Rating: 
Summary: adventure with a twist
Review: A VERY STRANGE TRIP By L. Ron Hubbard & Dave Wolverton. This is a most unusual book, a work that could fit into several different genres or else fall in the cracks between. Though it features time travel, it's not exactly science fiction. It's often funny, but it's not purely a comedy. Though it has sociological overtones, it is by no means a textbook guide to past civilizations. It's actually exactly what the title says, a very strange trip. The book was written by Dave Wolverton, based on a short story by L. Ron Hubbard. Wolverton has written eleven science fiction and fantasy novels, including a couple of Star Wars books, and can always be counted on for solid, all-inviting prose. Hubbard should need no introduction to even casual readers, as he is famous for such works as Battlefield Earth, Final Blackout, and the Mission: Earth series, as well as his works on Scientology. The story opens with the hero, Dumphee, transporting secret military equipment across the country. The all-terrain vehicle he is driving gets bumped and Dumphee finds himself several hundred years in America's past, at a time just before the French and Indian War. There, he meets up with three Native American women, and takes them along as he continues his bounce into the past. The group makes stops along the way in the days of the Mayans, a time when mastodon and sabertooth tigers roamed what are now the Great Plains, and then farther back. At one point, the group even goes on a Tyrannosaurus Rex hunt, using rocket launchers and other modern weapons. During the time-spanning, Dumphee continues his trek toward his original destination of Denver, even though the Denver of the past is not the military base it was in "his" time. Along the way, he learns about love and life from his companions. Then the group bounces back toward the present, with a layover in the early days of the westward sweep and the European push of Native Americans from their homes. Dumphee finally makes it to his base, both in time and space, where he learns that he is in jeopardy because of his knowledge. This book is great fun to read. It's an adventure story of the type that was common in the era when Hubbard learned his chops, a style that mostly died out with the advent of the motion picture industry. Happily, Wolverton recaptures that sense of innocent wonder and delight in a book that will keep you turning the pages.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Fun Trip!
Review: Despite the fiasco of the previous rewrite of Mr. Hubbard's Ai Pedrito!, this one was a reasonably good revamping of the old tale as done by Dave Wolverton. Great job, Dave!The tale moves along briskly enough, and the characters were refined and repolished so as to make them not to appear too cartoonish, as evidenced in Mr. Hubbard's Ai Pedrito! Strange Trip would have received a 5; however, it did not pass the test of highly original material, nor did it contain any twists of suficient novelty or drama to sustain the sophisticated reader's interest.
Rating:
Summary: a very strange trip - indeed
Review: I just started the book, actually I've only read the preface. I enjoy buying things on amazon, but this time I have to give you a special heads up. A very strange trip, can be bought new at any dollar general store for a buck. In this case don't use amazon. sorry amazon -- the book seems like a good sci-fi story and the script the author has chosen makes it easy on the eyes
Rating: 
Summary: A less than exciting trip through time.
Review: I like L. Ron Hubbard's style and have read many of his books. This book may have had his name on it, but it didn't even come close to being a Hubbard novel. The premise of time travel with a military vehicle was an interesting one. The story went along fine until three indian squaws came into the picture. Dave Wolverton depicts the squaws as being illiterate, dumb and drunk. I did not appreciate the way he portrayed them. The novel has some interesting sequences and isn't a bad read if you just want light reading.
Rating:
Summary: A less than exciting trip through time.
Review: I like L. Ron Hubbard's style and have read many of his books. This book may have had his name on it, but it didn't even come close to being a Hubbard novel. The premise of time travel with a military vehicle was an interesting one. The story went along fine until three indian squaws came into the picture. Dave Wolverton depicts the squaws as being illiterate, dumb and drunk. I did not appreciate the way he portrayed them. The novel has some interesting sequences and isn't a bad read if you just want light reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Disappointing book.
