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Final Blackout: A Futuristic War Novel
London 1975. As the great World War grinds to a halt a force more sinister than Hitler's Nazis has seized control of Europe and is systematically destroying every adversary -- except one.In the heart of France a crack unit of British soldiers survive, overcoming all opposition under the leadership of a hardened military strategist highly trained in every method of combat a
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Hardcover, 0 pages
Published
October 1st 2002
by Bridge Publications (CA)
(first published 1939)
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(showing 1-30)
It's a little hard to be objective about anything written by L. Ron Hubbard. Founder of his own religion, he was also a pulp writer in the 1930's and 40's. Most people think of him today as that "Scientology" guy. His last multi-part novel, Battlefield Earth, was everywhere to be found in the last century, especially in used bookstores. He published over a hundred novels and short stories during the pulp years, under a variety of pseudonyms.
Final Blackout began as a three-part serial in the Apri ...more
Final Blackout began as a three-part serial in the Apri ...more
The concepts contained in this book are what make it above-average. It is not brilliantly written, but it is outstandingly thought-provoking.
The basic premise is that the United States quit partway through a World War that continued on for many years after, turning into a devastating stalemate that blanketed most of the rest of the world. As a result, the dwindling armies of the European powers fought over ever-diminishing scraps, as their governments fell and their populations plummeted.
The cen ...more
The basic premise is that the United States quit partway through a World War that continued on for many years after, turning into a devastating stalemate that blanketed most of the rest of the world. As a result, the dwindling armies of the European powers fought over ever-diminishing scraps, as their governments fell and their populations plummeted.
The cen ...more
A good idea finely executed. Largely overlooked. Check this book out for sure.
This is not the normal type of book I read. But I've enjoyed a lot of other books by this author and thought I'd try this one too. This story is a futuristic war novel.
This particular group of soldiers are English and have basically been kicked out of England. They aim to retake their homeland and make it safe again.
I definitely understand the pull of The Lieutenant as a character. He's a leader worth following. He cares about his men and he cares about people in general, that they can lead go ...more
This particular group of soldiers are English and have basically been kicked out of England. They aim to retake their homeland and make it safe again.
I definitely understand the pull of The Lieutenant as a character. He's a leader worth following. He cares about his men and he cares about people in general, that they can lead go ...more
Let's give credit where it is due. This was a satisfying read and "The Lieutenant" a thought-provoking character.
I couldn't help feel that much of the happenings in "Final Blackout" might well have occurred within the world created by H.G. Wells in the 1936 film Things to Come:
_ decades of war with civilization blasted halfway back to the Stone Age.
_ "the wandering sickness" in the film / "soldier's sickness" in book form
_ mutual respect between opposing military men (film: Cabal leaves a gun fo ...more
I couldn't help feel that much of the happenings in "Final Blackout" might well have occurred within the world created by H.G. Wells in the 1936 film Things to Come:
_ decades of war with civilization blasted halfway back to the Stone Age.
_ "the wandering sickness" in the film / "soldier's sickness" in book form
_ mutual respect between opposing military men (film: Cabal leaves a gun fo ...more
This groundbreaking futuristic military thriller was ahead of its time when it was originally published in the early 1940s. It remains a taut and suspenseful classic, something of a morality tale, and a classic in its own right. The book has been reprinted many times, and there is a new edition available from Galaxy Press. Highly recommended for fans of both Golden Age science Fiction and futuristic tales, this one is a real page turner.
I read this book at least 3 times when I was a kid at my local library. Definitely a captivating story! As other reviewers have mentioned, it has some very interesting ideas in it.
Others have already synopsized the storyline but there are other aspects of the story that are quite timeless.
Story and Plot:
Considering the fact the author wrote this before World War II suggests an uncanny attempt to ask what would happen if World War I never ended and just ground on for generations. It was an attempt to see what happens to men and women when the horrors of war become a way of life; the only way to live is through strategy rather than being out-gunned. It’s the smart soldier w ...more
Story and Plot:
Considering the fact the author wrote this before World War II suggests an uncanny attempt to ask what would happen if World War I never ended and just ground on for generations. It was an attempt to see what happens to men and women when the horrors of war become a way of life; the only way to live is through strategy rather than being out-gunned. It’s the smart soldier w ...more
If I could, I'd give this book 3.5 stars.
Let me make one thing clear: I'm not a Scientology nor a Dianetics fan. I think L. Ron Hubbard was nuttier than a fruit cake. But crazy people have wild imaginations, making him a most excellent sci fi author.
The only reason I'm not giving it 4 stars is due to my own tastes. I'm not a fan of books about war. Yawn. I get bored just thinking about war books. I do, however, love me some good dystopian fiction. With this book (like many others, I might add) ...more
Let me make one thing clear: I'm not a Scientology nor a Dianetics fan. I think L. Ron Hubbard was nuttier than a fruit cake. But crazy people have wild imaginations, making him a most excellent sci fi author.
