Rating: 
Summary: Very entertaining, a real page turner
Review: The book is always fun to read. I've gone through it 3 times over 12 years. Each time I read it cover to cover, straight through. The style is deliberately over-the-top, and very humorous. Hubbard creates many outrageous scenes of high tension, bigger than life and melodramatic. It can't help but bring a smile to your face, as this book presents innumerable good vs. evil conflicts in the classic tradition. The "Psychlos" are bumbling alien psychotics, so intent on guile and treachery they can't even grab a goo-food stick without provoking a knock down, drag out fight. Through sheer luck, they've stumbled upon technologies which empower them to rule most of the know universes (all 16 of them). The ponderous, overwhelming Psychlo bureaucracy, replete with the cruelest and pettiest, middle level paper pushers imaginable, sets up the perfect "evil empire" that Johnny Good Boy Tyler defeats at every turn, overcoming incredible odds and triumphing over treachery with intelligence, bravery, and unbelievable luck. The almost stereo-typical conflicts in the book are a basis for it's humor and entertainment value, given the author's talent for creating conflicts of epic, even galactic, proportions. Although I normally read more intellectualy structured fiction, Hubbard somehow has the knack of creating an entertaining story that is fun to read despite it's intentionally low-brow approach. If you like funny, adventure/sci-fi, you will probably like this book a lot. I liked this book more than the Hubbard "Dekaology". Battlefield Earth is pretty long, but generally holds my interest throughout. It's almost like (2) books, with an initial phase related just to earth, and a final phase, involving the 16 known universes. The Dekalogy in contrast had a lot of underlying bitterness, and was REALLY long, perhaps because Hubbard was near the end of his life, and his goal was to write the longest sci-fi book, not necessarily the best. I can think of many "serious" sci-fi authors I prefer to L. Ron Hubbard, but I'm hard pressed to think of one who is more entertaining. I look at Battlefield Earth as equal parts Douglas Adams, Tom Swift, and Asimov. Hubbard is from the same generation of classic sci-fi authors as Heinlin, Clark, Asimov, et. al., but in Battlefield Earth, employs a more humorous and easy-going style, without the dated idealism and self-importance found in many older sci-fi classics.
Rating:
Summary: A classic adventure Sci-Fi book
Review: I have read this book twice. Once when I was a teenager over 15 years ago, and then last year again. Both times I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite the fact that my tastes have changed over the years. Battlefield Earth is a long book, but it is definitely a page turner. It is what I would call a sweeping saga that twists and turns as the protaganist (Johnnie) and the evil villain (Terl) each gain and then lose the upper hand. Over and above the great action and witty dialogue, especially from the alien Psychlos, I felt it was an uplifting book, giving hope that man will overcome his future travails, and that the spirit to endure and improve will sweep humankind forward no matter what comes in the way. I especially liked the Terl character. There is no doubt that he is evil through and through, yet he honestly believes that he is the victim, and that his actions are totally justifiable under the "horrible" situation he has been put in. Also, Terl can be outright funny at times, not only with the wild plots he comes up with, but also with some of the witty lines he comes up with. If you are looking for a gripping page turner with a great plot and interesting characters, this is a book I would highly recommend.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good Science Fiction Epic
Review: I love this book. I've read it four or five times now and find it better each time. The only reason I don't give it five stars is that it IS a bit hokey (i.e., simplistic). But, its sheer massiveness and level of fun outweighs that. A science fiction classic that is well worth reading. WARNING: under no circumstances watch the movie -- that thing sucks.
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed feelings
Review: "Battlefield Earth" seems to be the most heterogenous book I've ever read. If you analyse it deeply, it has potential to be one of the most complete and thoughtful works of science fiction ever, but that's not enough to make this book great. The story is set about 1000 years in the future, and as the first sentence in the book says, "Man is an endangered species", because Earth is now dominated by the Psychlos, a very military powerful alien race that explore mineral resources in planets it dominates, regardless of sentient life pre-existent in those planets. Psychlos are ruthless, violent and self-minded; human race, now down to no more than 50,000 scattered people, is back in an almost neolithic state. Then, enter the scene Jonnie Tyler, the main and pratically only character in the book. This is the first mistake by Hubbard. Tyler, although an interesting character, tires the reader as he goes further in the story. For example, women are treated like ridiculous domestic and winning characters from beginning to end. Tyler is almost like a super-hero that takes upon his back the task of saving the humans. Everything he does, although with lots of risks, will be resolved, one way or another, in the end. No reader can take that lightly after more than 1000 pages. I couldn't. The first 400 pages are very good, dealing with Tyler trying to fool Terl, the main Psychlo on Earth, into sending a bomb back to his home planet. In this first phase, the interaction between Tyler and Terl is enjoyable, and the science matters displayed along the pages are good, although a little repetitive. Then the book looses its pace. Too many uninteresting supporting characters, boring situations dealing mainly with politics and military battles. In the end, everything was a little too confusing, because I was skipping the parts didn't catch my attention (something I rarely do). The fact is, after page 500, Hubbard's style of writing made me loose interest in my own planet's quest for survival! So, I really enjoyed the first part of the story, but the second part was very boring. If you want to read this one, prepare yourself beforehand: this is not a light and fast book to read in the beach. Grade 6.3/10
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Book!
