The Devil—With Wings: An Epic Tale of Fighter Aircraft and British Spy-Craft in War-Torn China

By L. Ron Hubbard

Fighter pilot Gary Forsythe is a man on fire. He’s tough, steely-eyed, hunted by many and feared by all. He’s British Secret Service—a striking predecessor to James Bond—with a chip on his shoulder and a .50 caliber machinegun in his flying killing machine. He is The Devil—With Wings.

The Japanese have invaded Manchuria, and Forsythe has made it his mission to stop them. Japanese Military Intelligence has made it their mission to knock the Devil out of the skies. But a dogfight with the Imperial Japanese Air Force is child’s play compared to the challenge that awaits him….

Her name is Patricia Weston. Japanese spies have falsely accused the British pilot of murdering her brother—and now she wants vengeance. And for once in his life, Forsythe is disarmed—by his love for a woman who has vowed to kill him.

As a young man, Hubbard visited Manchuria, where his closest friend headed up British intelligence in northern China. Hubbard gained a unique insight into the intelligence operations and spy-craft in the region as well as the hostile political climate between China and Japan—a knowledge that informs stories like The Devil—With Wings.

“A rousing…adventure thriller…fast action.” —Publishers Weekly

• Language: English
• Publisher: Galaxy Press
• Release date: Mar 21, 2013
• ISBN: 9781592125548

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.

Book preview

The Devil With Wings book cover

SELECTED FICTION WORKS

BY L. RON HUBBARD

FANTASY

The Case of the Friendly Corpse

Death’s Deputy

Fear

The Ghoul

The Indigestible Triton

Slaves of Sleep & The Masters of Sleep

Typewriter in the Sky

The Ultimate Adventure

SCIENCE FICTION

Battlefield Earth

The Conquest of Space

The End Is Not Yet

Final Blackout

The Kilkenny Cats

The Kingslayer

The Mission Earth Dekalogy*

Ole Doc Methuselah

To the Stars

ADVENTURE

The Hell Job series

WESTERN

Buckskin Brigades

Empty Saddles

Guns of Mark Jardine

Hot Lead Payoff

A full list of L. Ron Hubbard’s

novellas and short stories is provided at the back.

*Dekalogy: a group of ten volumes

Title page art from cover

Published by

Galaxy Press, LLC

7051 Hollywood Boulevard, Suite 200

Hollywood, CA 90028

Copyright © 2012 L. Ron Hubbard Library. All Rights Reserved.

Any unauthorized copying, translation, duplication, importation or distribution, in whole or in part, by any means, including electronic copying, storage or transmission, is a violation of applicable laws.

Mission Earth is a trademark owned by L. Ron Hubbard Library and is used with permission. Battlefield Earth is a trademark owned by Author Services, Inc. and is used with permission.

Story Preview cover art from Top-Notch Magazine and horsemen illustration from Western Story Magazine are © and ™ Condé Nast Publications and are used with their permission. Fantasy, Far-Flung Adventure and Science Fiction illustrations: Unknown and Astounding Science Fiction copyright © by Street & Smith Publications, Inc. Reprinted with permission of Penny Publications, LLC.

ISBN 978-1-59212-554-8 ePub version

ISBN 978-1-59212-309-4 print version

ISBN 978-1-59212-310-0 audiobook version

Library of Congress Control Number: 2007927529

Contents

FOREWORD

THE DEVIL—WITH WINGS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

STORY PREVIEW:

THE GREEN GOD

L. RON HUBBARD

IN THE GOLDEN AGE

OF PULP FICTION

THE STORIES FROM THE

GOLDEN AGE

GLOSSARY

FOREWORD

Stories from

Pulp Fiction’s

Golden Age

AND it was a golden age.

The 1930s and 1940s were a vibrant, seminal time for a gigantic audience of eager readers, probably the largest per capita audience of readers in American history. The magazine racks were chock-full of publications with ragged trims, garish cover art, cheap brown pulp paper, low cover prices—and the most excitement you could hold in your hands.

Pulp magazines, named for their rough-cut, pulpwood paper, were a vehicle for more amazing tales than Scheherazade could have told in a million and one nights. Set apart from higher-class slick magazines, printed on fancy glossy paper with quality artwork and superior production values, the pulps were for the rest of us, adventure story after adventure story for people who liked to read. Pulp fiction authors were no-holds-barred entertainers—real storytellers. They were more interested in a thrilling plot twist, a horrific villain or a white-knuckle adventure than they were in lavish prose or convoluted metaphors.

