Action Adventure Short Stories Collection

The ancient jungles of the Yucatan hide a world of secrets . . . the secrets of wealth, love, and fate. Now daredevil pilot Kurt Reid is about to tempt fate and fly into the heart of that jungle in search of his destiny-an adventure as daring and dangerous as any undertaken by Indiana Jones.He's looking for gold, but not just any. He's after one particular nugget-flying blind into a tropical haystack in search of a very valuable needle. Thanks to his grandfather's vexing dying wish, his entire inheritance-as well as the shape of his future-hangs on the success of his journey.As if that weren't bad enough, Kurt soon finds that his family legacy runs deep and dark in the Yucatan. The Mayans mistake Kurt for his grandfather, and they've got fifty-years worth of revenge to serve up. Whether he lands on the sacrificial altar or in the arms of his sexy co-pilot Joy, things are bound to heat up fast in pursuit of Forbidden Gold.In 1931, as a student at George Washington University, Hubbard founded the college Glider Club and within a few months a respected columnist said "he is recognized as one of the outstanding glider pilots in the country." Later he wrote as the aviation correspondent for the prestigious flying magazine Sportsman Pilot. His combined writing and flying expertise comprised the perfect recipe to give stories like Forbidden Gold their authentic flavor.

A blind obsession. A driving ambition. A relentless, unrestrained, single-minded pursuit of a shiny metal. These are the symptoms of a condition known as gold fever, and, like Bogart in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, American mining engineer Captain Humbert Reynolds has got it bad. Possible side effects include: temporary insanity, a propensity for violence, and death. The search for gold has taken Reynolds from the ruins of the Yucatan to the mountains of Ecuador to the wilderness of northern Canada. Now, his search for a yellow brick bonanza has brought him halfway around the world, to the Gobi desert. But the lure of the precious metal is about to lead Reynolds into a Golden Hell, as he plunges into an inferno-a mountain of horrors run by an unspeakably evil gang. And if he doesn't find a way out, a path to redemption, he may find that instead of snatching the ultimate prize he will have to pay the ultimate price. In 1927 Hubbard served aboard a schooner sailing across the South Pacific bound for the coast of China. Making his way inland, he ventured deep into forbidden Buddhist lamaseries, shopped at the Thieves Market, made camp with Mongolian bandits, and witnessed the trade in stolen Chinese treasures. Drawing on those experiences as well as his time as a gold prospector, Hubbard infuses Golden Hell with extraordinary historical authenticity. Also includes the adventure, Pearl Pirate, a story of betrayal and deceit in which an American captain loses his ship to a money-lender, and the only way to get it back is to outfight and outfox a ruthless pirate and bring home a fortune in black pearls.

Breathtaking, pulse-pounding adventures that would put Indiana Jones on edge. Buckle up for adventure in these action-packed tales that appeared in the pages of the most popular pulp fiction magazines of the 1930's and 1940's. The Collection includes: International Book Awards Winner: The Trail of the Red Diamonds as well as The Iron Duke, Sea Fangs, Golden Hell, The Headhunters, Destiny's Drum, The Black Sultan and The Devil-With Wings.

Spring has come to White Bear Landing-and so has the law, in the firm hands of Royal Mounted policeman and pilot Bob Dixon. Dixon's as gruff, tough and good-looking as Russell Crowe, and in this outpost halfway between the arctic mines and civilization, he's known for taking the law to extremes. More than once Dixon has meted out his own brand of rough justice with hard fists and hot lead, but now the tables have turned. The past has come back to haunt him, he's been set up as a murder suspect, and a rogue's gallery of enemies are lining up to settle old scores . . .Out on the icy tundra, on the edge of the world, revenge can be cold-and brutal. Dixon's only hope is to let the trust of a good friend and the love of a good woman lead the way to true justice and redemption-on Arctic Wings. Hubbard never wrote a word, conceived a character, or described a setting without first finding out all he could about the people and places that drove his stories. He wrote: "I began to search for research on the theory that if I could get a glimmering of anything lying beyond a certain horizon, I could go deep enough to find an excellent story. I read exhaustively. I wanted information and nothing else." His exhaustive research-and search for the excellent story-comes through brilliantly in Arctic Wings.

