L Ron didn't even invent Scientology

[blutoski]

As I said, if you haven't read him (which you obviously have), you can't judge him. I directed my "have a read" to those on the thread who hadn't. Just steer clear of anything other than his first few novels though.

I thought BE was a pretty good read but I suppose sitting in the middle of the Atlantic on a warship with nothing better to do, makes anything a good read.

Random House seems to think its not bad either.
"One of the most popular science fiction novels of all time, "Battlefield Earth" was also voted among the top three English-language novels of the 20th century by the Random House Modern Library Reader's Poll."

A rigged poll. Scientologists have a strategy of goosing numbers on these things.

I'd look to the Hugos to understand what SF fans like. Hubbard was nominated only once for a Hugo, in 1986, for Black Genesis.

Even as a kid, before I knew anything about Scientology, I'd rated his novels as somewhere between shabby and boringly jingoistic.

 

[BlackKat]

I like many other people with a a streak of masochistic curiosity did read Battlefield Earth when it was released so I speak from personal knowledge when I said his work was crap. I have also read a few examples of his pre-Dianetics work and that is also crap, as is Dianetics (which to my shame I have also read).

Hah. That was one of those rare examples where you can say the movie was better than the book. And I'd rather sterilize myself with a ball peen hammer than watch the movie again.

When I was 15 and worked in the local public library they were prominently featuring his Mission Earth series (they were new releases back then). Read 2 and felt quite ill and had to stop. Waved off patrons after that.

Mind you I read every science fiction book I could get my hands on back then, no matter how bad. But that series was just too bad and far too "jingoisitc" (as blutoski said above). At the time I was only peripherally aware of Dianetics. It really was only just taking off thanks to a TV advertising campaign.

 

[dudalb]

As for the "millions of words a year to print" I am pretty sure this isn't accurate but with the number of pulps there were at that time (non-science fiction/fantasy) I don't have any evidence beyond that being an incredible feat and everything else about his life demonstrates that one thing he wasn't was incredible!

He was not and in the age when there were dozens of pulp Sci Fi magazines around, getting a large number of stories into print was no great feat if you were borderline competent.

HUbbard was, frankly, a hack. Someone who had mastered some basic techniques of writing cliched but salable stories, but was unable to do anything creative or original. To me, he comes off like a second rate Robert Heinlein,with all of Heinlein's flaws but none of his many virtues.

 

[Almo]

To me, he comes off like a second rate Robert Heinlein,with all of Heinlein's flaws but none of his many virtues.

I don't recall Battlefield Earth having pages and pages of social commentary essays interspersed with single lines from the other person attempting to pass as dialog. So maybe he has MOST of heinlein's flaws, but not that one. At least not in BE.

 

[Timothy]

I don't often see it referenced in Scientology discussions, but Harlan Ellison claims to have been present the night Hubbard "invented" Scientology:

From: http://cgi.amazing.com/scientology/harlan-ellison.html

Ellison: Scientology is ********! Man, I was there the night L. Ron Hubbard invented it, for Christ Sakes!

I was sitting in a room with L. Ron Hubbard and a bunch of other science fiction writers. L. Ron Hubbard was famous among science fiction writers because he was the first one to have an electric typewriter....We were sitting around one night... who else was there? Alfred Bester, and Cyril Kornbluth, and Lester Del Rey, and Ron Hubbard, who was making a penny a word, and had been for years. And he said "This ********'s got to stop!" He says, "I gotta get money." He says, "I want to get rich". ... And somebody said, "why don't you invent a new religion? They're always big." We were clowning! You know, "Become Elmer Gantry! You'll make a fortune!" He says, "I'm going to do it." Sat down, stole a little bit from Freud, stole a little bit from Jung, a little bit from Alder, a little bit of encounter therapy, pre-Janov Primal Screaming, took all that ********, threw it all together, invented a few new words, because he was a science fiction writer, you know, "engrams" and "regression", all that ********. And then he conned John Campbell, who was crazy as a thousand battlefields. I mean, he believed any goddamned thing. He really believed blacks were inferior. I mean he really believed that. He was also very nervous when I was in his office because I was a Jew. You know, he was afraid maybe I would spring horns or something.


Sorry, the article contains words deemed inappropriate which were automatically blonked during the copy and paste. View at your own risk.

 

[Whiplash]

I like many other people with a a streak of masochistic curiosity did read Battlefield Earth when it was released so I speak from personal knowledge when I said his work was crap. I have also read a few examples of his pre-Dianetics work and that is also crap, as is Dianetics (which to my shame I have also read).

With the greatest respect, you are presenting opinion as fact.

(I'm no L. Ron fan either, I am just saying that if there are people who enjoyed his work, their opinion is no less valid than your own. But I adimidt it's a mistake we all make, myself included).

 

[Darat]

With the greatest respect, you are presenting opinion as fact.

(I'm no L. Ron fan either, I am just saying that if there are people who enjoyed his work, their opinion is no less valid than your own. But I adimidt it's a mistake we all make, myself included).

Whilst there is some opinion in my post much of it is fact e.g. Dianetics is crap as it is complete and unadulterated pseudo-science, his other fictional work is also crap albeit for different reasons.

That someone may enjoy his work does not mean it is not crap. I also like some books that whilst their quality may be at the "crap" end of the scale I can still enjoy them. For instance I have a rather perverse liking of the books of a little known science fiction writer, Philip E High, and you will not find a good review of any his work anywhere.

 

[PixyMisa]

By whom? Seriously this is just not true. Have a look in a reference work such as "Science Fiction - The Gernsbeck Years" by Everett F. Bleiler that covers the likes of Amazing, Astounding & Wonder for the years '26 through to '36 and you won't find him.

The one story he was known for pre-Scientology was Fear, published 1940. Haven't read it myself, but my dad said that the writing wasn't great but it was a very effective horror story based on a very simple premise.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Here's a "video" (actually just an audio recording with a picture) of Harlan Ellison talking to Robin Williams about LRH. Unfortunately, it isn't the whole thing, but at the end it's along the lines of what Timothy posted. He does say LRH's fiction should be read and seemed to really enjoy Fear. (This video was linked in some other Scientology thread here, so some may have seen/heard it already.)