Customer Reviews

Slaves of Sleep

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Potential readers of L. Ron Hubbard's "Slaves of Sleep" who might be put off by the author's association with the cult of Dianetics and Scientology need not be concerned here. This novel first appeared in "Unknown" magazine in 1939, more than a decade before Hubbard's first Dianetics article was published (in "Astounding Science Fiction") in May 1950. Thus, in "Slaves of Sleep," there's not a mention of "auditors," "clears" or E-meters to be found. Rather, this is an extremely fast-moving and colorful fantasy tale, told with much brio and panache. In it, we meet Seattle shipping magnate Jan Palmer, a rather pusillanimous young man who is falsely accused of the murder of a visiting professor. I'm not giving anything away by saying that this murder was actually the work of the hairy, fanged and 15-foot-tall jinni Zongri, who's not at all grateful after being released from his bottle. (Barbara Eden he ain't!) Jan, the innocent bystander, is cursed by Zongri with "eternal wakefulness." Thus, whenever he nods off in his jail cell, his "sleep spirit" is tranported to an Arabian Nights-style empire, where humans are slaves and jinnis rule, and where he is the swashbuckling pirate Tiger.
This reader has always been fond of any book or film that dishes out two exciting parallel story lines. You know the kind I mean: Just as things come to a head with one of the stories, the scene jumps to the other, and back and forth. Well, "Slaves of Sleep" does this to a turn, alternating between Jan's plight in his earthly jail cell and his adventures as Tiger the pirate. While back on Earth, Jan faces that murder charge and tries to prevent himself from being locked away in a sanatorium; in the otherworldly Tarbuton, he is captured by the jinni queen and must somehow escape. He is aided in his latter task when he comes to acquire the mystical Seal of Sulayman, and when the personalities of Jan and Tiger start to meld. Yes, this is all pretty way-out stuff, but as I mentioned up top, Hubbard carries it off with great flair.
There are, however, some problems that pop up and prevent me from giving the book a top grade. Hubbard was a notoriously rapid writer, and there are scenes in the book that would have benefitted from some more detail. For example, the descriptions of the Rani temple, which Tiger infiltrates, are very vague, at best; most readers will have to tax their imaginations to adequately picture this stuff. And as the reader below quite accurately points out, the book's conclusion IS rather rushed. In addition, once Jan acquires that Seal of Sulayman, his tasks are waaaay too easily accomplished. When all our hero has to do to sink a ship is say, in so many words, "Seal of Sulayman, sink that ship," much of the dramatic tension is removed, although the reader still gets a kick out of this vicarious wish fulfillment. It is easy to tell that Hubbard greatly enjoyed writing this tale, and that enjoyment IS communicated to the reader, but still, this reader was somehow left wanting more. I originally picked up this out-of-print book because of the glowing review in Cawthorn and Moorcock's excellent overview volume entitled "Fantasy: The 100 Best Books." Well, I'm not sure that "Slaves of Sleep" deserves to be on that top 100 list, but I did have fun reading it, and marginally recommend it to all lovers of fast-moving, swashbuckling fantasy fare.

L. Ron Hubbard was truly an unusual man, and he was just as truly a fantastic writer of science fiction and fantasy. It is unfortunate that great books such as this one, by one of the preeminent authors in the field, can be so hard to come by these days. Slaves of Sleep is a brilliant takeoff on the mystery of sleep and the age-old question of where we "go" while we are sleeping. Jan Palmer is a meek, bookish sort who finds himself in the unfortunate circumstance of crossing paths with a jinn, a demonic genie of lore. The jinn, having been trapped in a jar for thousands of years, takes out his frustration on the maniacal doctor who breaks the seal, then invokes the curse of "eternal wakefulness" on poor Jan. Our mild-mannered protagonist finds himself charged with murder, and then--when things could not seem to get worse--finds himself in another world in another body at the exact moment he falls asleep. As he comes to grips with the dual nature of his soul, he shifts back and forth between the two worlds, and he gradually learns to meld the best qualities of the two. His other self is a renegade pirate in a world run by the jinn with the help of human slaves. These slaves are not supposed to know about their dual existence in the real world, and Jan thus becomes a threat to the jinn in this other realm. Using the wit of his real self and the cunning of his other self, he is able to get his hands on the powerful talisman known as the Seal of Sulayman; this gives him a secret weapon to use in his struggles to save himself from imprisonment and death in two worlds.

