Galaxy Press, publisher of "Stories from the Golden Age", is releasing a line of 80 books and multi-cast, unabridged audio books by L. Ron Hubbard. The series features 153 stories written by Hubbard in the popular genres of the '30s and '40s.
Hollywood, CA, April 14, 2011 (Straight Line PR) -- L. Ron Hubbard's first story, "The Green Go", was published in 1934 in the pulp fiction magazine, "Thrilling Adventures". Thus began one of the more remarkable writing careers in history. Once his imagination flared to life, there was no turning back. And he was prolific. He could crank out thousands of words in a burst of creativity energy, producing numerous short stories and novels at an astounding pace.
Hubbard didn't simply participate in the pulp era, he helped define it. His stories were so popular that readers wrote to the editors demanding more from his typewriter. These facts are documented in various "Letters to the Editor" sections of the pulps themselves. His talent flared like a meteor blazing across the sky, and endured for over five decades.
1940 was a watershed year for Hubbard. England was at war with Germany, and the Nazi regime was intent on world domination. The United States had stayed out of the conflict, but there was growing support for England. Tensions with Japan were increasing, and the subsequent attack on Pearl Harbor a year later would plunge the United States into a battle on two fronts, in a concentrated effort to defeat the Nazis and the Japanese. The world was about to usher in the Atomic Age, an era that writers like Hubbard had already envisioned in their futuristic tales. It was against this backdrop that Hubbard wrote the first three of his better known works. Before the year ended, he had published "Final Blackout", "Typewriter in the Sky" and "Fear". ( http://www.GoldenAgeStories.com/lrhbio )
Thomas McNulty, author of "Death Rides a Palomino" writes, "The reason these stories remain popular so many decades after their initial publication is a testament to Hubbard's talent. Hubbard wasn't just good, he was great, cranking out stories that hooked the reader from its first line and propelling them into a two-fisted tale of adventure."
These stories are legendary among connoisseurs of the pulp era. "Typewriter in the Sky" was a fantasy swashbuckler, and "Fear" was a suspense thriller with an ambiguous ending that is still hotly debated by fans. Was there a supernatural influence at work in the tribulations that plagued James Lowry, or were those grim events the product of a disturbed mind? Readers must still decide for themselves.
Although Hubbard's intention wasn't becoming a stylized poet of the pulps - he was simply working hard doing what he loved most - he is remembered because of his stories, their characters and the haiku-type simplicity of lines like this from "Under the Diehard Brand":
"The mutter of thunder growled across the sky. Bunched-up clouds shot nervously across the face of the moon."
Sentences like that are worth reading out loud. Writers read Hubbard today to learn how the Master did it, and educators are using Hubbard's stories as tools to interest students in literacy and creative writing.
The clatter of his rapid-fire typing was a wonderment to friends like fellow science fiction writer A. E. van Vogt, who witnessed Hubbard composing stories. The intensity of his concentration, his unerring typing skill, and his fertile imagination all combined to fashion a legacy unparalleled in literary history.
And there is something intrinsically patriotic about Hubbard's stories. They are a slice of Americana, cut from the fabric of our lives, reaffirming the principles of hard work, and never losing sight of our basic humanity. Reading his Golden Age stories today is both a history lesson and a lesson in morality. Hubbard's compassion for his fellow man manifests itself time and again.
The Galaxy Press editions of Hubbard's Golden Age stories ( http://www.GoldenAgeStories.com/books ) are a historical landmark in publishing. Each volume painstakingly recreates the pulp style with one (and sometimes several) Hubbard stories, including a glossary of words that provides educators and their students a historical perspective. The list of forthcoming titles is enough to set the pulse racing: "Forbidden Gold", "On Blazing Wings", "Black Towers to Danger", "The Headhunters", "The Carnival of Death", and "Shadows From Boot Hill", to name but a few.
There are good writers and fine writers, and then there is L. Ron Hubbard, Master of all Genres. He stands alongside the American Masters from the glorious Golden Age, but none of them were quite like LRH. It's often been said that they don't write stories like these any longer, and that's because there is no one around today that compares to the legendary L. Ron Hubbard.
About Stories From the Golden Age:
Stories From the Golden Age is a line of 80 books and multi-cast, unabridged audio books, featuring 153 stories written by L. Ron Hubbard in the 1930s and 1940s in any of the several popular genres of the day - mystery, thriller, adventure, science fiction, fantasy and western - with tales appropriate for all ages from middle school and up. The cover art for the complete available library is displayed in the iBookstore and purchasing is a breeze on the new iPad. The eBooks are also available at Amazon.com, BarnesAndNoble.com and on the Stories from the Golden Age website at http://www.GoldenAgeStories.com
Contact:
John Goodwin
President
Galaxy Press
7051 Hollywood Blvd.
Suite 200
Hollywood, CA 90028
(323) 466-7815