Stop the presses! One hundred thousand dollar reward offered for the return of George Harley Rockham! That's more than enough to turn Shanghai newspaperman Jimmy Vance's head. Throw in the gorgeous dame who's offering the reward-Rockham's daughter Virginia-and he might lose his head altogether. As fast-talking as Jimmy Stewart in The Philadelphia Story, Vance jumps at the chance . . . the money . . . and the girl. But as Jimmy quickly discovers, there are several billion reasons to watch his back. Because that's how much Rockham is worth, and there are some very hard cases out there willing to kill to separate the old man from his money. Next thing Jimmy knows, Virginia's tied to a chair, and he's got a couple of guns pointed at his head. But it'll take more than a little rope and a couple of firearms to keep this reporter down. The truth is tied to the mysterious fate of a steamship named Shanung-and what Jimmy finds could be the biggest story of his life . . . if he lives to tell it. In the issue of Smashing Novels where this story first appeared the editor wrote: "Loot of the Shanung is a soul-stirring tale of the China Sea, a story of modern piracy set in the Far East. L. Ron Hubbard wrote it. He knows China. He has been there. He traveled through the country and met the people and observed their customs. Smashing Novels will have other stories from him-stories of far-off places and little known people. He knows of what he writes."

Vic Kennedy is in one hell of a jam. Quick-witted and sharp-tongued with Nicholas Cage's 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. . . .In 1933, when L. Ron Hubbard began his professional writing career, he entered a crowded and competitive field. But he very quickly separated from the pack, making a name for himself as a writer who was both good and fast. So good and fast, in fact, that in 1935 the three stories included in this volume were all published in the same issue of an all-fiction magazine. Fully a quarter of the issue had been written by Hubbard-though readers didn't know it, two of the stories appearing under two different pseudonyms. 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 man who journeys into the heart of darkness to thwart a murderous conspiracy.

The magical world of pulp fiction. Explore uncharted, larger-than-life & historically accurate tales from an author who lived his adventures. These are six award-winning titles by one of the world's most published authors, L. Ron Hubbard. Six books, thirteen stories, original illustrations and glossaries of cultural and historical terms. "A 'must' for his legions of fans and an impressive tribute to his storytelling skills in the heyday of pulp magazine fiction!" -The Midwest Book Review This Collection includes: International Book Awards Winner: Devil's Manhunt, AudioFile Award Winners: The Iron Duke, Sea Fangs & Tomb of the Ten Thousand Dead, Publishers Weekly Listen Up Award Winners: Spy Killer & The Great Secret.

As a lieutenant in the US Marine Corps-as handsome and cocky as Richard Gere-Michael Stuart was once considered an officer and a gentleman. But that's all changed. Now he's seen as a renegade, a traitor and a thief. Stuart is a man without a country . . . and perhaps without a prayer. Why? Because in a daring plot to foil the Japanese puppet regime in China, he set out to reinstate the country's true emperor. Known now as The Red Dragon, Stuart is a soldier of fortune in war-torn Manchuria-and a man of honor in a world of treachery. Stuart's latest adventure takes him from Peking to the Great Wall and beyond. He's in a race against time and against the Japanese super-spy known as the Hell-Cat, both of them in hot pursuit of an elusive black chest. For Stuart, the ultimate prize is one filled with mystery, power, and treasure-not only in the chest itself, but in the love of the beautiful woman who has sent him on this mission. . . .It was on Hubbard's second journey to East Asia that he met British Secret Service agent, Major Ian MacBean, who introduced him to "The Great Game," the geopolitical tug-of-war between China, Japan, and Britain. Hubbard also learned of the trade in stolen Chinese treasures, and was exposed to the secret criminal society known as The Red Dragon-inspiring this story of the same name. He has captured a singular time in this storied land.

Drilling for oil is a dirty business, and for Bill Murphy, it's about to turn positively filthy. But Murphy's as big and tough as his home state of Texas-a man in the mold of a young John Wayne-and he's more than a match for everything the oil-rich land of Venezuela can throw at him. Everything, that is, except for one woman . . .Her name is Marcia Stewart. She's fiery, she's brave, and she's beautiful . . . and she'd like nothing better than to see Bill Murphy dead. Her oilman father's been killed, and Marcia tags Murphy as the murderer. Murphy's guilty of a lot of things, but murder's not one of them. He's drilling down for the truth, and now it's his land, his love for Marcia-and his life-that are on the line. With so much at stake, he'll go to any length to come out on top of the Black Towers to Danger. When Black Towers to Danger was first published in 1936, the editor wrote: "L. Ron Hubbard, as you know, is a pilot, a writer and an engineer. The one thing he doesn't work at is engineering. He was in China at 15 and has covered a lot of territory since then. If he's on a flying field-or anywhere else-you can't miss him-he's a tall, slender chap with very fair skin and bright red hair. Something picturesque about him as there should be about a flyer." And not only was he a man with a commanding presence, so too did he have command over his material, researching the entire oil drilling process for this story.

