Böcker i Action Adventure Short Stories Collection-serien

The ancient jungles of the Yucatan hide a world of secrets . . . the secrets of wealth, love, and fate. Now daredevil pilot Kurt Reid is about to tempt fate and fly into the heart of that jungle in search of his destinyan adventure as daring and dangerous as any undertaken by Indiana Jones.He's looking for gold, but not just any. He's after one particular nuggetflying blind into a tropical haystack in search of a very valuable needle. Thanks to his grandfather's vexing dying wish, his entire inheritanceas well as the shape of his futurehangs on the success of his journey.As if that weren't bad enough, Kurt soon finds that his family legacy runs deep and dark in the Yucatan. The Mayans mistake Kurt for his grandfather, and they've got fifty-years worth of revenge to serve up. Whether he lands on the sacrificial altar or in the arms of his sexy co-pilot Joy, things are bound to heat up fast in pursuit of Forbidden Gold.In 1931, as a student at George Washington University, Hubbard founded the college Glider Club and within a few months a respected columnist said ';he is recognized as one of the outstanding glider pilots in the country.' Later he wrote as the aviation correspondent for the prestigious flying magazine Sportsman Pilot. His combined writing and flying expertise comprised the perfect recipe to give stories like Forbidden Gold their authentic flavor.

As daring and defiant as Kirk Douglas journeying 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, there's no stopping diver Hawk Ridley as he takes the plunge into a briny world of untold riches and danger.The Caribbean is a fortune hunter's dream, salted with the gold of galleons long ago claimed by the deep. Now Hawk's headed for the Windward Passage of Haiti to stake his claim. But a rival team has also picked up the scent, and they're willing to turn the sea red with blood to get to the gold first.Fighting off ruthless competitors is nothing new to Hawkbut fighting off a beautiful woman is a different story. Is she an innocent stowaway or a seductive saboteur? Between the cool millions lying on the bottom of the ocean, and the boiling-hot race to grab it, Hawk's about to find the answer and make a discovery Twenty Fathoms Down that will blow you out of the water.When it came to research, Hubbard was not one to head for the library. He always went to the sourcein this case a U.S. navy deep-sea diver who agreed to show him the ropes and the danger. Hubbard admits it was dauntingeven frighteningbut he returned from the experience with all the first-hand knowledge he needed to fathom the true nature of life and death underwater. Primo Pulp Fiction. Booklist

An obscure original manuscript of Marco Polo's travels . . . A tantalizing clue to the site of Kublai Khan's fabled burial site . . . A chance to unearth the truth behind a long-lost treasure. It's an opportunity that would make Indiana Jones drop everything but his whip and race off to China. But he'd be too late. Lieutenant Jonathan Daly is way ahead of him.Two bullet holes and a bad case of malaria may not be enough to stop Daly, but a crew of criminals, a brood of British agents, and the entire Chinese army are all in the game . . . and determined to keep him out of it. The stakes are too high, and the potential rewards too great, though, to let a little treachery, betrayal and human sacrifice stand in Daly's way.He's hot on The Trail of the Red Diamondsa cache of exceedingly rare gems that were meant to light the way to heaven as an offering to the gods. And only God knows if Daly will manage to dig up the diamonds . . . or end up buried with them.It was on Hubbard's second journey to East Asia that he met British Secret Service agent, Major Ian MacBean, who introduced him to a world of deception and conspiracy in the region. He also learned of the thrivingand dangeroustrade in stolen Chinese treasures. As if to underscore the authenticity of The Trail of the Red DiamondsHubbard published the story under the byline Lieutenant Jonathan Daly, the hero of the piece.Also includes the rousing adventure Hurricane's Roar, the story of an American pilot in Mongolia who whips up a storm of death-defying air battles . . . in the search for peace.

When former captain of this army and that, Phil Sheridan, lands on the shore of the forgotten Indonesian island of Kamling-jewel of the Banda Sea-he's captured instead of welcomed by warriors of a primitive and bloodthirsty tribe. Marched to the natives' camp, he meets Jose Emanuel Batista-one-time slave trafficker, long-time murderer, and now self-appointed tyrant. Using his smooth-talking tongue and shooting skills to escape, Sheridan finds temporary shelter at the lodgings of a miner and his beautiful daughter. With limited arms and supplies to hold off Batista and his men, Sheridan must take a desperate chance and journey ever deeper into the jungle. His plan? Enlist the help of headhunters who may be more interested in his head than in driving out Batista's regime and ending its tyrannical reign.

