Volume 1, The Invaders Plan: Mission Earth

I've read the entire Mission Earth series (back in the day when they first came out), and am currently re-reading them.

The only problem I have with the Mission Earth books is that they are SO good, I CANNOT PUT THEM DOWN and thus I lose quite a lot of sleep until I'm done with each book! When they were first coming out, I would eagerly await each book and then stay up all night long reading it. I've found the same to be true with all of my friends who've read this fantastic series.

Fast-paced, high adventure with incredible writing. I could go on, but suffice it to say, these are great books.

These authors have all found Hubbard's writing to be great -- Robert E. Heinlein, Larry Niven, Frank Herbert, Frederik Pohl, Jerry Pournelle, Robert Silverberg, Roger Zelazny, Jack Williamson, Eric Kotani, Algis Budrys, Andre Norton, Theodore Sturgeon, Anne McCaffrey, and many more. Do you really so many great writers would have such flawed taste themselves?

Hubbard was one of the greatest of the pulp fiction writers back in the golden age. And his later writings were just as good. There's lots of info about him on his web site,[...] . And no, I am not affiliated or paid in any way. Just a huge fan.

This series starts great but then dies around book 4. Not worth anyone's time. I only bought a copy of the first book to complete my ten volume set, I lent the first book to someone who never returned it. I will donate the set somewhere and hope for a tax writeoff.

In my youth, I enjoyed L. Ron Hubbard's "Invaders Plan - Future Technology, New York Times Best Seller - Mission Earth Volume 1 - Funny Cynical Satire by L. Ron Hubbard." Unfortunately, now that I'm old, I'm not all that enamored of it. Oh, it's an interesting universe, the writing's good, and the character's are certainly interesting (though odd). But, Hubbard just drags everything out forever and, after a while, the satire and hyperbole just gets tiring. Up to about the halfway point, I was fine with it. But, from there until the end, the main character's behavior just starts grating. His likes to think of himself as being as smart as Bugs Bunny. But, he's really a whole lot more like Wile E. Coyote in that he'll come up with really convoluted plans over and over again just to satisfy his evil bent (apologies to Wile). All that adds up to a nearly 700 page book (the first in a decology) that doesn't really do anything but set the stage. So, I'm only going to rate this one as an OK 3 stars out of 5 and won't be reading the rest of the series (over).

I bought this series of books because I wanted to read something longer, not just a single book. The sci-fi genre, and the book description got my attention, so there I was, taking all the books in the series home, and...... quite frankly not liking it too much. It was okay, but this was one of the rare purchases that I regretted.

In this, the second volume of Mission Earth, Hubbard finally gets to begin his commentary on the state of Earth and its inhabitants. There is the first mention of drugs and addiction, a heavy swipe of the FBI and Wall Street Lawyers and the first stab at a dysfunctional education system. We are introduced to elements of the New York Mafia, the horny delegates of the UN, an a horny narrator who wants to get his hands on an "authentic dancing girl".

In terms of plot and narrative, this book sets the scene and the pace for the next several volumes. Hubbard's satire on Earth is savage and unrelenting, but also hilarious just to stop you taking things too seriously. The climax of the book is as shocking as it is thrilling. It's as "un-put-down-able" as the first Volume, and you'll be up way past your bedtime to find out what happens next.

I started the Mission Earth series when I was about 10 because I liked the cover. It was probably the first sci fi novel I have ever read. I'm really glad it was Hubbard who introduced me to science fiction, and I'm glad I read the book before I knew anything about Scientology or Hubbard, since it gave me the chance to go into the novel unbiased.

The great thing about the Mission Earth series is, as others have mentioned, it's told from the first person POV of Soltan Gris, a conniving, weaselly, agent who uses blackmail, extortion, and murder to try and maintain his power in the agency over Jetro Heller, the James-Bondish "hero" of the series with the Devilish good lucks and amazing talent. The great thing about Hubbard's writing, is that you don't root for Heller to succeed. Seeing everything from Soltan's point of view creates a lot of sympathy and draws your favor toward him.

