And, indeed, at J. W. Campbell Jr.’s insistence, Ron was regularly drawing on themes from the Arabian Nights and so introducing readers to a world of genies, jinn, Aladdin and Sinbad—all of which, of course, continue to float through cultural mythology to this day.
At least as influential in terms of post-apocalypse stories was L. Ron Hubbard’s 1940 Final Blackout. Generally acclaimed as the finest anti-war novel of the decade and among the ten best works of the genre ever authored—here, too, was a tale that would live on in ways few other writers imagined. Hence, the later Robert Heinlein verdict: “Final Blackout is as perfect a piece of science fiction as has ever been written.”
Like many another who both lived and wrote American pulp adventure, the war proved a tragic end to Ron’s sojourn in the pulps. He served with distinction in four theaters and was highly decorated for commanding corvettes in the North Pacific. He was also grievously wounded in combat, lost many a close friend and colleague and thus resolved to say farewell to pulp fiction and devote himself to what it had supported these many years—namely, his serious research.
Portland, Oregon, 1943; L. Ron Hubbard, captain of the US Navy subchaser PC 815.
But in no way was the LRH literary saga at an end, for as he wrote some thirty years later, in 1980:
“Recently there came a period when I had little to do. This was novel in a life so crammed with busy years, and I decided to amuse myself by writing a novel that was pure science fiction.”
That work was Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000. It was an immediate New York Times bestseller and, in fact, the first international science fiction blockbuster in decades. It was not, however, L. Ron Hubbard’s magnum opus, as that distinction is generally reserved for his next and final work: The 1.2 million word Mission Earth.
How he managed those 1.2 million words in just over twelve months is yet another piece of the L. Ron Hubbard legend. But the fact remains, he did indeed author a ten-volume dekalogy that lives in publishing history for the fact that each and every volume of the series was also a New York Times bestseller.
Moreover, as subsequent generations discovered L. Ron Hubbard through republished works and novelizations of his screenplays, the mere fact of his name on a cover signaled an international bestseller.… Until, to date, sales of his works exceed hundreds of millions, and he otherwise remains among the most enduring and widely read authors in literary history. Although as a final word on the tales of L. Ron Hubbard, perhaps it’s enough to simply reiterate what editors told readers in the glory days of American Pulp Fiction:
He writes the way he does, brothers, because he’s been there, seen it and done it!
To find out more about L. Ron Hubbard, visit www.lronhubbard.org
The Stories from the
Golden Age
Your ticket to adventure starts here with the Stories from the Golden Age collection by master storyteller L. Ron Hubbard. These gripping tales are set in a kaleidoscope of exotic locales and brim with fascinating characters, including some of the most vile villains, dangerous dames and brazen heroes you’ll ever get to meet.
The entire collection of over one hundred and fifty stories is being released in a series of eighty books and audiobooks. For an up-to-date listing of available titles, go to www.goldenagestories.com.
AIR ADVENTURE
Arctic Wings
The Battling Pilot
Boomerang Bomber
The Crate Killer
The Dive Bomber
Forbidden Gold
Hurtling Wings
The Lieutenant Takes the Sky
Man-Killers of the Air
On Blazing Wings
Red Death Over China
Sabotage in the Sky
Sky Birds Dare!
The Sky-Crasher
Trouble on His Wings
Wings Over Ethiopia
FAR-FLUNG ADVENTURE
The Adventure of “X”
All Frontiers Are Jealous
The Barbarians
The Black Sultan
Black Towers to Danger
The Bold Dare All
Buckley Plays a Hunch
The Cossack
Destiny’s Drum
Escape for Three
Fifty-Fifty O’Brien
The Headhunters
Hell’s Legionnaire
He Walked to War
Hostage to Death
Hurricane
The Iron Duke
Machine Gun 21,000
Medals for Mahoney
Price of a Hat
Red Sand
The Sky Devil
The Small Boss of Nunaloha
The Squad That Never Came Back
Starch and Stripes
Tomb of the Ten Thousand Dead
Trick Soldier
While Bugles Blow!
Yukon Madness
SEA ADVENTURE
Cargo of Coffins
The Drowned City
False Cargo
Grounded
Loot of the Shanung
Mister Tidwell, Gunner
The Phantom Patrol
Sea Fangs
Submarine
Twenty Fathoms Down
Under the Black Ensign
TALES FROM THE ORIENT
The Devil—With Wings
The Falcon Killer
Five Mex for a Million
Golden Hell
The Green God
Hurricane’s Roar
Inky Odds
Orders Is Orders
Pearl Pirate
The Red Dragon
Spy Killer
Tah
The Trail of the Red Diamonds
Wind-Gone-Mad
Yellow Loot
MYSTERY
The Blow Torch Murder
Brass Keys to Murder
Calling Squad Cars!