While this was a leisurely, enjoyable book, I must say that I was not totally satisfied with the ending--somehow it seemed too abrupt. The resolution took place almost wholly in the dream world, which disappointed me because the most compelling facet of the story for me was the strange love story between Jan and his assistant. The only thing that sort of annoyed me was Hubbard's seeming delight in using nautical terms to describe the pirate boats that are a mainstay throughout the story, but this is just quibbling on my part. The unfamiliar terms slow you down a little bit at times, but the action maintains a steady pace from beginning to end.

L. Ron Hubbard was a controversial figure. I have mentioned elsewhere that it is difficult to review his books without considering his role in connection with Dianetics and Scientology. Some readers are likely to look at his writing through rose colored crystal balls. Others are likely to declare that he could not write his way out of a bag of witch's cobwebs.

For the record, I am no admirer of L. Ron Hubbard. But much of his writing was published well before May, 1950-- the publication date of his first Dianetics article. It may be naive to say that there is no connection at all between his early and his later writing. But I am inclined to believe that many of his early tales were written more for the sake of telling a story than as sinister propoganda pieces.

Some of Hubbard's best stories were the ones that he wrote for _Unknown_. _Slaves of Sleep_ appeared in that magazine in 1939. It is great fun, and it invites comparison with some contemporary movies. The most obvious comparison is with _The Thief of Baghdad_ (1924), with Douglas Fairbanks. But the novel is also like the screwball comedies of the thirties by Howard Hawks-- full of eccentric characters, slapstick scenes, and wacky romance.

The basic plot is this: Jan Palmer, a bright but spineless millionaire's heir living in Seattle, runs afoul of a Jinn, who gives him the curse of "eternal wakefulness". When he starts to fall asleep in our world he occupies the body of a swashbuckling seaman named Tiger in an Arabian nights type of world. When he starts to fall asleep in that world, he returns to Seattle. In our world, he is falsely accused of murder. In the alternate world, he suffers physical dangers from the monsters who are the ruling class there.

Hubbard being Hubbard, his fantasy world is not exactly like the world of ancient Persia. Here is a scene in which Jan/Tiger finds himself atop the Royal Palace, along with some astronomical instruments:

He wheeled [the telescope] down at an angle and trained it on the streets to wander the thoroughfares in comfort. Frenchman, Irishman, Jew, and Hindu. Englishman, Russian, Chinaman and Greek. Nubian, Indian, Carib and Spaniard. White man, brown man, yellow man, black man. Every nationality was there, strangely clothed but unmistakable of face. Pulling carts, sorting bales, buying food and running errands. Loafing and sweating and gossiping and weeping. Laughing and drinking and swearing and dancing. Millions of them! Women sun-bathing upon flat roofs. Thieves dividing their loot in dark alleyways. An Ifrit beating his insolent slave. A money lender wailing outside his shop while a robber scurried unhalted down the amused avenue. (88)

The novel is not flawless. During the latter third of the novel, the hero gets magical assistance that makes his victory come a bit too easily. And the events in Seattle are resolved a bit too abruptly and sketchily at the end. But it is still very good entertainment. Give this novel a bit of attention.

i bought this book (or was it loaned to me?) back in the 60s and remembered it through the years after i had lost of disposed of it. it is very memorable for its treatment of Djinn (genies) and weaves a tale between two universes. very heady stuff, i recommend it for teens or even young at heart over 30 somethings. it was writen by the author of Dianetics series. good SCIFI.

