Customer Reviews

Under the Diehard Brand (Stories from the Golden Age)

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"Under the Diehard Brand" is a real gem that dates back to 1938 but is so well-written you'd think a modern writer had penned it yesterday. And therein lies the appeal of author L. Ron Hubbard's work - his writing is timeless. Punctuated by a breathless pace, memorable characters and constant action, "Under the Diehard Brand" is a textbook example of what a western should be.

The first chapter is a set-piece of mood, plotting and character development. Hubbard jumps right into the action as Lee Thompson returns home and rides into a cattle rustling (on a dark and stormy night, of course) and witnesses a murder. Initially at odds with his aging father, sheriff Diehard Thompson, Lee has plunged into a murderous situation where his mettle will be tested daily. It's in stories like these where we get to read marvelous descriptive lines like "The mutter of thunder growled across the sky." Or "He upset a bright brass spittoon which went bowling musically off on a voyage across the dusty floor." These seemingly inconsequential details add depth to the narrative and blend into Hubbard's mosaic of crusty cowpokes and blazing six-shooters.

"Under the Diehard Brand" has been reprinted as part of Hubbard's "Stories from the Golden Age" series by Galaxy Press who have excelled in producing first-rate editions. Inexpensively priced at $9.95 each, these beautiful books emulate the Pulp Era with retro cover illustrations and easy to read print. "Under the Diehard Brand" also includes two bonus stories - Hoss Tamer and The Ghost Town Gun-Ghost - which are equally entertaining.

Hubbard's westerns are especially popular and interested readers will seek out his air adventure, tales from the Orient, science fiction, mystery and sea adventure stories. Hubbard was a rare talent who mastered all of the genres that made the Pulp Era such an exciting time for readers hungry for fiction. Hubbard never let his readers down. These Galaxy Press editions are selling like hotcakes. So saddle up! Load your Winchester and take a ride into the Old West with a master storyteller!

I really like a great western story and had been previously hooked on Louis L'Amour. Having exhausted all of his works, I am very relieved to have found another great western storyteller. Diehard Thompson is an aging sheriff whose son, who he hasn't seen in many years, comes to visit. Only he doesn't recognize him. His son, seeing the trouble brewing, takes matters in his own hands to help settle matters. Just a good western tale.

Galaxy Press has reprinted inexpensive anthologies of classic pulp tales of two-fisted action by legendarily popular writer (and Scientology religion founder) L. Ron Hubbard, which are sure to satisfy avid readers of the pulp fiction action/adventure genre. "Under the Diehard Brand" is a western about a young Lee Thompson, whose aging sheriff father is losing control over the thugs and troublemakers of Wolf River. Thompson must step into his father's shoes and defend his town from the horde of criminals who have heard rumors of his father's infirmity and see Wolf River as easy prey! Also present are the stories "Hoss Tamer", "The Ghost Town Gun-Ghost", and a story preview of "Baron of Coyote River". Each action-packed volume of Stories from the Golden Age is further enhanced with a glossary of regional terms, dialects that have fallen into disuse, and other words that may be esoteric to the casual reader. An excellent pick for anyone who loves pulp fiction.

This series of Westerns are a lot of fun. Hubbard takes you into the heart of the Old West. You feel the dust in the wind and practically hear the music out of a John Wayne movie. Sheriff Diehard is getting old and losing his iron first of the law in Wolf River Montana. This spells BIG trouble, as the outlaws are flocking in to take advantage of him and tear the place apart. Unbeknownst to Diehard, his son is moving back into town (after not seeing him since his was a toddler) and he thinks he is just another trouble maker. Get ready for shoot 'em action in this one.

L. Ron Hubbard is probably best known as the founder of Scientology and creator of Dianetics. These days, his name is largely connected with the antics of the some of the more "outspoken" members of the religion, overshadowing the fact that the man really knew how to tell an entertaining story.

Pulp fiction fans rejoice, because there's a "new" voice on the block that deserves to be noticed. Galaxy Press is reprinting all 150 of the stories Hubbard wrote for the pulp magazines of the 1930s and '40s, and giving the series the evocative title Stories from the Golden Age.