Review: I was excited to read this book because I enjoy time travel books and have always been impressed with L. Ron Hubbards writing. According to the introduction of the book, Hubbard wrote the story as a screenplay and then Dave Wolverton converted it into a book. Usually, things go the other way and people say "compared to the book, the movie stunk!" In this case, unfortunately, the book stunk. I read about 50 pages before I began wondering if it was a pre-teen book. I read 50 more and began wondering if I was wasting my time. I was certainly wasting my time. The characters are preposterously simple and unrealistic. The scenarios they encounter are never set up well and the characters reactions are out of a saturday morning cartoon. The protagonist is a near imbecile and he is by far the most intelligent character in the entire story. Save your time and money, this one misses the mark.
Rating:
Summary: Very Disappointing book.
Review: I was excited to read this book because I enjoy time travel books and have always been impressed with L. Ron Hubbards writing. According to the introduction of the book, Hubbard wrote the story as a screenplay and then Dave Wolverton converted it into a book. Usually, things go the other way and people say "compared to the book, the movie stunk!" In this case, unfortunately, the book stunk. I read about 50 pages before I began wondering if it was a pre-teen book. I read 50 more and began wondering if I was wasting my time. I was certainly wasting my time. The characters are preposterously simple and unrealistic. The scenarios they encounter are never set up well and the characters reactions are out of a saturday morning cartoon. The protagonist is a near imbecile and he is by far the most intelligent character in the entire story. Save your time and money, this one misses the mark.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing: A Very Strange Trip
Review: This book was very disappointing to me. I've always been a big fan of Wolverton's StarWars books and I never knew he wrote other types of stories. With Wolverton's name and an awesome cover, I couldn't resist buying this one. And the inside flap summary sounded interesting enough. What I soon found out, though, was that that's ALL I had bought: a name and a cover. I think Wolverton did his best to salvage this story; after all, the plot flowed okay and was a fun, light read. I was through with this book in a single afternoon and it was easy enoguh to get through. However, I think Wolverton's talent as a writer could have better been spent on another Science Fiction piece of his own, not a rehashing of a rehashing of somebody else's ideas. The storyline (i.e. Hubbard's original idea) was fatally flawed. It lacks the one thing that every good Science Fiction flick needs: Credibility, a real idea expanded in a unique way. It seems as though Hubbard took some 10 year old Cold War sentiments and the time machine cliche, stuck them together in a blender, and then poured the words out on paper as Russian contraband weapons and mysterious time travel devices. I could go on for hundreds of words about this, so I'll just sum it up: the story was boring, unoriginal, and unrealistic. Maybe worth a library checkout if you're really into time travel stories, but overall I found it lacking in the elements of a good science fiction piece.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing: A Very Strange Trip
Review: This book was very disappointing to me. I've always been a big fan of Wolverton's StarWars books and I never knew he wrote other types of stories. With Wolverton's name and an awesome cover, I couldn't resist buying this one. And the inside flap summary sounded interesting enough. What I soon found out, though, was that that's ALL I had bought: a name and a cover. I think Wolverton did his best to salvage this story; after all, the plot flowed okay and was a fun, light read. I was through with this book in a single afternoon and it was easy enoguh to get through. However, I think Wolverton's talent as a writer could have better been spent on another Science Fiction piece of his own, not a rehashing of a rehashing of somebody else's ideas. The storyline (i.e. Hubbard's original idea) was fatally flawed. It lacks the one thing that every good Science Fiction flick needs: Credibility, a real idea expanded in a unique way. It seems as though Hubbard took some 10 year old Cold War sentiments and the time machine cliche, stuck them together in a blender, and then poured the words out on paper as Russian contraband weapons and mysterious time travel devices. I could go on for hundreds of words about this, so I'll just sum it up: the story was boring, unoriginal, and unrealistic. Maybe worth a library checkout if you're really into time travel stories, but overall I found it lacking in the elements of a good science fiction piece.
Rating:
Summary: A very strange trip is great all around.
Review: This book will keep you reading till the book is over. It is very interesting and I am shure you will enjoy reading it.
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