Hostage to Death

by L. Ron Hubbard

Triumphant tale of honor and impossible odds. Legionnaire Bill Reilly was given specific orders to guard a railroad station where nightly trains carrying Spanish supplies and troops pass by. He would have done so had it not been for a severed hand that arrived in his camp. The grizzled token carried a taunting message from a renegade Berber chieftain, claiming capture of an Englishwoman named Kay MacArthur and challenging the Legion to rescue her. Reilly's sense of honor overrides all. He takes up the gauntlet knowing full well he could be walking into a trap--with deadly consequences. ""It's certainly loads of fun." "--Ellery Queen
* An International Book Awards Finalists

Genres: Fiction

Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 1935

About the author

L. Ron Hubbard is universally acclaimed as the single most influential author and humanitarian of this modern age. His definitive works on the mind and spirit—comprising over 350 million copies in circulation and more than 40 international bestsellers—have resulted in a legacy benefiting millions and a movement spanning all cultures.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another fun French Foreign Legion adventure novella that Hubbard wrote for the July, 1935 issue of Five Novels Monthly, one his best pulp outlets. The plot is a little more complex than normal with spies and betrayals and counters, but it's a fast-paced one and the reader can just bounce over the rough spots and keep on turning pages like Indy in the mine-car race. The dialog and characterization are quite straight forward without much of the humor that Hubbard occasionally allowed, but it's still a nice quick read. Bonus points if you can conjure the title theme of the Lawrence of Arabia soundtrack.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story of a French foreign legion man who gets tangled in a web of revolutionary plots in North Africa. This story is like Lawrence of Arabia, both in subject matter and in scope, and this book supported the insurgency against the French way more than I expected, thankfully enough. I also like how this story portrays the Berbers and their culture: different from Arabs, fully three-dimensional, and noble.

[Jon Awerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, very quick read. My curiosity was obviously initially piqued by the author and then by the quality of the cover and overall printing. The writing is solid and kept me entertained enough to finish it in one sitting. Picked it up for $1.50 at an ocean state job lot and plan on returning to buy the rest of their stock.

[Kaj Samuelsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like these Legionnaire stories. This one was a bit different, but it had all the things that I like in a story, adventure, battles, mystery, humor, loyalty, survival despite the odds against it. I could simply not stop until the story was finished.

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too condensed for my liking.

[Clint Flatt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, quick, easy read.