The entire series can get a bit monotonous at times and hard to make it through, but I can never forget the guilty pleasures and immense enjoyment I had when I first started reading this series.

10 Volumes of absolute madness!!! These books are so much fun, with an unbelievable story line that never lets you get bored. The various Characters of this book are crazy, friendly, evil, passionate, hilarious, nymphomaniacs and all other characteristics under the sun. The book is written from the viewpoint an evil character and you cannot but laugh out loud on how idiotic a criminal mind thinks and how they cause themselves more pain than anyone ever could.

Every chapter has a new turn and i will warn you, it was very difficult for me to put these books down until I was complete. several hours of reading everyday was like having watched a hardcore Sci-Fi movie with gore, violence, sex and yet somehow extremely funny and amid the horrors of this world it still tells a story of good men and their virtues.

This series covers all aspects of earth from drugs, vice, banks and money power, energy crisis, corruption, wars, the media and their influence on governments and vice versa. I mean you can read a few chapters of this book turn on the news and realise we have been playing the same games on this planet for a very long time. This book was written in the 80s yet the content has never been more relevant than to contemporary times.

If you are even just slightly into Sci-Fi you will love this book. Even if you are not into Sci-Fi at all but love a good adventure story then this is it!

This review is from: The Invaders Plan (Mission Earth Series) (Audio Cassette)

Pro: Highest production audio book I've read to date (year 2002). Multiple cast members playing their identified roles. Nice change from having one actor try and read for every part. This felt like it was an actual play.

Pro: Satirical humor with very engaging characters

Pro: I had no idea what to expect next and the first person point of view was excellent for this story

Con: Ends with minimal number of things resolved. . .you must continue on with the series. So don't start this if you are hoping you'll get a story with 95% of the plot lines resolved.

OVERALL: Loved it in 2002. I just finished a new production of Battlefield Earth in 2016 and am going back to start this series again, knowing I need to continue past book one to enjoy the story more.

I knew L. Ron Hubbard wrote many short stories and novellas back in the Thirties and Forties and even read a few of them -- Fear, Ultimate Adventure, Typewriter in the Sky, etc., as they're reprinted in short books by Ace Books and others from the 1970s -- so I thought I knew what to expect. I was wrong. Invaders Plan is a satire on modern American thinking, including drug abuse, drug dealers, homosexuality, planetary pollution & ecology, even Congress! Jettero Heller has been assigned to get the planet ready for invasion by cleaning it up and all that. Soltan Gris (salt & grease, get it?) wants to stop him at all costs and use Earth (Blito P3) as a source of illicit drugs to the rest of the galaxy.

I enjoyed the fast pace and the descriptive chapters and could not wait until the next volume came out. Publishers Weekly gave it positive reviews and so on.

True, Hubbard is the source of Scientology writing, but there's none of this in this novel -- in fact, it's purposely so, as explained in the Preface (but who reads Prefaces?).

Enjoy!

Also:

Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000
The Great Secret (Stories from the Golden Age)
FEAR - and - TYPEWRITER IN THE SKY
Fear & The Ultimate Adventure

I bought this series of books because I wanted to read something longer, not just a single book. The sci-fi genre, and the book description got my attention, so there I was, taking all the books in the series home, and...... quite frankly not liking it too much. It was okay, but this was one of the rare purchases that I regretted.

Hubbard continues to astound me with this brilliant book 2 in the Mission Earth Dekology. The aliens infiltrate the earth culture and establish their base in Turkey in a mountian top. They launch their insidious plan to plunder earth, but Jettero Heller is acting under different orders. He is here to arrest the polution problem to keep the planet inhabitable for when the galactic government of Voltair decides it is time to invade based on their time table. The story is narrated by Soltan Gris, the man whose job it is to foil Heller's Mission and make it possible for an early invasion by the 'Apparatus' a CIA type organization on another planet. This is an incredible fun story. Heller travels from Afyon Turkey to New York City and is assaulted and befriended by everything from assassins to prostitutes. It's a very high speed adventure, and really get the whole series set up for some hillarious comedy. You will really enjoy the wit and humor of this author, as well as desire to keep reading all ten volumes. It's a great work.

