Warner forced to halt distribution of Travolta film, Battlefield Earth?

Just weeks before its scheduled opening, will Warner Brothers, Morgan Creek, and Franchise Pictures, be forced to halt the distribution of the new $80 million Travolta Film, Battlefield Earth? Perhaps, and surprisingly the reason will not be the horrible reviews. Neither will it be allegations of false advertising in the movie's trailer, which claims the film is based on one of the best selling science fiction books of all time. Neither will it be the publicity surrounding the involvement of the world's most dangerous cult, as revealed in a scathing Washington Post article [Nov 28, 1999, http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/style/A48280-1999Nov26.html], or the fact that this cult may make a fortune from Battlefield Earth toys by Trendmaster. The reason Warner Brothers may be forced to halt distribution is a new allegation that the movie contains sophisticated subliminal messages designed to get you into the cult of Scientology.

Outrageous as it sounds, this allegation stems from a credible source. Over the last 20 years the non-profit organization F.A.C.T.Net and its predecessors have supported individuals who have left Scientology or are in the process of leaving Scientology, helping them to tell their stories of abuse and systematic criminality. The following information was provided to F.A.C.T.Net by individual(s) we deem to be credible and who had direct and/or indirect access to Scientology's highest executive circle and its most sensitive information concerning the Battlefield Earth project. The story is told from an insider's perspective of Scientology. This information has been reconstructed in a manner to best protect the identity of the source(s), thus providing some protection from Scientology retaliation to the individual(s) and family members. The source(s) providing this information ask that each person evaluate the factuality, relevance, and implications of this information for oneself.

Behind the making of Battlefield Earth You have asked me to tell you about the Battlefield Earth project, but to do this you need to understand the state of affairs within Scientology that gave birth to this project. In spite of Scientology's continual denial, Scientology has been shrinking for years. Top execs have been hiding this fact by issuing grossly inflated growth, membership, and event attendance statistics.

Scientology's top execs wouldn't admit it, but the anti-Scientology war on the Internet - when our ultra-secret science fiction like and anti-Christian materials were leaked - really hurt us. We were also being convicted on criminal charges in numerous countries and banned completely from operating in other countries. Scientology's leaders were totally fed up with Scientology continually being ridiculed and treated as a joke in the media and on late night talk shows.

There was a pervasive attitude that we had to find something to restore Scientology's presence and power! We had to find some way to reverse the downward spiral in a fast, big way. David Miscavige, current head of Scientology, believed the only way we could get out of our slump was to find a way to mass recruit new people using the popularity, attention and draw-power of Scientology's growing celebrity list.

Miscavige then became obsessed with the idea of taking materials by late Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and turning them into a series of movies that would keep Scientology rich in new recruits and solidly in the public awareness for years. While discussing his brainstorm to save Scientology, Miscavige repeatedly asserted the movie series would eventually become bigger than the Stars Wars trilogy - because unlike Star Wars, this science fiction wasn't really fiction. It would have a real extraterrestrial past (from Scientology's secret and non-secret materials), and it would become immensely popular because people would recognize it as truth on deep subconscious levels. (Later Scientology succeeded in hiring director Roger Christian, who had worked with George Lucas on Star Wars' The Phantom Menace).

Miscavige held many brainstorming sessions on how to create this series of movies that would ultimately save Earth by saving Scientology by getting floods of new people to join. The following areas were just some of the areas discussed and evaluated in detail:

1. That there as no down side to making a science fiction movie because we have already been branded as a UFO cult.

2. That science fiction was hot with children (Teens and young adults were our key recruiting target audience).

3. A science fiction script was the best place to hide the Hubbard world view and Scientology belief system because so much of Hubbard's science fiction closely paralleled Scientology anyway. And if discovered, there was a powerful plausible deniability factor in that we could always continue claiming it was just science fiction.

4. The movie would have two main purposes. One, to mass-recruit new people into Scientology, and two, to attack our enemies through the movie's dialogue and symbolism.

