Golden Hell

by L. Ron Hubbard

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781592122738
Publisher:	Galaxy Press, LLC
Publication date:	01/01/2010
Series:	Action Adventure Short Stories Collection
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	1100L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 Years

About the Author

With 19 New York Times bestsellers and more than 350 million copies of his works in circulation, L. Ron Hubbard is among the most acclaimed 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.

Editorial Reviews

"An American mining engineer searching for gold in the Gobi Desert is captured by bandits and delivered into the hands of Machiavellian monks in this title originally published in Thrilling Adventures (Sept. 1936). The performances by R.F. Daley, Kelly Ward, Owen Sun, and Jim Meskimen are all well executed, but the protagonist’s
dripping, snarky tone and penchant for racial stereotypes won’t endear him to listeners. Only for die-hard adventure and pulp fiction fans." —Library Journal

"He wrote Westerns, swashbucklers, air adventure, mysteries, espionage thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, tales of the Orient, sea tales, and even Yukon tales in the tradition of Jack London." —Antique Trader

“Hubbard was one of the great pulp writers.” —Publishers Weekly

"L. Ron Hubbard was a master storyteller and a major literary figure in the 'Golden Age' of pulp magazine publishing.... A master author in all of the diverse and varied action-adventure genres, these three newly reprinted titles will be especially welcome by those already familiar with Hubbard's work -- and serve as an admirable and highly recommended introduction for those new to the 'Golden Age' of pulp magazine fiction!" —The Midwest Book Review

“Hubbard wrote adventure, westerns, thrillers, and crime-espionage as well as sf—and they reveal both the range and quality of the author’s work…. Even a sampling of Galaxy’s catalog makes it clear that pulp-fiction devotees need to put Hubbard’s works on their must-read lists.” —Booklist

From the Publisher

Spurred by the chance of treasure, Capt. Humbert Reynolds sets out into the Gobi Desert to find gold only to encounter impossible obstacles, not the least of which are treacherous Mongolians and a cult living at the gold's epicenter. Like much pulp fiction, this story is big on action, manly men, and simplistic and often crude depictions of nonwhites (one Mongolian character is reported to have an Oxford accent and yet the actor fails to produce anything but an overtly stereotypical “Asian” accent). This aside, the music, sound quality, and production are top-notch and the full cast and sound effects lend it nostalgic appeal. An additional story, “Pearl Pirate,” is featured at the end, and though short, by comparison it is equally polished as the main production. A Galaxy Press paperback. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

An American mining engineer searching for gold in the Gobi Desert is captured by bandits and delivered into the hands of Machiavellian monks in this title originally published in Thrilling Adventures (Sept. 1936). The performances by R.F. Daley, Kelly Ward, Owen Sun, and Jim Meskimen are all well executed, but the protagonist's dripping, snarky tone and penchant for racial stereotypes won't endear him to listeners. Only for die-hard adventure and pulp fiction fans. [Includes the adventure story "Pearl Pirate."—Ed.]

Library Journal

This full cast production brings Hubbard’s 1930s adventure stories to life. "Golden Hell" is the adventure of a mining engineer who is seeking gold in the Gobi Desert. Sound effects complete with bells, horns, hoof beats, and bullets complement the story’s tension as the miner is forced to dig gold in the bowels of the earth. The second story, "The Pearl Pirate," is replete with cannon, a vicious sword fight, killer fish, and a battle for black pearls. The cast energetically delivers the dialogue, interspersed with suspenseful action and music. Listeners will enjoy these vividly acted hair-raising adventures. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2010 - AudioFile