Rating: 
Summary: Man never gives up
Review: This is a great adventure story set in the future. It gives a very real idea what it would be like if we were invaded. Once you start it is very hard to put it down! It kept me up late several nights in a row. You can really identify with the humans. You fight along side with them every step of the way. This is SF in its best form.
Rating: 
Summary: Science friction, not science fiction
Review: I thought I would read this book before the summer movie came out. Checked out the rating (4-1/2 stars) and took the plunge. What? This has to be one of the all-time worst science fiction books ever written. The plot is entirely ridiculous, the characters are one-dimensional, and the science (whew!) is rotten. I only finished the book for the entertainment value of seeing just how far L. Ron Hubbard could push the ridiculous. I've been reading (and occasionally writing) science fiction for forty years, and this is the lowest ebb of the genre, the very nadir of its class.
Rating: 
Summary: GOOD ESCAPIST BOOK, NOT LITURATURE
Review: This book is a decent read. The action in Battlefield Earth is nearly constant along the lines of "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the lost ark." No there is not a lot of character development. No there is not much insightful social commentary. If this is what you want try Jane Austin or the New Yorker while munching on brie and crackers. Get a life one-star raters. Review a book for what it is not what you want it to be. THE MOVIE: Resembles this book by title only. I was appalled at the dissimilarity. This movie may not be the worst ever done but it IS in there. THERE IS NOT ONE SCENE IN IT TAKEN FROM THE BOOK. I REPEAT -- NOT ONE. Occasionaly the movie has a scene that vaguely resembles one from the book. It will die a quick death lossing money and ending some careers. Justice in the market place will be the only satisfaction I will get out of it.
Rating:
Summary: Hmmmmmmm.....
Review: ...If you're interested in an adventurous, action-packed,"Classic" scifi novel, you have found your book. Yes, it istrue that this book relies on rather tired cliches, (Johnny Tyler is good, the aliens are bad, aliens lose, humans triumph, etc.) but what you should ask yourself is: "Is that necessarily a bad thing? Just because a book utilizes classic themes that have been done a thousand times?" Just because the characters aren't pretentiously exaggerated emotionally doesn't mean they're depthless. I, for one, am disgusted with whiny, self-possessed characters. Rich characterization is one thing, but characters that go through some ridiculously boring and pointless psychological struggle for 8000 pages are becoming a cliche in themselves. Read this book. It has action, adventure, and all the things that entertaining writing is about. It won't change the way you like at the world, or even give you a deep emotional connection to the characters, but it will keep you on the edge of your seat, and give you an entertaining read.
Rating:
Summary: Unreadable garbage
Review: If there has ever been a worse science fiction novel written then fortunately I haven't come across it yet. I only managed to read a few hundred pages of this grotesquely bloated "novel" before I had to give up because I felt physically ill. This is without doubt the most cretinously stupid and badly written book I have ever read, I can't believe that even a Scientologist could stand to read the whole thing. This book deserves a rating system all to itself: minus five stars.
Rating:
Summary: Don't let the horrible movie scare you from this book
Review: I have read this book several times over the last 17 years. It is not a book if you want rich character development or profound social messages. There is no scientology in it, either. It is just a great yarn, a bit melodramatic perhaps, but an escapist science fiction adventure with lots of sarchasm and even a bit of comedy. It is one of my favorite books of all time.The movie was criminal. After waiting to see it, I was so incredibly disappointed. It rates down there with "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" or "Plan 9 From Outer Space". Words can't describe how horrible it was. It was bits and pieces of book scenes and dialog thrown together with no believable plot line to connect them. There was no real dialog among the humans in the movie. The Scots weren't in the movie, either. There were no Harrier Jump jets in the book, thank goodness. The plot lines are not even similar. Don't judge this book by that movie. Read the book and see for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: So much potential, so little delivered
Review: I love reading science fiction and I had seen Battlefield Earth many times in the past in bookshops but always passed it up (mainly because the cover artwork was pretty bad, I know, a shallow reason but sadly true). So now I note that there is a movie with John Travolta and I'm intrigued by the hoopla enough to read it. I will admit up front that Mr. Hubbard's writing style was smooth enough to keep me reading until the end even though I had shaken my head many times by then. BUT......the story/plot was unbelievably bad. I found myself getting annoyed with the implausability of events and characters. I kept thinking "maybe it picks up later on", and kept reading. The hero, Johnnie Tyler, is just an amazing piece of work, he goes from the stoneage with clubs to world leader, pilot, banker, mathematician, psychologist, physician and scientist (I still probably missed some out). Earth's bedraggled remnants are apparently not so stoneage as to quickly become hotdog pilots and engineers etc ad nauseum also. There were so many places in the story that I felt the author had just thrown in a quick blurb to explain yet another incident or development that had to be justified. I got the distinct impression that Mr. Hubbard was trying to squeeze a timeline that would require many books into one big tome. He fails miserably. For science fiction readers stick with Asimov, Clarke et al you won't miss anything with this book.
Rating: 
Summary: It's exactly what it claims to be--no more, no less
Review: Despite the needlessly vicious recent reviews of both the movie and the book Battlefield Earth (methinks that more than a little religious prejudice is involved), both are enjoyable, action-heavy pieces of space opera--no more, no less. The book will probably not go down in the ranks of the twentieth century's great novels, nor should it: it tackles no major "real life" themes, makes no startlingly new proclamations about the human condition, and features no especially beautiful passages of writing. (I don't know what scientology consists of, but if there was some insidious scientologist sub-plot designed to snare the unwary reader, I sure didn't see it.) But the book *does* deliver lightweight, fun sci-fi action through a writing style that's a lot like potato chips: there's little nutritional value, it won't stick with you too long, but it sure tasted good at the time. Battlefield Earth is a fun, action-oriented read that's a little too long; if you don't like that kind of thing, don't buy the book. If you realize what you're getting, you'll probably enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: After 35 years of reading sf, B.E. ranks among the best
Review: After seeing the current movie adaptation I went back and read Battlefield Earth again. For shear scope and unadulterated fun it ranks among the very best sf novels ever written. The plot revolves around an alien security chief's scheme to use a few of the last surviving humans to mine radiation-contaminated gold without the knowledge of the Intergalactic Mining Company, the current owner of planet Earth. In the process the hero learns something of the alien technology -- just enough to plan a rebellion. But don't worry, I haven't really given anything away. For once the blast guns starting firing this story shifts into high gear. There's realistic alien technology, epic battles, intrigue, and then, when the other alien races start arriving... Well, if I kept going I would be giving something away. Battlefield Earth tells a good story and it tells it well, without pretense. Like the best classic sf, you feel that the author is right there with you, having as much fun with the story as you are, and just as thrilled to be part of the adventure. I recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable........
Review: Battlefield: Earth. I don't even know where to begin to describe this book. There are bad books, terrible books, and there is Battlefield: Earth. I won't go so far to say it is the worst book ever written, as I have not had the displeasure (nor do I ever plan to) of reading any of Mr Hubbard's other "works". I am firmly convinced that the glowing five star reviews that appear elsewhere were written by brainwashed Scientologists. That is the only explaination that I can come to. Stay Away! You have been warned.
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