After much discussion, it was decided to market the first of the movie series in the form of a script called Revolt in the Stars. Revolt in the Stars contained Scientology's most secret levels, and it was chosen to be first because we believed that it would contain the strongest material to "restimulate people's past-life engramic memories," turning what people today call science fiction into reality. (An engram is a Scientology word for memories stored in a cell.)

Revolt in the Stars was shopped all over Hollywood using the best celebrity connections we had at the time, but no name production company would touch it. David Miscavige was livid because Revolt in the Stars was continually rejected. That is where the Battlefield Earth Project really begins.

Miscavige swore that if Hollywood refused to produce our movies we would make them ourselves using the new Scientologists we steadily had been recruiting in the Hollywood film industry.

Then we would FORCE Hollywood to distribute it. More meetings took place evaluating what caused Revolt in the Stars' failure, and it was decided that for a new project to succeed we had to use a new name and hide wherever possible any evidence that we were funding and controlling it. We discussed using numerous soft money laundering fronts and using other names in all promotion, since Scientology's name had such bad PR. Our evaluation had shown that the major reason for the failure of Revolt in the Stars was that it was too obviously connected to Scientology. It was resolved that we had to hide, mislabel, misdirect, or deny any involvement of Scientology by all means possible. To help cover our tracks, plans were discussed for hiring outside people who had no traceable connection to Scientology for key highly visible public roles. The official "shore story" that everyone from Travolta on down was given was that the movie was nothing but an action-packed science fiction film and good entertainment.

David Miscavige gave the new movie project the status of being the single most important project in Scientology. He really believed that it would save Scientology and ultimately the world, and make him a true hero inside the organization.

To ensure there was no second Revolt in the Stars type fiasco, Miscavige personally oversaw dealing with the movie distribution. His plan was simple. First, convince Travolta that to show his true loyalty to Scientology and to Scientology's goal of clearing (controlling) the planet, he must demand in his next movie contract with Warner, that Warner distribute the new Battlefield Earth film.

Second, contact a Warner heir who had been recruited into Scientology and similarly demand this person use inside influence to again ensure Warner distribute the film. It took these steps, plus a lot more arm-twisting by Miscavige with some of Hollywood's biggest Scientology-connected power brokers, to get Warner to take on the project. Eventually Warner capitulated because they basically either had to distribute the film or lose Travolta.

There were discussions about massive advertising to coincide with the release of Battlefield Earth, to help us achieve our recruiting goals and to make L. Ron Hubbard a household name and a widely recognized a literary giant as the author of Battlefield Earth. We discussed how to secretly funnel tens of millions of dollars in foreign Scientology reserve accounts into this advertising campaign to make it the biggest in Scientology's history.

More meetings were held focusing exclusively on how we would ensure that we would get the desired recruiting result from the movie. It was suggested that the only way to guarantee results was to secretly put subliminal messages in the film as or after it was being created. Messages were discussed such as: "Buy the Dianetics book," "Find out about Scientology now," and one that put everyone into stitches, "Hate psychiatry, psychiatrists, and drug companies."

Someone (I did not know who) apparently had already been researching using Subliminals. This person said that they could buy the ability to imbed images and messages within other images from some foreign advertising companies who had mastered it. They said they also had access to some eastern bloc government research which detailed new ways to imbed subliminal messages into video, in which the messages simply could not be found without detailed knowledge of these specific imbedding techniques.

There was a heated discussion about this being illegal and that if we got caught it would be another disaster. Miscavige insisted that the urgency of the times made the risk worth the reward and that if we did it right we would not get caught. We also felt the risk was low because nobody was actively screening for subliminals anymore. The laws and the public outcry against it were 30 years old. Finally it was decided to go ahead with using subliminals, because we controlled the film content, we would control production security, and we would have trusted Scientology members in the key areas necessary to get it done.

Was Battlefield Earth designed to recruit your kids with bait-and-switch?

