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May 12, 2011

William rated it:

As a Mormon I feel a sense of gratitude to L. Ron Hubbard for coming up with a religion with followers that most people perceive as being bigger weirdos than Mormons.

The book is good fun. An against all odds, buckskin rags to laser beam riches, story of a poor caveman named Johnny Goodboy who ends up the most powerful entity/person in the galaxy and annihilates an entire race of nasty overlord bugbears in the process. Yea it is pure crap but its pure crap with a Tom Selleck musta

2 comments like (18 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Andrew rated it:

Don't be fooled by the fact that the movie adaptation was the worst movie ever made, or that L. Ron Hubbard is responsible for the spiritual pyramid scheme that is scientology. This book is the coolest.

10 comments like (11 people liked it)

Feb 23, 2009

Drew rated it:

This was a horrible book (and even worse movie). I read it in 2000, so it has been a while, but I remember just how stupid of a book it was. I struggled through every page. I can't believe I even finished it, but i wanted to read it before I saw the movie. Big mistakes.

To get an idea of what it is like, go play with a 5-8 year old boy. Pretend to shoot him with a laser. He will then pretend to put up a forcefield to block the laser. Then you have to pretend to have some weapon that More...

10 comments like (8 people liked it)

Feb 12, 2009

Brett rated it:

Battlefield Earth is a good science fiction novel. One of the most remarkable ideas from this book is the complete unity of the population of earth. I know that world unity and peace may be just as science fiction as aliens and advanced technologies, but I hope we can make progress in that direction. I just hope it doesn't take a severe global disaster (like aliens threatening to destroy or enslave all of us) to accomplish world unity.

L. Ron Hubbard leaves his philosophical ideas, More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Feb 29, 2008

Ted rated it:

Back in the 80s when I was just a little nerd I mowed many a lawn to afford the then-outrageous sum of $39 for the hardcover of this book. I had no idea who L. Ron Hubbard was back then, of course. I just saw a post-apocalyptic sci-fi book that seemed to be cool and I wanted it. I was a fairly well-read little kid back then even if it was only classic or now-obscure science fiction authors.

So... this was the first book I ever HATED. I think it went off to a used book store years late More...

5 comments like (5 people liked it)

Apr 04, 2009

Coquille rated it:

Post, post-apocalypse novel that goes a step further than most. Don't let the L. Ron Hubbard part scare you, no Scientology mentioned. The John Travolta movie sucked, so ignore that, too. The book is multi layered in meaning and probably has more truth in it than most apocalypse novels. Johnny Goodboy Tyler has been living in his village in a primitive mountain lifestyle for all of his eighteen or so years. The village is dying, with people sick, passed out on herbs, or just apathetic in the More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Jan 08, 2008

Tim rated it:

Don't be put off by the fact that the founder of Scientology wrote this novel, and definitely don't let the horrendous movie throw you off. This book is incredible! Well, at the least the first 3/4 of the book is. The last few chapters are interesting, but not gripping, as they detail the events that occur in the aftermath of the climax.

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

May 22, 2007

Ivy's Mom rated it:

Without a doubt the worst book I ever read. It was loaned to me by a co-worker and I read the whole thing. There is nothing to recommend this book. No redeeming qualities at all. Big Fat Waste of Time.

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Aug 21, 2008

sunyatta rated it:

Ha, Ha, Ha.
I just remembered I read a fucking L. Ron Hubbard book!
I was 19. It's filled with ridiculous made up words and names!

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 15, 2009

Steven rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Dec 05, 2008

Moses rated it:

This is another of those books that was a fun read when I was a teenager, but I just couldn't re-read it a decade later because of the horrendous writing and transparent preaching. The protagonist's name is "Johnny Goodboy Tyler" for crying out loud!