The only reason I'm not giving it 4 stars is due to my own tastes. I'm not a fan of books about war. Yawn. I get bored just thinking about war books. I do, however, love me some good dystopian fiction. With this book (like many others, I might add) ...more
L. Ron Hubbard's take on World War II works on the level of a child's nightmare: hauntingly terrifying despite it's simplistic interpretation of the world. He captures the fear of a generation who just ended one major war and have already moved into a second. A young man at the time, he admits in an excellent preface that his views have evolved and matured.
Much has been written about his unnamed Lieutenant. I cannot add anything but this observation: the Lieutenant deserves to be recognized as a ...more
Much has been written about his unnamed Lieutenant. I cannot add anything but this observation: the Lieutenant deserves to be recognized as a ...more
I had this paperback (that I had bought used so as not to benefit Scientology) lying around for a long time. I felt that being a sort of a fan of science fiction I needed to read at least something from Hubbard, who after all was one of the major figures of the Golden Age. However, every time I picked up the book I was put off by the writing and got distracted by something else.
After finishing Bare-faced Messiah recently I decided finally to power through this book, which is fortunately quite sh ...more
After finishing Bare-faced Messiah recently I decided finally to power through this book, which is fortunately quite sh ...more
I'm re-reading this classic, one of the first true dystopian alternate history novels by a well-known author. It tells the story of what Europe might have been like by the 1930's, had the U.S. remained neutral in the first World War and that stalemated conflict drug on for two more decades. Fascinating reading for all "What If?" book lovers, as well as those enjoy history and military adventures, as well as political intrigue.
I felt I needed to read at least one early Hubbard and this one seemed to have the best reputation. The first half seems to be a popcorn response to the First World War, not amazingly deep but easy read of the pointless horror of it. The second half, on the other hand, is downright disturbing not in a good way but in how nativist, vile and fascistic (in spite of hairsplitting claims to the contrary) it is. Really for historians only.
Jan 20, 2016
Amy Sturgis
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction-vintage,
20th-century
My review is part of my discussion of novels eligible for the 1941 Retro Hugo Award in "Looking Back on Genre History" on Episode 427 of StarShipSofa
All though this book was wrote just prior to world war to, it is an excellent tale of speculative fiction about the war. E. Ron Hubbard was one of the masters of the past generation. I highly recommend it.
David Donaghe
Author of Monroe's Paranormal Investigations
and Tale Spinner.
David Donaghe
Author of Monroe's Paranormal Investigations
and Tale Spinner.
This book is alot of fun. Comes to the point much better than Battlefield Earth or the Mission Earth series.
Sep 25, 2012
Kurt Barks
added it
He's a great stroryteller.
One of the best book I've read.
This is one of my favorite Sci-Fi books, but I tend to love dystopian stories with more than surface meaning.
The Lieutenant, in L.Ron Hubbard's war novel "Final Blackout: A Futuristic War Novel", embodies the quiet determination of a self-sufficient and all-wise leader of proven warriors. In command of the Fourth Brigade, the Lieutenant commands 168 soldiers, the troops remaining from an initial group of thousands. Technologically-based war machines have fallen into disrepair as their manufacture and fuel have disappeared. The soldiers cannot return home to England due to the the weapons used in the wa
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When people think Anarchist Sci-fi they think Ursala K. Leguin's The dispossessed from the 60's, which is a great book.
Let’s go further back and stay with the anarchist Science Fiction. How about a novel released in 1940 by a man who went on to brainwash celebrities. When I was very young the first long novel I ever read was Battlefield Earth while more respectable than the film L.Ron Hubbard was not the best Science Fiction writer on the planet.
However Final Blackout is a bleak doozy of a shor ...more
Let’s go further back and stay with the anarchist Science Fiction. How about a novel released in 1940 by a man who went on to brainwash celebrities. When I was very young the first long novel I ever read was Battlefield Earth while more respectable than the film L.Ron Hubbard was not the best Science Fiction writer on the planet.
However Final Blackout is a bleak doozy of a shor ...more
i know, everybody hates on L Ron Hubbard because he started a weird religion...i don't care who he ripped-off, he did write some decent SF, and Final Blackout is one of his best. It's a excellent story, holds up well today...Hubbard was a writer for Street & Smith, a publisher of pulp magazines back in the day (around the 1930s)..he wrote alot of action/adventure type stuff...well Street&Smith made John w Campbell editor of Astounding...they were a bit concerned about the move because Ca
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Fast, Fun & None Too Deep!
I've read Hubbard's Decalogue "Battlefield Earth" years ago. Hubbard has a surprisingly engaging style using characters and plot much like a house painter applies paint. His strokes and characters are writ large and broad and, at first glance seem hurriedly applied.
Yet Hubbard possesses a knack for surprise at the exact entrance of the denouement. By drawing the reader into a story the reader seems to assume is somewhat mechanical, he then surprises the reader with ...more
I've read Hubbard's Decalogue "Battlefield Earth" years ago. Hubbard has a surprisingly engaging style using characters and plot much like a house painter applies paint. His strokes and characters are writ large and broad and, at first glance seem hurriedly applied.