Scientology really does to believe that revealing its secret and non-secret world view through Hubbard's science fiction, young movie viewers will be restimulated by their past life memories to seek out a Scientology center. However, Scientology also has backup recruiting plans in case kids don't respond to this restimulation as well as the film's alleged subliminal images.

Movie after movie today is promoted by directing younger target audiences to a web page. When you go to the ONLY official Battlefield Earth web page (at www.battlefieldearth.com), you would think Warner Brothers would be hosting it, but not so. On the bottom of the page in tiny print, barely noticeable, is "Author Services, Inc." Author Services, Inc. (ASI) is a Scientology organization staffed by Scientology lifers and it is the Scientology organization that has been most closely associated with the senior management of the cult's vast resources. Herein is the beginning of the bait-and-switch scheme.

The bait The official Battlefield Earth web page contains a biography of L. Ron Hubbard and book sales statistics without reference to the fact that most of those quoted statistics are for Scientology books. In what may be the only true fiction on the site, Hubbard is depicted as a real-life Indiana Jones bound to delight teens seeking adventure.

You will also find lots of day-glow promotion on the Battlefield Earth web site, particularly the synopsis of the story, all designed for Joe Camel-responsive teens and preteens. Also included are promotional materials on Hubbard's other fictional books, but again carefully without any mention of Hubbard's Scientology books.

The web site shop is where the first steps of the switch begin.

There you can order the very inexpensive book, Battlefield Earth, along with T-shirts and comics. When children order their official Battlefield Earth souvenirs, they have to give their address, home phone number, and e-mail address to the cult.

According to long-standing Scientology policy, strictly enforced by every arm of the organization, anyone who requests or buys anything from any Scientology organization or Scientology front organization is entered into a prospect data base. This information is then immediately forwarded to the local Scientology center nearest to the address of the inquirer.

The Scientology center then begins sending letters and making phone calls to your house, to your kids, inducing them to go into the organization for a free movie with John Travolta promoting Scientology. The final Travolta bait has now set the hook and they are ready for the next stage of the entrapment: a free personality test or an inexpensive, innocent-sounding communication improvement course. These young adults have little past experience that would help them withstand Scientology's sophisticated bait and switch recruiting tactics.

Once they are in the cult your family life becomes a nightmare as you struggle to get them back.

Other bait In addition to the souvenirs and day-glow books available at the official Battlefield Earth web site, Scientology attempts to lure youths through other methods. The Battlefield Earth site also links directly to the web site of Author Services, Inc. This site encourages kids to divulge personal information through the enticement of entering a contest to become a famous science fiction writer.

Enticements are also lurking off the Internet. Ongoing and planned additional movie launch advertising for Battlefield Earth encourages a young audience to buy the Battlefield Earth book from local bookstores. The book comes with a post card that - once kids send it in with, of course, their personal information - is good for a free full color Battlefield Earth poster for their bedroom walls, mailed to their home within 24 hours! And, through a toll free number, the cult can get kids on board even faster.

The Switch is really a Bridge At the end of the BattleField Earth book is a one-page pitch to asking them to get in touch with an innocent-sounding organization called Bridge Publications. When they do, they can discuss author L. Ron Hubbard and Battlefield Earth, and letters they send in are promised to be answered promptly.

The book also includes a referral for Bridge Publications' web site. Bridge Publications is the main sub-section of Scientology that works to put Scientology books in the hands of potential Scientology recruits. On the bridgepub.com home page, kids can finally begin to explore the secrets of Scientology as found in Hubbard's many Scientology works. They can also make contact with cult recruiters who are more than willing to spend time answering their questions and convincing them to visit the local Scientology center.

At this time, F.A.C.T.Net has not yet been able to examine the packaging of the Battlefield Earth toys, the production of which Scientology has licensed to toy manufacture Trendmaster.

Thus we can't comment on what scheme Scientology may be using to bait even younger children.

Travolta's critical role Lately it seems that much of Travolta's interviews on Battlefield Earth are being spent denying the film has absolutely anything to do with Scientology's beliefs. Will his story change when contradictions are revealed, such as when head Scientology spokesperson Mike Rinder admitted that Scientology could make a lot of money on royalties from Battlefield Earth toy sales, but not to worry, it would be used for charitable purposes. Travolta even seems to contradict himself when he has said the book Battlefield Earth is not a book about Scientology, but that "It's a way for people to discover Scientology. It's a lead-in."

Yet in another breath he denies the cult's involvement. In 1998 Travolta contacted Corey Mandell, a 33-year-old screenwriter who had worked with Ridley Scott (Blade Runner) but had yet to get a script produced. "I am not a Scientologist," Mandell asserted in an interview with The Washington Post. "I came on board because John asked me to read the book and said, 'It's not a religious book. It's a science-fiction story. There's nothing sacred about the story, nothing of the religious philosophy.'"

Has John Travolta lied to movie critics, theater owners, media, and trusting fans about Scientology's involvement in Battlefield Earth? Is he following his cult's policy that lying is justified if it forwards Scientology secret goals of world control? Is Travolta a victim or a pawn who has undergone the normal evolution of cult members into becoming manipulated manipulators? If there are subliminals in the movie designed to recruit people into Scientology, how much did he know and how much was he involved? How will his fans and peers react as more is revealed about Battlefield Earth?

Is there subliminal advertising in Battlefield Earth?

If the allegations concerning use of subliminals in this film are true, immediate government intervention is required to protect the public from serious harm. These subliminals would not be the kind outlawed 30 years ago that sought to get you to buy more candy and soda during a movie intermission. This would be a much more sophisticated third or forth generation subliminal program so well hidden it would take the best experts in the field in top national intelligence agencies to even find it.

In the circles still researching these techniques for unethical political or financial manipulation, it is generally well-known that the technology of subliminal messaging has achieved a level at which it is impossible or close to impossible to uncover the subliminals without having already mastered this super-secret technology. Wilson Bryan Key, Ph.D., author of the Age of Manipulation (Henry Holt, 1989), was asked about the feasibility of using an undetectable new technology in subliminals. He provided the following insight: "It is very difficult, if not impossible, to protect yourself from subliminal manipulation. If any movie is produced with a hidden ideological agenda, the effects could be devastating."

If the allegations are true, the subliminals would not be aimed at selling candy and soda, but at turning your neighborhood theater into a recruiting center for an extremist political cult with an anti-Christian, UFO cosmology and a history of criminality, child abuse, and other human rights violations.

Steven Hassan M.Ed., a leading cult expert and licensed mental health counselor, told us: "I have helped many people understand and recover from their involvement with Scientology.

I am very worried that the movie Battleship Earth starring John Travolta might be a powerful vehicle for recruiting masses of people into this destructive cult. And I call on all United Nations governments to do their utmost to investigate this movie and protect their citizens from potential harm."

At F.A.C.T.Net we are concerned too! If proven true, the allegations of subliminal advertising embedded in Battlefield Earth designed to recruit children and advance hatred of psychiatry, would not just mean movie-goers would be paying $8 to view a cult propaganda film. It would not just be the greatest fraud in film history ever perpetrated on film fans and theater owners. It would mean potential serious long-term harm to hundreds of thousands of children and ultimately their families.

What you can do 1.) F.A.C.T.Net needs your help to increase public awareness and dialogue concerning these allegations of dangerous and illegal subliminal advertising in Battlefield Earth.

Following proper Internet etiquette, please forward this editorial opinion to your local media (particularly movie critics) , to your local theater owners, to child protection agencies, to science fiction newsgroups, and to Christian youth organizations.

2.) Also please contact Warner Brothers at 818-954-6217and demand that they halt distribution of the film until properly qualified and fully independent outside government professionals (at a CIA level) can carefully examine the film master and determine if the film contains subliminals.

3.) If Warner fails to immediately do this voluntarily, please also contact the director of the CIA (or other national intelligence agencies, for foreign readers) and ask that top experts in subliminal messaging immediately examine the film master.

Factnet's public notice and additional request to Warner Brothers F.A.C.T.Net, through this editorial, is also formally asking Warner Brothers to contact theater owners who have booked the film and immediately notify them as part of proper, legal due diligence and to establish informed consent concerning the following allegations concerning the film Battlefield Earth:

1. There are allegations that there may be sophisticated subliminal messages in the film designed to get their movie patrons into Scientology and buy Scientology products.

2. There are allegations that promotion of the film may include false advertising, falsely claiming that the movie is based on a legitimately successful, best selling science fiction author.

3. There are allegations that Scientology (a claimed non profit religious group) may profit greatly from toy sales based on the movie.

4. There are a growing number of adverse reviews and editorials concerning Scientology's use of the movie to turn their movie patrons into members of this highly controversial cult.

Side Bars to the above 1.) Battlefield Earth book sales grossly inflated? The movie trailer promotes Battlefield Earth as one of the best selling science fiction books of all time. But Scientology has been caught time and again ordering its members to go repeatedly into bookstores and buy dozens of copies of its books. This moves the books up the best seller lists creating the false impression it is actually a popular best seller.

Battlefield Earth promotions herald that it has been translated into 20 languages. It certainly has and most likely at an expensive price, to create the illusion needed for the sale and distribution of the movie. Because of Scientology's extensive and ongoing history of fraud, the awards Scientology claims for the Battlefield Earth book must also remain highly suspect.

Without counting false sales to cult members over the last 18 years since Battlefield Earth has been out, the book has probably not sold enough to real science fictions fans to legitimately make any top-selling science fiction list. (For more information on a humorous current example of Scientology's fraudulent statistics, see "The Man with No Head" at http://www.lermanet.com/PhotoLIES.htm. It catches Scientology doctoring its event photos to show a full house when in reality the event was mostly empty).

2.) Author Services Inc., owner of the official Battlefield Earth web site Stacy Young is vice president of the Lisa McPherson Trust and ex-editor for Scientology's Freedom Magazine. She stated, "I am a former Author Services, Inc.

(ASI) staff member, so I can explain to you how this works.

Author Services Inc. (ASI) is a secular, for-profit arm of the overall Scientology organization. The various Churches of Scientology (such as the Church of Scientology International, the Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization, the Church of Scientology Western United States, etc.) are nonprofit arms of the same overall Scientology organization. There are also the various 'secular' arms, such as the World Institute of Scientology Enterprises (WISE) and the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE). All of these various arms -- ASI, CSI, CSFSO, CSWUS, WISE, ABLE, etc. -- are run by the Sea Org, which is run by David Miscavige. Within the Sea Org structure, it does not matter whether money comes in from WISE, ABLE, one of the C of S corporations, or ASI. No matter where the money comes from, what account the money goes INTO is decided by Miscavige. By the way, all the staff of ASI are Sea Org members. In fact, the qualifications for being a staff member at ASI are the same as for CMO Int. -- the highest qualifications in the Sea Org."

3.) Will history repeat itself? This is not the first time a cult has tried to make a movie with a hidden agenda. In 1982, a $48 million movie called Inchon (MGM/UA) was made as a tribute to the place General Douglas McArthur and his 1950 amphibious operation landed to outflank the North Korean invaders. It starred Laurence Olivier, Jacqueline Bisset, Ben Gazzara, and Toshiro Mifune. The movie was called the most expensive film ever made in per minute costs to date. The movie's producer Mitsuharu Ishii was a devoted Moonie. People surrounding the films production and distribution were not told that virtually all of the $48 million (which today would be about $200 million) was supplied by Sun Myung Moon, head of the Moonie cult. The movie became a box office disaster. (For more information, see http://www.freedomofmind.com/groups/moonies/moonies.htm).

Some excerpts from professional and nonprofessional reviews about the movie and book About the script: "If there is one thing that has been fairly consistent, it is the fact that all persons not associated with the production who have read the film's script have found it wretched."

About the book: "...an absurd cast of characters that pollute the book. Stereotypes abound. Women, for instance, are never given a voice... The other good guys are the most cliched bunch of heroes you could ever find... America is only made up of white human tribes, while Africa is black and Asia yellow. I'm not sure if this separation was intentional on Hubbard's part, or if he just wasn't thinking. The most inexcusable flaw in the entire book is the fact that Hubbard has a gross tendency of telling - not showing - much of the action...This will never work on screen... If this movie is actually faithful to the source, then we're all in trouble."

From the normally generous editors at Amazon.com: "mediocre science fiction."

From individual reader reviews at Amazon.com:

"This book was awful... I thought this book would be in the same genre as Aliens, boy was I wrong. It was so poorly written I couldn't believe it ever got published. And what is with all of the 5 Star reviews, No way it deserves even 1 star but that was the least I could give. Who would buy this dreck?"

"The Ishtar of sci-fi novels. I love reading exciting, well paced sci-fi novels. After reading the many 5 star reviews, I picked up a copy of Battlefield Earth, noted its length (1,050 pages) and was eager to become lost in an enjoyable read. After reading the first 100 pages, the story began to lag. I pressed on. By page 300, I noticed how the writing seemed redundant and tedious. I pressed on. By page 500, I felt like I had sat through ten consecutive screenings of Ishtar. I still pressed on. By page 600, I wondered how this novel ever got published and cursed myself for having believed the 5 star reviews, whom I now assume to be Scientology fanatics promoting Hubbard's book. Finally, by page 750, I realized that this book just wasn't going to get any better. I hate not finishing a book, but Battlefield Earth is so unreadable, so incredibly boring, I felt like I was shooting a wounded horse. Hubbard was once quoted as saying he wrote this book in under a month. Let's hear it for mediocrity! Don't believe the reviews, folks. This novel is a good argument for book burning, not much else. Stay away! ... Unreadable garbage!"

"This is not a book to be put down lightly. It is to hurled against a wall with great force."

"I've heard rumors that the only reason this book made the best sellers list is because the Church of $cientology 'encouraged' members to buy dozens of copies each. I find this believable, as I can barely conceive of anyone voluntarily buying even one.

Save your money."

"Not worth the time. The only reason I gave this book one star is because there is no lower rating available. I would have to suspect that Scientologists have been enlisted to give this book favorable ratings in order to put the book in a good light. Hubbard's halting disjointed writing style may be tolerable for a 4th grader but not for anyone of any intelligence. Not only that but he just keeps going on and on and on with this horrible plot and shoddy character development. If you want to read something by a Sci-Fi writer of some note check out 'Ender's Game' by Orson Scott Card. This awful narrative would have been better suited to a 6 or 7 page short story in a magazine with very low circulation."

"MAJOR Disappointment... Looking for a way to be lured into a UFO Cult like Scientology? Then this book is for YOU!

'Battlefield Earth' is yet another great propaganda piece for former mental patient L. Ron Hubbard, who believed in his Scientology religion [and is thinly veiled in this book], that the world is being taken over by psychiatrists, which are referred to in this book as 'cyclos'. Unfortunately, most readers are unaware that the publisher, Bridge Publications, is owned and operated by Scientology. A note of clarification for all who bother to read this junk and wish to be further brainwashed: What you read in this book has many similarities to the upper levels of Scientology, which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. In a similar work, L. Ron Hubbard stated that Christ was a 'later life cycle' of the evil Emperor 'Xenu', who, according to Hubbard, freeze-dried clusters of 'thetans' (or souls) and transported them from an alien planet, Helatrobus, to Earth, which Hubbard called 'Teegeeack'... Don't bother with this stuff. It's pure junk."

"Do yourself a favor, and skip this one, unless you like reading really badly written books. Used bookstores sell this junk for about 50 cents. That may be more that this book is worth. I wonder how many Scientologists have been told to post great reviews here and to buy the book to drive the numbers up, exactly like they have for other books?"

"Truth IS stranger than fiction. And a child shall lead them...

INTO THE ABYSS! I think I can honestly say Battlefield Earth is the worst novel I have ever read. It's as though Hubbard reverted into the mind of an eight year old while writing this.

Never have I seen such childish prose. Words like 'Kerbango' and names like Jonnie 'Goodboy' Tyler??? How this novel ever get published is a mystery to me..."

"The best story ever written--NOT!!! I am always skeptical when I come on here and see dozens of reviews that say, 'The best sci-fi book ever written.' It suggests a certain naivete and pubescent deficiency among the reviewers. Battlefield Earth falls into the familiar category of poorly written and ill conceived science fiction. All too often, science fiction hacks get their work published because they are targeting a young and impressionable or simply unread audience--those with the attention span of a wet sponge. It gives them license to quickly churn out the most reprehensible drek ever conceived.

Hubbard is one of many authors that gives science fiction a bad name--cheapens its place in literature so that other talented science fiction writers aren't taken seriously. But because 'taste' is a subjective quality, books like Battlefield Earth are touted as worth while reading material, and manage to acquire a fan base. I might recommend Battlefield Earth to a Junior high schooler, but beyond that it should be avoided.

Don't waste your time reading and promoting the work of an illiterate and inferior sci-fi writer. If you want to be entertained by a worthwhile sci-fi author, read Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, or Dan Simmons. They may not have written 'The best sci-fi book ever' either, but at least they keep you thinking..."

"Don't believe the reviews! The problem with this book isn't Mr. Hubbard's poor use of grammar, its tedious plotting, or even its excessive length (although this alone is enough to turn most readers off). The real problem with this book is its juvenile attempt at story telling. I can ignore poor grammar and sloppy language. I can suspend belief and read on with an open mind. I can even overlook the pubescent and inconsistently drawn plot. But sooner or later I want to learn something, identify with a character, absorb some new philosophical or political metaphor of life, feel something, or just simply be entertained. Battlefield Earth achieves none of these fundamental requirements for any enjoyable story. Every plot twist is telegraphed, the characters (jonnie especially) are transparent, cliched, and have no depth. And the book reads like the fribble of an eleven-year-old, having seen Indiana Jones for the 30th time. Don't believe the favorable reviews.

You're not missing anything here. This book is an over-sized attempt at what talented sci-fi writers have already achieved both before and after Hubbard's work. Go read something worth your time. Not this."

"50% decent, 50% rotten ... The more I think about this book, the more I dislike it. The actual story concept is interesting, but the wheels come off the car after that. Hubbard did a couple of twists with it, but in the end, these twists caused an anti-climatic ending. Character development was terrible.

Terrible. If Jonnie and company were any more two-dimensional, then they would be cardboard. No character development, bad dialogue, and even some stereotyping. I wasn't expecting much in the character department, and I didn't get much... Another problem was that things were a little too contrived. Things were too predictable--way too predictable. I got caught by surprise once, which is the slight twist I mentioned earlier.

Problem is, that slight twist is confusing, and creates a very weird, anti-climatic ending. Don't expect this thing to end like a Star Wars movie. Ah, and one last thing. If you were wondering about Scientology and anti-government and anti-psychology messages being in this book, then wonder no more. The last half of the book is riddled with such nonsense.

In fact, a lot of the last half turns out as drivel because it becomes apparent that Hubbard cooked up this whole story just so he could go on a twit tirade through the last 300 pages...

I'll be honest, Hubbard could have done alot more with this, especially if it hadn't been an excuse to spout off Scientology foolishness. As it stands, it has some interesting concepts and is decent in the first half of the book, but then comes apart.

Believe me, anything this book does, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Mad Max did a lot, lot better... Pulp sci-fi. No other way to describe it. I had to force myself to read half of this book. I thought it was boring and predictable. It got to the point where I was thinking to myself, this is what this or that character is going to do, say, or think next. What a waste of time reading this pulp fiction. 2 stars is too high, but really, 1 star is too low - give it a star and a half..."

