Rating: 
Summary: This read was a rip-roaring good time!
Review: I loved this book. I just read it for the 3rd time, in anticipation of Battlefield Earth, the movie. Each time the read was even better than the last.It was action-packed! I cried at a few points, and laughed at many others. This book was really a lot of fun to read. If you like science fiction, and you like adventure, then I highly recommend this one!
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Summary: Verry Impressive
Review: I used to read a lot of science fiction books, in fact I tried to read them all :) but only got to letter H (by author). The book that stopped me was "Battlefield Earth" by L Ron Hubbard. The goal of the book, said the introduction, was to create the best s/f book ever written. I read it and yes - it is. Over a 1,000 pages of pure s/f, brilliant ideas, dynamic writing and full of adventures. For those of you who never heard of L Ron Hubbard - he is a founder of the church of Scientology. Do not worry - the book has nothing to do with that. . . I really recommend reading it - check out libraries or maybe they still sell them. I personally have many copies - paperbacks, hardbacks, on tape, leather bound... I give them as gifts - not many people can claim they have the best s/f book ever written! The reason I am telling you all of this - I just saw a "Battlefield Earth" poster in the AMC! Well, they wanted to do the movie for all these years with John Travolta (who is a scientologist) in the main role of Jonnie "Goodboy" Tyler - but he is pushing fifty! Jonnie was twenty! Of course Barbra Streisand pulled off the "Yentle" - maybe Travolta can do the same. I bet it is going to be something!
Rating: 
Summary: A rag - Don't be misled!
Review: This "book" is a cartoon written by .......... Cliche upon cliche, with a childish plot. Save your money .................
Rating:
Summary: 18 Years in the waiting!
Review: I first read this book in 1982 and loved it so much I read it twice! I've waited 18 years for the movie to finally come out, and I hope they do the book justice. This is a fast paced book that was ahead of its time back in 1982. When I heard that the movie was finally coming out, I bought the book again to refresh my memory and could not put it down (again). Forget about the Dianetics stuff Hubbard preaches. This book is simply action packed with many little side stories that add to the richness of the plot. My only critique is the quickness (timewise) of the human's learning abilities to handle advanced alien technology, but that could be explained by the use of the learning machines. While over a 1,000 pages, the reading pace is downright fast, and you will want to read it again.
Rating:
Summary: The best science fiction in years.
Review: The story was astounding and it was fast paced and to the point.
Rating:
Summary: Johnny come lately
Review: Many people will not read anything written by Hubbard because of his connection with certain religions. To them I say, it is a pity to let your prejudice get in the way of a great novel.
Battlefield Earth is technically a post apocalypse story. It is set at a time about a thousand years after the event, though. The fall of Earth was not brought about by ourselves. No, it was an alien mining corporation that brought us down. Shades of Hitch Hikers Guide, don't you think?.
The bedraggled, diseased remnants of humanity are blissfully unaware of their heritage. And most of them don't seem to care. Most that is, except for the heroic main character, Johnny Goodboy.
L Ron Hubbard takes us on a thrilling ride on the coat tails of young Johnny as he struggles to bring the planet Earth back under human control. What, on the surface, seems to be a fast paced adventure novel, has depths which sometimes surprise and often leave you thinking. But the essence that makes this novel so good, is the heartfelt portrayal of a true underdog rising above the odds. It makes you want to stand up and cheer. Hooray!
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down...