An absolutely wonderful novel with an intricate plot and dynamic characters. This book is the hook at the end of the line for the dekalogy of Mission Earth books. Once you've read this book you will be rushing to the nearest book store for the next nine installments. The only reader's that won't appreciate this book are those too stupid to understand it's satire. I recommend anyone who is even remotely into sci-fi books to read this book. An intricate plot is wrapped in the corruption and deceit of the Apparatus. Characters with a personality instead of just meaningless actions. Jettero Heler is so "perfect" that it annoys the reader. You will find yourself wishing death upon him just as Soltan(the main character) does. Too much fun for a rainy day! best read with a glass of lemonade on a lawn chair!!!

I read this series in the early 90s, actually finishing two books in about ten days of holiday break. The series will grab you and not let go. Almost all of it is written in first person view; which puts you in the mind of Soltan Gris, the main character. The last two and a half books or so, is all about a quest to learn more about Gris and his narrative. Wraps up the story w/ a tense bang. Nearly 4200 pages & 1.2 million words. Can you handle that?

While i'm sure some wont understand hubbards style, I found it to be the epitome of sarcasim. What he has done both in the book and in the dekology itself is take us as a human being and shown us all of our fallicies.I feel I have been lucky to have had the opportunity to read this series twice without interuption and am looking foward to a third reading as soon as my order arrives. This series certainly deserves the 5 star rating I have given it and i'm sure that anyone else who enjoys the self depreciational wit of the human race will feel the same. P.S. Read battlefield earth. That's a six star book if i've ever read one.

Back to the review, extremely well-written. Hubbard's 'Invaders' never struggles for its next scene or plot. It flows smoothly throughout the entire novel. The protagonist, Soltan Gris, is a despicable person struggling to cope with the unpredictable circumstances he's thrown into.
The book does grow weary at times. Gris gets into trouble and more trouble and more trouble, and always escapes. At points I found myself saying, 'Get on with it already!'.
I'm totally unfamiliar with Scientology, so I can't judge whether the book is an attempt to brainwash readers. Hubbard does include some comments on the foolish humans destroying their planet. If that's scientology I can see why it appeals to Hollywood airheads.
No explicit sex. All profanity is replaced with a (bleep) so it's easy enough to skip over.

This is an absolutely fantastic book - see my review of all ten. I have read this many times, and the book right after this is even better. The whole series is a masterpiece of Satire and it's entertaining and FUNNY.

While reading this volume, I was struck by the thought that Hubbard's so-called 'epic satire' isn't satire at all. See, in order for satire to work, it has to be grounded in truth. Otherwise it's just an absurd claim that makes one scratch one's head rather than laugh. This volume is filled with these head-scratchers.
Apparently Hubbard's idea of satire is saying things like, 'All Turks have 'Bey' following their name.' That borders on racism. Or take Hubbard's assertion that all government officers are corrupt and that the IRS is evil. Sure there are some segments of society that believe these two things, but they're idiots. Truth dictates that neither of the above precepts are true, ruining Hubbard's attempt at satire.
It's a fairly interesting story. Nothing to write home about.

I really enjoyed this series. It was very creative with a good hero, Jettero Heller and I liked the technology of the space ship Tug One.

I read all ten books in the series skipping Volume 1 the first time through because I wanted to read about what happened on Earth, then went back and read volume 1 after I satisfied that need.

This series is a Sci Fi satire, full of comical escapades of lesser characters around a rather more composed Jettero Heller who is trying to succeed in his Mission to save Earth which is referred to by Volartians as Blito P3.

I really enjoyed this series. It was very creative with a good hero, Jettero Heller and I liked the technology of the space ship Tug One.

I read all ten books in the series skipping Volume 1 the first time through because I wanted to read about what happened on Earth, then went back and read volume 1 after I satisfied that need.

