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Stories from the Golden Age
The Trail of the Red Diamonds
An obscure manuscript ... A tantalizing clue to a fabled burial site ... A chance to unearth a long-lost treasure. Indiana Jones would jump at the chance. But Lieutenant Jonathan Daly is way ahead of him. Criminals, secret agents and the entire Chinese army are all in the game, but the stakes are too high to let any of them stand in Daly's way. He's hot on The Trail of the Red Diamonds, but only God knows if Daly will dig up the stones ... or end up buried with them.
124 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 15, 2010
5 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
L. Ron Hubbard
2,005 books653 followersL. Ron Hubbard is universally acclaimed as the single most influential author and humanitarian of this modern age. His definitive works on the mind and spirit—comprising over 350 million copies in circulation and more than 40 international bestsellers—have resulted in a legacy benefiting millions and a movement spanning all cultures.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 12, 2011
Okay, so I have this feeling that I am no more a pulp mystery lover than I am a hard-boiled fan. I can read them. They may have some good bits. But there is no way that I would want a steady diet of such things.
The Trail of the Red Diamonds by L. Ron Hubbard is a reprint of two of Hubbard's pulp mysteries form the 1930s. The title story revolves around Lieutenant Daly's discovery of the mention a chest of fabulous red stones buried with the long-dead Emperor of China, Kubla Kahn in an original manuscript of The Travels of Marco Polo. It is a bit difficult to decipher, but he's able to translate the tale well enough to realize that there are clues to the location of this offering to the gods. Originally meant to light the leader's way to heaven, the glittering stones are worth several million dollars. Recently recovered from a bout of malaria and two bullet holes collected in war-ravaged Gran Chaco, Lieutenant Daly sets out on his treasure travels, ignoring warnings from friends and doctors. He follows Marco Polo's words straight into a dark maze of betrayal, espionage and death with more riding on each step he takes than he ever imagined.
The second story, "Hurricane's Roar" is about two rival warlords in Mongolia who have been fighting for so long it seems they have forgotten what started it (sort of like the Hatfields and McCoys). A salesman from Panama-Pacific Airlines arrives, wanting Jim Dahlgren (aka Wind-Gone-Mad) to intervene in the war and make it possible for the airline to set up an airfield in the battle zone. After much fighting (both verbal and physical), blowing up several encampments, saving a fellow American held prisoner by one of the warlords, and unveiling the traitor who has been working each side against the other, we still have no idea if Dahlgren succeeded and there will be an airfield. It would seem so, but there's no real wrap-up.
What we really have in these two stories is a lot of action. That means a lot of killing, a lot of blowing things up, beating people up, and secrets and betrayals. A lot of worry about who's on what side and will they stay there. I can definitely see why this sort of story would have been popular during the Golden Age for the pulp magazines. Fast-paced, easy to read, action-packed stories that don't require a whole lot of brain power. Sometimes a whiz-bang finish. All right up the alley of the young boys who ate these things up. But I'm afraid they don't do a whole lot for a middle-aged woman who grew up on mysteries that were more puzzle-oriented. Not that I'm against action...but, please, let there be some thought going on along with it--some sort of mystery to clear up. Two stars out of five.
The Trail of the Red Diamonds by L. Ron Hubbard is a reprint of two of Hubbard's pulp mysteries form the 1930s. The title story revolves around Lieutenant Daly's discovery of the mention a chest of fabulous red stones buried with the long-dead Emperor of China, Kubla Kahn in an original manuscript of The Travels of Marco Polo. It is a bit difficult to decipher, but he's able to translate the tale well enough to realize that there are clues to the location of this offering to the gods. Originally meant to light the leader's way to heaven, the glittering stones are worth several million dollars. Recently recovered from a bout of malaria and two bullet holes collected in war-ravaged Gran Chaco, Lieutenant Daly sets out on his treasure travels, ignoring warnings from friends and doctors. He follows Marco Polo's words straight into a dark maze of betrayal, espionage and death with more riding on each step he takes than he ever imagined.