The sheer volume of tales released during this wondrous golden age remains unmatched in any other period of literary history—hundreds of thousands of published stories in over nine hundred different magazines. Some titles lasted only an issue or two; many magazines succumbed to paper shortages during World War II, while others endured for decades yet. Pulp fiction remains as a treasure trove of stories you can read, stories you can love, stories you can remember. The stories were driven by plot and character, with grand heroes, terrible villains, beautiful damsels (often in distress), diabolical plots, amazing places, breathless romances. The readers wanted to be taken beyond the mundane, to live adventures far removed from their ordinary lives—and the pulps rarely failed to deliver.

In that regard, pulp fiction stands in the tradition of all memorable literature. For as history has shown, good stories are much more than fancy prose. William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Jules Verne, Alexandre Dumas—many of the greatest literary figures wrote their fiction for the readers, not simply literary colleagues and academic admirers. And writers for pulp magazines were no exception. These publications reached an audience that dwarfed the circulations of today’s short story magazines. Issues of the pulps were scooped up and read by over thirty million avid readers each month.

Because pulp fiction writers were often paid no more than a cent a word, they had to become prolific or starve. They also had to write aggressively. As Richard Kyle, publisher and editor of Argosy, the first and most long-lived of the pulps, so pointedly explained: The pulp magazine writers, the best of them, worked for markets that did not write for critics or attempt to satisfy timid advertisers. Not having to answer to anyone other than their readers, they wrote about human beings on the edges of the unknown, in those new lands the future would explore. They wrote for what we would become, not for what we had already been.

Some of the more lasting names that graced the pulps include H. P. Lovecraft, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, Max Brand, Louis L’Amour, Elmore Leonard, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Erle Stanley Gardner, John D. MacDonald, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein—and, of course, L. Ron Hubbard.

In a word, he was among the most prolific and popular writers of the era. He was also the most enduring—hence this series—and certainly among the most legendary. It all began only months after he first tried his hand at fiction, with L. Ron Hubbard tales appearing in Thrilling Adventures, Argosy, Five-Novels Monthly, Detective Fiction Weekly, Top-Notch, Texas Ranger, War Birds, Western Stories, even Romantic Range. He could write on any subject, in any genre, from jungle explorers to deep-sea divers, from G-men and gangsters, cowboys and flying aces to mountain climbers, hard-boiled detectives and spies. But he really began to shine when he turned his talent to science fiction and fantasy of which he authored nearly fifty novels or novelettes to forever change the shape of those genres.

Following in the tradition of such famed authors as Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Jack London and Ernest Hemingway, Ron Hubbard actually lived adventures that his own characters would have admired—as an ethnologist among primitive tribes, as prospector and engineer in hostile climes, as a captain of vessels on four oceans. He even wrote a series of articles for Argosy, called Hell Job, in which he lived and told of the most dangerous professions a man could put his hand to.

Finally, and just for good measure, he was also an accomplished photographer, artist, filmmaker, musician and educator. But he was first and foremost a writer, and that’s the L. Ron Hubbard we come to know through the pages of this volume.

This library of Stories from the Golden Age presents the best of L. Ron Hubbard’s fiction from the heyday of storytelling, the Golden Age of the pulp magazines. In these eighty volumes, readers are treated to a full banquet of 153 stories, a kaleidoscope of tales representing every imaginable genre: science fiction, fantasy, western, mystery, thriller, horror, even romance—action of all kinds and in all places.

Because the pulps themselves were printed on such inexpensive paper with high acid content, issues were not meant to endure. As the years go by, the original issues of every pulp from Argosy through Zeppelin Stories continue crumbling into brittle, brown dust. This library preserves the L. Ron Hubbard tales from that era, presented with a distinctive look that brings back the nostalgic flavor of those times.

L. Ron Hubbard’s Stories from the Golden Age has something for every taste, every reader. These tales will return you to a time when fiction was good clean entertainment and the most fun a kid

Reviews for The Devil—With Wings

[anothersheart · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received several L. Ron Hubbard's stories on CD from the Early Reviewers and have to admit I had never heard or read any of his works before. My family and I listened to the audio books in the car while traveling and I have to say we were pleasantly surprised at the entertainment value. The sound effects and voice variations were engaging and the pulp fiction stories helped the time pass quickly. My teenage daughter loved the historical value and happy endings while my boys stayed interested due to the action scenes and the characters. All-in-all, we were a very happy family and my husband and I found these readings opened several conversations with the kids we might not have had otherwise, especially talking about old radio shows and families gathering to listen-in on a weekly basis! We are passing these along to my sister-in-law and her family to enjoy during their travels as well. The audio books have more than earned the 4 star rating from us. The paperback books, on-the-other hand get a mere 3 stars as they were not as entertaining as the adventurous readings.My rating system is as follows:5 stars - Excellent, Worth Every Penny, Made It Into My Personal Library!4 stars - Great book, but not a classic. Passing on for others as a must read & encourage to review. 3 stars - Good overall, generally well written with few errors. Passing on to community library for others to enjoy.2 stars - Would not recommend based on personal criteria, too many typo's, lack of character development, or simply unreliable story-line for me.1 star - Difficult to read, hard to finish, or didn't finish. Wouldn't recommend purchasing or reading.In accordance with the FTC Guidelines for blogging and endorsements, you should assume that every book I review was provided to me by the publisher, media group or the author for free and no financial payments were received, unless specified otherwise.

