s all changed. Now he’s seen as a renegade, a traitor and a thief. Stuart is a man without a country … and perhaps without a prayer. Why? Because in a daring plot to foil the Japanese puppet regime in China, he set out to reinstate the country’s true emperor. Known now as the Red Dragon, Stuart is a soldier of fortune in war-torn Manchuria—and a man of honor in a world of treachery. Stuart’s latest adventure takes him from Peking to the Great Wall and beyond. He’s in a race against time and against the Japanese super-spy known as the Hell-Cat, both of them in hot pursuit of an elusive black chest. For Stuart, the ultimate prize is one filled with mystery, power, and treasure—not only in the chest itself, but in the love of the beautiful woman who has sent him on this mission.… It was on Hubbard’s second journey to East Asia that he met British Secret Service agent, Major Ian MacBean, who introduced him to “The Great Game,” the geopolitical tug-of-war between China, Japan, and Britain. Hubbard also learned of the trade in stolen Chinese treasures, and was exposed to the secret criminal society known as The Red Dragon—inspiring this story of the same name. He has captured a singular time in this storied land. “Hubbard delivers a tidy finale that shows why he was one of the most popular genre writers of his generation.” —Publishers Weekly
Meet Eddie Moran, a slightly disreputable American cooling his heels in French Morocco. And don’t be surprised if the young Cary Grant comes to mind, because Eddie’s as smooth as they come, one step ahead of the game…and of the police. Who’s after him? Just about everybody. What’s he done? A bit of everything—smuggler, revolutionary, whatever crooked little scheme will pay for his next meal or next drink. But Eddie’s latest caper is one he may not be able to escape…even if he wants to. Stumbling into a fight between a couple of Berber chieftains, Eddie lands in a prison run by The Black Sultan. He may be a captive of the Sultan, but he’s captivated by a stunning young woman the Sultan means to add to his harem. For her, Eddie might just go straight—if he can get them out of this hellhole alive. When The Black Sultan was originally published, Hubbard said that writers too often “forget a great deal of the languorous quality which made the Arabian Nights so pleasing. Jewels, beautiful women, towering cities filled with mysterious shadows, sultans equally handy with robes of honor and the beheading sword.… These things still exist, undimmed, losing no luster to the permeating Occidental flavor which reaches even the far corners of the earth today.” Hubbard brings this unique insight to his stories of North Africa and the Legionnaires, investing them with an authenticity of time, place and character that kept his readers asking for more. Also includes the adventure story, “Escape for Three,” in which a bold trio of French Legionnaires come to the rescue of their great leader—only to decide he may not be so great after all. “Action, strong characters, suspense, snappy dialogue, and titillating romance.” —Publishers Weekly
Private detective Sam Spade nearly died, several times over, chasing The Maltese Falcon. But what Spade faced in pursuit of the black bird was child’s play compared to what Lieutenant Bill Mahone of Naval Intelligence endures when he sets out to find the Green God. He’s tortured with knives, threatened with a slow, painful death, and buried alive. And then things get really nasty. The entire Chinese city of Tientsin is under siege from within—the streets filled with rioting, arson, mass looting and murder. And all because the city’s sacred idol, the Green God, has gone missing. Mahone’s convinced he knows who stole the deity of jade, diamonds and pearls. To retrieve it, though, he’ll have to go undercover and underground. But he’s walking a razor’s edge—between worship and warfare, between a touch of heaven and a taste of bloody hell. As a young man, Hubbard visited Manchuria, where his closest friend headed up British intelligence in northern China. Hubbard gained a unique insight into the intelligence operations and spy-craft in the region as well as the criminal trade in sacred objects. It was on this experience that he based The Green God, which was his first professional sale, published in February, 1934—the beginning of a very remarkable and prolific writing career. Also includes the adventure Five Mex for a Million , in which an American Army captain, falsely accused of murder, finds himself taking on the Chinese government, a powerful Russian general, and a mysterious, unexpected passenger.
Meet Lieutenant Flint: hard-edged and muscle-bound, radiating machismo—a bull of a soldier. In the opposite corner stands Captain Turner: with his pencil mustache and tailored shirts, he’s a Trick Soldier—smart, crisply-dressed, and always at attention. They’re fire and ice, oil and water… Sean Penn and Michael J. Fox in Casualties of War. Ten years ago and a thousand miles away, they attended boot camp together. They didn’t get along then . . . and they don’t get along now. Reunited in the Haitian jungles, in the midst of a fierce rebel uprising, they confront the most dangerous enemy of all—each other. It’s time for heroes to rise and cowards to fall, and in the case of Lieutenant Flint and Captain Turner, bravery runs deep. When brute strength confronts military honor, the true measure of a man is not in his fists, but in his heart. A First Sergeant with the 20th United States Marine Corps Reserve, Hubbard knew exactly what it meant to be a Marine. As he wrote in 1935: “Most of the fiction written about [Marines] is of an intensely dramatic type, all do-or-die and Semper Fidelis.” But the reality, he said, was far different. “I’ve known the Corps from Quantico to Peiping, from the South Pacific to the West Indies, and I’ve never seen any flag-waving. The most refreshing part of the U.S.M.C. is that they get their orders … and do the job and that’s that.” It’s that kind of unique and pointed insight that he brings to stories like Trick Soldier. Also includes the military adventures He Walked to War, in which Marine Sergeant E.Z. Go appears to take it easy, but always gets the job done … even if it’s hard as nails or dangerous as hell—in the end E.Z. does it; and Machine Gun 21,000, the story of a soldier who loses a gun and faces a court martial, but finds a way to save the day.