He's a lady's man, a man's man-and a wanted man, on the run in 1930s Europe….Meet Blacky Lee, ruggedly handsome with a quick wit and a roguish charm. Think Clark Gable-with larceny in his heart and a price on his head. A price put there by the German Gestapo. But Blacky's always got an angle, and this time it's as audacious as they come. He'll hide in plain sight, impersonating the crowned head of a Balkan kingdom. He'll become The Iron Duke. Can he pull it off? Win the love of a country…and of a beautiful woman? All Blacky has to do is risk everything-and, for once in his life, find a way to do the right thing. Hubbard and Gable were fast friends and fellow adventurers. While Hubbard was writing for Columbia Pictures in 1937, the studio often called upon him to doctor scripts for Gable-giving him a unique knowledge of the man and inspiration for characters like Blacky Lee.

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

Meet Eddie Moran, a slightly disreputable American cooling his heels in French Morocco. And don't be surprised if the young Cary Grant comes to mind, because Eddie's as smooth as they come, one step ahead of the game…and of the police. Who's after him? Just about everybody. What's he done? A bit of everything-smuggler, revolutionary, whatever crooked little scheme will pay for his next meal or next drink. But Eddie's latest caper is one he may not be able to escape…even if he wants to. Stumbling into a fight between a couple of Berber chieftains, Eddie lands in a prison run by The Black Sultan. He may be a captive of the Sultan, but he's captivated by a stunning young woman the Sultan means to add to his harem. For her, Eddie might just go straight-if he can get them out of this hellhole alive. When The Black Sultan was originally published, Hubbard said that writers too often "forget a great deal of the languorous quality which made the Arabian Nights so pleasing. Jewels, beautiful women, towering cities filled with mysterious shadows, sultans equally handy with robes of honor and the beheading sword.… These things still exist, undimmed, losing no luster to the permeating Occidental flavor which reaches even the far corners of the earth today." Hubbard brings this unique insight to his stories of North Africa and the Legionnaires, investing them with an authenticity of time, place and character that kept his readers asking for more. Also includes the adventure story, Escape for Three, in which a bold trio of French Legionnaires come to the rescue of their great leader-only to decide he may not be so great after all.

Tom Christian is on the trail of revenge and a fortune in gold. As square-jawed and rugged as Clark Gable in his prime, Tom is headed deep into the jungles of the Solomon Islands to find Punjo Charlie-the ruthless criminal who killed his partner. But these jungles are thick with danger . . . as greed, temptation and sudden violence threaten to draw Tom into the heart of darkness. There's a pile of gold. . . . There's a beautiful blonde. . . . And there's a bloodthirsty tribe of headhunters who have fallen under the spell of Punjo Charlie. The trap has been set. The question is: will Tom fall into it? Will he lose his way and lose his head . . . or will he get his revenge, get the gold and get the girl? The answer lies buried in the rain forest . . . and in Tom's heart. And as he's about to discover, there's only one way out of the jungle: all-out war. In 1927, L. Ron Hubbard sailed across the Pacific to Guam to meet his naval officer father. It was the beginning of an adventure that would take him from the Western Hills of China to the South Pacific islands. Along the way he met Cantonese pirates, Chamorro natives, British spies, and headhunters of the South Pacific. He was one of the few Westerners to come away from an encounter with a headhunter tribe not only unscathed, but bearing gifts as well. Those experiences and knowledge proved invaluable in the writing of such stories as The Headhunters.