The Carnival of Death
The Chee-Chalker
Dead Men Kill
The Death Flyer
Flame City
The Grease Spot
Killer Ape
Killer’s Law
The Mad Dog Murder
Mouthpiece
Murder Afloat
The Slickers
They Killed Him Dead
FANTASY
Borrowed Glory
The Crossroads
Danger in the Dark
The Devil’s Rescue
He Didn’t Like Cats
If I Were You
The Last Drop
The Room
The Tramp
SCIENCE FICTION
The Automagic Horse
Battling Bolto
The Beast
Beyond All Weapons
A Can of Vacuum
The Conroy Diary
The Dangerous Dimension
Final Enemy
The Great Secret
Greed
The Invaders
A Matter of Matter
The Obsolete Weapon
One Was Stubborn
The Planet Makers
The Professor Was a Thief
The Slaver
Space Can
Strain
Tough Old Man
240,000 Miles Straight Up
When Shadows Fall
WESTERN
The Baron of Coyote River
Blood on His Spurs
Boss of the Lazy B
Branded Outlaw
Cattle King for a Day
Come and Get It
Death Waits at Su
ndown
Devil’s Manhunt
The Ghost Town Gun-Ghost
Gun Boss of Tumbleweed
Gunman!
Gunman’s Tally
The Gunner from Gehenna
Hoss Tamer
Johnny, the Town Tamer
King of the Gunmen
The Magic Quirt
Man for Breakfast
The No-Gun Gunhawk
The No-Gun Man
The Ranch That No One Would Buy
Reign of the Gila Monster
Ride ’Em, Cowboy
Ruin at Rio Piedras
Shadows from Boot Hill
Silent Pards
Six-Gun Caballero
Stacked Bullets
Stranger in Town
Tinhorn’s Daughter
The Toughest Ranger
Under the Diehard Brand
Vengeance Is Mine!
When Gilhooly Was in Flower
JOIN THE PULP REVIVAL
America in the 1930s and 40s
That magic can now be yours. An evocative world of nefarious villains, exotic intrigues, courageous heroes and heroines—a world that today’s cinema has barely tapped for tales of adventure and swashbucklers.
Enroll today in the Stories from the Golden Age Club and begin receiving your monthly feature edition selected from more than 150 stories in the collection.
You may choose to enjoy them as either a paperback or audiobook for the special membership price of $9.95 each month along with FREE shipping and handling.
Call toll free:
1-877-8GALAXY (1-877-842-5299)
Or go online to
www.goldenagestories.com
And become part of the pulp revival!
Prices are set in US dollars only. For non-US residents, please call 1-323-466-7815 for pricing information. Free shipping available for US residents only.
Galaxy Press, 7051 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 200, Hollywood, CA 90028
Glossary
STORIES FROM THE GOLDEN AGE reflect the words and expressions used in the 1930s and 1940s, adding unique flavor and authenticity to the tales. While a character’s speech may often reflect regional origins, it also can convey attitudes common in the day. So that readers can better grasp such cultural and historical terms, uncommon words or expressions of the era, the following glossary has been provided.
aces up: in high favor or esteem; first rate, fine or outstanding in some way. In some card games, the ace is the highest valued playing card and “aces up” alludes to the fact that the card player has aces in his hand (the cards dealt to or held by each player) and thus a very good chance of winning. [return to text]
batwing: one of a pair of batwings; long chaps (leggings worn for protection) with big flaps of leather. They usually fasten with rings and snaps. [return to text]
Bois-Guilbert, Brian du: Brian de Bois-Guilbert, a knight and the villain in the novel Ivanhoe. He and Ivanhoe are mortal enemies. [return to text]
box: the stagecoach driver’s seat. [return to text]
buffalo robe: the prepared skin of an American bison, with the hair left on, used as a lap robe, rug or blanket. [return to text]
casque: an open, conical helmet with a nose guard, commonly used in the medieval period. [return to text]
chinking: on a log cabin, the sticks or rocks used to fill the chink (space between the logs). [return to text]
clapboard: a type of siding covering the outer walls of buildings in which one edge of each long thin board is thicker than the other. The thick edge of each board overlaps the thin edge of the board below it. [return to text]
Colt: a single-action, six-shot cylinder revolver, most commonly available in .45- or .44-caliber versions. It was first manufactured in 1873 for the Army by the Colt Firearms Company, the armory founded by American inventor Samuel Colt (1814–1862) who revolutionized the firearms industry with the invention of the revolver. The Colt, also known as the Peacemaker, was also made available to civilians. As a reliable, inexpensive and popular handgun among cowboys, it became known as the “cowboy’s gun” and a symbol of the Old West. [return to text]
Concord: manufactured in Concord, New Hampshire, the one-ton “Concord Coach” was the finest road vehicle of its time, costing $1,050. The wheels were made to withstand the heat and cold. The body was strengthened with iron bands and rested on three-inch-thick oxen-leather braces, installed to prevent injury to the horses that were more valuable to the stage line than any passenger. The interior was four feet wide by four and a half feet high, with adjustable leather curtains, and three padded leather seats (known to be harder than the wood beneath them) for nine passengers. The body was so strong that as many as ten or twelve passengers could perch on top. These stages were beautifully colored, red with yellow trim and gold-leaf scrollwork. However, with all of this, long rides were so uncomfortable that they were known to be “cruel and unusual punishment.” [return to text]
