Orders is Orders »

With 19 New York Times bestsellers and more than 230 million copies of his works in circulation, L. Ron Hubbard is among the most acclaimed and widely read authors of our time. As a leading light of American Pulp Fiction through the 1930s and ’40s, he is further among the most influential authors of the modern age. Indeed, from Ray Bradbury to Stephen King, there is scarcely a master of imaginative tales who has not paid tribute to L. Ron Hubbard.

The Japanese have led a heavily armored assault against the Chinese city of Shunkien, pounding wreckage into ashes and wiping out a city dating back to Genghis Kahn. One of the few buildings still standing is the small American consulate, now packed with one hundred and sixteen frightened American refugees. Food is low and deadly Asiatic cholera is starting to run rampant, with carnage and corpses piling up in the streets.

 

 

Two hundred miles away, the USS Miami drops anchor, well equipped with the needed gold to buy food and a cholera serum to prevent disease and death. The dillema is that should the Marines take military action to rush supplies to the consulate, it could force the US into an all-out battle with the Japanese.

Marine Gunnery Sergeant James Mitchell and Private First Class Spivits instead are ordered to conduct a treacherous supply mission facing impossible odds to reach and rescue the trapped Americans.

 

Publishers Weekly

Hubbard's tale, originally published in a pulp magazine in 1937, takes listeners to the war-torn Chinese city of Shunkien, where the Japanese have launched an assault of epic proportions. The lone building left standing among the piles of flaming rubble is the American consulate, where innocent refugees are trying to stave off hunger and a deadly flu epidemic. Demonstrating his unique ability to relate even the most complicated story with a keen eye for detail and realism, Hubbard's stunning writing ability and creative imagination set him apart as one of the greatest literary figures of the 20th century. The recording, as usual, is stunning and well directed by Jim Meskimen. Featuring brilliant performances by Brooke Bloom, R.F. Daley and Meskimen himself, the story captivates thoroughly. A Galaxy paperback. (Dec.)

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