Bob Sherman has a strength of character and purpose that would make Spencer Tracy proud. But signing on to the crew of the yacht Bonito, he'll need every ounce of his strength and courage to overcome the forces arrayed against him-in Sea Fangs. He'll take on the forces of nature-a hurricane smashing into the boat off the Venezuelan coast. He'll stand up to the forces of ignorance-Bonito's incompetent captain. He'll defy the forces of corruption-the boat's owner, who stripped him of his land years ago. And he'll fight the forces of evil-a ruthless band of pirates who take all aboard, including the owner's daughter, to the uncharted Island of Death. His fate intertwined with a woman whose father stole everything he valued, Sherman is about to discover that there's one force as powerful, unpredictable and dangerous as the sea itself . . . the force of a beautiful woman's love. Hubbard had vast experience at sea. By the time he'd written this story, he had traveled twice to China on Naval vessels, had signed on a twin-masted schooner plying the Chinese coast, and had organized a five-thousand mile expedition aboard a four-masted schooner. He had first-hand experience of the violence of the sea-and of the men who ply it-as he depicts in Sea Fangs.

As daring and defiant as Kirk Douglas journeying 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, there's no stopping diver Hawk Ridley as he takes the plunge into a briny world of untold riches and danger. The Caribbean is a fortune hunter's dream, salted with the gold of galleons long ago claimed by the deep. Now Hawk's headed for the Windward Passage of Haiti to stake his claim. But a rival team has also picked up the scent, and they're willing to turn the sea red with blood to get to the gold first. Fighting off ruthless competitors is nothing new to Hawk…but fighting off a beautiful woman is a different story. Is she an innocent stowaway or a seductive saboteur? Between the cool millions lying on the bottom of the ocean, and the boiling-hot race to grab it, Hawk's about to find the answer and make a discovery Twenty Fathoms Down that will blow you out of the water. When it came to research, Hubbard was not one to head for the library. He always went to the source-in this case a U.S. navy deep-sea diver who agreed to show him the ropes and the danger. Hubbard admits it was daunting-even frightening-but he returned from the experience with all the first-hand knowledge he needed to fathom the true nature of life and death underwater.

There are all kinds of crazy, but there's only one Yukon Madness. And Royal Mountie Tommy McKenna-a role made for Canadian-born Glenn Ford-has seen first-hand the terror that follows in its wake . . . his partner murdered and fed to a pack of wolves. But that's only a taste of the horrors to come. Bent on revenge, McKenna sets out to find the madman himself-a monster who goes by the name Itauk. He quickly finds, however, that there's only one way to get to the beast-through the man's raven-haired beauty of a girlfriend, Raja. But whose side is Raja on? Can McKenna win her over? Or will he too end up dead meat? The bait has been cast, the scent has been taken, and the trap has been set. The only question is, who is the predator and who is the prey? Hubbard never wrote a word, conceived a character, or described a setting without first finding out all he could about the people and places that drove his stories. He wrote: "I began to search for research on the theory that if I could get a glimmering of anything lying beyond a certain horizon, I could go deep enough to find an excellent story. . . . I began to read exhaustively. . . . I wanted information and nothing else." His exhaustive research-and search for the excellent story comes through in this book three times over. Also includes the adventures The Cossack, which takes place in revolutionary Russia and explores the high price one man pays for refusing to kiss a Duchess, and The Small Boss of Nunaloha, the exotic story of a man who may be short, but who stands tall when it comes to defending his turf-an island in the Pacific.

An obscure original manuscript of Marco Polo's travels . . . A tantalizing clue to the site of Kublai Khan's fabled burial site . . . A chance to unearth the truth behind a long-lost treasure. It's an opportunity that would make Indiana Jones drop everything but his whip and race off to China. But he'd be too late. Lieutenant Jonathan Daly is way ahead of him. Two bullet holes and a bad case of malaria may not be enough to stop Daly, but a crew of criminals, a brood of British agents, and the entire Chinese army are all in the game . . . and determined to keep him out of it. The stakes are too high, and the potential rewards too great, though, to let a little treachery, betrayal and human sacrifice stand in Daly's way. He's hot on The Trail of the Red Diamonds-a cache of exceedingly rare gems that were meant to light the way to heaven as an offering to the gods. And only God knows if Daly will manage to dig up the diamonds . . . or end up buried with them. It was on Hubbard's second journey to East Asia that he met British Secret Service agent, Major Ian MacBean, who introduced him to a world of deception and conspiracy in the region. He also learned of the thriving-and dangerous-trade in stolen Chinese treasures. As if to underscore the authenticity of The Trail of the Red Diamonds-Hubbard published the story under the byline Lieutenant Jonathan Daly, the hero of the piece. Also includes the rousing adventure Hurricane's Roar, the story of an American pilot in Mongolia who whips up a storm of death-defying air battles . . . in the search for peace.