'Battlefield' hype--don't buy it

Marketing is everything.

And in publishing, there's no better marketing bonanza than having a book made into a movie (or mentioned by Oprah).

This week saw the release of the big-budget "sci-fi" (a term most genuine science fiction fans reserve for schlock) film "Battlefield Earth," based on the 1982 novel by the late L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology.

Produced by and starring Scientology adherent John Travolta, the tale concerns an earthly rebellion against insidious alien overlords. Strikingly unoriginal--but it's splashy, big-budget, heavily promoted and therefore bound to attract an audience.

You may also have noticed garish displays in bookstores hawking Hubbard's source novel. Undeniably attractive, the cover features Travolta's grim, blue face and evil green eyes as the book/movie's archvillain. At 1,050 pages, the publisher brags that it's "the biggest single science fiction novel ever written"--as if that's a good thing. According to Boulder Book Store, the novel--published by Bridge Publications, controlled by Scientology--is selling briskly.

And according to a full-page ad in Publisher's Weekly, "Battlefield Earth" was "Voted #1 Science Fiction Novel of the 20th Century" by the American Book Reader's Association. The book also was the top science fiction novel, and third overall, in the Random House Modern Library's Reader's Poll of the 100 best English language novels of the last century.

Must be pretty good, eh?

Actually, no. "Battlefield Earth" is widely reviled by true sf fans, who see it for what it is: an amateurishly written, bloated piece of cheap 1940s-style space opera stocked with cardboard characters who spout laughably stilted dialogue. However, it just happens to have been written by Hubbard, who created Scientology after declaring that the real way to get rich is to invent your own religion. And Hubbard's followers will do anything--including ballot stuffing and creating bogus "polls"--to make him and his work appear legitimate.

I was unable, after much searching, to track down the "North Carolina-based" (according to Bridge) American Book Reader's Association. The group has no Web site and is not listed in phone books. Bridge promised to fax me more information, but didn't. The good folks at Publisher's Weekly don't know a thing about the association.

But consider: Locus, the 35-year-old "newspaper of the science fiction field" has held polls every decade or so--from a voter base larger than that of any of the major sf awards--to determine the "best all-time sf novel." In the two polls taken since "Battlefield Earth" was published, the book didn't make the top 60. This is no surprise to real fans, who instead chose good books such as Herbert's "Dune," Le Guin's "The Left Hand of Darkness" and Orwell's "1984."

In the past, Scientology adherents have bought up multiple copies of Hubbard books to puff up sales. They have staged record-breaking mass gatherings for posthumously published work by Hubbard, who, before he became the leader of his religion (which requires members to pay thousands of dollars before the grossly science fictional "secrets" of the faith are revealed) was--natch--a hack sci-fi writer.

Make no mistake, "Battlefield Earth" is a lousy book; read a couple pages in a bookstore and see for yourself. However, because of Bridge Publications' (read: Scientology's) massive, deceptive PR campaign, it'll probably sell well.

If you're looking for good, thoughtful sf--and you don't want to support such tactics--you'll spend your money elsewhere.

May 14, 2000