Rating: 3 Stars
I knew L. Ron Hubbard was a prolific writer of Science Fiction when he was younger, this being before he founded Scientology. I also knew he was writing around the same time as some of the masters and founders of modern Sci-Fi (such as Asimov) where just coming into their own. Being a lover of Sci-Fi, I was curious to read some of his works. Therefore, it should be no surprise that I came home form BookExpo this year with two of his novels.
This might be the time to remind my readers that even though I receive free books from publishers in exchange for my reviews, all of my opinions are my own. I do not endorse any author’s, publisher’s, agent’s, etc. personal views on politics and/or religion. I read for the sole purpose of entertainment. Either I like a story or I don’t and I always tell my readers what I found to be good and bad about a story. As always, you are welcome to disagree with me.
Now that the house keeping is done, let’s talk about this novella. By definition it is a novella and it is also a dystopian alternative history story. In this story WWII never ended and the conflict continues to drag on decades despite the lack of planes, tanks and other implements of modern warfare. The main character, known only as The Lieutenant, has never known anything but war having been born during the conflict. He is part of what remains of the Fourth Brigade of the British Expeditionary Forces operating in France somewhere. It is a ragtag force at best. They scavenge for food and clothing as they fight and try to out maneuver the Russians.
Communications have been cut with headquarters for four years and he has been operating on his own until one day, out of the blue, a Captain shows up and orders him to return to GHQ to be “reorganized”. He knows this is not a good thing because he failed to appoint a soldier’s council as ordered and is expecting some kind of reprisal. The Caption also tells him that things are not the best in London since the British Communist Party is now the governing body.
As The Lieutenant proceeds to make his way to GHQ he comes to realizes that the war is, for all intents and purposes, over and that, “England and his people were barred to him, had rejected him, perhaps forever.” When he reaches GHQ he is relieved of his command. It seems he is to be replaced by someone that is malleable. In other words, GHQ wants someone to follow them blindly and not question their orders or motivates. This does not sit well with his men and they mutiny. Upon victory The Lieutenant is reinstated and he takes charge of GHQ. He immediate gathers a group of soldiers together to return to England, a place soldiers have been banned from because of the soldier’s disease. What he finds once he returns is nothing that he could have imagined and is not good.
I have mixed feelings on this one. First, this is not my type of book. Too many political overtones and I am sick to death of anything political. Secondly, I did not get enough charter development to suit me. Not surprising since this is an action novel and I have no doubt the author used this as a literature tool. For me it fell a little flat.
I liked the premise of the story but I felt it was a somewhat simplistic look at very complex problems. Yet, at the same time I liked that this book did touch on a lot of philological questions that mankind has been struggling with for a long time. I think Hubbard was still developing as a writer when this was written and it also showed he was a product of his time.
As mentioned above, the plot moved quickly and there was plenty of action. Though there were not a lot of twists to the story and it felt a little predictable. It is a quick read and I read this in one afternoon.
While this is not my cup of tea the book is not without merit. I think it would make a good book for a book club that focuses on political and philological issues as presented in books like Orwell’s 1984 and Atwood’s The Handmaids Tale. There is a lot of fodder here for a lively discussion. Also, if you like dystopian alternate histories this might make a good fit for you, especially if you ignore the political undercurrent.