This series is a Sci Fi satire, full of comical escapades of lesser characters around a rather more composed Jettero Heller who is trying to succeed in his Mission to save Earth which is referred to by Volartians as Blito P3.

Science Fiction being the tricky genre that it can sometimes be, author L. Ron Hubbard does an outstanding job of telling the story of an alien from the planet Voltar, one Mr. Soltan Gris, a member of a rather unsavory group called the Apparatus. His mission - to bring one kidnapped Jettero Heller of a group simply designated as the "Fleet", which is much higher in the chain of life on Voltar, to Earth for a less than dubious task. The characters are alive and the story is told from the viewpoint of Soltan Gris himself, making it all the more interesting. This is book one in a series of ten, and I most definitely am beginning book two immediately. L. Ron Hubbard manages to mix a melting pot of creativity in authorship. There is humor, the story is fast-paced, there is suspense for the suspense and mystery lover, and even some exotic moments with the Widow Tayl (a nymphomanicac of Voltar). A definite must for science fiction lovers and just a very well written, expansive, delightful story. Enjoy!

10 Volumes of absolute madness!!! These books are so much fun, with an unbelievable story line that never lets you get bored. The various Characters of this book are crazy, friendly, evil, passionate, hilarious, nymphomaniacs and all other characteristics under the sun. The book is written from the viewpoint an evil character and you cannot but laugh out loud on how idiotic a criminal mind thinks and how they cause themselves more pain than anyone ever could.

Every chapter has a new turn and i will warn you, it was very difficult for me to put these books down until I was complete. several hours of reading everyday was like having watched a hardcore Sci-Fi movie with gore, violence, sex and yet somehow extremely funny and amid the horrors of this world it still tells a story of good men and their virtues.

This series covers all aspects of earth from drugs, vice, banks and money power, energy crisis, corruption, wars, the media and their influence on governments and vice versa. I mean you can read a few chapters of this book turn on the news and realise we have been playing the same games on this planet for a very long time. This book was written in the 80s yet the content has never been more relevant than to contemporary times.

If you are even just slightly into Sci-Fi you will love this book. Even if you are not into Sci-Fi at all but love a good adventure story then this is it!

Hubbard externalizes his anger with the United States investigations with the Church of Scientology (which Hubbard founded) and with the book Dianetics. HOWEVER, before you begin this series of ten books, you should know that Hubbard died before finishing. He died just after starting the seventh book. The step-in author continues to use Hubbards name but it's VERY obvious. A disappointment to say the least. I would love to know how it was supposed to end. If you want, read Battlefield Earth, that was fun.

"Black Genesis" is the second volume in the "Mission Earth" series, and unlike the first volume, "The Invaders Plan", it actually takes place on Earth.

Soltan Gris, our narrator, is even more cynical than before. But the so-called "satire" really consists of rants against the government and psychology and is tiresome instead of funny.

The pace is not as slow as in "The Invaders Plan"; this book is about 150 pages shorter. But it still feels slow and lacking direction; the story doesn't really seem to be going anywhere. If I hadn't already bought all ten volumes, I don't think I would bother to continue reading the "Mission Earth" series.

I got sucked into the Mission Earth series after reading the spectacular "Battlefield Earth" (the best pulp scifi novel ever). Unfortunately, after buying in hardback all 10 of these bloated episodes, hoping that they would lead to a great ending, I was sorely disappointed.
While the stories do have some of Hubbard's humor and some interesting satire, they don't have the cohesion, pacing or the characters of Battlefield Earth. It's not worth your time.
(Note, those dust-jackets however have to be the most spectacular ever made.)

