WOW... I just went to the website...

[Pak-Man]

So a gleam of curiosity hits me and I decide to see what could possibly be at http://www.battlefieldearth.com/index.htm .


...Words fail me. I will just say that there's a Teacher's Guide and let everyone discover on their own from there. :^)

[mrbasehart]

Neil Gaiman calls Battlefield Earth "Over 1,000 pages of thrills, spills, vicious aliens and noble humans. I found Battlefield Earth un-put-downable."?

Ha! The Teacher's Guide features the sections:

Discussion & Comprehension and Different Activities for Students.

I may have to buy this book....

[Sharktopus]

Neil Gaiman calls Battlefield Earth "Over 1,000 pages of thrills, spills, vicious aliens and noble humans. I found Battlefield Earth un-put-downable."?

WHAT?! I refuse to believe Neil Gaiman would say that. But "un-put-downable" does sound an awful lot like him...

[BathTub]

I think you are having issues seperating the book from the film, I mean he had a fair amount of success as a science fiction writer.

[MSTJedi]

I think you are having issues seperating the book from the film, I mean he had a fair amount of success as a science fiction writer.

Yeah, I actually read one of his books in high school at some point and I don't remember not liking it (that was about 11 or 12 years ago). As weird as the whole Scientology thing is to the majority of society, there's apparently enough so-called logic that it appeals to as many people as it does.

[scottrkrv]

I think you are having issues seperating the book from the film, I mean he had a fair amount of success as a science fiction writer.

WHA!!!?

If by "fair amount of sucess" you mean "none at all", then I agree.

[6079SmithW]

As I understand it, there's a huge number of shenanigans involved with the sales numbers for a lot of his books, since the Scientologists would buy them by the lot and then just sell them wholesale again to boost his numbers. He was, unfortunately, a moderately popular writer in the 50's, but I wouldn't trust the numbers on anything past that.

[Pak-Man]

I found it somewhat unnerving that the first thing I saw on the website was an offer to get more literature sent to me and win a first edition copy of BE. I've heard that once you make contact with the scientologists, they never stop contacting back. :^)

[6079SmithW]

I found it somewhat unnerving that the first thing I saw on the website was an offer to get more literature sent to me and win a first edition copy of BE. I've heard that once you make contact with the scientologists, they never stop contacting back. :^)

There was a thing online for taking one of their tests to see if you're enturbulated or whatever they call it- basically one of their MySpace survey sort of things- online. I wanted to see how stupid the questions and grading system were, so I went to the site to take it.

First, they ask for a name and address before you take the test, or they don't let you take it. Obviously, that's not going to happen, so I put in a fake.

Then, before it actually gets to the questions, it suggests you go to one of their centers to take it, since apparently that will work much better.

Then it tells you that if you do take the test, you need to GO TO ONE OF THEIR CENTERS TO GET THE RESULTS.

I was out of there like a bat out of hell.

I later heard (although this is admittedly hearsay) that a friend's sister had taken one of these in one of their little tents that they set up in marketplaces, as she too was curious about how stupid they were. She gave them a fake address, but her real name and college.

She later started getting a bunch of scientology spam in the mail, addressed to her, meaning that they fucking internet detective-d her. She didn't hear the end of it until she moved, leaving no forwarding address, and she's still nervous to this day.

Scientology is like Nigerian scammers, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Satan, all mixed together.

[kodiakthejuggler]

I think you are having issues seperating the book from the film, I mean he had a fair amount of success as a science fiction writer.

His most notable work of Science Fiction being Dianetics.

[sarcasm_made_Easy]

oddly enough i have known several people who thought the book battlefield earth was GREAT and really suggested it, they had no connection (and probably were unaware of) scientology.  weird. 

[BathTub]

yes, I know people who like the book, but have never read it myself.

[Sharktopus]

I haven't read Battlefield Earth, but I'm fairly certain it won't turn you into a Scientologist, just as The Chronicles Of Narnia won't turn you into a Christian.

[Pak-Man]

If the movie was based AT ALL on the books, I don't see how the book could be anything like a good read. Now it IS Hollywood, and it's entirely possible that the movie had as much to do with the book as Super Mario Brothers did with the games, but the story that I saw in the movie was flawed at the most fundamental level. better actors, better FX, better music- Nothing could have saved that story. :^)

[6079SmithW]

I haven't read Battlefield Earth, but I'm fairly certain it won't turn you into a Scientologist, just as The Chronicles Of Narnia won't turn you into a Christian.

To be fair, Jesus didn't write the Chronicles of Narnia.

But on topic, I really don't want to have to read the damn book to reinforce my belief that Hubbard is just an awful, awful writer. Can someone make a rifftrax for books?