The Sky Devil

By L. Ron Hubbard

Vic Kennedy is in one hell of a jam. Quick-witted and sharp-tongued with a maverick sense of adventure, Vic’s flown out of trouble by the skin of his teeth ... and straight into the jaws of disaster.
He chose the wrong side of a rebellion, and now the French have bid him adieu and the British have said off you go. It seems the only place that will have him is Greece. The problem with that is, as soon as the Greeks get him, they plan on giving him a real send off—at the gallows.
But Vic has a better idea, plotting a course for an oasis in the Sahara ... where things are looking up. A gorgeous captive princess mistakes Vic for a genie—The Sky Devil—and if he gets his wish, well, this Sky Devil will certainly have his day. If he lives to see it.
Also includes the adventures “Buckley Plays a Hunch,” in which an adventurer seeks to solve the mystery of three castaways who refuse to be rescued; and “Medals for Mahoney,” the story of a man who journeys into the heart of darkness to thwart a murderous conspiracy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Galaxy Press
• Release date: Oct 21, 2013
• ISBN: 9781592126132

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 Sky Devil 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

Published by

Galaxy Press, LLC

7051 Hollywood Boulevard, Suite 200

Hollywood, CA 90028

© 2013 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.

Cover art from Argosy Magazine is © 1937 Argosy Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission from Argosy Communications, Inc. Story illustrations from Top-Notch Magazine and horsemen illustration from Western Story Magazine are © and ™ Condé Nast Publications and is 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 978-1-59212-613-2 EPUB version

ISBN 978-1-59212-401-5 print version

ISBN 978-1-59212-329-2 audiobook version

Library of Congress Control Number: 2007903612

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

THE SKY DEVIL

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

BUCKLEY PLAYS A HUNCH

MEDALS FOR MAHONEY

STORY PREVIEW:

BLACK TOWERS TO DANGER

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 could have on a rainy afternoon or the best thing an adult could enjoy after a long day at work.

Pick up a volume, and remember what reading is supposed to be all about. Remember curling up with a great story.

—Kevin J. Anderson

KEVIN J. ANDERSON is the author of more than ninety critically acclaimed works of speculative fiction, including The Saga of Seven Suns, the continuation of the Dune Chronicles with Brian Herbert, and his New York Times bestselling novelization of L. Ron Hubbard’s Ai! Pedrito!

The Sky Devil

Chapter One

ONE notch on a gauge, five gallons of gas, one hour’s flying time. After that, the Sahara—no water, oceans of shifting sands and no one would either know or care that Vic Kennedy was dead.

But the one notch, the five gallons, remained, and while the engine still bellowed and while the plane bored southeast, Vic Kennedy was content to sit and watch the needle and the unvarying, never-ending panorama of the desert as it unfolded, touched by the ship’s shadow.

His shoulder was numb and he was pleased about it. Perhaps it would stay numb until he had to land. It seemed that his shoulder had hurt forever.

He’d never reach Liberia. He

Reviews for The Sky Devil

[iadam-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I received a free early reviewers audiobook of The Sky Devil from LibraryThing in exchange for a honest review. Two additional short stories were included in this audiobook, "Buckley Plays a Hunch" and "Medals for Mahoney." I enjoyed all of them. This book is well written with lots of action. The Sky Devil plus the included short stories reminded me of the old radio stories and short stories that were published in newspapers and magazines from my childhood. The audiobook comes with complete sound effects and a different voice for each character which allows you to use your imagination and almost makes you feel like you are part of the action. I love the way L. Ron Hubbard writes. I thoroughly enjoy the excitement when reading or listening to L Ron Hubbard's adventure stories.

[rayneofdarkness · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this collection of stories. I put it on to listen to while driving for an extended trip. The first story was probably my favorite. The other just seemed to not be as good, enjoyable yes, but just seem to be lacking in the story. I'm a fan of these series as they are great to keep someone engaged in the story the entire time.

[eggsnhm · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

The story of a pilot about to run out of gas over the Sahara, The Sky Devil tells the story of Vic Kennedy, who winds-up landing between warring clans near an oasis. While this may be a "classic of the golden age" it has only unbelievable stock characters painted with the broadest of strokes and was thoroughly unsatisfying.

[eheinlen_1 · Rating: 3 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.

[jjking_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Despite my misgivings about L.Ron Hubbard and Scientology, I love his pulp fiction.Found cd's w/old radio shows from before I was born and they are just pure fun...and so are these...I would really love to listen to all of them...keeping fingers crossed for more

[mrsbaty · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've listened to several of these "Golden Age stories" from L. Ron Hubbard and the quality of the recordings is universally good. The voice performances are good quality and these definitely remind me of Old Time Radio shows.These stories are all pulp fiction and I find the ones that are more exotic, like this one, to be better than the others. I think the foreign settings make the stories easier to listen to. I enjoyed this one. I received this as a giveaway from Librarything and I appreciated the opportunity to read and review it.