Stop the presses! One hundred thousand dollar reward offered for the return of George Harley Rockham! That's more than enough to turn Shanghai newspaperman Jimmy Vance's head. Throw in the gorgeous dame who's offering the rewardRockham's daughter Virginiaand he might lose his head altogether. As fast-talking as Jimmy Stewart in The Philadelphia Story, Vance jumps at the chance . . . the money . . . and the girl.But as Jimmy quickly discovers, there are several billion reasons to watch his back. Because that's how much Rockham is worth, and there are some very hard cases out there willing to kill to separate the old man from his money.Next thing Jimmy knows, Virginia's tied to a chair, and he's got a couple of guns pointed at his head. But it'll take more than a little rope and a couple of firearms to keep this reporter down. The truth is tied to the mysterious fate of a steamship named Shanungand what Jimmy finds could be the biggest story of his life . . . if he lives to tell it. In the issue of Smashing Novels where this story first appeared the editor wrote: ';Loot of the Shanung is a soul-stirring tale of the China Sea, a story of modern piracy set in the Far East. L. Ron Hubbard wrote it. He knows China. He has been there. He traveled through the country and met the people and observed their customs. Smashing Novels will have other stories from himstories of far-off places and little known people. He knows of what he writes.'

Drilling for oil is a dirty business, and for Bill Murphy, it's about to turn positively filthy. But Murphy's as big and tough as his home state of Texasa man in the mold of a young John Wayneand he's more than a match for everything the oil-rich land of Venezuela can throw at him. Everything, that is, except for one woman . . .Her name is Marcia Stewart. She's fiery, she's brave, and she's beautiful . . . and she'd like nothing better than to see Bill Murphy dead. Her oilman father's been killed, and Marcia tags Murphy as the murderer.Murphy's guilty of a lot of things, but murder's not one of them. He's drilling down for the truth, and now it's his land, his love for Marciaand his lifethat are on the line. With so much at stake, he'll go to any length to come out on top of the Black Towers to Danger.When Black Towers to Danger was first published in 1936, the editor wrote: ';L. Ron Hubbard, as you know, is a pilot, a writer and an engineer. The one thing he doesn't work at is engineering. He was in China at 15 and has covered a lot of territory since then. If he's on a flying fieldor anywhere elseyou can't miss himhe's a tall, slender chap with very fair skin and bright red hair. Something picturesque about him as there should be about a flyer.' And not only was he a man with a commanding presence, so too did he have command over his material, researching the entire oil drilling process for this story.Roars to life. Publishers Weekly

Spring has come to White Bear Landingand so has the law, in the firm hands of Royal Mounted policeman and pilot Bob Dixon. Dixon's as gruff, tough and good-looking as Russell Crowe, and in this outpost halfway between the arctic mines and civilization, he's known for taking the law to extremes.More than once Dixon has meted out his own brand of rough justice with hard fists and hot lead, but now the tables have turned. The past has come back to haunt him, he's been set up as a murder suspect, and a rogue's gallery of enemies are lining up to settle old scores . . .Out on the icy tundra, on the edge of the world, revenge can be coldand brutal. Dixon's only hope is to let the trust of a good friend and the love of a good woman lead the way to true justice and redemptionon Arctic Wings.Hubbard never wrote a word, conceived a character, or described a setting without first finding out all he could about the people and places that drove his stories. He wrote: ';I began to search for research on the theory that if I could get a glimmering of anything lying beyond a certain horizon, I could go deep enough to find an excellent story. I read exhaustively. I wanted information and nothing else.' His exhaustive researchand search for the excellent storycomes through brilliantly in Arctic Wings.

Sailor Bob Sherman has his hands full trying to save the ocean yacht Bonito from capsizing in hurricane waters off Venezuela's coast- no thanks to the know-it-all attitude and incompetence of the vessel's captain. Sherman's rugged good looks and seafaring skills at least bring him the attentions of Phyllis Marmion, a raven-haired beauty and daughter of the yacht's owner. Unfortunately, Sherman's also the bitter enemy of the girl's father who, with the support of corrupt officials, had stripped him of a highly profitable drilling business and taken his land years before. More's at stake than oil fields when the ship is attacked by modern pirates and are all taken captive. Soon Sherman, crew and passengers find themselves in a dungeon jail on an uncharted island known locally as the Island of Death- a place where no one escapes, and Sherman's futile efforts have marked him for an early death.

Itauk the Madman has spread death to the Yukon, throwing the bodies of his victims to his sled team of twelve wolves. Tracking him down are Canadian Mountie Tommy McKenna and his partner Simmons. But when the pair separate to hunt for food, Itauk attacks Simmons and lets his wolves make an unmentionable feast that Tommy later discovers on his return to camp. Enraged, Tommy follows the maniac's trail to a village and en route he meets an enchanting Eskimo woman named Kaja. Of course, the route's a trap set by Itauk, and the only one who can save Tommy is Kaja- engaged to be wed to the ruthless killer, who plans to serve the Mountie as the next meal for his personal wolf pack.

An American mining engineer, Captain Humbert Reynolds, has gold fever-an elusive ailment that cloaks rational thought and drives men across endless plains and daunting mountain peaks to seek their quarry. Ignoring all warnings and signs of treachery, Reynolds travels to the barren expanses of the Gobi Desert in search of the glittery gold. Captured by bandits and thrown to an enclave of Machiavellian monks nestled deep inside a cavernous mountain, Reynolds finds a scene that resembles the horrors of Dante's hell. And though he does find his much-desired gold, Reynolds also discovers that the price he has to pay for it just may lead to his doom.