All farmer Eben Smith
wants to do is rectify an unjust government system he feels starves city folk
in order to “fix” the economy. Before he gets to the city for the first
time, however, he finds himself at a strange crossroads. There what he’s
bartering may be altering not only his own life, but also the destiny of
alternative worlds! Includes: “Borrowed Glory” and “The Devil’s
Rescue"
The Crossroads (Fantasy)
By L. Ron Hubbard
ISBN #978-1592123681
Price $9.95
124 Pages
Rating 5-Stars
“Fantasy And Beyond.”
This volume actually contains three stories by the author: The title
story, THE CROSSROADS, originally published in the February 1941 issue of
UNKNOWN. Plus, BORROWED GLORY and THE DEVIL’S RESCUE.
THE CROSSROADS is a fun
story about a farmer taking his fruit and vegetables to town to trade. However,
he comes to a strange crossroad with roads leading in different direction. Not
knowing which to take, he decides to rest at the crossroads. Oddly, travelers
come from the different paths and find his goods were bargaining for.
BORROWED GLORY. An angel
and genie make a bet against humans. The genie doesn’t believe humans will keep
their word if given something for a time, and the angel has more hope for
humans. The angel offers an elderly lady 48 hours of anything she wishes,
knowing that at the end of that period she must give everything back. The genie
doesn’t believe the old woman will. The old woman had worked all her life for
very little, never having loved, or known the love of a man, and her wishes are
to be young and beautiful, and to experience the love she missed. Can she
return it if she does find it?
THE DEVIL’S RESCUE is
about what the title says. Edward Lanson, Mate of the Gloucester Maid is the
last survivor on his boat when sailors on the ghost ship, The Flying
Dutchman, rescue him. And then who should appear but the Devil to
bargain with the ship’s captain, and now another soul, Edward Lanson. Will the
Devil end up with all souls, including Edward’s, or can the devil be beaten?
These were fun little
fantasy stories, each interesting and entertaining in their own right. But of
the three, my favorite is BORROWED GLORY, about the elderly woman wishing to
experience love. Highly recommended for the entertainment value.
Tom Johnson
Author of THESE ALIEN SKIES
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