Yet Hubbard possesses a knack for surprise at the exact entrance of the denouement. By drawing the reader into a story the reader seems to assume is somewhat mechanical, he then surprises the reader with ...more
Mulle meeldis, korralik postapokalüptiline lugu. Värvikalt ning haaravalt kirja pandud ja ka autori poliitilised-sõjalised loengud ei häirinud. Need tundusid kuidagi siin teoses omal kohal sest sobitusid hästi peategelasega. Ehk ei olnud tunnet, et peategelane on vaid nukk, kelle suu kaudud autor oma mõtteid välja purskab.
Ainukesed asjad mis häirisid olid raamatu ees- ja järelsõnad. Sealne Hubbardi meeletu või suisa sektantlik ülistamine hakkas veidi häirima. Sellejärgi ei ole maamunal vist teis ...more
Ainukesed asjad mis häirisid olid raamatu ees- ja järelsõnad. Sealne Hubbardi meeletu või suisa sektantlik ülistamine hakkas veidi häirima. Sellejärgi ei ole maamunal vist teis ...more
Read this years ago and just found it lately and read it again. The story is good, the writing is ok / good and the thoughts it forces us to think are very good.
When I read this long ago I simply enjoyed it and it actually turned me on to L Ron (pre-dianetics and all that). I have enjoyed many of his books since. Reading this same book now is both comforting as well as disturbing.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to open their eyes a little without having their lids ripped wi ...more
When I read this long ago I simply enjoyed it and it actually turned me on to L Ron (pre-dianetics and all that). I have enjoyed many of his books since. Reading this same book now is both comforting as well as disturbing.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to open their eyes a little without having their lids ripped wi ...more
I have known L. Ron Hubbard mainly for being the founder of Scientology and the novel Battlefield Earth. I had not read the novel, but didn't like the field. As for Scientology I know nothing about it.
Final Blackout was totally unexpected. For a start its not as thick as Battlefield Earth. At about 190 pages it is about 20% its thickness. It is a very good read. I enjoyed it. The plot has twists and turns I did not expect. If I had to be critical it would be that it was too short. I wanted more ...more
Final Blackout was totally unexpected. For a start its not as thick as Battlefield Earth. At about 190 pages it is about 20% its thickness. It is a very good read. I enjoyed it. The plot has twists and turns I did not expect. If I had to be critical it would be that it was too short. I wanted more ...more
I read this book when I was 13 years old and when I knew nothing about Scientology and I absolutely loved it.
After growing up and finding out that L. Ron Hubbard is the founder of Scientology, it's hard for me to enjoy the book as much as I used to.
Nevertheless I have to give credit where its due. I found this book groundbreaking for its time. First published in 1935, it is set in a futuristic dystopian universe that paints a much darker picture of the world, if WWII were to happen.
After growing up and finding out that L. Ron Hubbard is the founder of Scientology, it's hard for me to enjoy the book as much as I used to.
Nevertheless I have to give credit where its due. I found this book groundbreaking for its time. First published in 1935, it is set in a futuristic dystopian universe that paints a much darker picture of the world, if WWII were to happen.
Oct 05, 2015
Kathy
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
1940sf-for-hugos,
pathfinder
For those that enjoy reading post-apocalyptic novels with a seed of hope, this may be another read. Remember the time in which it was written (1939) and some the forward thinking becomes even more interesting. The first part of the book made me think it would be on a list with The Forever War because of the length of the conflict and its toll on the world.
The final part is thought-provoking. For those also enjoying tough heroes with a sense of honor...
The final part is thought-provoking. For those also enjoying tough heroes with a sense of honor...
The book is not a complex read, nor is it charged up with high language, in fact, the literary level seems to match the ambience of the depressed state of the world during this wartime story. It is told from the perspective of soldiers, and what is good about the book is that it shows us some qualities of leadership and that a true leader acts first for his men and the greater good, and not himself.
World War II has continued with almost total destruction of technology and fighting has lasted for decades. Survivors of the Allied army in Europe are forbidden to return due to a disease that they have acquired. Food is scare and people are starving. A communist form of government has developed in England and the British army. Yet one lieutenant and hiis men refuse to give up.
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| Goodreads Librari...: Add cover | 2 | 10 | May 09, 2017 05:47PM | |
| Great Adventure S...: Final Blackout by L. Ron Hubbard | 6 | 6 | May 15, 2014 05:11PM |
With 19 New York Times bestsellers and more than 350 million copies of his works in circulation, L. Ron Hubbard is among the most acclaimed and widely read authors of our time. As a leading light of American Pulp Fiction through the 1930s and ’40s, he is further among the most influential authors of the modern age. Indeed, from Ray Bradbury to Stephen King, there is scarcely a master of imaginativ
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“When that command remains, no matter what happens to its officer, he has not failed.”
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