Sunday, July 10, 2016

Tomb of The Ten Thousand Dead

Action packed and captivating tale. Captain Gordon is hired to fly a team of American anthropologists to an arid mountain region now part of Pakistan bordering the Arabian Sea. All goes well until an ancient map is discovered in an old pottery jar, revealing the site of a vast treasure that Alexander the Great was bringing to Greece from his conquest of India. More than 10,000 of Alexander's soldiers and camp followers lay buried in the high desert plains along with the loot of India - hidden in a tomb never to be reclaimed.With the map's discovery, all academic pretense is dropped. Now Gordon finds himself caught in the middle of the expedition where murder replaces scholarship as the best method to uncover the valuable hoard. ALSO INCLUDES THE ADVENTURE STORIES ''PRICE OF A HAT'' AND ''STARCH AND STRIPES''.


Tomb of The Ten Thousand Dead (Adventure)
By L. Ron Hubbard
ISBN #978-1592122353
124 Pages
Price $9.95
Rating 5-Stars

“Adventure Yarns By A Master Storyteller.”

“Tomb of The Ten Thousand Dead” was published in the October 1936 issue of THRILLING ADVENTURE. Pilot Captain Gordon finds himself among crazed scientists when they discover the lost treasure of Alexander The Great.  Alone in a cavern with the thousands of dead soldiers left to guard the treasure when Alexander couldn’t take it with him. All ready one man has been killed, and three more will kill to obtain the treasure.
         “Price of A Hat” was an interesting tale told by Stuart as a group set at a card table, the discarded cards tossed into a strange hat called a kubanka. Stuart had been assigned to spy on Russia in 1917, and in Siberia he witnesses the murder of a Mongol rider. He chases the killers off, and the Mongol tells him to carry the hat to the Czar, and then dies. Stuart loses the hat and regains it several times before having an intelligence operator examine the hat. Hidden in the seams is a coded message warning Czar Nicholas II and his family that they are to be murdered if they don’t flee to safety. The message was not delivered on time, and Czar Nicholas II and his family were murdered.
         “Starch & Stripes” is another yarn about marines training blacks in Africa to be soldiers. Gunnery Sergeant Eddie Edwards, wearing captain bars, is in charge of the local unit. He has set a trap for the local rebel leader, but before the trap can be sprung, Lt/Col Cramer arrives to order his men prepare for inspection. A top marine general and senators are coming for an inspection. Not having a clean uniform, Captain Edwards runs into town to have his clothes cleaned and pressed by a local black woman. Unfortunately, while in town he’s captured by the rebel leader. In an escape, he turns the tables and gets the rebel. They get to camp just in time for the inspection and the general is ready to bust him back to corporal until the senators take charge of the situation.
         The three stories were fun reads. I kind of liked “Price of A Hat” better than the other two, but each had their own merits. Hubbard was an excellent writer of adventure tales, as well as other genres during his pulp years. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Author of COLD WAR HEROES

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