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    Man-Killers of the Air
    Man-Killers of the Air
    Man-Killers of the Air
    Audiobook1 hour

    Man-Killers of the Air

    Written by L. Ron Hubbard

    Narrated by R.F. Daley

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    "Take a touch of Charles Lindbergh, mix in a dash of Evel Knievel, throw in one man-killing cat-and you’ve got a recipe for a rip-roaring adventure featuring the high-flying, hard-living Smoke Burnham.

    There’s not a dare Smoke won’t take, and there’s not a wager he won’t make.  Now he’s betting his life that he can fly his plane, Super Comet-with his pet cheetah Patty coming along for the ride-across the mountains and jungles of South America to a prize-winning payday.

    All he has to do is out-race the competition, out-maneuver a saboteur, and make out with his girl-who’s determined to bring him down to earth.  One thing you can count on-in the air, in a fight, or in his girlfriend’s arms-he’s a man who likes to turn up the heat.  Because where there’s Smoke, there’s fire.

    In 1931, as a student at George Washington University, Hubbard founded the college Glider Club and within a few months a respected columnist said “he is recognized as one of the outstanding glider pilots in the country.”  Later he wrote as the aviation correspondent for the prestigious flying magazine Sportsman Pilot.  His combined writing and flying expertise comprised the perfect recipe to give stories like Man-Killers of the Air their authentic flavor."

    A Galaxy Press audio production.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGalaxy Press
    Release dateApr 14, 2009
    ISBN9781592124787
    Author

    L. Ron Hubbard

    With 19 New York Times bestsellers and more than 350 million copies of his works in circulation, L. Ron Hubbard is among the most enduring 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. Then too, of course, there is all L. Ron Hubbard represents as the Founder of Dianetics and Scientology and thus the only major religion born in the 20th century.

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    Reviews for Man-Killers of the Air

    4.5/5

    8 ratings2 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I love the pulp fiction coming out of Galaxy Press lately. In the past there were expensive leather-bound books of L. Ron Hubbard’s pulp works by Easton Press and others, but this is truly a great thing.

      I heard the audio books were good as well. In fact I have been present for some of these live audio presentations and they’re great. Reminds me of the old radio programs I’ve heard on CD.

      Story, Plot, Etc:

      First impression is the pace at which the story flies. Hubbard was a barnstormer in his younger years before creating Dianetics and his experience clearly shows. The story is written at a time of Japanese aggression in the Pacific, but years before America was hit in Pearl Harbor.

      Smoke is a pilot, who has a sidekick (Andy his PR man) and a girl who thinks Smoke loves piloting more than her. Smoke has a secret. He’s very broke, no cash, no dinero. What to do?

      Girard, a newspaper mogul who cares more for circulation numbers than how many lives need to be lost or reputations ruined in search of it, offers Smoke a chance at making a lot of money in exchange for a plane that Smoke’s girlfriend has the rights to, a plane that could make a difference if the “Japs” get tough.

      As with all of Hubbard’s characters, Smoke has a quirk that makes him stand out – he has a pet cheetah named Patty! She’s really a pussycat but you’d never know it from seeing her. Plot-wise Hubbard does not draw out the cat too much. He’s much more interested in building the tension between Smoke and Girard (never giving up in the face of adversity) and between Smoke and his girlfriend, the babe knock-out, Mel, who is conflicted between Smoke’s love of flight and the love of him.

      Fun adventure as they travel across South America. Someone spikes the gasoline and they come down! Will they win the race in time? Or die as a few others have, crashed into the Andes or sunk in the Caribbean?

      Conclusion:

      As with most pulps of the time, this one has a moral attached to it, along with some sneak peek into the human condition that Hubbard does so well. Hubbard’s output with science fiction is very minimal, despite popular belief. His stories were adventure, and this one really takes off!

      Can’t wait for the audio book.


    • 5/5
      Able pilot, Smoke Burnham, flies in the teeth of vested interests with three cents to his name to deliver on his promises out witting both physical hazards and intentions counter to his own. Very well written and performed in audio book format.

      "Man-Killer" is a reference to the dangerous and unreliable nature of a certain plane, not the pilot himself, who would be the victim of a "man-killer."

      I think Frank Capra would have loved this story as it reminds me or Mr Smith Goes to Washington or It's a Wonderful Life.