In the pantheon of pulp writers one of my favorites is L. Ron Hubbard. His stories are all action-packed, intelligently written and marvelous entertainments. "Tomb of the Ten Thousand Dead" is a 1936 gem that offers up tons of excitement. And remember, this archeological adventure pre-dates Indiana Jones by thirty-five years. Captain Charles Gordon literally has his hands full with an ancient map that leads him to a stunning Alexandrian treasure. Keeping the treasure and getting out of the desert alive will take more than luck for our plucky hero. Trapped in the tomb with thousands of mummified corpses deep beneath the sands, besieged by fear and pursued by some unscrupulous treasure hunters, Hubbard's "Tomb of the Ten Thousand Dead" has become one of my favorites from the early part of his career. Hubbard's gripping, breathless tales are memorable stories for young and old adventure fans alike. The bonus stories included are "The Price of a Hat" and Starch and Stripes." I also recommend the audio-book version for a superb multicast performance with music and sound effects in the style of old time radio dramas. Fantastic! ( )

I am always looking for alternative ways for my students to connect with literature, so I often look into audio books. While some have been good, it wasn’t until I had a chance to listen to Tomb of Ten Thousand Dead that I heard some really great stories that my students (especially boys) could connect with.

Just one of a series of CDs by Golden Age Stories, Tomb of Ten Thousand Dead is like a 1930′s Indiana Jones. When Captain Gordon, a respected pilot, is hired to bring some archaeologists to a desert dig site, he has no idea how much trouble he is about to get into. The researchers intend to look for an ancient treasure site, one that has been hidden in the desert since the age of Alexander the Great. Gordon quickly discovers that the treasure will only cause trouble, and finds himself in a fight for his life in a tomb of 10,000 dead soldiers.

With great sound effects, diverse voices (as opposed to one person trying to do different voices), and a thrilling plot, I loved the story (as well as Price of a Hat and Starch and Stripes, the two others that came in the CD set). The stories are each less than an hour, so they are a good length for some of my struggling students who have a hard time retaining information. Additionally, because these are all recorded versions of L. Ron Hubbard’s classic adventure stories, the entire Golden Age Stories collection is action-packed. From shelfishness.blog.com

Years ago I read Battlefield Earth and really liked it. I didn't know much about Hubbard at that time.
I like the pulp style stories so thought I would give this a try. I enjoyed it some what.
It seemed rather than stories these were outlines that really could do with some fleshing out, especially the title tale.
But that may be part of the genre. We're given three stories and a preview of another. I had to wonder about that, the stories aren't that long so how much of a preview can we expect?
There was a glossary of terms which I found interesting. Then a chapter about L. Ron himself which was laughable. Made him sound like the stories were all taken from his real life. I had read some things about him on the internet recently including the true story of his life and what a fraud he was.
Also could have done without the sales pitches all over the place to join the L. Ron book club. More money for the Scientologists I guess.
Enjoyed the stories, but glad I didn't pay for this book. ( )

This book contains three Hubbard stories of pulp fiction, and is designed to give you a taste. The publisher is starting a subscription series, every month putting out new books with more pulp stories. Fascinating to see such a subscription system being tried out again, as I thought it had died. that said, the three stories in this book are excellent examples of the pulp genre. Typically in the first paragraph or two you are immediately launched into the action with little or no backstory. Relevant details are dribbled between the lines as needed to back up the story in progress. It's no wonder these stories were so popular in the day. They're popcorn - light, easy reading, with no commitment and no investment. In a magazine, you could almost pick it up at the newsstand and read it before putting the magazine back down. Hubbard mastered the art of opening a portal between the reader and a scene with an immediacy that even television often fails to capture. The current media appetites are for longer storylines and recurring tensions, but you could do a lot worse than to spend an afternoon reading some words from a master of his art. ( )

Love him or hate him, it's impossible to deny that L. Ron Hubbard was a master of pulp fiction. Galaxy Press has put together a new collection of Hubbard's pulp fiction short stories and the volumes are absolutely beautiful. I love the artwork and design of the book. It's obviously well thought out and designed.

This particular volume contains three short stories and it won't take you long to breeze through all three. These stories are entertaining fluff for the most part but they do have a sort of magical quality about them that transports you back in time and helps you remember what it was like to read action adventure stories as a child.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to afford the entire collection but I think these books are definitely worth having in my library. ( )