Battlefield Earth: Science Fiction New York Times Best Seller

By L. Ron Hubbard

Suspense, politics, war, humor and intergalactic finance. A towering masterwork of science fiction adventure and one of the best-selling science fiction novels of all time, L. Ron Hubbard's Battlefield Earth opens with breathtaking scope on an Earth dominated for 1,000 years by an alien invader and man is an endangered species. From the handful of surviving humans a courageous leader emerges Jonnie Goodboy Tyler, who challenges the invincible might of the alien Psychlo empire in a battle of epic scale, danger and intrigue with the fate of the Earth and of the universe in the tenuous balance. "A terrific story." —Robert Heinlein

• Language: English
• Publisher: Galaxy Press
• Release date: Jun 21, 2011
• ISBN: 9781592128464

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 Battlefield Earth

[cmc_22 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This book is so bad, after I'd read it the first time, and some time had passed, I couldn't believe it could be as bad as I remembered it being. But it was.

[robertday_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I picked this up to read because a well-known fan had assured me (and lots of other people) that this was so bad, it was good.It wasn't. It was worse than that.

[aspirit-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book when I was a teenager. When I started writing fiction in my twenties, I couldn't ignore that the story reads as self-indulgent. Hubbard crammed too many concepts into one, rambling novel. The would have appealed to a wider audience if it had been more heavily edited and possibly split into two books. Still, I like how he played with common science fiction tropes and showed our species capable of rising above our own ignorance with determination and courage.

[jonbee56_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This is the reason I joined 'Library Thing'.The book is so bad that I had to read it all to tell people how bad it is. Without reading it, I could not state a warranted opinion. The only good thing about the author was the way he found the tax avoidance loophole by creating the Church of Scientology. You just gotta give credit where it's due

[kimcatalano · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an epic Science Fiction book and a must read. 1,000 pages of pure action. The main character is factually up against all odds to save the last of the human race and he has many aliens and other species he's got to contend with. The ending is incredible and you just need to make sure you clear out your schedule when you start this one!

[cameronl_51 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good science fiction? No. But pure pulp. Fun, stupid read. Just check your brain at the door.

[jdayrutherford · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I think it is suffcient to say "AWFUL". Just way to long to waste time on.

[kevlarrelic · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Man, did I love this book. First of all, I was entranced by the way it all worked out, sometimes in ways that I couldn't imagine, yet still logical. I always love to be surprised.Secondly, I loved to watch a struggling underdog overcome the insurmountable odds against him. After I finished reading this book I wanted to put a poster of the main character, Johnny, on my bedroom wall, that's how cool I think he is.And finally, it's HUGE! And that just means there is more of a good thing.So, if you're like me, kinda into science fiction, and you ( thank god ) haven't had your expectations soiled by the god-awful movie, check this book out!

[bemislibrary · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This pulp fiction story has all the basics. Hubbard includes adventure, gritty characters, science fiction environment, and superficial relationships. The familiar alien invasion, good versus evil theme, includes environment devastation along with human genocide. There is a slim chance that the human race will survive or overcome the Psychos invaders, but Jonnie, the hero of the story, sets out to accomplish that goal. At times, the action requires the reader to suspend logical and statistical probabilities. In addition, there is just enough character development to keep the plot moving. It is one of those books, a person has to pick up and decide whether it is worth the time commitment to be able to judge whether it is worth reading.

[linda.bass · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I received this book in exchange for an honest review an was amazed at the foresight of this author! This book is not a fast read, but it goes into detail of what could happen if ruthless aliens decided they wanted the riches of our planet and would stop at nothing to take them! Not even earth's combined military is enough to stop the Psychlos from achieving their mission, but one lone boy/man is captured, treated like an animal until he has the chance to save earth, but Johnnie Tyler wonders how he can achieve the impossible when all of earth's superpowers couldn't? One thing he knows is it is better to die trying than be kept in a cage as an animal......

[gypsysmom_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

L. Ron Hubbard may be better known now as the father of Scientology but he wrote some great classic science fiction. This opus tells the story of the battle for earth in the year 3000.