The recordings I've tried so far are just terrific. They are a professionally produced combination of traditional narrated audiobooks (with narration deftly handled by R.F. Daley) and old-time radio, with actors playing the characters (often multiple roles) and genre-specific music and sound effects rounding out the experience.

Under the Diehard Brand is actually a collection of three short stories. In the title story (originally published in Western Aces in March 1938), Lee Thompson attempts to reunite with his father "Diehard" Thompson, the sheriff of Wolf River, Montana. But when Lee doesn't get the homecoming he's looking for, he gets involved with Holy George Gates by besting his foreman Anvil Bores in a fistfight.

Diehard thinks Holy George is behind a string of murders and stampedes, but the local businessmen appreciate the money Holy George brings into town via his large beef-cattle contracts -- even if Diehard is sure it's blood money. They also think Diehard is getting old and going easy on the "real" criminals. (Rheumatism has slowed his gun hand to where he is afraid to use it.)

Corey Burton's vocal performance as Holy George is highly reminiscent of Robert Mitchum in The Night of the Hunter. But I couldn't place the accent used by actor (and Firesign Theatre alum) Phil Proctor in his role as Anvil Bores, until it brought to mind images of Boris Badenov of "moose and squirrel" fame (himself no doubt pulp-inspired).

The second story, "Hoss Tamer" (from the January 1950 issue of Thrilling Western) is a redemptive story of sorts. It is entertaining in its own way, though the conclusion is unsurprising. But the Under the Diehard Brand book and audio also contain a real discovery in its tragicomic final tale.

In "The Ghost Town Gun-Ghost" (from an August 1938 issue of Western Story), a man on the run from the law escapes to an nearly empty settlement populated only by a man named Pokey McKay. Pokey fills in the gaps of his loneliness by performing all the needed functions of the town under other names, and speaking of them in the third person. Rob Paulsen (a double Emmy winner for his work on Animaniacs) delivers a tour de force as Pokey and all his personalities.

Author L. Ron Hubbard not only tells an entertaining story, but doesn't shy away from descriptive passages that enhance the atmosphere, like the following from "Under the Diehard Brand": "He sidled up to the bar and stared at the dill pickle and aged cheese, which Long Henry was carelessly wont to call his 'free lunch'. Even so, the meager display was tantalizing to a stomach grown a stranger to food and coupled with a pocket lined only with tobacco crumbs."

There are some unintentional chuckles along the way and the occasional schmaltzy ending, but those sorts of things are to be expected. Nobody reads pulp fiction for the intellectual challenge it offers, after all. That said, Under the Diehard Brand is a highly entertaining listen.

The music and sound effects are of high quality, the actors are experienced professionals, and director Jim Meskimen orchestrates all the pieces beautifully. Galaxy Press has spent the money for a quality product, and it shows. Plus, Under the Diehard Brand gives the reader and listener three solid stories -- and two real winners -- for the price of one.

Having spent his youth in Montana, L. Ron Hubbard was no stranger to cowboys, lawmen, and outlaws who inhabited the west in the early 1900's. Some of his most exciting fiction centers on Wild West adventures and "Under the Diehard Brand"exemplifies and highlights his talents at constructing believable characters who struggled for law and order in those dangerous days of the west.

The yarn begins with Lee Thompson traveling on horseback from Texas to Montana to visit his aging father who he has not seen for fifteen years. Diehard Thompson, sheriff of Wolf River, has not drawn a gun in three years, so every outlaw for miles around is trying to make claim to the town. The rumor is that the once indomitable Diehard has rheumatism which has stiffened his gun arm, so that he is afraid to draw. Lee's dilemma is how to defend his father's reputation and uphold the law at the same time. Hubbard's classic pulp writing style and vivid visual imagery returns the reader to a by gone era that comes alive through his classic story telling.

This was a very enjoyable read to say the least. A son comes home after having been away for 25 or so years and having left his dad when he was extremely young, so his dad doesn't even recognize him. Instead of making a big show of convincing his dad that he is really his son, he does it by demonstrating it with his actions against the local hooligans whom his father, the town-sheriff, is too old to effectively battle. What ensues is a great romp of the Old West well worth the money.

