THE RED DRAGON (Action Adventures Short Stories Collection #10) by L. Ron Hubbard

Originally published in 1935 by the magazine "Five Novels"

Re-published in 2013 by Galaxy Press.

Long before L. Ron Hubbard (1911-1986) became the creator of Scientology, he was a pulp fiction writer. He did this for nearly 20 years, with his first writing credit coming in 1932. The Red Dragon was originally written for a monthly publication called Five Novels.

Synopsis

The Red Dragon starts out very much like an Indiana Jones movie - an American damsel in distress is in China looking for the archaeological find her father had told her about. He has left clues to its location and she is seeking someone to help her. The site is located in Manchuria - a disputed zone under Japanese control in what would eventually become the beginnings of World War II in Asia (unknown to Hubbard at the time because Pearl Harbor attack was more than six years away).

The mysterious Michael Stuart has stepped up to help. His nickname is The Red Dragon because he is audacious and because he had red hair. He is disreputable in both the Japanese and Chinese controlled areas for reasons never made clear in this 92 page novella.

So, Stuart and the damsel in distress head off into Manchuria with assassins following and the Japanese Army waiting...

My Review

This adventure story has a little bit of everything - car chases, pistol fights in hotel rooms, a pistol fight on the Great Wall of China, love, daring escapes, clever disguises. But, the story sort of peters out at about two-thirds of the way through.

Be aware that this story is 90 years old and it shows its age when it comes to racial stereotypes.

For me, the funniest scene in the book is completely unintentional. At one point The Red Dragon steals the uniform of a Japanese officer and sneaks into a hut/pub to get some information. He blacked his hair with cooking grease, rubbed yellow dust all over his skin to give it a different color (not kidding), and taped back his eyes to make them look more Asian. With all of these questionable tricks, he is concerned that the locals will notice his gray eyes - not the tape on the eyes!

I rate this novella 3 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: The Red Dragon by L. Ron Hubbard.

THE GREAT SECRET (Stories from the Golden Age) by L. Ron Hubbard

Re-published in 2008 by Galaxy Press.

These stories were originally published in 1942 and 1943.

Before L. Ron Hubbard became famous for creating Scientology he wrote a whole bunch of short stories for the pulp magazines from 1936 to 1950. Galaxy Press has been re-releasing them in small collections as paperbacks and audiobooks. This collection consists of four short stories.

The first story is "The Great Secret" which was originally published in Science Fiction Stories in April of 1943. It is an okay story about a man who is willing to give anything to find out what the secret of a great, lost civilization was.

Story number two is "Space Can" - the best story in the bunch. Originally published in Astounding Science Fiction in July of 1942 it features a fight between two space fleets and the hand-to-hand combat that ensues.

"The Beast" is a forgettable safari tale based on Venus rather than Africa. But

L. Ron Hubbard (1911-1986) in 1950

, it is filled with submissive natives and a great foreign hunter - just in case you like to ponder how racist a story can be without actually involving human beings being oppressed. Originally published in Astounding Science Fiction in July of 1942.

"The Slaver" (Astounding Science Fiction, June 1942) would have been a good novel if it had been extended but it is an unsatisfying short story. It features an alien race capturing humans and using them as slaves after the humans lost an interstellar war.

The "Stories from the Golden Age" collection is an admirable attempt to preserve stories from the age of pulp fiction but this particular book is mostly not worth the effort. 

Reviewed on May 13, 2014.

I rate this collection 2 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: THE GREAT SECRET (Stories from the Golden Age) by L. Ron Hubbard.

THE DANGEROUS DIMENSION (Stories from the Golden Age Series) (kindle e-book) (short story) by L. Ron Hubbard

Originally published in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction in 1938.

Re-published in e-book format by Galaxy Press in 2010.

On the internet you can find rumors that this was L. Ron Hubbard's first science fiction story. Purportedly, the editor was looking for something that was breezy, funny and easy-to-read. I have no idea if this really true, but this short story is certainly all of those things.

Sadly, it's just not a very good short story.

Dr. Henry Mudge has worked out the mathematics of how to transport oneself instantly from one place to another just by imagining that place. He calls this formula Equation C.

But, controlling your mind enough to use this technique is difficult. Try not to think of a place when you hear someone talk about it. So, when someone says a place to Dr. Mudge he goes there, including the moon and Mars. Meanwhile, he is supposed to be giving a major presentation at his university to a group of professors if he can just get there and stay there without bouncing off somewhere else...

While a cute concept, the story just does not work all that well if you think it through. The internal consistency is just not there. Also, despite the fact that the cover has an exploding space ship on it, there are no space ships in this short story. 

The story is accompanied by an uncritical, enthusiastic biography of Hubbard that mostly skips over the Scientology stuff.

I rate this short story 2 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: THE DANGEROUS DIMENSION (Stories from the Golden Age Series) (kindle e-book) (short story) by L. Ron Hubbard.

BRANDED OUTLAW (Stories from the Golden Age series) by L. Ron Hubbard

Originally published in 1938 in "Five-Novels Monthly" magazine

Re-published by Galaxy Press in 2011.

I read this as a kindle e-book, which seemed sort of appropriate considering L. Ron Hubbard's standing as a world class science fiction author. When this story was originally written in 1938 my standard-issue Kindle HD tablet would seem to be nothing short of science fiction. 

You may not be aware that Hubbard wrote plenty of westerns back in the days of pulp serial magazines (and long before his name became synonymous with Scientology.) His familiarity with western life came from his childhood in Montana when Montana was still only a few steps away from its rough-and-tumble cowboy past.

Branded Outlaw is an all out Western adventure with all of the familiar elements fans of Westerns are readily familiar with. Lee Weston is coming from Wyoming after being summoned by his father to his ranch in New Mexico. When he arrives he finds his father dead and a smoldering ruin where his father's ranch had been. He is sure that the biggest rancher in the area is the source of this trouble and he is determined to get his revenge.

When he arrives in town he finds himself in a gunfight with the hired hands of this rancher and he is forced to flee town and nurse his wounds. While hiding out he is discovered by a beautiful, headstrong girl who patches him up. Lee falls for her only to find out she is his enemy's daughter...

While none too subtle, this book is about as action-packed as a book can be. It is followed by an interesting biography of the almost unbelievable life of L. Ron Hubbard. 

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here:  BRANDED OUTLAW (Stories from the Golden Age series) by L. Ron Hubbard.

Hell's Legionnaire (audiobook) by L. Ron Hubbard

 

Join the French Foreign Legion for grit, danger and adventure.

Multicast performance  
Published by Galaxy Audio
Duration: 2 hours, 18 minutes

First published in the magazine Mystery Adventures in 1935, Hell's Legionnaire is part of a large series of books and stories that are being re-published by Galaxy Press as part of their Golden Age Stories series. In reality, they are a collection of L. Ron Hubbard's early works that were published in magazines and as pulp fiction books. Hubbard was a prolific writer and he wrote a lot of action stories that translate quite well into the multicast performance audiobook format. The book is performed by several cast members with sound effects and are reminiscent of the old-time radio shows that were popular when the stories were written.



This audiobook consists of three short stories. All of the stories are about the famed French Foreign Legion and their fights with the Berbers in North Africa. The first is the title story. Hell's Legionnaire features a member of the Foreign Legion who has gone AWOL because he has killed an officer in self-defense. As he is fleeing, he stumbles across a Berber camp that has taken a group of American geographers prisoner and has tortured and killed them all, except for one beautiful woman. The escaping Legionnaire must decide if she should save her and possibly lose his own life (to the Berbers or to the French).

The second story, The Barbarians, is the best of the three stories, but also the most gruesome. It features graphic violence and details a torture scene. When the head of a legionnaire is sent to a Legion fort in a box, Captain Jack Harvey is sent out to find Caid Kizigh, the Berber tribal leader who is responsible. Of course, lots of violence and mayhem ensue.

The last story, The Squad That Never Came Back, is a sad commentary on human nature. It is the longest story (at 1 hour, 10 minutes it is longer than the other two stories combined). It tells the story of a corporal who leads an eight man squad out on a patrol only to find that the Berbers are a dangerous enemy, but gold-crazed legionnaires are even worse. It turns out several of his men know where a long-hidden stash of gold and jewels are hidden in an ancient Roman city and some of them are determined to get it  - and get rid of everyone who could claim a share of it.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: Hell's Legionnaire.

Reviewed on May 21, 2012.

The Crossroads (audiobook) by L. Ron Hubbard

Multicast performance
Published by Galaxy Audio
Duration: 2 hours, 17 minutes

First published in the magazine Unknown in 1941, The Crossroads is part of a large series of books and stories that are being re-published by Galaxy Press as part of their Golden Age Stories series. In reality, they are a collection of L. Ron Hubbard's early works that were published in magazines and as pulp fiction books. Hubbard was a prolific writer and he wrote a lot of action stories that translate quite well into the multicast performance audiobook format. The book is performed by several cast members and are reminiscent of the old-time radio shows that were popular when the stories were written.



This audiobook consists of 3 short stories. The first story is the title story. The Crossroads is the story of an old farmer in the Depression who thinks that the Roosevelt Administration's orders for farmers to destroy food (in an effort to raise prices for food) is just plain silly when there are hungry people in the city. So, he loads up a wagon with vegetables, hitches up his horse and heads off to the city to sell them.

But, on the way he comes upon an unmarked crossroads. He decides to just wait until someone comes by and can point out the direction he should go. But...this is a crossroads in time and space and the three roads lead to three very different places. The farmer interacts with all three of them and barters his vegetables for a great number of things until he decides it is time to just head home...if he can!

The second story is Borrowed Glory. It features a lonely old woman who is dying. She has no family, no money and no friends. Two genies look at her and decide to bet on human nature. One believes that she will appreciate 48 hours of youth, beauty, wealth and romance. She will gladly go back to her old, lonely self and savor the memories. The other genie bets that she will be even more miserable having realized all of her dreams and then lost them. The story itself is quick with a memorable twist. Worthy of a Twilight Zone episode, except that Hubbard wrote it about 20 years before Rod Serling was making them!

The third story, The Devil's Rescue, features a sailor who is lost at sea and picked up by The Flying Dutchman, the legendary cursed ship that can never come to port. When the Devil himself comes to check out the Dutchman's newest crew member there are lots of surprises for everyone.

This collection is quite strong. These three stories, even though they are very different in tone, make for a fine two hours of listening.

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: The Crossroads.

Reviewed on May 20, 2012.

Trouble on His Wings (audiobook) by L. Ron Hubbard

Multicast performance
Published by Galaxy Audio
Duration: 2 hours, 6 minutes

First published in the magazine Five-Novels Monthly in 1939, Trouble on His Wings is part of a large series of books and stories that are being re-published by Galaxy Press as part of their Golden Age Stories series. In reality, they are a collection of L. Ron Hubbard's early works that were published in magazines and as pulp fiction books. Hubbard was a prolific writer and he wrote a lot of action stories that translate quite well into the multicast performance audiobook format.



This audiobook features Johnny Brice and Irish Donnegan, two news cameramen who work for a company that makes those newsreels that used to run at the movie theaters. Brice and Donnegan will go anywhere and do just about anything for the big news story, including jumping out of airplanes, get shot at, braving forest fires and flying into a war zone.

While on a big story, they pick up a beautiful girl that they call "Jinx." They call her Jinx because when she is around things seem to go wrong for Donnegan and Brice and they get into lots of trouble, both when they are filming their stories and with their boss back in New York City. Brice wants to dump Jink as soon as possible but he discovers that she is wanted by unknown pursuers and he fears for her life so he reluctantly keeps her at his side as his career unravels. It seems that "Jinx" truly is a jinx.

