Stories from the Golden Age

By the end of 1937, L. Ron Hubbard had proven he could glide with ease from genre to genre-adventure, western, mystery, detective, and even romance-and was regularly featured in such acknowledged "crown jewels" of the pulp fiction world as Adventure and Argosy magazines. Not bad for a young writer whose first commercially published fiction had appeared only three years before. By the spring of 1938, with his now well-established stature as a writer-or, in the words of author and critic Robert Silverberg, as a "master of the art of narrative"-L. Ron Hubbard was invited to apply his gifts for succinct characterization, original plot, deft pacing, and imaginative action to a genre that was new, and essentially foreign to him-science fiction and fantasy. The reverberations of that invitation continue to this day. Sci-fi fantasy readers looking for action-packed adventure with a sense of realism will find it in these ten sci-fi fantasy short stories, in four volumes. One Was Stubborn: Things are disappearing. Parts of buildings, parts of people, parts of the whole world. Old Shellback thinks he needs glasses. But all he really has to do is open his eyes, and see that George Smiley the Messiah is busy dismantling the world. But two can play at this game. While George is making this world disappear, Old Shellback will make another one appear-and take an amazing journey back to a future of his own making. Is it the end of the world-or just the end of the world as we know it? Also includes the science fiction adventures, "A Can of Vacuum", in which a practical joke on a space station proves that a good sense of humor is timeless, and "240,000 Miles Straight Up", the thrilling story of a race to the moon… and the one man who may be able to save the earth from Armageddon. The Tramp: The vagrant "Doughface" Jack is about to discover that where medical marvels meet the mysteries of the human mind, amazing things happen. The Tramp acquires a capability beyond his imagination and without equal on Earth. Saved from a head injury, Jack finds that he has the power to save lives-and destroy them-with a single glance. Will he use his astounding power for good... or for evil? Bound for Washington, DC, he undertakes a psychic adventure that could change the shape of history. The Great Secret: Fanner Marston is on the verge of uncovering the key to gaining absolute control over the universe. The only problem is, he's certifiably insane. Driven by greed and lust for power, all he cares about is reaching the ancient city of Parva-and finding The Great Secret of absolute power. But the writing's on the walls of Parva-and you won't believe what it says. Blast off on a head-trip you'll never forget as The Great Secret takes you inside the mind of a man who is crazy with lust for power. Also includes the science fiction adventures, "The Space Can", in which a decrepit space battleship is a civilian fleet's only defense; "The Beast", the tale of a hunter in the jungles of Venus, chasing an immoral beast; and "The Slaver", in which an alien race has enslaved the human race, but can't repress the power of human love. If I Were You: Tom Little is a circus midget with giant dreams. He may be king of the midgets, but he's got grander ambitions-to become the ringmaster. Now, drawing on some dark ancient secrets, he's about to get his wish. But in assuming another man's identity, Tom must also take on his enemies-who want to make him pay for the big man's sins.

L. Ron Hubbard spent his formative years in a rugged Montana, among the cowpunchers, lawmen and desperados who would later people his Wild West adventures with remarkable authenticity. Living on the frontier, he was not only breaking broncs at a tender age but also among the few whites ever admitted into Blackfoot society as a bona fide blood brother. During a long and illustrious literary career, Ron threw a wide loop over the land of his beginnings and wrote 38 tales of honor, integrity and courage of the American West. Experience ten of these original short stories, in four volumes, available in the Wild Wild West 10th Anniversary Book Collection. Shadows from Boot Hill: Every man walks with a shadow... but what happens when he acquires a second one? Just ask Brazos, a cold-blooded killer for hire. His latest job means putting a bullet in a man schooled in the art of witchcraft, and this is one killing that brings with it a deadly curse and a second shadow-and there'll be the devil to pay. Lock the doors and turn on the lights as Shadows from Boot Hill puts a chilling supernatural twist on the classic Western. Also includes the Western adventures "The Gunner from Gehenna", in which a plot to steal a miner's gold reveals how a good man can go bad … and a bad man can do good, and "Gunman!", the story of an aging gunfighter turned lawman who shows his town what a real man is made of. King of the Gunmen: They call him Suicide, Smoke or simply Sudden Death. His name is Kit Gordon, and from the banks of the Mississippi to the shores of the Pacific, he is King of the Gunmen. Now he's about to discover that it takes more than a quick draw and a sure aim to stand up like a man. Falsely accused of murder, Kit escapes to the next county over-and a whole new identity. But drawn into a bloody feud, before it's over he'll have to reveal that he's a wanted man-or turn tail and run for his life. Feel the heat rising off of the Arizona desert and a blazing Colt .45 as the King of the Gunmen takes you into the land of prickly pears and deadly gun fights. Also includes the western adventure The "No-Gun Gunhawk", the story of a legendary gunslinger's son who swears never to take up a gun-until he is forced to break his vow when it becomes a matter of life and death. The Magic Quirt: Old Laramie's a good cook, but not good for much more than that. But his luck-and his life-are about to take an amazing turn. Getting his hands on The Magic Quirt, suddenly Laramie starts performing feats of courage that would make even the Lone Ranger proud. But magic is a funny thing-and as Laramie's about to discover, sometimes it's all an illusion. Crack the whip, jingle the spurs and pull the trigger as The Magic Quirt works its Wild Wild West magic on you. Also includes the Western adventures, "Vengeance is Mine!", the story of a young man who sets out to avenge his father's death only to commit an act beyond redemption, and "Stacked Bullets", in which a game of chance is fixed, a whole town is cheated, and nothing but a stack of bullets can make things right. The No-Gun Man: As a young man Monte Calhoun thought the measure of a man was how hard he could drink and how straight he can shoot. But several years back East have changed him and he has become The No-Gun Man. Monte's civilized now even if that means refusing to avenge the murder of his own father. But in a land of outlaws and ambushes, it's only a question of how far Monte will be pushed before he pushes back … with a vengeance. Blaze a bloody trail back to the American frontier as The No-Gun Man shows how wild the Wild West can make a man.

Winchester Remington Smith is a crack shot. Problem is, surrounded by roller coasters and merry-go-rounds, his talent is going to waste, knocking down ducks in a carnival shooting gallery. Win wants some real action, and like Gary Cooper as Sergeant York, he's going to war-running off to join the U.S. Marines to fight a guerilla insurgency south of the border. In the jungles of Central America, Win takes a different kind of roller coaster ride. Quick and quiet, he's now a runner. It's a vital role, but he feels like a messenger boy, unable to put his rifle to good use. Even when he saves the life of First Sergeant Fifty-Fifty O'Brien-a Marine so gung-ho he has about a fifty-fifty chance of survival-Win ends up facing a disciplinary hearing for disobeying orders. Can the young sharpshooter redeem himself? Win's about to get his chance, an opportunity to deliver a message that the Marines will never forget. Hubbard knew exactly what it meant to be a Marine. As he wrote in 1935: "Most of the fiction written about [Marines] is of an intensely dramatic type, all do-or-die and Semper Fidelis." But the reality, he said, was far different. "I've known the Corps from Quantico to Peiping, from the South Pacific to the West Indies, and I've never seen any flag-waving. The most refreshing part of the U.S.M.C. is that they get their orders . . . and do the job and that's that." It's that kind of unique and pointed insight that he brings to stories like Fifty-Fifty O'Brien. Also includes the military adventures The Adventure of X, in which a French Foreign Legionnaire's intelligence mission leads him into an enemy ambush, and he has to warn his fellow Legionnaires before they walk into a massacre; and Red Sand, the story of a disgraced Chicago cop who joins the Legionnaires and finds his investigative skills invaluable in the desert.

Sunset Maloney is about to find big trouble in the Big Sky country of Montana. Like Alan Ladd as Shane, he's riding into the middle of a ruthless land grab, and his fight for what's right takes an unexpected turn . . . in the face of a young, attractive woman. Slim Trotwood is a cruel, greedy tinhorn-a gambler with little money and less skill-who's determined to take possession of all the land in Puma Pass, whether by fraud or by force. And Sunset's the only man willing to take him on. Faster than greased lightning with his six-gun, nothing can stop him from taking Trotwood down . . . until he meets Tinhorn's Daughter. Just arrived from Boston, she's as naïve as she is beautiful, and Sunset falls hard for her. But if he can't make her see what kind of man her father really is, he may fall even harder. Because if he loses this fight, Sunset may never see the sunrise again. Hailing from the western states of Nebraska, Oklahoma and Montana, Hubbard grew up surrounded by grizzled frontiersmen and leather-tough cowboys. When he chose to write stories of the Old West, Hubbard didn't have to go far to do his research, drawing on his own memories of a youth steeped in the life and legends of the American frontier. Also includes the Western adventure When Gilhooly Was in Flower, in which there's romance on the range, as an unlikely cowpuncher mixes lassos with literature to find love in Gunpowder Gulch.

