Hubbard, L Ron
Entry updated 9 January 2023. Tagged: Author.
(1911-1986) US author in many genres, including sf and fantasy, and subsequent quasi-religious figure whose founding of Dianetics and in 1952 the Church of Scientology led to much controversy, which has continued into the twenty-first century. As a student in the School of Engineering at George Washington University from 1930, he became acquainted with Paul Linebarger (Cordwainer Smith), a fellow student, who as editor of the Literary Supplement of The Hatchet, the college paper, published Hubbard's first story, "Tah" (9 February 1932 The Hatchet: Literary Review Supplement); this was not sf. Hubbard began publishing sf with "The Dangerous Dimension" for Astounding in July 1938, and remained active until, more than a decade later, he transferred his creative gifts to the Religion he founded. He wrote under his own name and as Kurt von Rachen and René Lafayette, his principal sf/fantasy pseudonyms; other pen names listed in an uncredited afterword to the posthumous The Professor Was a Thief (coll 2008) are Winchester Remington Colt (rather obviously reserved for Westerns), Lt Jonathan Daly, Capt Charles Gordon, Bernard Hubbel, Michael Keith, Legionnaire 148, Legionnaire 14830, Ken Martin, Scott Morgan or Lt Scott Morgan, Barry Randolph and Capt Humbert Reynolds.
Though there is no hard and fast line, Hubbard's fantasy, much of it published in Unknown, was frequently published under his own name, some of it – like The Case of the Friendly Corpse (August 1941 Unknown; 1991) having little crossover connection to sf – while his sf, mostly in Astounding, was frequently pseudonymous (although at least twelve items, some of them full-length novels, appeared in Astounding as by Hubbard). Certainly Hubbard was for John W Campbell Jr – then in the throes of creating his Golden Age of SF – a worthwhile and prolific contributor to the two journals, though he was not a member of that small group – L Sprague de Camp, Robert A Heinlein and Isaac Asimov being the prime movers – who were rewriting the rules of generic plausibility in terms which survived for many years; he should perhaps be linked with A E van Vogt as one of the two rogue members of the early Campbell pantheon. Retrospective attempts to elect Hubbard to a central role in the creation of modern sf are best seen as gestures of loyalty from those – like Algis Budrys – who were sympathetic to his later career.
His best-known early sf novel, Final Blackout (April-June 1940 Astounding; 1948), grimly describes a world devastated by many wars in which a young army officer becomes dictator of the UK, which he organizes to fend off a decadent USA. It cannot be denied that the book veers extremely close to the fascism its text explicitly disavows. But sf was clearly not Hubbard's forte, and most of his work in the genre reads as tendentious or laboured or both. As a writer of fantasy, however, he wrote with an occasionally pixillated fervour that is still pleasing, and sometimes reminiscent of the screwball comedies popular in the 1930s cinema. His best-known fantasy, Slaves of Sleep (July 1939 Unknown; 1948) – assembled with its sequel, "The Masters of Sleep" (October 1950 Fantastic Adventures), as Slaves of Sleep & The Masters of Sleep (coll of linked stories 1993) – is laid in the Arabian Nights environment set aside for him by Campbell as his exclusive bailiwick in Unknown magazine. The darkly Paranoid Fear: An Outstanding Psychological Science Fiction Novel (July 1940 Unknown; 1957) was perhaps rather stronger and more original, and demonstrated a powerful capacity to hook the reader into worlds where normal logic is distressingly maladaptive; it appeared also with "Typewriter in the Sky" (November-December 1940 Unknown) as one of the two novellas in Two Science Fantasy Novels by L Ron Hubbard: Typewriter in the Sky; Fear (1951; vt Fear; &, Typewriter in the Sky 1977) and with "The Ultimate Adventure" (April 1939 Unknown) as one of the two novellas in Fear & The Ultimate Adventure (coll 1970). "Typewriter in the Sky", a slyly effective self-referential Fabulation, may be his most permanently memorable work. Return to Tomorrow (February-March 1950 Astounding as "To the Stars"; 1954; vt To the Stars 2004) is a remarkably ruthless Space Opera (see Social Darwinism). The Ole Doc Methuselah stories, as by René Lafayette, have been assembled as Ole Doc Methuselah (stories October 1947-January 1950 Astounding; coll of linked stories 1970). He wrote other series, too, notably the Conquest of Space series (as Lafayette): "Forbidden Voyage" (January 1949 Startling), "The Magnificent Failure" (March 1949 Startling), "The Incredible Destination" (May 1949 Startling), "The Unwilling Hero" (July 1949 Startling), "Beyond the Black Nebula" (September 1949 Startling), "The Emperor of the Universe" (November 1949 Startling) and "The Last Admiral" (January 1950 Startling). As Kurt von Rachen he wrote the Kilkenny Cats series: "The Idealist" (July 1940 Astounding), "The Kilkenny Cats" (September 1940 Astounding), "The Traitor" (January 1941 Astounding), "The Mutineers" (April 1941 Astounding) and "The Rebels" (February 1942 Astounding). In general his early work, though composed with delirious speed, often came to haunt his readership, and its canny utilization of Superman protagonists came to tantalize them with visions of transcendental power.