"I liked this book. A LOT. I did. I thought it was smart, action oriented, and with cool characters. One problem, though.

I WAS 12 YEARS OLD. I have read it as an adult (18, not 78) or rather, tried to re read it. The silly, sexist and obvious book might as well have tagged the characters with GOOD and EVIL in huge capital letters, cause it's so obvious which one is which.

The book is so lean on making the hero great that it's insulting. Hubbard should've took writing classes..."

"Ecchhhh! More drivel from the fingertips of LRH. Written while in seclusion in Creston, CA -- just prior to his death -- this fat volume packs as little science and as much fiction as his other really fat book, Dianetics. As if this wasn't bad enough, then there's the Mission Earth dekalogy. Want some real entertainment? Do a search on Hubbard's best work of fiction, Scientology. Simply enter the search terms Scientology and Xenu into any good search engine, and get ready for the wildest ride of your life..."

From other reviewers: "The hero is a character named Johnnie Goodboy Tyler, who Hubbard describes as a 'muscular six feet shining with the bronzed health of his twenty years' with 'ice-blue eyes' and the 'wind tangling his corn-yellow hair and beard'. Yes, Johnnie really is that cheesy throughout the entire 1,050 pages of the book. Almost as if he were ripped out of a Harlequin romance, a loincloth-wearing Fabio with a laser pistol. What's sad is that Johnnie is supposed to be the hero, and he's by far the weakest character."

References and resources for further investigation:

For more information on Scientology and celebrities, see:

http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/celebrities.htm For more information on Scientology and religion, see:

http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/dianetics.html For more information on how Travolta, Cruise, and other celebrities con fans and media, see: http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/celebrities_con.html For information on Scientology's origins in black magic, see:

http://www.FACTNet.org/Scientology/lrhoccult.htm For information on Scientology's secret anti-Christian and satanic positions, see: http://www.FACTNet.org/Scientology/satanic1.htm and http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/satanism.htm For information on Scientology's founder secretly claiming to be the anti-Christ, see: www.FACTNet.org/Scientology/satanism/ot8.html For the details on how Scientology recruits Hollywood, see:

http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/celeb1.htm For a list of celebrities and other Hollywood people who are and were involved in Scientology, see: http://home.snafu.de/tilman/faq-you/celeb.txt For a photo of John Travolta promoting Scientology, see:

http://www.xs4all.nl/~fishman/travolta.jpg For discussion of Scientology being a type of UFO religion, see:

http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/dianetics_religion.html For descriptions of Scientology's many human rights abuses, see:

http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/dianetics_abuse.html For information about Scientology as an extremist political movement, see:

http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/extremist.htm For the dangers of Scientology defined in various national and international reviews, see: http://www.factnet.org/Scientology/dianetics_defined.html For more about Battlefield Earth as see from the eyes of former Scientologists, see: http://www.lermanet.com/cos/lerma.html and http://www.lermanet.com/reference/BatEarthfaq.htm For information on how mind control in cults works, see:

http://www.factnet.org/mindcont.htm For information on cults and their effect on children and young adults, see:

http://www.factnet.org/Children.html For more about expert Steven Hassan M.Ed. LMHC, get the book Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves (Freedom of Mind Press, 2000). The book details how an individual was recruited into Scientology through the Travolta Scientology promotional film and explains in detail how intelligent people can be hypnotized and mind controlled to become members of a cult. It also covers a safe, practical approach to helping them wake up and reassert their independence. Also see: www.freedomofmind.com To speak with Dr. Key regarding his knowledge of subliminal influence, contact him at 775-849-2430.

This editorial opinion provided by F.A.C.T.Net, Inc. F.A.C.T.Net is a nonprofit Internet archive dedicated to protecting freedom of mind by reducing harms caused by cults and mind control by promoting public dialogue on the issues. F.A.C.T.Net's web page is located at <http://www.factnet.org>. F.A.C.T.Net has received over 12 million hits.

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