The other story in the book is greatly imaginative tale with a Ghost-Town that is only inhabited by one man, who plays out all the different functions of the town quite beautifully until a gunslinger arrives who threatens to put an end to the quite life of the Gun-Ghost.

The stories are all written in a fast style, just like they lived at the time - fast and furious.

Also check out this story, written by the same author:

Branded Outlaw (Stories from the Golden Age) (English and English Edition)

"Under the Diehard Brand"

by L. Ron Hubbard

Multi-cast performance

Produced by Galaxy Audio

Approx 2 hours

I've said it before, and I'll say it again; I never thought I'd enjoy reading a Western novel or story. In the past these just never interested me, actually I'm still not all that interested in just any old Western story. A friend once tried to get me to read some Louis L'Amour, but I just couldn't get past 10 pages without becoming utterly bored. But here I am reading yet another Western story from L. Ron Hubbard.

I think, no wait, I know what it is that keeps me interested. It's the great production that goes into these Stories from the Golden Age produced by Galaxy Audio. The sound effects are perfect and keep you trapped in the story. The incidental music, between chapters and stories, just screams the "old west." But most important are the actors. The characters in the stories by L. Ron Hubbard are always super real and over the top and the characterizations provided by the voice actors in these productions represent them perfectly. Whether it's an outlaw named Holy George who speaks as though from a pulpit or a cantankerous gold prospector left alone in a ghost town, the actors let you know every aspect of the characters in these stories by superb acting and vocal expertise.

Galaxy Audio and Galaxy Press have been releasing the short stories from the master storyteller, L. Ron Hubbard for a few years now and continue to do so. These releases are from the mid-20th century writings which were originally published in the "pulp" magazines of the time. These works of "pulp-fiction" proved some great escapism fiction for the American readers and the pulps represented almost every genre of fiction. Hubbard wrote stories for nearly every genre and this time around I jumped into another collection of Western stories from the Stories from the Golden Age. Each release from Galaxy Audio and Galaxy Press are issued to closely resemble the pulps of the time. This release contains the following three stories.

"Under the Diehard Brand" was originally published March, 1938 in "Western Aces" magazine and tells the tale of the Lee Thompson, son of the sheriff of Wolf River, coming back to his father after being away to help his father. When he arrives in town his father, Sheriff "Diehard" Thompson, doesn't recognize him and tells the young boy to keep on drifting or get a job. The son finds his father has gotten older and some local ruffians and cattle rustlers have over run the town of Wolf River. Lee then comes up with a plan to build back up his father's reputation and rid the town of the criminal element by joining up with the rustlers.

"Hoss Tamer" was originally published January, 1950 in "Thrilling Western" magazine.

An ex-circus horse trainer finds himself out of a job when the circus folds and sells off all its property in a foreclosure. The trainer tries to find a job as a bronc buster, after all he could "train" horses. But he gets injured and maimed the first time he tries and is forced to work for the town's livery stable. The Gopher Hole gang, the band responsible for his bronc busting disaster attempts to rob the Wells Fargo Train , can a circus horse trainer foil the Gopher Hole Gang's attempt to rob the Wells Fargo train through their horses?

"The Ghost Town Gun-Ghost" originally published August, 1938, in "Western Action" magazine is a humorous story of an old prospector that seems to have lost his wits after being abandoned in a town when the gold ran out. A young fellow arrives in town and is shown about the town by the prospector who acts out the role of everyone in town from the mayor, to sheriff down to the the man running the Wells Fargo. When a few unsavory characters arrive in town it seems the prospector and young man may meet their end in a battle over stolen money hidden in town.

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Great story. Again puts you in a scenario and pulls at your emotions. Has you on the edge while you are reading. Somehow you know the good will win, but it's not looking so good so many times. You really need to finish it to ensure you can settle on this plot. True western tale to the core.

L. Ron Hubbard has hit another home run. If what you want in a book is a thoroughly enjoyable good time, then grab this book and hang on! You won't regret it.