[lawonder10 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

'The Sky Devil' was the main novella, however, included in the book on CD were also: 'Buckley Plays A Hunch' and 'Medals for Mahoney'.'The Sky Devil' was a good action drama. It portrayed Vic Kennedy as an American pilot who helped a group fight a war in Greece. He chose the losing side. The French refused to let him land and the British refused to let him stay. He was able to get enough fuel to go part way to Libya. Over the Sahara desert he thought it was the end of him... but then...is that a mirage or is it real?This began a new experience and "journey" he hadn't thought possible. Again he had to face life threatening situations. Would he prevail or face the final end.This has intrigue, romance and some violence in it. Otherwise, it is great for the whole family.The next, 'Buckley Plays a Hunch' is of a sailor who has searched many months to find a stranded group of researchers. When he sees the pre-set signal he finds all three to be insane. There is plenty of adventure as Buckley finds his life threatened several times and fears he now is stranded as well.This was also written quite well and kept one's interest. The last one, 'Medals for Mahoney', however, lacked in a clear story-line. It was OK but took awhile to "get into it". It was unpredictable, though. It is hard to rate a book when it has multiple stories. The CDs would be very entertaining while you travel. The narration was very good on all three stories so I am still inclined to review this book with a solid Four Stars rating.This is an early review. The actual book or book on CD will not be available for purchase until October 21, 2013. However, Pre-Orders are being accepted.I won this through a Giveaway by The Library Thing with a request for an honest review, of which I have given.

[spfxartist · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really do love these books on CD. So great for a long car ride. The cast did a top notch job which I found to be a truly interesting story and one I'll listen to again and again.

[antmusic · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another great performance in audio drama from Galaxy Press. This set actually features THREE stories: "The Sky Devil," "Buckley Plays a Hunch," and "Medals for Mahoney." "The Sky Devils" was first published in the September 1935 issue of "Top-Notch" and it feels every bit a product of its time. I appreciate that this is an unabridged recording too.Sadly, it seems like Galaxy Audio had changed their audiobook covers to a plain plastic CD case that can't be read from the spine. A HUGE downgrade from their neat-o cardboard packaging that almost felt like a book.

[capiam1234 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This audiobook contains three of L Ron Hubbards short's. The Sky Devil, Buckley Plays a Hunch, and Medals for Mahoney. All theree were entertaining and I was attempting to listen to it once again just to see if it deserved a higher rating, but one listen was all I was really up for so unfortunately I'm sticking to my original thought.

[mrdoan72 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Im a big l ron hubbard fan and this one did not disappoint. The charactors are great the storyline is awsome i would highly recommend this book

[bookwyrmm_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Once again, another fun audio version of a L. Ron Hubbard adventure story - or actually, stories. Aside from The Sky Devil, this also contained the short stories "Buckley Plays a Hunch" and "Medals for Mahoney". All three work together as the main character has to deal with "savages" in an "exotic locale" (remember, these were written in the 30s). The title tale, though, was the most engaging, especially since the main character is taken for a djinn.

[billyburgess · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Galaxy Press has been releasing L. Ron Hubbard's short stories onto audiobooks, featuring a talented voice-cast and outstanding sound effects. All the short stories used come form the Golden Age of the 1930s and 1940s, a time when the newsstands were covered with pulp magazines containing great adventures from well-known authors to amateur writers.Coming out tomorrow is "The Sky Devil" by L. Ron Hubbard, which originally appeared in the September 1935 issue of Top-Notch. At a running time of over an hour, the story centers on the American pilot Vic Kennedy, who happens to find himself on the wrong side of the Greek war after he had personally brought in the rebel leader to the ancient city of Alexandria, but he now finds himself as an outsider. He has nowhere to go as the British won't let him stay, the French don't want him and the Greek wants him dead!Wounded and with his plane running low on fuel, Vic makes the decision to land in the Sahara oasis, heal his wound and get more fuel. At least that was his original plan until he crosses path with a beautiful captive princess. Her father (the King) is forcing her to marry an ugly man, whom she doesn't love. When she meets Vic, she mistakes him for a genie known as The Sky Devil. Vic will be praying for a real genie or a miracle if he is going to survive the Sahara and save the princess.There are two more stories on the two-disc audiobook, Buckley Plays A Hunch and Medals For Mahoney. In Bucky Plays A Hunch, a boat captain goes to the Marianas Islands to search for a missing exploratory team, only to find out that the team doesn't want to leave. In Medals For Mahoney, an American solider guarding a warehouse on the Kamling Island gets more than he bargained for when there is a standoff between a general manager and the a tribe of headhunters.After reviewing several audiobooks Stories From the Golden Age, The Sky Devil happens to be the longest, but it didn't actually feel like it was that long as all three adventure stories caught my interest from the very beginning and time flew by quickly. Though The Sky Devil isn't the best of L. Ron Hubbard's short stories, it is still entertaining. I only wish other short stories by the countless authors from the golden age would be reprinted or brought out as an audiobook for new generations of readers.