L Ron Hubbard was one of the original American fantasy authors of the 30's and 40's. 'Slaves of Sleep' is one of his better regarded efforts. Set in interwar Seattle, it tells the story of shy, withdrawn Jan Palmer. He is the heir of a shipping company, but he has no interest in running his Dad's business which is being embezzled by his father's friend. Jan has two interests, sailing and collecting ancient artifacts, including a mysterious copper jar. This copper jar attracts the interest of a local academic who breaks into Jan's house and opens the jar releasing a Jinn. The Jinn kills the professor and curses Jan with eternal wakefulness. Jan is arrested for the murder, and while in jail he discovers the nature of his curse, and what happens when you fall asleep.
'Slaves of Sleep' reminded me a bit of Abraham Merritt's 'The Ship of Ishtar' with it's Arabian Tales milieu. However Hubbard, is not as good a writer as Merritt. It's virtues are that it's short and full of action but it does not have a compelling plot or characters. For readers interested in pre WWII pulp fantasy only.

Slaves of Sleep is a step into the world of the THIEF OF BAGHDAD by a master writer.L.Ron Hubbard . Best known today as the founder of Scientology , he was a master of fantasy writing in the halcyon days of Unknown magazine and Weird Tales magazine.This novel ,like his Final Blackout rate as true masterpieces which have too long been out of print and forgotten.Grab some forgotten magic!!

I likes the story of this book. It had a very big potential. Unfortunately, I was quite bored by it not long after I started reading it. I took a break and picked it up again some weeks later and finished it, not so much because I wanted to know what would happen but because I don't like leaving books unfinished. It has glimpses of humour and good writing but most of the time it's quite uninteresting and I never goot a good mental picture of the action.

Those who are interested in Hubbard may want to read this short novel, but it's not a very good one. I don't recommend buying it at full price.

First published in 1938, this is the story of Jan Palmer, a shy, bookish young man who heads a steamship company inherited from his late father. He has no interest in the company, and would dearly love to get rid of it. One night, Professor Frobish visits and pleads with Jan for a chance to open, and analyze, the contents of a sealed copper jar in Jan's possession. It's said to contain the remains of a member of an ancient race called the jinn. Palmer promised an old friend a long time ago, that the jar would never be opened, and he intends to keep that promise.

Later that night, Frobish returns, now obsessed with the copper jar. The two men fight over it, and the jar is opened. A very large being, with shaggy hair and tusks, named Zongri appears in the room. Having been imprisoned since the time of Sulayman the Magnificent, Zongri decided long ago that whoever released him would receive instant death. Before Frobish can escape, Zongri grabs a nearby sword and chops him nearly in half. Instead of killing Jan, Zongri curses him with eternal wakefulness. Right after Jan finds himself alone in the room, the police burst in and haul him off to jail. Jan sticks to his innocence. The best his lawyer can do is maybe get him a one-way trip to a mental hospital. When he lays down to sleep, he suddenly finds himself on a sailing ship in the middle of nowhere, and he is strong and muscular.

He knows that his name is Tiger, and while he may look like a bodybuilder, he is still shy, bookish Jan Palmer on the inside. He is in a world of sorcery and pirates, kind of like a Robert E. Howard novel. He sees people that he knows from "his"world, but they don't know him. Jan (as Tiger) finds some astronomical instruments, and discovers that he has not, as he thought, traveled into the past. The date is the same in both worlds. When he lays down to sleep, Tiger finds himself back in the jail cell, as Jan. Tiger also discovers that people in the other world, run by the jinn and where humans are slaves, know of the "real" world. He is able to get to the bottom of a lot of things, in both worlds.

This one is really good. Starting life as a magazine serial, it's entertaining, it moves very quickly, and it's a fine example of lighter reading. If you can find a copy, it's worth checking out.

I dozed off while reading this and dreamed of sailing. I awakened in that in-between state and I wasn't sure it was Gary dreaming of sailing or the sailor dreaming of Gary? So in this book, who is the real Jan; the swashbuckling adventurer, or the reclusive company head? This reminding me of Gurdjieff's notion that most human beings who are awake act as if they are asleep. The "Tiger' part of the tales, were particularly well done, but I would have enjoyed more explanation of the conclusion. Mystery and a Jinnie with a bad attitude make for a fun read.