Synopses & Reviews
Think you know what’s going on in the world? Think again. Long before Rod Serling took us into The Twilight Zone, L. Ron Hubbard brought us to The Crossroads—a place where thought-provoking twists and turns are delivered with plenty of wit and wisdom.
Farmer Eben Smith is fed up with big government telling him how to run his life and his business. They pay him to bury his crops while folks starve in the streets, and he’s not going to take it anymore. He’s declaring his independence, loading up his fruits and vegetables, and heading for the city to wheel and deal. . . .
But before he can trade in his turnips, Eben’ll have to deal with something bigger —a break in the space/time continuum. He’s at The Crossroads, where reality is turned upside-down and inside out. And before it’s over, he’ll turn his turnips into liquor, and the liquor into guns and gold, as he plunges into strange new worlds . . . finding ways to wreak havoc in all of them.
The Crossroads first appeared in the February 1941 issue of Unknown Fantasy Fiction. By then Hubbard’s stature as a writer was well established. As author and critic Robert Silverberg puts it: he had become a “master of the art of narrative.” Hubbard’s editors urged him to apply his gift for succinct characterization, original plot, deft pacing and imaginative action to a genre that was new, and essentially foreign, to him—science fiction and fantasy. The rest is history.
Also includes the fantasy adventures, Borrowed Glory, the haunting story of two immortals who wager on two mortals given a single day of love . . . a wager that leads to heartbreak and tragedy; and The Devil’s Rescue based on the legend of The Flying Dutchman, in which the sole survivor of a disaster at sea is “rescued” by the devil himself and finds that fate rests on a roll of the dice.
“Amusing . . . a nostalgic delight.” —Publishers Weekly
* An International Book Awards Finalists
Review
“A farmer at the nexus of time and space, a woman granted youth again by powerful beings, and a man marooned on a small boat for days are the premises for the three fantastical tales by Hubbard….The antiquated prose is a nostalgic delight, and like other Hubbard productions from Galaxy Audio, the full-cast performance and sound effects make the stories that much more compelling. Though the narrator is the same in all three stories, he manages to shift tone and emphasis to work with each particular story, while the cast members act their parts with reasonable believability. The sound effects are engaging but never distracting, and the musical score hints at adventure themes and old-time mystery radio shows.”—Publishers Weekly
Review
“…however the combination of all three shows just how imaginative Hubbard really was, and it was a real treat to review these stories. They were a pure delight to read, both from the viewpoint of being a fan of Hubbard’s science fiction works, and simply from the viewpoint of someone who likes to read a good tale—no matter who the author is.” —Large Print Reviews
Review
"Hubbard was a prolific writer and he wrote a lot of action stories that translate quite well into the multicast performance audiobook format. The book is performed by several cast members and are reminiscent of the old-time radio shows that were popular when the stories were written. This collection is quite strong. These three stories, even though they are very different in tone, make for a fine two hours of listening. I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5." – DWD’s Reviews
Synopsis
Explore new worlds. Frustrated with a government that pays him to bury surplus produce in order to "fix" the economy while city folk starve, farmer Eben Smith decides to take matters into his own hands. He piles up his wagon with ripe fruits and vegetables and sets out for the first time to barter his goods in the big city.
Being Eben's first city trip and all, the way soon becomes uncertain. But when Eben comes across a strange crossroads, he discovers that he's fallen into a nexus in time. Soon he's bartering a lot more than goods with different cultures in alternative realities . . . accidentally wreaking havoc and chaos in each. ALSO INCLUDES THE FANTASY STORIES "BORROWED GLORY" AND "THE DEVIL'S RESCUE"
"Once again another collection of larger than life stories to lose yourself for a couple of hours." —Gil T's Pleasure Blog
* An International Book Awards Finalists
Synopsis
Farmer Eben Smith is fed up with big government telling him how to run his life and his business. They pay him to bury his crops while folks starve in the streets, and he's not going to take it anymore. He's declaring his independence, loading up his fruits and vegetables, and heading for the city to wheel and deal....
But before he can trade in his turnips, Eben'll have to deal with something bigger--a break in the space/time continuum. He's at The Crossroads, where reality is turned upside-down and inside out. And before it's over, he'll turn his turnips into liquor, and the liquor into guns and gold, as he plunges into strange new worlds ... finding ways to wreak havoc in all of them.
Also includes the fantasy adventures, "Borrowed Glory," the haunting story of two immortals who wager on two mortals given a single day of love ... a wager that leads to heartbreak and tragedy; and "The Devil's Rescue" based on the legend of The Flying Dutchman, in which the sole survivor of a disaster at sea is "rescued" by the devil himself and finds that fate rests on a roll of the dice.
Prepare to set out on the most thrilling, chilling, and thoroughly amusing road trip ever, as The Crossroads takes you to new dimensions.
* An International Book Awards Finalists
Synopsis
Farmer Eben Smith heads off to the big city to trade his wagonload of produce. But he barters a lot more than goods after he stumbles across a strange crossroads in time, bargains with different cultures in alternate realities, and accidentally wreaks havoc and chaos in each.
Synopsis
With 19 New York Times bestsellers and more than 230 million copies of his works in circulation, L. Ron Hubbard is among the most acclaimed and widely read authors of our time. As a leading light of American Pulp Fiction through the 1930s and ’40s, he is further among the most influential authors of the modern age. Indeed, from Ray Bradbury to Stephen King, there is scarcely a master of imaginative tales who has not paid tribute to L. Ron Hubbard.
Synopsis
Long before Rod Serling took us into The Twilight Zone, L. Ron Hubbard brought us to The Crossroads—a place of thought-provoking twists and turns, and wit and wisdom. Farmer Eben Smith is fed up with big government paying him to bury his crops while folks starve in the streets. He’s loading up his fruits and vegetables, and heading for the city. But before he can trade in his turnips, he’ll have to deal with something bigger—a break in the space/time continuum—as he plunges into strange new worlds, wreaking havoc in all of them.
* An International Book Awards Finalist