[winnemucca · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

L. Ron Hubbard's The Sky Devil is a treat for the senses. The audio and sound-effects are an engaging addition to Hubbard's skillful ability to capture the suspense and drama in words.I found a useful website after listening to the recording which may be of use to other listeners who wish to write reviews. At books.google.com one is able to read the first and last chapters of books. I used the site to check on spellings of Es Samad, El Aslad, King Zahr and Lady Dunya. These characters accompany Victor Kennedy on an swashbuckling adventure of the caliber of Raiders of the Lost Ark.These Galaxy Press Stories from the Golden Age never disappoint.

[handybear · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I received this audio book from LibraryThing.com to review and really enjoyed it. The voice actors and soundtrack really bring it to life. The story itself was classic pulp fiction, with the hero and his damsel in distress, fighting against all odds. Mercenary Vic Kennedy is left injured and no place to go after siding with the wrong side. When he sees a city in the middle of the Sahara he decides to land rather and finds the beautiful princess being forced into marriage. With her help he must prove he is not an evil Djinn and save her people from the scheming of her father's enemies.Included in this set are the shorter tales - Medals for Mahoney and Buckley Plays a Hunch.

[shelbel100 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This audio book is a quaint throwback to spaghetti westerns. A nice way to pass the time while riding in the car. It differs, in a very good way, from other audio books in that each character is played by a different person, including the narrator. Listening to one voice drone on throughout an entire book can be tiresome and this book is not tiresome. It is a bit corny, though.

[mickeycat_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

We begin with our hero (Kennedy) crash landing in dramatic fashion. He finds himself sneaking into a luxurious palace (where he happens to speak the language). Here, he finds an imprisoned princess, who is locked up to assure she marries the man her father has chosen. Kennedy is wounded and trespassing. There are swashbuckling fights and escape attempts, but eventually he is slated to be burned as the “devil” the locals (Tourigs) believe a flying man to be. With some clever chemistry, Kennedy avoids his burning and saves the kingdom from a greedy enemy. After a great deal of maneuvering, Kennedy convinces the locals that he is a special kind of guy and after several dramatic fights and daring aerobatic flights, Kennedy saves the day and gets the girl. The story is certainly exciting, but contains a great deal of war-talk and battle scenes. As a woman, much of it was wasted on me – that does not mean it is not good, but a man would enjoy it more, in my opinion. The other stories on the disc (“Buckley Plays a Hunch”, and “Medals for Mahoney”) were more to my liking. In “Buckley”, we are introduced to a man who has been hired to search for a long lost scientific expedition. When he finally finds the missing men, Buckley is plagued by uneasiness and sadness at the plight of the men. The missing men, meanwhile, appear to be suffering from mental illness after their long, solitary exile. The men strand Buckley on the island in return for his efforts. Ultimately, Buckley begins searching for others on the island and soon finds some of them men he thought had left him. After bravely fighting the men, and realizing there is something just not right with them; Buckley heads back to his craft and low and behold – uncovers the secret to the mysterious uncomfortable feeling he has had since landing on the island. With the mystery uncovered (I will not give it away here!)…Buckley earns his pay.The last story on the disc is “Medals for Mahoney”. Mahoney is transferred to a remote jungle station where he is immediately set upon by the local natives. After a skirmish and near death experience he realizes the locals’ truly only want justice – and they want Mahoney to deliver it. Ultimately good wins over evil and the story ends on a high note.As with all the Hubbard stories, I tend to enjoy the shorter ones more than the longer ones – but all these were good. They certainly appeal more to men, but ultimately – we all like a good hero!

[dokfintong · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

OK. So L. Ron Hubbard is a bit of a joke, but if we put that aside, his stories are great examples of their type and era. No we would not write this story now, it's too farfetched and culture bashing for modern tastes, but for its time it was fine.The title story – The Sky Devil – is a standard tale of Vic Kennedy who finds himself accidently in the women's quarters of a Muslim palace. Yikes! It's off with his head if he is found out. Fortunately the young woman who discovers him thinks he's a djinn and then falls for him romantically. Mr. Hubbard could have made this a farce – as in "Some Like it Hot" – but instead plays it straight and honourable. Love triumphs after adversity and all ends well.This is a performance audio, not a reading, and the quality is excellent.There are two other Hubbard stories included in the CD set and they are not particularly good.I received a review copy of "The Sky Devil" by L. Ron Hubbard (Galaxy Audio) through LibraryThing.com.

[bemislibrary · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The quality of the recording and the readers is very good. Sky Devil finds Vic Kennedy on the run after supporting the losing side in a Greek war. The situation ended too abruptly. Buckley Plays a Hunch finds a sea captain trying to rescue an exploration team that does not want to be rescued. Medals for Mahoney has the title character caught in the middle between traders and native headhunters.

[andy_dimartino · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Love these!! Quick little pulp fiction stories from 80 years ago when times were simpler!!1

[pebblesgmc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Victor Kennedy and his bi-plane are lost over the Egyptian desert low on gas he sees a mirage. With nothing to loss he heads for the mirage, he lands in a walled court yard and finds a woman. Also includes strories: "Buckley Plays a Hunch" in which an adventurer seeks to solve the mystery of three castaways who refuse to be rescued. "Medals for Mahoney", the story of man who journeys into the heart of darkness to thwart a murderous conspiracy.