Hostage to Death

By L. Ron Hubbard

Running off to join the French Foreign Legion used to be every boy’s dream of action and adventure.  But for Lieutenant Bill Reilly—half Irish, half American, and like Peter O’Toole in Lawrence of Arabia, a Westerner at war in the desert—the dream has turned into a nightmare.  And it all begins with the gruesome delivery of a severed hand. . . .

The dead, gnarled fingers hold a message from the Berber chief Abd el-Ulad. He challenges the courage of the Legion soldiers and says he holds an American woman captive—who, if Reilly doesn’t come to her rescue, is next up for dismemberment. Reilly abandons his post guarding the trains and goes after her.

But it’s all a trick.  In his absence, the railroad falls victim to a terrorist attack.  But who set the trap and engineered the sabotage?  Reilly is caught in a triangle of treachery as the French, Spanish and native Berbers vie for control.  His fate—as well as that of the American woman—rests on his ability to escape a spider’s web of double- and triple-crosses and uncover the truth in a desert of deception.

Hubbard’s knowledge of the Berber raiders as well as of the Arab culture was comprehensive. As a young man he traveled extensively, following and studying numerous nomadic cultures and tribes.  Combining those insights with his experience operating everything from machine guns to field telephones in the Montana National Guard and Marine Corps Reserves, Hubbard brought unique authenticity to his tales of the Foreign Legion. His stories were so exceptional, he was sought after by the premier writers’ magazines of the time to write how-to articles—two of which appeared the same month that Hostage to Death was published.

* An International Book Awards Finalists

• Language: English
• Publisher: Galaxy Press
• Release date: Oct 22, 2009
• ISBN: 9781592125722

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 enduring 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. Then too, of course, there is all L. Ron Hubbard represents as the Founder of Dianetics and Scientology and thus the only major religion born in the 20th century.

Reviews for Hostage to Death

[tpmcnulty · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In addition to the beautiful paperback editions of L. Ron Hubbard's Stories from the Golden Age, interested readers will also enjoy the audio books. Each audio book features a multicast performance with music and sound effects reminiscent of radio's golden age. "Hostage to Death" is a stunner in its own right, but the audio book highlights yet another level of Hubbard's narrative skills. Starring the voice talent of Kelly Ward, familiar to movie fans from "Grease," and "The Big Red One," Ward also directed this audio book version of "Hostage to Death." Additional voice talent is provided by R. F. Daley, Charles Fathy, Christina Huntington, Jim Meskimen, Phil Proctor and Josh R. Thompson. With Hubbard's action-packed pacing, "Hostage to Death" takes off like a bullet and the suspense never lets up. The voice acting is top-notch - indeed, this high quality is evident on ALL of Hubbard's Stories from the Golden Age audio books thanks to the attention-to-detail and loving care provided by Galaxy Press. This is the way audio books should be produced. Adventure stories have never sounded so good. Congratulations to all of the people responsible for producing this outstanding series of audio books.

[cwflatt · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Fun, quick, easy read.