[nsenger-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Think of the 'Star Wars' sagas and 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' mix in the triumph of 'Rocky I,' 'Rocky II,' and 'Rocky III,' and you have captured the exuberance, style and glory of 'BATTLEFIELD EARTH.'It was the above blurb from The Evening Sun in 1984 that convinced me to take a chance on a 1,000-page science fiction novel, and I have never regretted it. It's been over twenty years since I last read Battlefield Earth, and it's still as much fun as I remembered. It remains one of my top two or three favorite science fiction novels of all time.It's the year 3000, and Earth has been conquered for a thousand years by the vicious Psychlos, an alien race that is gutting the planet of its mineral resources. Humanity has been reduced to around 50,000 people, scattered in primitive communities around the globe, barely hanging on. High in the Rocky Mountains, Johnny Goodboy Tyler becomes fed up with his village's meager existence and decides to set out to find a safer place to live. While exploring the ruins of the ancient city of Denver, he encounters Terl, the Psychlo security chief on Earth. Their meeting sets off a chain of events that becomes one wild ride after another as Johnny tries to single-handedly take the planet back.Battlefield Earth is non-stop action and adventure--space opera at its finest. The story hearkens back to the golden age of science fiction, with spaceship battles, alien technology, cliffhangers, and impossible odds. It also suffers from some of the same limitations of vintage science fiction: weak (and nearly non-existent) women characters, stereotyped villains, unbelievable escapes. But those limitations are more than made up for by the tight plotting, unrelenting action, and sheer exuberance of the story. You almost need a bowl of popcorn while you're reading it.Speaking of popcorn, avoid the movie version of Battlefield Earth starring John Travolta. Some call it the worst movie ever made, and it was named "Worst Picture of the Decade (2000-2009)." at the 30th Golden Raspberry Awards. The movie only covers the first half of the book, and suffers from "hammy acting,...mediocre special effects, corny dialogue, and several plot inconsistencies." Thankfully, I've never seen it, because I didn't want to ruin my experience of the book. But if you've suffered through the movie, don't judge the book by what you saw. And if you happened to like the movie, then chances are you will love the book.Battlefield Earth is vintage science fiction on steroids. It's not perfect, but it's a whole lot of fun.

[ptbooks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I wasn't a big science fiction fan until I read this book. The characters and plot were so interesting I was annoyed when I had to stop reading the book to go to work. The bad guys are despicable and the good guys are awesome. I highly recommend it, even if you are not a science fiction fan.

[jspringbrinkley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Literally could not put this book down. One of my favorites, but I refuse to watch the ridiculous looking John Travolta movie.

[etimme_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

One dimensional space epic with no complex themes. The internal dialogue is formulaic and clumsy and the good/evil conflicts are too transparent to enjoy. I put the book down after 344 pages at the point that Terl tries to kill Johnny Goodboy after getting his gold and couldn't pick it back up. The message I got from the book is that "things will work out in the end if your quest is righteous."

[06nwingert · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoy long books, and Battlefield Earth happens to be the world's longest book. Hubbard's writing and storytelling is great, but Hollywood messed it up (not to mention Hubbard is the creator of scientology, which adds another layer of craziness to this tome).

[lilyroseshadowlyn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Whew this was a long one. I'm sure many are familiar with L Ron Hubbard as the creator of Scientology - I'm not going to let that have any bearing on this review, because really my opinions on the author's beliefs have nothing to do with how I feel about the book itself. I've never seen the movie, but I found the book to be an interesting post-apocalyptic saga of the resilience of mankind. Civilization, if you can call it that, has been thrown back to basics, although some remnants of what the world once was still remain. The big challenge is navigating the aliens that now control Earth as a human, and surviving in a world mankind no longer dominates. Following Johnny on his journey out of his settlement, exploring fallen cities, and trying to survive being captured by aliens was fascinating. The descriptions are vivid, and the thought of the world one-day ending up this way is chilling. A great sci-fi saga that has withstood the test of time.

[pallandavid · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The basic story is good but it is sooooo wordy! Especially the last 100-150 pages. This could do good with a Reader's Digest condensation.

[bookwyrmm_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Hubbard is a highly detailed and imaginative writer, but each section would have worked better as a novella in a series rather than all together in a 1K page tome.

[marcuk-502011 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A very entertaining read...

[gmanrodt · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Horrid. Absolutely horrid. I must first, for honesty's sake, unashamedly admit that gave up on this book at page 511. I figure if you read 500 pages of a book and you still hate it, it is time to quit. The characters the Hubbard portrays are lifeless, cardboard, cliché caricatures. The Psychlos are flat and stupid. To be continually outwitted by a farmboy, using their own technology, was eventually too much to take. Hubbard’s writing style leaves much to be desired. He uses clichés, is very wordy, and repetitive. It is mind-boggling that he is able to fill so many pages, while saying so little. All that being said, however, my biggest complaint was how unrealistic his character dialog’s were. No one talks like this. I have seen B-Movies with better dialog.All in all, I would recommend reading ANYTHING else. I have not read a book this bad in memory.

[tadad_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Let's see: Cardboard characters...check!Unbelievable plot...check!Bad science...check!Poor writing skills...check!Yep, it's got it all.But, by my own standards, I couldn't give it the ½ star rating it really deserves. I had such a sick fascination with it that I actually skimmed through the middle 700 pages to find out how this gobbler was brought to an end. That would make it a 1½ star book. Impossible!...I'll average it to 1 star.Oh, I forgot to mention the introduction Mr. Hubbard wrote for the book that evidenced an ego the size of California.Do not buy this book!

[juliebooks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of my favorite all time SF adventures! The audio just released on a playaway -- I definitely recommend it. You will have a hard time putting this one down -- but with playaway, you can bring it with you just about anywhere, Enjoy!