'Earth' amusing sci-fi

It is rare when a high school student gives an enthusiastic book report on a novel containing over 1,000 pages. So when I heard such a report on Battlefield Earth (L. Ron Hubbard; Bridge Publications 1983), I decided to look.

I was pleasantly surprised.

Having dabbled in science fiction reading and writing since my high school days, I brought some experience and considerable skepticism to the novel. Much modern science fiction isn’t very good, seemingly pounded out by hacks anxious to make a quick buck. But this novel, published in paperback in 1983, didn’t fit the label.

First, I was surprised to find it was written by L. Ron Hubbard, one of the originals in what has become known as the "Golden Age" of science fiction in the late ‘30s and early ‘40s. He, along with such writers as A. E. Van Vogt, Robert A. Heinlein, John W. Campbell and Isaac Asimov, was responsible for the explosion of science fiction 40 years ago.

But somewhere along the line, Hubbard got sidetracked and quit writing. At least he quit writing science fiction. But, it appears now he has time to write. And we are better off for it.

Battlefield Earth takes place, as the title suggests, on Earth in the year 3000 A. D. Man has pretty much destroyed himself with nuclear war and the only people left are little more than savages. Except one young man who wants more out of life. Jonnie Goodboy discovers that alien beings called Psychlos have virtually taken over Earth and because of their great technology will probably never be defeated. Jonnie decides that defeat them he must.

That, in itself would make for a run-of-the-mill novel, but in Hubbard’s case it is only about half. The last half of the novel is taken up with Jonnie’s struggles to make the human race what it once had been. How he handles the task is fascinating reading.

Hubbard claims his novel is pure s. f. He has included technology, business, economics and even manages to create a fairly important character who happens to be a literature teacher and writer. According to Hubbard, "This is the only novel I ever wrote just to amuse myself."

He amused me as well.