Was L. Ron Hubbard a good Science Fiction writer?

[Vendikarr]

I sort of vaguely recall the second half of 'Battlefield Earth' losing me entirely when it started talking about alien bankers or some such.

Yeah, it was like two different books. The first half, focusing on the human rebellion against the Psychlos, was passable enough. The rest of it was just kind of and like an entirely different book.

Battlefield Earth is a good idea done mediocre. I think it would be a great book to adapt as a miniseries. Weed out all the nonsense, and get to the heart of the idea.

And I liked the banking and finance portion of the story. I thought it was an inspired concept for an alien invasion story.

 

[LitmusDragon]

I read Battlefield Earth and Mission Earth back in high school before I was even aware of what Scientology was. I still like Battlefield Earth pretty well. It's actually a pretty good sci-fi pulp adventure, unlike the movie. Mission Earth is awfully ... lurid. There's a lot of stuff in Mission Earth I can look back on and recognize was Scientology propaganda in those books, lots of anti-psychiatry stuff. There's also some weird sex stuff that I'm not sure what the point of was, really.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I think it was Heinlein he made the bet about starting a religion with.

Yep.

Also, there's the issue about clams as well. Linky. Go ahead, read that and then TRY to take LRH seriously.

 

[Nardpuncher]

I read Battlefield Earth and Mission Earth back in high school before I was even aware of what Scientology was. I still like Battlefield Earth pretty well. It's actually a pretty good sci-fi pulp adventure, unlike the movie. Mission Earth is awfully ... lurid. There's a lot of stuff in Mission Earth I can look back on and recognize was Scientology propaganda in those books, lots of anti-psychiatry stuff. There's also some weird sex stuff that I'm not sure what the point of was, really.

I had the same feelings.
I read Mission: Earth in 1989,1990 or so and I had a thought in the back of my head that at the end of book 10 it would say: Please go to your local Church of Scientology to get the last chapter!

 

[Fencer]

I wasn't brilliant writer but The Final Blackout, which was written before the whole Scientology thing is actually quite good. My father got it out of the Library years ago. I'd finished the books I'd borrowed and was bored so with great reluctance, because I'd read the Mission Earth and Battlefield Earth books and hated them, I read it. It's pulp but it works well and it's an interesting story.

 

[Argus Skyhawk]

I really wish I'd read some of Hubbard's sci-fi before I knew about the Church of Scientology, because I'd really like to be able to consider it objectively. Trying to read a collection I realised no matter what I did I couldn't ignore what I knew about he man behind the curtain.

That's why I've never even tried to read any of his stuff. Whether the writing was excellent or awful, I'm confident I would not be able to shake the thought: "This guy founded Scientology." I would likely spend most of the book wondering whether this part or that part was propaganda.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I really wish I'd read some of Hubbard's sci-fi before I knew about the Church of Scientology, because I'd really like to be able to consider it objectively. Trying to read a collection I realised no matter what I did I couldn't ignore what I knew about he man behind the curtain.

That's why I've never even tried to read any of his stuff. Whether the writing was excellent or awful, I'm confident I would not be able to shake the thought: "This guy founded Scientology." I would likely spend most of the book wondering whether this part or that part was propaganda.

That's why I can't read anything by Orson Scott Card. I can't ever get past what a raging, offensive fascist he is.

 

[Mistral]

I really wish I'd read some of Hubbard's sci-fi before I knew about the Church of Scientology, because I'd really like to be able to consider it objectively. Trying to read a collection I realised no matter what I did I couldn't ignore what I knew about he man behind the curtain.

That's why I've never even tried to read any of his stuff. Whether the writing was excellent or awful, I'm confident I would not be able to shake the thought: "This guy founded Scientology." I would likely spend most of the book wondering whether this part or that part was propaganda.

That's why I can't read anything by Orson Scott Card. I can't ever get past what a raging, offensive fascist he is.

Ah, Mormon, not fascist. Although I understand how easy it is to confuse the two.