The Iron Duke, L. Ron Hubbard

This novella, by L. Ron Hubbard, is $3.19 right now at Amazon.com. I did not buy it myself. I happened to luck into it one day as a freebie through ereaderiq.com. I knew a very little about L. Ron Hubbard. I knew he was somewhat prolific, but I didn't really realize the full extent of how prolific he was. Like the previous author (Max Brand), he was one of the top producing writers of the 20th century. It's a little too bad that the religion of Scientology has harmed his overall image. I suppose Scientologists might declare that this was his crowning achievement.

Considering the poor formatting that I have recently had to suffer from in the last three books, this one was a welcome change. I normally don't mention it unless there's a problem. But in this case, after suffering previously, I admit to finding great pleasure in something that's been done right. What was it that Socrates said about how the absence of pain, after suffering from it, is a great pleasure?

In any event, there are really two parts to this package: the essays and the story. I actually enjoyed the foreword by Kevin J. Anderson about pulp fiction and then after the story, a glimpse into the author as an author and his place within the era of pulp fiction. It has given me significant food for thought about the publication industry and the evolution facing it in the face of a growing deluge of free and very inexpensive fiction. I can't help but wonder if the reason for the golden age was because of the inexpensive nature of the pulp. During the 80s up to the current age, it can be said that the printed comic and book have become luxury items. They are quite expensive, ranging in cost from $5-20. This factor, I believe, has a significant effect on dampening sales.

Now, as we are well into the fourth year of the Kindle, and realistically speaking, the movement into popularizing the electronic book. The company, Amazon, as well as Gutenberg.org, and the other formats, has made the initial cost of the reader itself the only necessary cost to access a vast library of free--and I mean legally free--fiction and nonfiction books. The Kindle is so pleasant to read as a medium that, if the books are formatted correctly, it is actually preferable to me than the physical copy of the book. Of course, this is still limited to books which do not make use of graphical niceties such as art and photos as a part of the package. That day still seems ahead.

So, does this mean that we may in fact be in the Renaissance of the golden age is upon us, or at least the possibility of it is. It certainly is for me. But, I yearn to be on the other side of it: to furnish the world with my own brand of literature.

Onto the story, The Iron Duke. The Iron Duke is essentially a man, a con artist of the finest calibre, has decided to impersonate the duke. He does a good enough job of it until he is confronted by the actual duke, and is then shot, saved by a surgeon, and then sent up as the real duke's puppet. However, the puppet refuses to wear his strings. He calls for a general election, instigates women's suffrage, and in several ways endears the land to him so much so that they reject the old duke and demand that the new duke take over.

I liked this book more for the prose than the story. However, the story was well told and interesting.