Drilling for oil is a dirty business, and for Bill Murphy, it’s about to turn positively filthy. But Murphy’s as big and tough as his home state of Texas—a man in the mold of a young John Wayne—and he’s more than a match for everything the oil-rich land of Venezuela can throw at him. Everything, that is, except for one woman.… Her name is Marcia Stewart. She’s fiery, she’s brave, and she’s beautiful … and she’d like nothing better than to see Bill Murphy dead. Her oilman father’s been killed, and Marcia tags Murphy as the murderer. Murphy’s guilty of a lot of things, but murder’s not one of them. He’s drilling down for the truth, and now it’s his land, his love for Marcia—and his life—that are on the line. With so much at stake, he’ll go to any length to come out on top of the Black Towers to Danger. When Black Towers to Danger was first published in 1936, the editor wrote: “L. Ron Hubbard, as you know, is a pilot, a writer, and an engineer. The one thing he doesn’t work at is engineering. He was in China at 15 and has covered a lot of territory since then. If he’s on a flying field—or anywhere else—you can’t miss him—he’s a tall, slender chap with very fair skin and bright red hair. Something picturesque about him as there should be about a flyer.” And not only was he a man with a commanding presence, so too did he have command over his material, researching the entire oil drilling process for this story. “Roars to life.” —Publishers Weekly
American pilot Mike Malloy has learned his lesson: when you join the French Foreign Legion, it's best not to wipe the floor with two French officers. . . no matter how richly they deserve it. And it appears he has all the time in the world to think about it. He's been sentenced to five years in a Moroccan penal battalion--which is French for death sentence. But Malloy, who could easily pass for actor Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., is about to get a reprieve ... if he's willing to fly into the heart of the Sahara and into the teeth of a Berber rebellion. It's an offer Malloy can't refuse. All he has to do is fly two passengers into the desert and return with a book that disappeared 800 years ago. But as he's a man who doesn't go by the book, this expedition could turn out to have unexpected benefits. One of his passengers is a young American woman whose eyes are as beautiful and blue as the wild blue yonder.... Hubbard once said that writers too often "forget a great deal of the languorous quality which made the Arabian Nights so pleasing. Jewels, beautiful women, towering cities filled with mysterious shadows, sultans equally handy with robes of honor and the beheading sword ... these things still exist, undimmed, losing no luster to the permeating Occidental flavor which reaches even the far corners of the earth today." Hubbard brings this unique insight to his stories of North Africa and the Legionnaires, investing them with an authenticity of time, place and character that kept his readers asking for more.
A charming rogue cut from the same cloth as Robert Mitchum, American engineer Dan Courtney is learning fast that it takes more than a little charm to lay the groundwork for a railroad. Particularly when the plan is to build it across some of the roughest and most dangerous territory on earth. Courtney’s been hired to survey the land that would link up the Uganda Railway to the Anglo-Egyptian railroad. Running through desert, jungle and mountains, this is one line—and story—with more twists and turns than the New York City subway system. Diamond smugglers. A fearsome native tribe. A beautiful young American woman . . . and a man determined to kill her. Put them all together and you’ve got a world where All Frontiers Are Jealous. It’s up to Courtney to tame those frontiers—take on the tribe, save the woman, and save the future of the railroad . . . before his blood ends up on the tracks. L. Ron Hubbard based this story on the real-life history of the countless harrowing attempts in the late 19th and early 20th century to link up the two railroads. An experienced civil engineer and surveyor himself, Hubbard had worked in rough and dangerous terrain as part of the West Indies Mineralogical Expedition. All Frontiers Are Jealous may be a work of fiction, but as far as Hubbard was concerned, in his own life, the adventure couldn’t have been more real. “Terrific from beginning to end.” —Midwest Book Review
Imagine a young Laurence Olivier cast as a scholarly Oxford professor—an academic snatched out of his bookish world and pressed into service aboard Lord Nelson’s legendary British fleet—in the position of schoolmaster. Such is the life of the land-loving, seafaring Mister Tidwell, Gunner. Thrust into service at the height of the Napoleonic Wars, Tidwell soon finds himself directly in the line of fire and way out of his depth. Fate has cast him into a terrible and terrifying spot—alone on deck to face the fearsome approach of a French man-o’-war. The professor is about to get an object lesson in war, self-reliance … and survival. Overwhelmed by the smell of gunpowder, the sound of cannons, and the sight of death, he will either experience the sweet taste of victory … or the bitter taste of his own blood. In an essay called Search for Research Hubbard wrote about how he came up with story ideas: “I want one slim, forgotten fact. From there a man can go anywhere.… In one old volume, for instance, I discovered that there was such a thing as a schoolmaster aboard Nelson’s ships.… When did this occur? The Napoleonic Wars.” Drawing on this single obscure discovery, Hubbard delved deeper into the history and let his remarkable imagination do the rest. “Complete after a few days of search, I had my Mister Tidwell, Gunner.” Also includes the sea adventures The Drowned City, the story of two deep-sea divers who set out in search of a long-lost treasure only to find that the waters are full of treacherous currents and even more treacherous men; and Submarine, in which a young sailor on leave enjoys a quiet interlude with his girlfriend—only to have it interrupted by a call to duty and danger.