L. Ron Hubbard - He should have stuck to Science Fiction
Written: May 09 '00 (Updated May 24 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Semi-decent Sci-fi author
Cons: Believed his own bull
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| DudeFace's Full Review: Hubbard, L Ron |
There is a tale involving Hubbard that has been floating around for quite some time. I've never been able to document its validity, but none the less it still rings true.
The story goes something like this:
After a science fiction convention, Hubbard and a number of other Sci-Fi authors are sitting around discussing their craft. The topic of money comes up. What types of stories stay in print the longest? What ones make the most money? Near the end of the chat, Hubbard is quoted as saying something like "Even the best selling book will only remain in print for a few years. To be truly successful one would have to take a lesson from the bible and create their own religion.".
That's exactly what he did .
Dianetics, Scientology, and even his later books of fiction are classic examples of someone who has started to believe in his own bull <expletive deleted>. I have heard that there is evidence that the ones published after his death were written by his followers in scientology and not by Hubbard at all. Generally speaking they are poorly written, overly wordy, and lacking in any kind of research to back them up.
Don't buy his later books. Don't see the movies (namely Battlefield earth). Most emphatically, don't swallow Scientology. There are better things you could do with your money, and more valid paths to enlightenment.
For a more detailed analysis of the topic I would suggest reading the related Epinions by Mystwalker (Dianetics and Scientology), Kessec (Evolution of a pseudoscience) and SusanGranger (MANKIND IS AN ENDANGERED SPECIES).
The Goods: L. Ron Hubbard was a semi-decent science fiction author. Some of his early works (such as Slaves of Sleep) are very entertaining.
The Bads: It stopped being about story telling become more about manipulation.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
DudeFace
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Location: Miami Lakes, Florida
Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 3 members
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