The second story, "Hurricane's Roar" is about two rival warlords in Mongolia who have been fighting for so long it seems they have forgotten what started it (sort of like the Hatfields and McCoys). A salesman from Panama-Pacific Airlines arrives, wanting Jim Dahlgren (aka Wind-Gone-Mad) to intervene in the war and make it possible for the airline to set up an airfield in the battle zone. After much fighting (both verbal and physical), blowing up several encampments, saving a fellow American held prisoner by one of the warlords, and unveiling the traitor who has been working each side against the other, we still have no idea if Dahlgren succeeded and there will be an airfield. It would seem so, but there's no real wrap-up.
What we really have in these two stories is a lot of action. That means a lot of killing, a lot of blowing things up, beating people up, and secrets and betrayals. A lot of worry about who's on what side and will they stay there. I can definitely see why this sort of story would have been popular during the Golden Age for the pulp magazines. Fast-paced, easy to read, action-packed stories that don't require a whole lot of brain power. Sometimes a whiz-bang finish. All right up the alley of the young boys who ate these things up. But I'm afraid they don't do a whole lot for a middle-aged woman who grew up on mysteries that were more puzzle-oriented. Not that I'm against action...but, please, let there be some thought going on along with it--some sort of mystery to clear up. Two stars out of five.
December 13, 2015
This volume collects two of Hubbard's novelettes, the title story (which was originally published as by Lt. John Daly, the name of the protagonist) from Thrilling Adventures magazine's January, 1935 issue, and Hurricane's Roar from the October, 1935, issue of Top-Notch magazine, where it appeared under the title Wind Gone Mad. Hubbard's best pulp work was at the novella length, roughly twice the length of the stories in this book, where he could better develop character and explain some of his plot twists; the two stories here have plot complexities comparable to his pulp adventures at those lengths but feel a little sparse or rushed where he was trying to force everything in. (I don't believe he ever got around to giving the real name of the protagonist in the second story.) They're fun and fast-paced adventure, but not among his best.
December 20, 2018
This edition has two stories: "The Trail of the Red Diamonds" and "Hurricane's Roar". They were both novelette length. Lots of action, adventure, and two-fisted protagonists. Pretty reasonable stories. Perhaps because they were written almost 90 years ago, they seemed a little old-fashioned. I didn't engage with them as much as with "Buckskin Brigades".
March 26, 2021
I picked this book up at Books A Million for like $5. Why? Because I saw that it was written by L. Ron Hubbard. I really enjoyed Trail of the Red Diamonds, it was action packed and wrapped up in a nice Scooby-Doo esque package. Hurricane's Roar was not as enjoyable, unfortunately. It still beat the pants off the last book I read though.
August 4, 2016
“Fast-Paced, Colorful Characters, And Exciting Stories.”
This volume actually contains two stories by L. Ron Hubbard: THE TRAIL OF THE RED DIAMONDS, published in THRILLING ADVENTURES, January 1935, under the pseudonym of Lt. Jonathan Daly, the main character of the story. And THE HURRICANE’S ROAR, published in THRILLING ADVENTURES, April 1939.
In the first story, Jonathan Daly translates passages from Marco Polo’s manuscript while laid up in a hospital in San Francisco; coming across several mentions of Kublai Khan’s final burial site, and the treasure buried with him, Daly’s interest is peaked when he learns the treasure consists of rare, valuable red diamonds. Leaving the hospital, he contacts a friend in China, Jim Lange with coded details, requesting camels and soldiers for their trip to the burial site. Naturally, there is much adventure before arriving at their destination, as well as intrigue and death.
You might call THE HURRICANE’S ROAR a costumed hero story, or pulp hero, if you will. Although the author doesn’t say in this story, Jim Dahlgren, an American who lives and works in China selling planes, is also the flying hero known as Wind-Gone-Mad (name for hurricanes, so he’s essentially The Hurricane). Wind-Gone-Mad flies a scarlet plane with a dragon design. His goggles are like a domino mask, and the helmet is also painted like a dragon. In this story two warring bandit leaders are causing a lot of problems near the Khinghan Mountains where Amalgamated Aeronautical Company wants to build a runway, and near a mine worked by an American named Bill McCall. Someone is planning on marketing their own deal if The Hurricane can’t stop the fighting and broker a deal benefiting everybody.