Brice and Donnegan are a likeable pair and the actors that portray them convey a sense of camaraderie and respect for one another as they try to work through this patch of bad luck. The low level sexual tension between Jinx and Brice keeps the story moving along nicely as they alternately flirt and fight and Brice works to get away from her and then goes off in search of her.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: Trouble on His Wings.

Reviewed on May 19. 2012.

Death Waits at Sundown (audiobook) by L. Ron Hubbard

Lots of fun in a small package.

Duration: 2 hours, 22 minutes.
Multicast Performance
Published by Galaxy Press.

Unabridged,

First published in Western Story Magazine in 1938, Death Waits at Sundown is part of a large series of books and stories that are being re-published by Galaxy Press as part of their Golden Age Stories series. In reality, they are a collection of L. Ron Hubbard's early works that were published in magazines and as pulp fiction books. Hubbard was a prolific writer and he wrote a lot of action stories that translate quite well into the multicast performance audiobook format.



This audiobook is actually three short stories. The first story is the title story of the collection. It features a wrongly accused man named Frank Taylor. He has been convicted of murder and robbery so that the new town sheriff can confiscate his land. But, the new sheriff never counted on Frank's brother, a famed gunslinger from Texas, comes to town to save his brother.

The second story (Ride 'Em Cowboy) is a love story that takes place during three rodeo events. I think it is the strongest of the three stories. Long Tom Banner (a national rodeo champion) has a crush on Vicky Steward, the most successful woman on the rodeo circuit. But, sparks fly as he tries to express his feelings while they compete against one another in three rodeo events.

The Boss of the Lazy B is the last story. It also features a frustrated man but the story is much more complicated and the ending was less satisfying than that of Ride 'Em Cowboy. Big Bill Bailey is the area's most successful local rancher. He leads a posse to arrest Spick Murphy, a well-known rustler who is rumored to have killed more than a dozen men - and nearly gets killed in the process. Bailey's love interest, Susan Spice, decides that Murphy has been wrongly accused, succeeds in helping Murphy defend himself in the trial and then hires Murphy as a hand at her ranch. But, can Murphy be trusted and will Big Bill Bailey get past this insult to his judgment?

This series is a great bit of escapist fiction.  The multicast performance sounds like an old-fashioned radio drama. Lots of fun in a small package.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5. This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: Death Waits at Sundown by L. Ron Hubbard.

Reviewed on May 17, 2012.

The Phantom Patrol (audiobook) by L. Ron Hubbard

Duration: Approximately 2 hours
Multicast Performance
Published by Galaxy Press in 2011.

First published in 1935, The Phantom Patrol is part of a large series of books and stories that are being re-published by Galaxy Press as part of their Golden Age Stories series. In reality, they are a collection of L. Ron Hubbard's early works that were published in magazines and as pulp fiction books. Hubbard was a prolific writer and he wrote a lot of action stories that translate quite well into the multicast performance audiobook format.



The Phantom Patrol is the story of Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Johnny Trescott who commands a patrol boat looking for drug smugglers off of the coast of Louisiana. He and his small crew have been working for months to catch one smuggler in particular and are close to catching him. While closing in on this smuggler, they are called away by a distress call from a plane that has made an emergency landing in the water. The smuggler turns the tables and gets the drop on the Coast Guard boat and captures it, the crew and the survivors of the plane wreck...and that's just the beginning of an action-filled adventure with romance, gunfights and plenty of intrigue.

The fact that this book was performed by multiple cast members makes this story very entertaining - very much like the old-time radio shows that were popular when these stories were written.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: The Phantom Patrol.

Reviewed on April 11, 2012.

If I Were You (audiobook) by L. Ron Hubbard

Two great stories

Published in 2008 by Galaxy Audio
Multicast performance with music and sound effects
Duration: approximately 2 hours.

The audiobook If I Were You is actually two very entertaining short stories written by L. Ron Hubbard when he first began his writing career writing for class pulp fiction magazines. The stories are performed by multiple actors and include music and sound effects to help the story move along.