cotillion: a brisk, lively dance characterized by many intricate steps and the continual changing of partners. Used figuratively. [return to text]
couch: a pocket of sorts for placing or holding a spear or the like in a level position and pointed forward, ready for use. [return to text]
coyote: a contemptible person, especially a greedy or dishonest one. [return to text]
dadblamed: confounded; damned. [return to text]
double-deck: a version of the card game blackjack, played with two decks of cards. Used as a nickname. [return to text]
drop on, got the: aimed and ready to shoot a gun at an antagonist before the other person’s gun can be drawn. [return to text]
false-front: describes a façade falsifying the size, finish or importance of a building. [return to text]
flower, in: the finest or most flourishing period. [return to text]
forked leather: mounted a saddled horse. [return to text]
forty-four or .44: a .44-caliber rifle. [return to text]
G-men: government men; agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. [return to text]
gone to glory: gone off; lost. [return to text]
hard-boiled: tough; unsentimental. [return to text]
hearse plume: on antique horse-drawn hearses, a feather plume, usually ostrich feathers dyed black, used to decorate the tops of the horses’ heads. [return to text]
Ivanhoe: a novel (1819) by Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832), a Scottish novelist and poet who was one of the most prominent figures in English Romanticism. [return to text]
jack: money. [return to text]
jigsawing: puzzling; exercising one’s mind over some problem or matter. [return to text]
John B.: Stetson; as the most popular broad-brimmed hat in the West, it became the generic name for hat. John B. Stetson was a master hat maker and founder of the company that has been making Stetsons since 1865. Not only can the Stetson stand up to a terrific amount of beating, the cowboy’s hat has more different uses than any other garment he wears. It keeps the sun out of the eyes and off the neck; it serves as an umbrella; it makes a great fan, which sometimes is needed when building a fire or shunting cattle about; the brim serves as a cup to water oneself, or as a bucket to water the horse or put out the fire. [return to text]
lariat: a long noosed rope used for catching horses, cattle, etc.; lasso. [return to text]
livery stable: a stable that accommodates and looks after horses for their owners. [return to text]
lobo: wolf; one who is regarded as predatory, greedy and fierce. [return to text]
locoweed: any of a number of plants widespread in the mountains of the Western US that make livestock act crazy when they eat them. [return to text]
longhorn: a name given the early cattle of Texas because of the enormous spread of their horns that served for attack and defense. They were not only mean, but the slightest provocation, especially with a bull, would turn them into an aggressive and dangerous enemy. They had lanky bodies and long legs built for speed. A century or so of running wild had made the longhorns tough and hardy enough to withstand blizzards, droughts, dust storms and attacks by other animals and Indians. It took a good horse with a good rider to outrun a longhorn. [return to text]
neck-reined: guided a horse by pressure of the reins against its neck. [return to text]
nigh: the left side (of an animal). [return to text]
plug: a flat cake of pressed or twisted tobacco; chewing tobacco. [return to text]
polecat: skunk; a thoroughly contemptible person. [return to text]
puncher: a hired hand who tends cattle and performs other duties on horseback. [return to text]
quarter: mercy or indulgence, especially as shown in sparing a life and accepting the surrender of a vanquished enemy. [return to text]
quirted: lashed with a quirt, a flexible, woven-leather whip with a short stock about a foot long. [return to text]
right-of-way: the right to build and operate a railway line on land belonging to another, or the land so used. [return to text]
rimfire saddle: a saddle with one cinch that is placed far to the front; also called a Spanish rig or rimmy. [return to text]
road agent: stagecoach robber in the mid- to late-nineteenth-century American West. [return to text]
Scheherazade: the female narrator of The Arabian Nights, who during one thousand and one adventurous nights saved her life by entertaining her husband, the king, with stories. [return to text]
Sharps: any of several models of firearms devised by Christian Sharps and produced by the Sharps Rifle Company until 1881. The most popular Sharps were “Old Reliable,” the cavalry carbine, and the heavy-caliber, single-shot buffalo-hunting rifle. Because of its low muzzle velocity, this gun was said to “fire today, kill tomorrow.” [return to text]