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billymac1962's review against another edition
5.0
The first two of this decology (10 books) were FANTASTIC! Don't bother going any further, though.
Books 3 & 4 were a sad waste of paper.
Books 3 & 4 were a sad waste of paper.
scheu's review
2.0
After some consideration, I've decided to review this. Actually I'll be reviewing my entire Mission Earth experience.
When I was twelve, I would read basically anything. I would go to the Lewiston NY library, where they had all the new books laid out on a big table, spines up, and I started on the biggest and most colorful SF books I could find. Hence, L. Ron Hubbard. I ate that shit up with a spoon. My sister worked for Waldenbooks at the time (and I would as well several years later) and she hooked me up with each new one as it came out. Things blew up! Characters had deviant sex! Much of it didn't make any sense to me, either! I loved the books so much that I picked up the first five on audiobook, and let me tell you, the audiobooks were actually BETTER. I can't believe I listened to them in the car with my MOTHER. Even with the bleeping, they were raunchy!
Before I finished high school, it occurred to me how terrible the series was. Badly written. Badly ghost-written for that matter. Badly ghost-written Mary Sue action. And yet, they entertained me, so two stars I give this doorstop of a book. At least it's not Dhalgren.
When I was twelve, I would read basically anything. I would go to the Lewiston NY library, where they had all the new books laid out on a big table, spines up, and I started on the biggest and most colorful SF books I could find. Hence, L. Ron Hubbard. I ate that shit up with a spoon. My sister worked for Waldenbooks at the time (and I would as well several years later) and she hooked me up with each new one as it came out. Things blew up! Characters had deviant sex! Much of it didn't make any sense to me, either! I loved the books so much that I picked up the first five on audiobook, and let me tell you, the audiobooks were actually BETTER. I can't believe I listened to them in the car with my MOTHER. Even with the bleeping, they were raunchy!
Before I finished high school, it occurred to me how terrible the series was. Badly written. Badly ghost-written for that matter. Badly ghost-written Mary Sue action. And yet, they entertained me, so two stars I give this doorstop of a book. At least it's not Dhalgren.
vicdigital's review
4.0
When I first came across this series, I had no idea who L.Ron Hubbard was, but I HAD read Battlefield Earth and thought it was good. So I was looking forward to this series with more than a little eagerness.
It did not disappoint (until the last half of the tenth book).
This book series is one of the most hilarious things I've ever read. The plot gymnastics a previous reviewer mentioned are the things that make this such a fun series. But I admit it's not for everyone.
It helps if you imagine this series more as a Heavy Metal style animated film, specifically the STEERRRRN! segment (If you've seen it, you know what part I'm talking about.
It's been twenty years since I read it, but it's still vivid in my memory.
Now, knowing what I know about Scientology NOW, I can see that that books were laced with stealth theology. However, at the time I read it, I had no clue as to what Scientology was, and there's nothing in the books that mention it, so it never was an issue. But the concepts are unmistakable. Still, it won't affect your reading enjoyment unless you allow it to bother you.
To this day, I don't believe that L.Ron Hubbard actually wrote these books (since most of them were published long after he died), and imagine it was written by a committee of clever Scientologists.
And one little bit of trivia. John Travolta always claims he named his son Jett after his love of planes, but it's obvious he named Jett after Jett Heller, one of the heroes of this series.
If you can ignore the invisible Scientology subtext, you're in for a treat with this series.
It did not disappoint (until the last half of the tenth book).
This book series is one of the most hilarious things I've ever read. The plot gymnastics a previous reviewer mentioned are the things that make this such a fun series. But I admit it's not for everyone.
It helps if you imagine this series more as a Heavy Metal style animated film, specifically the STEERRRRN! segment (If you've seen it, you know what part I'm talking about.
It's been twenty years since I read it, but it's still vivid in my memory.
Now, knowing what I know about Scientology NOW, I can see that that books were laced with stealth theology. However, at the time I read it, I had no clue as to what Scientology was, and there's nothing in the books that mention it, so it never was an issue. But the concepts are unmistakable. Still, it won't affect your reading enjoyment unless you allow it to bother you.
To this day, I don't believe that L.Ron Hubbard actually wrote these books (since most of them were published long after he died), and imagine it was written by a committee of clever Scientologists.
And one little bit of trivia. John Travolta always claims he named his son Jett after his love of planes, but it's obvious he named Jett after Jett Heller, one of the heroes of this series.
If you can ignore the invisible Scientology subtext, you're in for a treat with this series.
tjc's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This book is so, so bad. Drags on forever, overtly white supremacist, I'm honestly amazed that I read it but I wanted to see where it was going. Underwhelming ending, just teases a sequel. Do not read this! I picked it up because I was curious about L. Ron Hubbard and it was absolutely not worth it.
Content Warnings
strong white supremacist themes
leticiatoraci's review against another edition
3.0
This series is really PULP sci-fi. Well yes, as a teenie I was reading anything.
verkisto's review against another edition
2.0
I read these in high school and found them compelling, but as I reflect on them, I recall them being rather stupid, oversexed, and pointless.
todd_luallen's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this series enough to read all ten of the books. I LOVED the concept probably more than I loved the actual books. The books are straight satire (including a definition of satire at the beginning of each book) and are written from the perspective of the main antagonist and villain. That is the concept I loved. Books 5-7 definitely are a bit of a slog to get through, but overall I enjoyed the trip.
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