Review: Written over 60 years ago, "Battlefield Earth" is a thrilling science fiction adventure, even by 21st century standards. Set in the year 3000, the story begins long after the human race has been taken over by a race of aliens, known as the Psychlos. The Psychlos are powerful, compassionless, greedy beings for whom the remaining humans represent little more than a race of animals. Early in the story, we find the most powerful, evil, brilliant and psychotic of the aliens --security chief Terl, the Darth Vader of the Psychlos race - involved in a secret, self-serving entrepreneurial effort to mine gold with the help of a growing labor force of unwilling humans. One of his human victims is Jonnie Goodboy Tyler, a good-hearted, naive lad from a small Rocky Mountain community - a boy who had always wondered whether the legendary tales about the wicked Psychlos had any basis in truth. In the face of impossible odds, Jonnie uses his inside position to discover small chinks in the seemingly invulnerable alien armor. A kind of Luke Skywalker who learns quickly and displays extraordinary aptitude, Jonnie walks the tightrope of possibility to find a way for humanity beyond all reasonable hope. The story, part of the pulp fiction tradition of the 30s, is a fast-paced, gripping, edge-of-your-seat adventure, encompassing themes of good vs. evil, politics, and war, and narrated in the tradition of the best American storytelling of the 20th century. This is one of Hubbard's most successful novels. The book was first published at a time when the demand for Hubbard's work had reached a pinnacle, unprecedented in American literature. America wanted to read whatever Hubbard wrote, and in response, Hubbard became one of the most prolific authors of the present era, with several hundred fictional works to his credit. Before reading Battlefield Earth, all I knew about L. Ron Hubbard was that he had received a lot of bad press in recent times for his research on the human mind and his founding of the Church of Scientology. Like everyone else, I assumed that Hubbard must be some evil cult-founder and that poor souls like John Travolta and Tom Cruise, who publicly align themselves with this church, were simply too naïve to see through the lofty claims, and are stuck for the rest of their lives in a finance-draining perversion of religion. After reading this novel, and after coincidentally reading some positive remarks made by several former Scientologists, it occurred to me that my condemnation of Hubbard might be without any factual basis. I decided to look into Hubbard's work a bit. I read "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health," and "What Is Scientology?" I also visited the Church of Scientology here in Austin. Nothing that I have read or encountered so far lends any support to the wild claims against Scientology. I have seen cults in action in my own experience, and I recognize the peculiar, unnatural feeling that people involved in cults tend to exude. I found nothing like this at the local church. People were friendly, not seeking to drain my pockets, interested in my views, interested in answering my questions, and downright likable people. I learned that Battlefield Earth will be coming out as a movie on the very weekend of the 50th anniversary of the birth of Hubbard's foundational discovery, Dianetics. His work is being duly honored at this time. I would love to see other people check out Hubbard's work and church for themselves and come to their own conclusions. It seems such a shame that reviewers of the film just pretend that Hubbard's life ended in 1950 (when he began to publish his work on Dianetics), even though his work after 1950 may well be his greatest contribution to the world. I for one would like to join in honoring the entirety of this man's contribution to the world, both in the field of entertainment and in the fields of human potential and spiritual unfoldment.
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Summary: Deals well with the issue of Goat Men from Mars
Review: At first, I was wary of a book about Goat Men from Mars, but half way through Battlefield Earth, I realized that Goat Men from Mars were not only REAL, but coming to get us! No, I'm only joking. The Goat Men from Mars in this book are only a METAPHOR for the human condition. If you study this book in depth, you will find that reading of the Goat Men from Mars is like reading about yourself! In fact, if you could see a Goat Man from Mars, it would be like looking in a mirror. Except for the fact that he would be a Goat Man. From Mars. All Hail Layfatty Ron.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites........
Review: I just finished reading this book (AGAIN) and I must say that I was as captivated by it this time as I was the first time. This is the story of Jonnie Tyler, set in the year 3000 after a sadistic race of aliens known as Psychlos has virtually wiped out humanity and is mining the planet raw. Throughout the novel Jonnie transforms from a "savage animal" held hostage, to the leader of a massive resistance. Can earth, and indeed the universe be saved? Read it and find out........
Rating:
Summary: A great SF story
Review: Although not to be taken as a serious work of literature, L. Ron Hubbard's Battlefield Earth is nonetheless an extremely captivating story. Although many of the important proceedings have no bearing in the real world, they meet their own standards. I've heard the reports that this is a book of "Scientologist Propoganda", and those people are no better than Nazis; hating a certain group even though they probably don't know much about them. I'm not a scientologist myself, but I am not well-enough informed about them to make a judgement call. All in all, it is a thoroughly enjoyable and gripping sci-fi action, adventure book. If you are looking for "great" literature, pick up a copy of Dune. If you are looking for a great story to read, pick up Battlefield Earth.
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