These novelettes were a lot of fun. The writing is fast-paced, and the characters colorful, and the stories are exciting. Highly recommended to lovers of adventure fiction.
This volume actually contains two stories by L. Ron Hubbard: THE TRAIL OF THE RED DIAMONDS, published in THRILLING ADVENTURES, January 1935, under the pseudonym of Lt. Jonathan Daly, the main character of the story. And THE HURRICANE’S ROAR, published in THRILLING ADVENTURES, April 1939.
In the first story, Jonathan Daly translates passages from Marco Polo’s manuscript while laid up in a hospital in San Francisco; coming across several mentions of Kublai Khan’s final burial site, and the treasure buried with him, Daly’s interest is peaked when he learns the treasure consists of rare, valuable red diamonds. Leaving the hospital, he contacts a friend in China, Jim Lange with coded details, requesting camels and soldiers for their trip to the burial site. Naturally, there is much adventure before arriving at their destination, as well as intrigue and death.
You might call THE HURRICANE’S ROAR a costumed hero story, or pulp hero, if you will. Although the author doesn’t say in this story, Jim Dahlgren, an American who lives and works in China selling planes, is also the flying hero known as Wind-Gone-Mad (name for hurricanes, so he’s essentially The Hurricane). Wind-Gone-Mad flies a scarlet plane with a dragon design. His goggles are like a domino mask, and the helmet is also painted like a dragon. In this story two warring bandit leaders are causing a lot of problems near the Khinghan Mountains where Amalgamated Aeronautical Company wants to build a runway, and near a mine worked by an American named Bill McCall. Someone is planning on marketing their own deal if The Hurricane can’t stop the fighting and broker a deal benefiting everybody.
These novelettes were a lot of fun. The writing is fast-paced, and the characters colorful, and the stories are exciting. Highly recommended to lovers of adventure fiction.
February 7, 2014
The stories being reprinted in this series are pure escapist pulp fiction, with varying degrees of historical authenticity. These two take place around the 1930s in China and Mongolia, and while not great literature, they're fun to read.
The title story, Trail of the Red Diamonds, is a blend of Indiana Jones, spy novel and noir crime. Lost tombs, spectacular gems, layer on layer of betrayal...it's that kind of story.
I first encountered the second story, Hurricane's Roar, in the form of a staged reading. It's as plausible as the other books in its genre, about pilots with great amounts of panache and daring outflying and outfighting all comers. The setting and story wouldn't work any earlier than 1920 or after 1940, so it's lucky that the genre was popular durign those years.
Are these stories enduring classics? No, but they're fun to read if you're in the mood.
The title story, Trail of the Red Diamonds, is a blend of Indiana Jones, spy novel and noir crime. Lost tombs, spectacular gems, layer on layer of betrayal...it's that kind of story.
I first encountered the second story, Hurricane's Roar, in the form of a staged reading. It's as plausible as the other books in its genre, about pilots with great amounts of panache and daring outflying and outfighting all comers. The setting and story wouldn't work any earlier than 1920 or after 1940, so it's lucky that the genre was popular durign those years.
Are these stories enduring classics? No, but they're fun to read if you're in the mood.
December 30, 2016
Same criticisms as I had for the last LRH pulp reprint... His stories are fun to read, but super simplistic in prose.
LRH was not "without a doubt, one of the most prolific and influential writers of the twentieth century" as it says on the back of this pulp volume. Or, maybe he is in the eyes of his zanie cult members.
Anyhoo, fun stories but they definitely don't have the zing or substance of an ERB or Max Brand or even a Lester Dent story, the last of whom I am not a fan...
LRH was not "without a doubt, one of the most prolific and influential writers of the twentieth century" as it says on the back of this pulp volume. Or, maybe he is in the eyes of his zanie cult members.
Anyhoo, fun stories but they definitely don't have the zing or substance of an ERB or Max Brand or even a Lester Dent story, the last of whom I am not a fan...
April 17, 2011
Fun read for about an hour. Popcorn stuff that isn't quite as good as a Hardy Boys book.
Read
August 3, 2014Stopped reading it ...
July 21, 2015
That was a good book, adventures all the way!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews