Tuesday, July 26, 2011

"Spy Killer" by L. Ron Hubbard

"Spy Killer"
by L. Ron Hubbard
Multicast performance
Produced by Galaxy Audio
approx 2 hours

Once again I dive into a Story from the Golden Age, with another pulp fiction classic from the master Storyteller, L. Ron Hubbard. This time we go on another adventure with at tale from the Orient.

Each one of these stories by Hubbard from the Mid-20th century launch me into a new adventure. Galaxy Audio makes these stories transition to audio books in a phenomenal way. Each one of these books is transformed into an audio drama that closely resembles an old fashioned radio drama. With great music, perfect sound effects and vocal acting that not only blows away the listener but makes the over the top characters created by Hubbard come to life.

Originally published in the April 1936 issue of "Five Novels Monthly," "Spy Killer" is one of the most violent and darker stories from this era of Hubbard's book. Kurt Reid has just escaped from the S.S. Rangoon and is on the run from those that want to charge him with murder. He flees to pre-Communist Shanghai, China and finds himself hunted by the most vile of persons, Lin Wang. Wang, a vile disgusting figure, wants Reid to kill a spy, in return he will give Wang a written confession to the murder Reid is being charged with. The confession is from another member of the crew of the Rangoon who Reid watched Wang torture the confession from.

Reid finds a woman from his past, Anne Carsten, is friends with a White Russian Spy, Varinka Savischna and both are in Shanghai. Reid seeks out the spy he is ordered to kill and it turns out to be Varinka. They then both conspire to kill Wang and try to escape with their lives.

In a story that is non-stop twists and turns, and secret identities as well as identity changes, Hubbard keeps you wondering what will happen next in this constant thriller.

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