The first story ("If I Were You") has a celebrity voice, Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson for the last 23 years. She portrays Little Tom Little, a little person in a traveling circus who, despite his great success, wants to be big more than anything else. A mysterious circus magician (who really dislikes Tom) leaves Little Tom Little his magic books when he dies with instructions for Tom to look for a certain spell - a spell that allows someone to change bodies with another person. Tom finds the spell, follows the instructions and begins to understand that this blessing may well have been a curse from his old enemy.

 

The second story ("The Last Drop") is the more fun of the two. It involves a bartender who is sent a secret ingredient from his brother in Borneo. The ingredient causes people to shrink or to grow, depending on the amount they consume. The characters don't realize this before they consume it as part of an experimental new drink at the bar, though!

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: If I Were You by L. Ron Hubbard.

Reviewed on January 1, 2012.

Tomb of the Ten Thousand Dead (audiobook) by L. Ron Hubbard

Three solid adventure stories

Multicast Performance with music and sound effects

Duration: 2 hours, 2 minutes.

Published by Galaxy Press

Tomb of the Ten Thousand Dead is part of a large series of books and stories that are being re-published by Galaxy Press as part of their Golden Age Stories series. In reality, they are a collection of L. Ron Hubbard's early works that were published in magazines and as pulp fiction books. Hubbard was a prolific writer and he wrote a lot of action stories that translate quite well into the multicast performance audiobook format.



This edition features 3 short stories. The first is Tomb of the Ten Thousand Dead, the story of a team of freelance archaeologists that are searching for a lost treasure of Alexander the Great in what is now southern Pakistan. When a down on his luck pilot and a local guide find the map, well, who knows what they will find?

The second story, Price of a Hat, is the weakest. It is set in Siberia at the end of World War I when the major powers invaded in an attempt to weaken the new Communist government. The story features a distinctive Russian hat that everyone is searching for.

The third story was my favorite. Starch and Stripes is set in the heyday of America's Gunboat Diplomacy period. The U.S. Marines are involved in a pacification campaign against a local warlord. Just when they think they have the perfect trap for him, several Senators and a general are on their way for an inspection tour that threatens the entire operation.

The multicast aspect makes these stories very entertaining - very much like the old-time radio shows that were popular when these stories were written. Makes for very compelling listening.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Tomb of the Ten Thousand Dead.

Reviewed on October 23, 2011.

Sky Birds Dare! (audiobook) by L. Ron Hubbard

Lots of Fun!

Duration: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Multicast Performance
Published by Galaxy Press

First published in 1936, Sky Birds Dare! is part of a large series of books and stories that are being re-published by Galaxy Press as part of their Golden Age Stories series. In reality, they are a collection of L. Ron Hubbard's early works that were published in magazines and as pulp fiction books. Hubbard was a prolific writer and he wrote a lot of action stories that translate quite well into the multicast performance audiobook format.



Sky Birds Dare! is the story of Breeze Callahan, a young glider pilot who is convinced that the U.S. military's pilots could learn a lot from learning how to pilot gliders before they fly motorized aircraft. A glider is like a small plane that has no engine and is towed into the air by a motorized plane or by a car with a rope (much like a person running with a kite trailing behind). Callahan and his mentor Pop Donegon are thwarted over and over again by Badger O'Dowell, a rival that wants to sell the military his conventional motorized training planes.

This is not a subtle story - there are no shades of grey. But, it is a fun story and there is plenty of adventure, danger and brawling - all of which was surprisingly entertaining for me, a listener with absolutely no experience with flying a plane. Hubbard's extensive experience as a glider pilot shines through as he explains it all while telling the story. I was particularly intrigued by his suggestion that gliders could be used to insert soldiers behind enemy lines. We did that 8 years after he published this story during the D-Day invasion in June of 1944.

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Sky Birds Dare! by L. Ron Hubbard.

Reviewed on October 19, 2011.