The vulnerability of the sf community – from Campbell and A E van Vogt down to the naivest teenage fans – to this lure of Transcendence may help account for the otherwise puzzling success first of Dianetics, then of Scientology itself, which gained many early recruits from sf; for, both as technique and as religion, these very American bodies of doctrine centrally posited a Technology of self-improvement, a set of instructions to follow in order to liberate the transcendent power within one (see Edisonade). Furthermore, much of the central doctrine of the Church of Scientology, which is not bruited outside its walls, contains highly melodramatic material seemingly derived from Space Opera: Forerunner species; Uplift; and so forth.
Hubbard became very wealthy on the proceeds of his intuition concerning "spiritual technology", and departed the sf field for many years, not to return until the publication of Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000 (1982), an enormously long space opera composed in an idiom that seemed embarrassingly archaic and filmed as the poorly-regarded Battlefield Earth (2000) directed by Roger Christian. The novel Battlefield Earth was followed by the Mission Earth "dekalogy", a ten-volume sequence whose farcical over-egging of a seriously thin narrative thread fails to disguise a tale that would have been more at home in the dawn of the Pulp magazines, though its length would not have been tolerated; it comprises The Invaders Plan (1985), Black Genesis (1986), The Enemy Within (1986), An Alien Affair (1986), Fortune of Fear (1986), Death Quest (1987), Voyage of Vengeance (1987), Disaster (1987), Villainy Victorious (1987) and The Doomed Planet (1987). The posthumous publication of some of these books has led to speculation as to their true authorship, though later volumes are not convincingly worse than the earlier ones. The sequence was released by Hubbard's own firm, Bridge Publications, and was heavily promoted, reflecting Hubbard's – and his intellectual heirs' – apparent desire to re-establish his reputation in the sf world. At the same time, he inaugurated the Writers of the Future Contest and the Writers of the Future workshops for new authors, many of whom have clearly benefited (see Algis Budrys for further discussion); the associated anthology series is L Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future. In the early 1990s, much of Hubbard's early work was scheduled for reissue from Bridge Publications (this project has proceeded only falteringly); and in 1992 it was announced that an underground crypt had been constructed near Petrolia, California, by an arm of the Church of Scientology known as the Church of Spiritual Technology, to house "the religious works of L Ron Hubbard and other key religious works of mankind". [JC/PN]
see also: Aliens; Astounding Science-Fiction; Cosmology; Faster Than Light; Future War; Horror in SF; Medicine; Messiahs; Music; Politics; Psi Powers; Psychology; Spaceships; Virtual Reality.
