L. Ron Hubbard

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

The Empire State Building has vanished into thin air! Gone, too, are Grant's Tomb and Grand Central Station, and all hell is breaking loose in New York City! One grizzled old newspaper reporter known simply as Pop-a role made for Walter Matthau-is on top of it . . . and better stay there, because his livelihood is on the line. If Pop fails to get to the bottom of the vanishing landmarks, his job will disappear as well, not to mention the fate of Earth's remaining landmarks and the missing people within. Battle of the Wizards: When the natives of planet Deltoid refuse to grant mining rights to the Galactic Council, and invasion by force is impossible, a Battle of Wizards is the only option. An epic battle between science and magic unfolds with an entire planet hanging in the balance. "A biting sci-fi satire." -JG Dangerous Dimension: A mathematics professor who discovers an equation that enables him to teleport anywhere he can imagine ... even if he doesn't want to go. By the spring of 1938, 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 a genre that was new, and essentially foreign, to him-science fiction and fantasy. The rest is Sci-Fi history.

Bill Trevillian is as ruggedly handsome as he is bold and brave. Kip Lee is as strikingly beautiful as she is fiery and fearless. And they've got something in common. They're both test pilots . . . for rival aviation companies. Put them together and, like a young Tracy and Hepburn, sparks are bound to fly. The Second World War is raging in Europe, and England and France are looking to America for a fighter plane to match up with the superior Nazi Messerschmitt. The competition between Bill and Kip is fierce, and the stakes are stratospheric. Because there's an added element in the mix: a deadly saboteur. People say all's fair in love and war, but when there's Sabotage in the Sky, the flight path from heated rivalry to heated romance could lead Bill and Kip to crash and burn. "If you crave air adventure written by an airman who knows what a hot plane can do, don't miss Sabotage in the Sky," wrote the editor introducing the story in 1940. And Hubbard's knowledge proved prophetic-unknown to the FBI, the German intelligence service, the Abwehr, was actively gathering intelligence about American military aircraft designs and manufacturing. The author also had personal aviation experience, earning a reputation as a daredevil pilot barnstorming across the United States, landing in farmer's fields and skimming over the top of telephone wires-experiences he put to good use as a well-known aviation correspondent and one of the most accomplished writers of aviation adventure.

Bill Trevillian is as ruggedly handsome as he is bold and brave. Kip Lee is as strikingly beautiful as she is fiery and fearless. And they've got something in common. They're both test pilots . . . for rival aviation companies. Put them together and, like a young Tracy and Hepburn, sparks are bound to fly. The Second World War is raging in Europe, and England and France are looking to America for a fighter plane to match up with the superior Nazi Messerschmitt. The competition between Bill and Kip is fierce, and the stakes are stratospheric. Because there's an added element in the mix: a deadly saboteur. People say all's fair in love and war, but when there's Sabotage in the Sky, the flight path from heated rivalry to heated romance could lead Bill and Kip to crash and burn. "If you crave air adventure written by an airman who knows what a hot plane can do, don't miss Sabotage in the Sky," wrote the editor introducing the story in 1940. And Hubbard's knowledge proved prophetic-unknown to the FBI, the German intelligence service, the Abwehr, was actively gathering intelligence about American military aircraft designs and manufacturing. The author also had personal aviation experience, earning a reputation as a daredevil pilot barnstorming across the United States, landing in farmer's fields and skimming over the top of telephone wires-experiences he put to good use as a well-known aviation correspondent and one of the most accomplished writers of aviation adventure.

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

He's handsome. He's charming. He's a total gentleman ... and he's totally outgunned and outnumbered. He's Michael Patrick Obañon. He is faced with a vicious claim jumper. Can he outwit this band of outlaws in the old west. Obañon's lost his inheritance-a 100,000-acre New Mexico spread-and he could lose his life if he's not careful. A ruthless band of renegades have seized his land, and he's determined to get it back. Obañon's got one secret weapon: his fierce intelligence. He can't outshoot the outlaws, so he'll have to find a way to outwit them.... Part Irish, part Mexican, Michael Patrick Obañon is as American as they come-crafty, confident, and cool under fire. It may be one man against the world, but before he's done the world will know how the West will be won. In the 1930s a radio program, Writers and Readers, hosted by Bob de Haven, delivered news of the hottest authors of the day-interviewing the writers behind the stories. Here's how he promoted an upcoming broadcast with L. Ron Hubbard: "He has placed in print a million and a half words. He is a quantity producer, well paid and in constant demand. He has outlined some valuable information on his lead novelette ... Six-Gun Caballero." It is an introduction to Hubbard that is as pertinent now as it was then. "Hubbard uses the traditional Western form to tell a challenging and unpredictable story, where the hero outwits his attackers instead of merely having to outshoot them ... so intelligent and suspenseful." -SomebodyDies.com