New York Times review of the movie based on the book can be summed up as:

"It may be a bit early to make such judgments, but Battlefield Earth may well turn out to be the worst movie of this century."
More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jan 14, 2012

Mars rated it:

Before Scientology... or possibly after Scientology... anyway, at some point in time relative to Scientology, Lafayette Ronald was actually a decent sci-fi writer. Battlefield Earth is his epic tale of epicness, and if you haven't watched the movie - be thankful, since that has nothing whatsoever to do with the book except sharing a title and a few character names.

The book is actually in four parts, even though they're not clearly separated.

Pages 1 through 450 are a pretty g More...

0 comments like

Jul 11, 2011

Michael rated it:

This one had been on my list for quite a while. It appeared to be a modern classic of SF and I had heard a lot of good things about it.

While at the steel mill, I had make to trip to repair some equipment in the LAF (Ladle Arc Furnace) #2, and saw Gary the operator reading a well worn paperback of Battlefield Earth, so I asked him about it. Gary said he loved the book, and it was his 5th time reading it! As soon as he finished reading it, after 1050 pages, he went back to page #1 More...

0 comments like

Mar 09, 2011

Greg rated it:

okay this book is not that bad if you can go with the its "it just so happens" premise. I can believe like 75% of it but the rest is pretty ridiculous. I did not feel very satisfied with how the main just so happened to be the way he is and that they just so happened to be in the position he ended up in. so much like a role playing game character who can learn a new language just because he got a new level and had some points to spend so now he can speak Japanese with no training. It w More...

0 comments like

Feb 13, 2011

Josh rated it:

1. First of all, I have never read any of Hubbard's Scientology books, nor do I care to, and as such, I neither know, nor care if there are any Scientology references or symbolism in this book.

2. If you had the misfortune of watching the movie starring John Travolta, ignore any misgivings you may have had - the movie was so far from the books, that if you only changed a few names, it would in no way resemble this masterpiece.

With that in mind, my review is as follows:
More...

0 comments like

Aug 21, 2010

James rated it:

As I scanned through the other reviews of this book, I noticed something rather interesting: very FEW 3-star ratings (at least among the couple screens that I skimmed through). I find it interesting that this book tends to evoke such strong and diverse opinions in many readers. (Dan Brown's The da Vinci Code caused similar reactions but, unlike Battlefield Earth, it also derived some benefit from a reasonably well-made movie adaptation.)

For me, Battlefield Earth was written well eno More...

0 comments like

Aug 10, 2010

Mark rated it:

Before L. Ron Hubbard went bat sh@t and decided to write pseudo-religious books convince people that they are under the influence of cosmic beings abandoned on earth by an evil emperor. He was, at one point, a terrific Sci-Fi writer. Battlefield earth is a crowning achievement in epic Sci-Fi drama. A plethora of well developed characters weave a futuristic tale of mankind so long ruled by an alien species that their own history is a myth. Until one man, kept as a pet, decides to learn their lang More...

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Jan 05, 2010

James rated it:

Hubbard was a top adventure and science fiction writer in the 1940s. With his Dianetics research pretty wrapped up by the early 1980s, he returned to writing with Battlefield Earth. What first struck me was that the characterization was similar to the pulp fiction of the Forties without the corny dialogue. And a lot of the dialogue was very tongue in cheek. Please don't compare this book to the awful movie of which it is loosely based. The book is superior. It's written as a satire of gover More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 24, 2011

M. rated it:

Okay I know that everyone except for Scientologists think that this is supposed to be crap, but it's actually pretty decent, for pulp sci-fi. It's not Anna Karenina, but so what? I thought it was a pretty interesting adventure yarn (though a bit long winded). The movie, on the other hand, is another story...

Admittedly, the novel has some inconsistencies and logic problems, but when I first read it, I didn't know much of anything at all about L. Ron Hubbard or Scientology, so I was ab More...

0 comments like

Mar 14, 2011

Marchel rated it:

Apa jadinya jika manusia adalah ras yang terancam punah?