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard
born Tilden, Nebraska: 13 March 1911
died San Luis Obispo, California: 24 January 1986
works
series
Mission Earth
- Mission Earth, Vol 1: The Invaders Plan (Los Angeles, California: Bridge Publications, 1985) [Mission Earth: hb/Gerry Grace]
- Mission Earth, Vol 2: Black Genesis (Los Angeles, California: Bridge Publications, 1986) [Mission Earth: hb/Gerry Grace]
- Mission Earth Volumes 1 & 2 (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2012) [omni of the above two: Mission Earth: hb/]
- Mission Earth, Vol 3: The Enemy Within (Los Angeles, California: Bridge Publications, 1986) [Mission Earth: hb/Gerry Grace]
- Mission Earth, Vol 4: An Alien Affair (Los Angeles, California: Bridge Publications, 1986) [Mission Earth: hb/Gerry Grace]
- Mission Earth Volumes 3 & 4 (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2012) [omni of the above two: Mission Earth: hb/]
- Mission Earth, Vol 5: Fortune of Fear (Los Angeles, California: Bridge Publications, 1986) [Mission Earth: hb/Gerry Grace]
- Mission Earth, Vol 6: Death Quest (Los Angeles, California: Bridge Publications, 1987) [Mission Earth: hb/Gerry Grace]
- Mission Earth Volumes 5 & 6 (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2012) [omni of the above two: Mission Earth: hb/]
- Mission Earth, Vol 7: Voyage of Vengeance (Los Angeles, California: Bridge Publications, 1987) [Mission Earth: hb/Gerry Grace]
- Mission Earth, Vol 8: Disaster (Los Angeles, California: Bridge Publications, 1987) [Mission Earth: hb/Gerry Grace]
- Mission Earth Volumes 7 & 8 (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2012) [omni of the above two: Mission Earth: hb/]
- Mission Earth, Vol 9: Villainy Victorious (Los Angeles, California: Bridge Publications, 1987) [Mission Earth: hb/Gerry Grace]
- Mission Earth, Vol 10: The Doomed Planet (Los Angeles, California: Bridge Publications, 1987) [Mission Earth: hb/Gerry Grace]
- Mission Earth Volumes 9 & 10 (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2012) [omni of the above two: Mission Earth: hb/]
individual titles
- Buckskin Brigades (New York: The Macaulay Company, 1937) [hb/]
- Buckskin Brigades (Ottawa, Illinois: Jameson Books, 1987) [rev of the above: hb/]
- Buckskin Brigades (Los Angeles, California: Bridge Publications, 1987) [different rev of the above: hb/]
- Final Blackout (Providence, Rhode Island: Hadley Publishing Co, 1948) [first appeared April-June 1940 Astounding: hb/Betty Wells]
- Slaves of Sleep (Chicago, Illinois: Shasta Publishers, 1948) [first appeared July 1939 Unknown: hb/Hannes Bok]
- Slaves of Sleep & The Masters of Sleep (Los Angeles, California: Bridge Publications, 1993) [exp vt as coll of linked stories: "The Masters of Sleep" first appeared October 1950 Fantastic Adventures: hb/Gerry Grace]
- Death's Deputy (Los Angeles, California: Fantasy Publishing Company, 1948) [hb/Lou Goldstone]
- The Kingslayer (Los Angeles, California: Fantasy Publishing Company, 1949) [coll: hb/William Benulis]
- Seven Steps to the Arbiter (Chatsworth, California: Major Books, 1975) [coll: vt of the above: pb/Powell]
- From Death to the Stars (Los Angeles, California: Fantasy Publishing Company, 1953) [omni of the above two: hb/Crozetti]
- Triton; and Battle of Wizards (Los Angeles, California: Fantasy Publishing Company, 1949) [coll: hb/William Benulis]
- Two Science Fantasy Novels by L Ron Hubbard: Typewriter in the Sky and Fear (New York: Gnome Press, 1951) [coll of two book-length tales: "Typewriter in the Sky" first appeared November-December 1940 Unknown; "Fear" first appeared July 1940 Unknown: hb/David Kyle]
- Typewriter in the Sky and Fear (London: Kemsley Newspapers/Cherry Tree, 1952) [coll: vt of the above: undated: pb/Ron Embleton]
- Fear: An Outstanding Psychological Science Fiction Novel (New York: Galaxy SF Novel, 1957) [containing title story only from the above: pb/Diane and Leo Dillon]
- Fear & The Ultimate Adventure (New York: Berkley Books, 1970) [coll: rev vt of the above: "The Ultimate Adventure" first appeared April 1939 Unknown: pb/]
- Fear & Typewriter in the Sky (New York: Popular Library, 1977) [coll: vt of the above: pb/Jim Campbell]
- Return to Tomorrow (New York: Ace Books, 1954) [first appeared February-March 1950 Astounding as "To the Stars": pb/Ed Valigursky]
- To the Stars (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2004) [vt of the above: hb/Hubert Rogers]
- Ole Doc Methuselah (Austin, Texas: Theta Press, 1970) [coll of linked stories: stories first appeared stories October 1947-January 1950 Astounding: Ole Doc Methuselah: hb/uncredited]
- Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000 (New York: St Martin's Press, 1982) [hb/Paul Stinson]
- Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000 (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2016) [exp of the above: pb/Frank Frazetta]
- The Case of the Friendly Corpse (Hollywood, California: Author Services, 1991) [hb/]
- The Automagic Horse (Los Angeles, California: Bridge Publications, 1994) [chap: hb/Scott E Sutton]
- L Ron Hubbard Classic Science Fiction Series: The Sky-Crasher (Hollywood, California: Author Services, 1996) [first appeared in 1936 in Five Novels: hb/]
- Ai! Pedrito!: When Intelligence Goes Wrong (Los Angeles, California: Bridge Publications, 1998) with Kevin J Anderson [novel-length version by Anderson of a Hubbard story: hb/Peter Green and Mike Manoogian]
- A Very Strange Trip (Los Angeles, California: Bridge Publications, 1999) with Dave Wolverton [hb/Mike Manoogian]
- The Ultimate Adventure (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2006) [novella: chap: first appeared April 1939 Unknown: pb/Graves Gladney]
- Dead Men Kill (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2007) [novella: first appeared July 1934 Thrilling Detective: pb/]
- Branded Outlaw (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2007) [novella: first appeared October 1938 Western: pb/]
- The Carnival of Death (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2007) [first appeared November 1934 Popular Detective: pb/]
- The Great Secret (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2008) [coll: pb/Earle Bergey]
- If I Were You (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2008) [coll: pb/]
- The Last Drop with L Sprague de Camp (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2008) [story: ebook: first appeared November 1941 Astonishing Stories: de Camp credited only on copyright page: na/original Astonishing cover, uncredited]
- Spy Killer (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2008) [coll: pb/]
- Branded Outlaw (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2008) [coll: pb/]
- Under the Black Ensign (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2008) [coll: pb/]
- Danger in the Dark (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2008) [coll: pb/H W Scott]
- The Professor Was a Thief (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2009) [coll: pb/Earle Bergey]
- On Blazing Wings (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2008) [coll: pb/]
- Twenty Fathoms Down (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2009) [novella: first appeared September 1934 Adventure: pb/]
- The Crossroads (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2010) [coll: pb/Edd Cartier]
- A Matter of Matter (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2010) [coll: pb/Hubert Rogers]
- The Tramp (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2010) [first appeared September-November 1938 Astounding: pb/]
- Greed (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2011) [coll: pb/Thomson]
- The Magic Quirt (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2012) [coll: pb/]
- Trouble on His Wings (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2012) [first appeared January 1939 Five-Novels Monthly: pb/]
- Beyond All Weapons (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2012) [first appeared January 1950 Super Science Stories: pb/Lawrence]
- Gunman's Tally (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2013) [coll: pb/]
- One Was Stubborn (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2014) [coll: pb/Hubert Rogers]
nonfiction (highly selected)
- Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health (New York: Hermitage House, 1950) [nonfiction: hb/]
- Scientology: 8-80: The Discovery and Increase of Life Energy in the Genus Homo Sapiens (Phoenix, Arizona: The Hubbard Association of Scientologists, 1952) [nonfiction: hb/]
- Electropsychometry (Los Angeles, California: Mathison Electropsychometers, 1953) with Volney G Mathison [nonfiction: pb/]
- This Is Scientology: The Science of Certainty (London: Hubbard, 1953) [nonfiction: hb/]
- The Phoenix Lectures (Edinburgh, Scotland: The Publications Organization, 1968) [nonfiction: hb/]
about the author (highly selected)
- Russell Miller. Bare-Faced Messiah: The True Story of L Ron Hubbard (London: Michael Joseph, 1987) [nonfiction: hb/]
- William J Widder. Master Storyteller: An Illustrated Tour of the Fiction of L Ron Hubbard (Hollywood, California: Galaxy Press, 2003) [nonfiction: heavily illustrated: hb/]
- Alex Nevala-Lee. Astounding: John W Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A Heinlein, L Ron Hubbard and the Golden Age of Science Fiction (New York: William Morrow/Dey Street Books, 2018) [nonfiction: hb/Tavis Coburn]
links
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