He's handsome. He's charming. He's a total gentleman ... and he's totally outgunned and outnumbered. He's Michael Patrick Obañon. He is faced with a vicious claim jumper. Can he outwit this band of outlaws in the old west. Obañon's lost his inheritance-a 100,000-acre New Mexico spread-and he could lose his life if he's not careful. A ruthless band of renegades have seized his land, and he's determined to get it back. Obañon's got one secret weapon: his fierce intelligence. He can't outshoot the outlaws, so he'll have to find a way to outwit them.... Part Irish, part Mexican, Michael Patrick Obañon is as American as they come-crafty, confident, and cool under fire. It may be one man against the world, but before he's done the world will know how the West will be won. In the 1930s a radio program, Writers and Readers, hosted by Bob de Haven, delivered news of the hottest authors of the day-interviewing the writers behind the stories. Here's how he promoted an upcoming broadcast with L. Ron Hubbard: "He has placed in print a million and a half words. He is a quantity producer, well paid and in constant demand. He has outlined some valuable information on his lead novelette ... Six-Gun Caballero." It is an introduction to Hubbard that is as pertinent now as it was then. "Hubbard uses the traditional Western form to tell a challenging and unpredictable story, where the hero outwits his attackers instead of merely having to outshoot them ... so intelligent and suspenseful." -SomebodyDies.com

The Empire State Building has vanished into thin air! Gone, too, are Grant's Tomb and Grand Central Station, and all hell is breaking loose in New York City! One grizzled old newspaper reporter known simply as Pop-a role made for Walter Matthau-is on top of it . . . and better stay there, because his livelihood is on the line. If Pop fails to get to the bottom of the vanishing landmarks, his job will disappear as well, not to mention the fate of Earth's remaining landmarks and the missing people within. Battle of the Wizards: When the natives of planet Deltoid refuse to grant mining rights to the Galactic Council, and invasion by force is impossible, a Battle of Wizards is the only option. An epic battle between science and magic unfolds with an entire planet hanging in the balance. "A biting sci-fi satire." -JG Dangerous Dimension: A mathematics professor who discovers an equation that enables him to teleport anywhere he can imagine ... even if he doesn't want to go. By the spring of 1938, 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 a genre that was new, and essentially foreign, to him-science fiction and fantasy. The rest is Sci-Fi history.

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."

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."

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.

Bat Conroy-cut him and he'd bleed ink, he's a born newspaperman. Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, Eric Sevareid-the greatest American journalists of the 20th century all made their names as war correspondents, but none of them would have beat out Bat Conroy to a good story. Which makes it that much more mystifying-and aggravating-when an unknown writer, filing under the byline Perry Lane, scoops Bat on every story that comes along. Bat's always been the go-to reporter covering the Japanese invasion of China ... until this Perry Lane person came along to steal his thunder and maybe even his job. Now, the biggest story of the war is about to hit the fan, and Bat's going to get to the source first if it kills him. But the most shocking news of all is the true identity of the elusive Perry Lane. 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 Inky Odds.

Take a touch of Charles Lindbergh, mix in a dash of Evel Knievel, throw in one man-killing cat-and you've got a recipe for a rip-roaring adventure featuring the high-flying, hard-living Smoke Burnham. There's not a dare Smoke won't take, and there's not a wager he won't make. Now he's betting his life that he can fly his plane, Super Comet-with his pet cheetah Patty coming along for the ride-across the mountains and jungles of South America to a prize-winning payday. All he has to do is out-race the competition, out-maneuver a saboteur, and make out with his girl-who's determined to bring him down to earth. One thing you can count on-in the air, in a fight, or in his girlfriend's arms-he's a man who likes to turn up the heat. Because where there's Smoke, there's fire. In 1931, as a student at George Washington University, Hubbard founded the college Glider Club and within a few months a respected columnist said "he is recognized as one of the outstanding glider pilots in the country." Later he wrote as the aviation correspondent for the prestigious flying magazine Sportsman Pilot. His combined writing and flying expertise comprised the perfect recipe to give stories like Man-Killers of the Air their authentic flavor. "Great adventure to keep you on the edge of your seat." -Gather.com

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. 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.

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.

He's a lady's man, a man's man-and a wanted man, on the run in 1930s Europe.... Meet conman Blacky Lee, ruggedly handsome with a quick wit and a roguish charm. Think Clark Gable-with larceny in his heart and a price on his head. A price put there by the German Gestapo. But Blacky's always got an angle, and this time it's as audacious as they come. He'll hide in plain sight, with the stolen identity of the crowned head of a Balkan kingdom-the Iron Duke. Can he pull it off? Win the love of a country beset with communism ... and of the beautiful Countess? All Blacky has to do is risk everything-and, for once in his life, find a way to do the right thing and reform. Hubbard and Gable were fast friends and fellow adventurers. While Hubbard was writing for Columbia Pictures in 1937, the studio often called upon him to doctor scripts for Gable-giving him a unique knowledge of the man and inspiration for characters like Blacky Lee. "Colorful prose, lively action writing, exotic locales...excellent." -Ellery Queen