Book Review: Final Blackout by L. Ron Hubbard

Book: Final Blackout
Author: L. Ron Hubbard
Genre: Sci Fi

Julia Rating: 10

Comments:
This book is a short and fascinating read. It's a sci-fi/action/adventure/military type book. The story is about a man - The Lieutenant - who has grown up amidst war torn nations and decides to make a change for the good of his men - and later for the good of England. It's very inspiring, but people who like more up-beat books may not like it. The ending is hopeful, not happy.
I think that if you like the movie V for Vendetta or liked the book 1984, you'd like L. Ron Hubbard's Final Blackout.

Book Review: Writers of the Future Vol XX presented by L. Ron Hubbard

Book: Writers of the Future, Vol. 20
Author: A collaboration of talented authors

Genre: Sci Fi/Fantasy

Julia Rating: 10 out of 10

Comments:

I'm not always always enamored with these collaboration pieces, however this particular Writers of the Future volume really stood out for me. The majority of the stories were fantastic, and there's little nuggets of gold in there from acclaimed writers and editors like Robert Heinlein, Algis Budrys and L. Ron Hubbard. So, these books really have something for everyone.

I really love the Writers of the Future contest because it gives such a wonderful opportunity to aspiring writers. The winning writers get their work published in one of the Writers of the Future volumes and some get cash prizes. The judges of the contest are writers and editors themselves, so they generally pick excellent material for the books.

Just as a note, my favorite stories in the book are:
Asleep in the Forest of the Tall Cats by Kenneth Brady
Shipwoman by Roxanne Hutton
The Key by Blair MacGregor

Writing a Novel

I once read a quote by L. Ron Hubbard that went something like, "The first time you get married, you know nothing about marriage, and the second time you know even less." (It was something along those lines.)
That's how I feel about writing this novel. I've written one before, and I ended up hating it. I wrote one before that and I hated it, too. I am writing one now, and I love the story, but still feel I have learned very little from my past experiences.
I read Stephen King's "On Writing" and I think that's helping me a lot. But that's just it, it's all stuff I think. It's stuff only I've seen. Am I right in what I think about what I see? I have no idea. I guess if I get published as much as Stephen King, I'll know as much as him about writing.