Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard
Think of the ‘Star Wars’ sagas and ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ mix in the triumph of ‘Rocky I,’ ‘Rocky II,’ and ‘Rocky III,’ and you have captured the exuberance, style and glory of ‘BATTLEFIELD EARTH.’
It was the above blurb from The Evening Sun in 1984 that convinced me to take a chance on a 1,000-page science fiction novel, and I have never regretted it. It’s been over twenty years since I last read Battlefield Earth, and it’s still as much fun as I remembered. It remains one of my top two or three favorite science fiction novels of all time.
It’s the year 3000, and Earth has been conquered for a thousand years by the vicious Psychlos, an alien race that is gutting the planet of its mineral resources. Humanity has been reduced to around 50,000 people, scattered in primitive communities around the globe, barely hanging on. High in the Rocky Mountains, Johnny Goodboy Tyler becomes fed up with his village’s meager existence and decides to set out to find a safer place to live. While exploring the ruins of the ancient city of Denver, he encounters Terl, the Psychlo security chief on Earth. Their meeting sets off a chain of events that becomes one wild ride after another as Johnny tries to single-handedly take the planet back.
Battlefield Earth is non-stop action and adventure–space opera at its finest. The story hearkens back to the golden age of science fiction, with spaceship battles, alien technology, cliffhangers, and impossible odds. It also suffers from some of the same limitations of vintage science fiction: weak (and nearly non-existent) women characters, stereotyped villains, unbelievable escapes. But those limitations are more than made up for by the tight plotting, unrelenting action, and sheer exuberance of the story. You almost need a bowl of popcorn while you’re reading it.
Speaking of popcorn, avoid the movie version of Battlefield Earth starring John Travolta. Some call it the worst movie ever made, and it was named “Worst Picture of the Decade (2000-2009).” at the 30th Golden Raspberry Awards. The movie only covers the first half of the book, and suffers from “hammy acting,…mediocre special effects, corny dialogue, and several plot inconsistencies.” Thankfully, I’ve never seen it, because I didn’t want to ruin my experience of the book. But if you’ve suffered through the movie, don’t judge the book by what you saw. And if you happened to like the movie, then chances are you will love the book.
Battlefield Earth is vintage science fiction on steroids. It’s not perfect, but it’s a whole lot of fun.
Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000 by L. Ron Hubbard
First edition New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1982
Kindle edition Galaxy Press, 2016
Print length: 1066 pages