Tex Larimee is a grizzled Arizona sheriff who's leaving the deserts of Cactus County behind, blazing a trail east to mix it up with The Slickers in the canyons of Manhattan. Years later Clint Eastwood would follow the exact same trail in Coogan's Bluff-a western lawman on the loose in New York City. Tex's welcome to New York is a rude one. Robbed of his cash, gun and badge, he's locked in a room in back of a run-down bar. Breaking out of the bar, he goes looking for his best friend . . . only to find him dead, his throat cut. And the cops accuse Tex of committing the murder. . . . But none of that's going to keep a good Arizona lawman down. Discovering he's been the subject of an elaborate frame-up job, Tex has got a few tricks of his own up his sleeve-and in his recovered Colt .45-to make even the toughest of city birds sing a different tune. Much like Tex, L. Ron Hubbard was born and bred on the western frontier and made his way east to explore and experience life in New York City. But unlike the sheriff, Hubbard enjoyed his time in the city, where his writing career took off as he became a leading figure in its literary world. He came to know the streets and haunts of Manhattan as well as he knew the arroyos and canyons of the west, giving him the kind of insights he needed to write stories like The Slickers. Also includes the mysteries Killer Ape, in which a man frees a mistreated orangutan, only to end up with a monkey on his back, as he's accused of aiding and abetting the ape in a case of murder, and Murder Afloat, the story of a top narcotics cop in the U.S. Secret Service who's pursuit of a million-dollar score could land him in some hot-and deadly-water.

A master of thrilling detective stories, L. Ron Hubbard's stories of mystery, detection and investigative procedure were exceedingly well wrought. Written from firsthand experience with systematic research and the fascinating realities of forensic medicine, Ron crafted stories with accurate and factual detail which injected authenticity into his popular detective fiction. Here are ten stories, in four volumes, fashioned with fast, spare, vivid style that plunge the reader into the inside circle of danger within a maze of crime, always with the delineating sense of reality that epitomizes L. Ron Hubbard's fiction, whatever the genre. Readers looking for taut, sharp-edged crime stories with ambiguous clues and the pursuit of uncertain truth, will find them here: Mouthpiece: Imagine that your father is one of New York City's top gangsters, he's been murdered ... and you're the only person who gives a damn. Meet Mat Lawrence, a stand-up guy who's out for revenge. But there's even more at stake. Because when Mat's old man went down a million dollars went missing. Put it all together-a cold-blooded murder and a cool million gone-and it's a pretty good bet that the one thing Mat is sure to find is some serious heat. Also includes the tales of mystery, "Flame City", the story of one man's harrowing attempt to save his father and the city from a serial arsonist; "Calling Squad Cars!", in which a police dispatcher goes to extraordinary lengths to bring down a gang of bank robbers after he is accused of working with them; and "Grease Spot", the story of a former racecar driver, now the owner of a wrecking company, who plays fast and loose with the police… and may have to pay for it. The Slickers: Tex Larimee, a grizzled sheriff, leaving the deserts of Cactus County, Arizona, behind and blazing a trail East to mix it up with The Slickers in the canyons of New York. Robbed of his cash, gun and badge, and accused of murdering his best friend, Tex's welcome to the city is a rude one. But he's got a few tricks of his own up his sleeve-and in his recovered Colt .45-to make even the toughest of city birds sing a different tune. Strap on your six-gun and spurs and take a bite out of the Big Apple as The Slickers mixes up Wild West action with big city suspense. Also includes the mysteries "Killer Ape", in which a man frees a mistreated orangutan, only to end up with a monkey on his back, as he's accused of aiding and abetting the ape in a case of murder; and "Murder Afloat", the story of a top narcotics cop in the U.S. Secret Service who's pursuit of a million-dollar score could land him in some hot-and deadly-water. Hurricane: Wrongfully accused, Captain Spar has been condemned to Devil's Island. But now, escaping, he's out to kill the man who put him there. A storm is brewing, but even in the face of natural disaster, Spar discovers that nothing is more dangerous than human nature. Here's your ticket for a cruise to the Caribbean-with danger at every turn-as Hurricane sweeps you away. False Cargo: Insurance investigator Brent Calloway may be too hard-boiled to crack a smile, but he'll go to any length to crack a case. Calloway's about to go to extremes to see to it that one ship makes it safely from Hawaii to the mainland. Going undercover and posing as ruthless killer Spike O'Brien, Calloway quickly discovers that on this ship nothing is what it seems, and no one can be trusted. Rattling machine guns, howling winds, and ship-tossing waves come together as the False Cargo delivers a full payload of action and intrigue. Also includes the sea adventure "Grounded," in which a Royal Air.