Populasi manusia nyaris habis sekejap, dalam suatu serangan bom asap dari ras bernama Psychlo. 99,9% mati langsung karena bom asap tersebut. Sebagian lagi dihabisi oleh serangan pasukan Psychlo. Hanya tersisa sedikit populasi manusia yang bisa bertahan.

Itu latar belakang ceritanya.

Cerita ini dimulai sekitar 1000 tahun setelah kejadian tersebut. Menceritakan tentang seorang pemuda bernama Jonnie Goodboy Ty More...

2 comments like

Nov 20, 2011

essjay rated it:

I've read this book a few times now. The first time I read it, I was probably in high school and at the height of my sci-fi reading. I enjoyed it then, and probably would have given it five stars. Re-reading as an adult I notice that there are issues with some of the science and that it was in definite need of an editor, but I still enjoyed it. All 1000+ pages of it.

If you've seen the movie (which I also liked, if only for its cheese factor), you're only getting half of the story More...

0 comments like

Sep 15, 2010

Marc rated it:

I've wanted to read Battlefield Earth for a long time. I've heard of L. Ron Hubbard and I even liked the movie. What's stopped me from reading it has been its massive size. Luckily, on my Kindle, it didn't seem so daunting.

I loved BE up until the halfway point. What amazed me was the fact that the movie is basically half of the book. Suddenly, it switches tones and becomes something else and then switches tones again. Sadly, when it reaches that halfway point, it also loses steam.
More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Nov 04, 2010

Miriam rated it:

Yippee! I finished it! This book is fine if you like your heroes good and talented in every way and beloved by the entire universe. And if you like your villians really, truly EEEVIL. Go Team Earth! Humans really DO triumph over everything, because of their extraordinary spirit. It's a good story, but I'm fairly certain that what makes a plot twist effective is only using it for a really good reason. If every twist has a twist (or two), then you end up with, well, this book. And women ca More...

0 comments like

Feb 14, 2009

Kelly rated it:

Even though I think Hubbard is a jerk and the sexism in this book is painful, there's something to be said for a book this long, written on a dare, that keeps you riveted to the page until the end. There's even clever technology in this masterwork of space opera.

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 09, 2010

Zeke rated it:

This book is epic. I have read and re-read this one a number of times and each time it has been a blast. The setting and premise of the story is one of my favorites. Humanity has been nearly wiped out and Earth dominated by a dominant alien race. But the fun of it all is that the Earth was conquered merely for its mineral wealth. It is, in essence, a backwater hole-in-the-wall, occupied by a handfull of alien laborers and a few middle mangers. Humanity was all but wiped out without so much More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 21, 2008

Jay rated it:

It's times like these I really wish you could rate a book zero stars. I read this out of curiosity but the horrible writing and thinly veiled attack on psychology and modern medicine made it just painful to get through.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 07, 2007

Lindsey rated it:

This book was ridiculous! I only read it because l ron hubbard was the creator of scientoloy and i thought that i might get a better handle on understanding the 'religion' and i did.... for shame

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 02, 2008

Bill rated it:

I suffered through this book until the very end - just so I could say I had read it. I love good sci-fi. This is NOT good sci-fi. Unless you enjoy psychic pain, avoid this book.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 19, 2010

Pavarti rated it:

I know right? 5 stars? How is that even possible? And yet here we are. This book is SOOO amazingly good. It is detailed, specific, imaginative, technical, possible and impossible all in one breath. The world Hubbard has created here is so detailed it's hard to believe it doesn't actually exist.

Also, for once, this book is long enough. Few Sci-Fi books in my opinion tell the entire story, they gloss over or cut out before getting to the completion of the event. This book doe More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 01, 2008

Jacob rated it:

This book was quite the page turner. Hard for me to put down. I really liked how different facets and ideas were put together. Just when I thought one 'battle' was finished, another showed up on another front. While I don't subscribe to every philosophy and solution the book pulls together, I appreciate the main theme of hope, optimism and hard work to make sure the right thing is done.

The dominant race, Psychlo, are cruel and barbaric in action and there is a run-in with some cannib More...

0 comments like