Anyone actually read an L Ron Hubbard book?

[superunknown]

I'm just wondering. Forget Scientology and all the crazy cult stuff, but purely from a literary point of view, are any of his books any good?

[PeterL]

I have read Slaves of Sleep, which he wrote well before he started scientology. It is good pre-WWII SF. He was a good writer. The characters were well developed. The plot was perfectly good science fiction. And so on. I also read one of the battlefield Earth books. That was not nearly as good. The premises were too close to reality to request a suspension of disbelief. The characters were poorly developed, quite flat. Although it had a good ending; I just didn't believe it, because it was demanding that characters do things that they couldn't do.

Slaves of Sleep was sold, all rights, to a publisher.

[mazz]

I didn't mind Battlefield Earth, it gets a bit corny, but has something to say never the less. My partner read all of the Decology ( 10 books ?) he thought they were a great satire on humanity, but I got bored after the first 2. I prefer Orson Scott Card.

[ClickForth]

okokok

[JBI]

Don't buy Scientology books from Scientologists. They never stop calling on you. A friend of mine can't stop them from bothering her. They call, leave messages, and send hundreds of emails.

[superunknown]

I wouldn't. I'd buy them from Amazon or a book store. And I wouldn't get his books on actual Scientology, just his novels before he went cuckoo.