When Shadows Fall

Written by L. Ron Hubbard

Narrated by Bob Caso and R.F. Daley

In a future where Mother Earth has cast her children to the distant starts to begin anew and colonize the cosmos, the planet remains depleted of natural resources. Its air polluted by caustic iron and belching smoke, Earth faces her last desperate days in the grip of global environmental collapse. The fate of Earth rests in one man's hands and heart. Start the countdown. All systems are go, as the audio version of When Shadows Fall takes us on a flight into the future, where the fate of Earth rests in one man's hands and heart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Galaxy Audio
• Release date: Apr 29, 2024
• ISBN: 9781592125470

L. Ron Hubbard

With 19 New York Times bestsellers and more than 350 million copies of his works in circulation, L. Ron Hubbard is among the most acclaimed and widely read authors of our time. As a leading light of American Pulp Fiction through the 1930s and '40s, he is further among the most influential authors of the modern age. Indeed, from Ray Bradbury to Stephen King, there is scarcely a master of imaginative tales who has not paid tribute to L. Ron Hubbard.

Reviews for When Shadows Fall

[jmourgos · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In a continuing effort to republish the fiction of writer L. Ron Hubbard, Galaxy Press put out “When Shadows Fall,” a short anthology of space stories from the 1940s.

The first story in this anthology, “When Shadows Fall” is an indictment of colonization, where the colonizer, committing atrocities on its citizens, itself gets back the “karma”.

In a future where the Earth is dying, both as a planet and as a people, the few citizens left, in an apathy, desire to get in touch with their now-rich colonies across the stars. But the citizens across the stars want nothing to do with Earth’s demands to help it. Bummer!

What I liked about the story was not only the clear criticism of those who ruin a planet and therefore their own lives, but also that there is hope. One can rise out of the ashes, if only to remind those who could help that the civilization, though now broken, was once great and could be great again. Well-written.

“Tough Old Man” is about a young recruit who is sent to work under Keno, a constable who is taking care of the law on a frontier planet, known for its harsh environment but also its billions of dollars’ worth of diamonds lying around. Moffatt at first thinks he’s hot stuff until Keno shows him up. Good ending, with the bad guys captured and a twist ending.

“Battling Bolto” about a guy who works for a charlatan “Professor.” This guy makes robot shells and sells them as the real thing, and takes off before anyone else finds out. To snag our hero, the Prof convinces him to pretend to be a robot and win fights. This is fine until a particular population creates their own fighter. Can “Bolto” fight his way out of this one?

Both stories are not badly done, and reflect the pulp fiction mania of the time.

Recommended, and not just for Hubbard fans, but anyone interested in some quick fiction to get through the day!