Review: I picked up a used copy of Battlefield Earth at a local bookstore for a few reasons: I had heard good things about the author, L. Ron Hubbard, but never read any of his books; the back cover rightly said the pace was " . . . fast, unrelenting 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' action . . . . a real page turner"; and it was over 1,000 pages long, perfect for my three week trip. However, I unfortunately looked at the first few pages on the way home from the book store and finished in a week and a half, before my trip had even begun! Once I started it, I simply COULD NOT put it down! The action never let up and the characters, especially Terl, the arch villain, were very real. The Psychlos are the perfect science fiction conquering aliens, complete in every detail down to their unique number system based on 11. After Jonnie, the brave hero in a world that had stagnated by the year 3000, left his village and was captured by Terl after attacking (and nearly beating) a Psychlo assault tank, the plot only got better. I was kept on my toes wondering whether Jonnie and the others, with their machine-given intelligence, would meet the deadline to deliver the gold they had been forced to mine. I thought the book would end with Jonnie and the Scots teleporting the coffins of uranium to Psychlo. However, then came the other aspects, like Brown Limper, the "Mayor" of Jonnie's village, the Tolneps, and - well, I won't spoil the rest. Don't see the movie of this book, because it is well known to be one of the worst adaptations of a novel ever. Battlefield Earth is an awesome book by itself and every bit as good as other science fiction classics such as Dune, Ender's Game, and the Foundation trilogy by Isaac Asimov. This is a great book to read again and again.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring.
Review: I enjoyed the style and premise of the book but eventually just put it down and stopped reading it for one simple reason: The good guys always win, the bad guys always lose. This theme becomes so prevelent and predictable that the battles are literally the most boring parts of the book. All the bad guys get mowed down, one good guy gets shot in the arm, hooray for humanity, repeat for every fight. It's like every Stallone/Van Damme/Chuck Norris movie all rolled into one rather cheesy book. He did a lot of this in his Mission Earth books as well, but there it was intentional and funny, in Battlefield Earth it's serious to the point of just creating a ridiculous story. Maybe 1 star isn't being completely fair overall, but this one aspect was enough to make me stop reading, so I figure it's justified.
Rating:
Summary: Trash
Review: Juvenile plot, nonexistent character development, and horrid writing in general put this book firmly at the bottom of the sci fi trash heap.This book is dullsville. I am quite sure most homeless crackheads could churn out novels superior to Hubbard's mindless drivel. If you are looking for great sci fi to read check out books by Frank Herbert, Philip K. Dick, Isaac Asimov, Larry Niven, Robert Heinlein, Vonnegut, Ray Bradbury, Robert Anton Wilson, Piers Anthony and Greg Bear.
Rating:
Summary: Intense, Intelligent Reading
Review: This book is an epic spanning several universes, starting humbly in a dirty section of a used-up planet where only a few survivors are left of the original inhabitants and these don't dare come out of hiding...This is Earth in the year 3000. Suspense, intense battle action, romance...it's all there.
One of the very best.
Rating:
Summary: Pure Fast Pace Excietment! I really liked it!
Review: This book is a fast pace - page turner for sure. Once I started reading this book I could not put it down. This book is creative and all the while L. Ron Hubbard truely shapes your emotion towards each charater. This book truly brings you into the "world" of Battlefield Earth and leaves you searching for a way for Jonnie to beat the Pshchols for real. If you love a great story you will most definitely want to read again and again - read this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Rave
Review: Firstly, I must say that I am not your typical science fiction fan, but I have to say that Battlefield Earth is exceptional. The preface to the book is one of the best pieces of writing I have ever read. The book itself is fast paced and entertaining with good character definition and very enjoyable. I liked it
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