[atracy69 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another great audio book will look forward to listing to the other's these audio book's are so interting the keep me on my toe's to see what happen's next. Just when I think that the stories will go one way they go another. That's alway's a good thing to keep the reader wondering what's going to happen next.

[eheinlen_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I received a set of L. Ron Hubbard audiobooks to review. This was one of them. The audiobook portion was very well-done and was more like a radio drama of old and less like a traditional audiobook. I did not care for the actual book though.

[willwgp86 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very exciting audiobook! Has lots of sound effects, and a great story! I turned it up for my fiance' to hear a snippet of it, and she thought aloud, "Wow, what book IS this?" I would definitely recommend it if you've read Ron Hubbard's books in the past. The voices make it exciting, and the gunshots, airplanes overhead, and sounds of footsteps keep you on your ears' toes. It's a good listen for a trip, or in my case a few trips to work and back! The different voices, Japanese and English alike, keep the story interesting. I never found myself wandering off for too long.

[drled_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Reviewed for LibraryThing as an early reviewer.Story synopsis: This story is set in China with the Japanese cast as the invaders. Working for China, the brother of Patricia Weston has sent her a message hidden in a statue before he is captured and forced to work for the Japanese. Ching Tze-chang, the Devil with Wings sets out to regain this message and rescue the girl.Review: The only negative with the technology on this product is a small glitch on the first CD. One line is repeated three times, and it is quite apparent that it is not an affectation of the story. This is probably the best acted story of the set I’ve heard. The accents never waiver and the sound effects lend credence to the setting. Since this tale is from the 1930s, the listener is fairly sure of the ending but is left in doubt until the end of the very last chapter.

[glennbell_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A short but entertaining book. It is not deep in plot but has historical basis. The hero is bigger than life and the story is idealizing. I liked it for the example of bravery and wit of the hero. If you are looking for something intellectual, this is not it. Merely entertaining.

[nathanaels_19 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I don't recommend this book, because philosophy is always woven into a writers works, and this author's philosophy is strange. This is good production for an audio book, but it is the content that I dislike from a philosophical perspective.

[gregorio_roth · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a summer type read in which one can lay back and relax or tighten up for a cool adventure. This book is dated, but still reads like a fun comic strip from yesteryear.

[bruce_deming_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A superb spy plot it classic style of the golden age era.

What great scampy characters and a fine tight plot.

[antmusic · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Excellent production and acting make for a fun listen. Questionable content for younger listeners. Content is not edited for current political correctness, so overly sensative listeners may balk. No Scientology within.

[strogan_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Received from Member Giveaways.Like The Dive Bomber, The Devil - With Wings tends to high drama and excitement.While the story certainly provided a fast and action-filled pace and Mr. Hubbard certainly provided an interesting story, it is one that works better for someone who might appreciate this type of story more than I did.

[dokfintong · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received several of these Hubbard audio books from librarything.com. The Devil – With Wings seems darker, more fatalistic than the others in the series and I could easily have imagined Hubbard might choose a black ending rather than the usual hero saves the day. "The Devil with Wings" is what the Japanese occupying Manchuria call the mysterious agent of their misfortune. Clad entirely in black but for glinting aviator goggles and a silver belt buckle, the merciless Devil with Wings strikes fear into the hearts of Japanese soldiers and hope into the Chinese resistance. This time though, his bitter enemy, Captain Ito Shinohari, has set the perfect trap. The Devil with Wings recently killed Bob Westin, an American engineer, and Shinohari knows that all he needs to do is follow Weston's sister, Patricia, who intends to avenge her brother's death. The ensemble cast does an excellent job. Bob Caso provides comic relief playing The Devil with Wing's sidekick, Yale-educated sports star Ching Tze-chang. Background effects are good, as in all of the books in this series.We can imagine that Galaxy Press, publishers of these audiobooks, is a Scientologist outfit, but there is nothing that points directly to a link.You need to save the cast list that comes in the mailer because there seems to be no other list online or in the main packaging of these Galaxy Press audio books.