First off, this series is unique and starts off great. I've never read anything quite like it: epic sci-fi told from the point of view of the bad guys.
So rather than having a book follow the main hero character and the way he easily thwarts all the bad guys, we instead see it told from the perspective of those bad guys, how they lay all these intricate traps and their befuddlement as the hero inexplicably manages to thwart their every evil move, sometimes without trying. It's intentionally funny in a very Wile E. Coyote sort of way.
But there's two warnings I think have to be said:
1) For readers in general, the series peters out starting around book 7. It's like he ran out of gas after 6 books but really wanted a set of 10 so pushed out 3 more books. The ending is disappointing and the last books are like a punishment to read.
2) PARENTAL WARNING, EXTREME PERVERSION. If they made a loyal movie out of this series, it would not be rated NC-17, it would actually be illegal in most civilized countries, and that's no exaggeration. It starts off innocently enough but eventually gets into some of the worst perversion you'll ever read in a book. Sex with a corpse isn't even the worst of it. The fact that more people don't comment on this leads me to believe most people never read the whole series. The review that mentioned therapy was not even kidding.
So in the end I'm not sure what to say about it. The books always stand out in my mind because of the perspective and humor of seeing things from the bad guy's viewpoint, but I never actually suggest this series to friends because it's so absurdly perverted in places. Having read this series as the first thing I've ever read by Hubbard is a big part of why I never took his Scientology and other stuff seriously: L. Ron Hubbard was not right in the head and there's no way you can read this whole series and not arrive at the same conclusion.
If you're 18 or over, go for it, but I wouldn't suggest buying this series for your kids.

This book may in fact be his most underrated literary attempts yet. While he hacks his way through this story you need to remember that this is in fact SCI-FI and not all things are required to be accurate to technology. The multiple threads of the plot will keep you going for hours on end until your whole way of thinking falls into the storyline.

Well, I really liked The Invader's Plan, but Black Genesis just isn't as good as the first book. I know it is a work of fiction, but the way Heller is treated by the mafia is too unbelievable even for a sci-fi book. The funniest part of the book was Soltan blowing away a canary with a shotgun. Well, on to The Enemy Within...I hope it's better than Black Genesis.

This whole series of books are awesome. How this man, L. Ron Hubbard writes, is so impressive. I felt just being there, living through this. He writes so well that you can experience the story. I do also believe it to be very true what is written in the Mission Earth Series as reading newspapers and seeing TV, news and happenings, I feel there is not much difference. These books have a story that is worth learning from and doing something about this. They have excitement, plots, action happening from beginning to the end and it is hard to put down a book as you want to know what is next. I had to hold myself back not to jump to the end of the story. It is for young and old, it is smart, clever, funny and outrageously depicting plots and schemes. You name it and it is in these books. It is tough, rough and to the core. I can recommend these books. If you want to go through an exciting adventures, just read these books.

Usually I don't give bad opinion reviews, because the author worked hard on that book, but..
Before this book I read "Earth Battlefield" and it was one of the Best sci-fi alien invader story I ever had the pleasure to.
So I began to read this series. The first few books are fine. The problem got to me around book 7.
I was reading the book before going to bed and naturally I fell asleep. The next day I woke up also naturally with a dream about
how the story would go on where I left it. The weird part was, that it went exactly that way, which should never happen.
Then it hit me. All over the 7 book the characters didn't change a single bit, so I could actually tell what their next move will be.
So that is my problem with this series.
If it doesn't bother you, you are in for treat.

Written by: Nightmoan

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The title pretty much summaries the book. "The Invaders Plan" covers the inception of a mission by aliens to save the earth from self inflicted environmental destruction rendering it useless prior to their planned invasion date. This book can not be taken seriously as a sci-fi novel, despite being sprinkled with some interesting science ideas and hi-tech equipment. This novel taken as an operatic sc-fi comedy is entertaining.

First of all you should know that this was written as one story essentially cut into 10 pieces or "books" so if you get the feeling that the story just ends midway you are right it does. After the death of L. Ron Hubbards his editor has stated that they added the introduction to the book as in to response to critics from initial book tests that the books seem to begin and end mid story. The introduction was supposed to help bridge the missing story line if you read a book out of sequence.

Further more this series is based on satire so do not look on it or judge it as a typical sci-fi novel as you will definitely be disappointed but if you judge this book for what it is, a space opera satire. At first I found the characters ridiculous, stereotyped and overly dramatic often with childish dialogue but then later I realized that they were caricatures and were written like this on purpose. I have to believe that this child like writing style has been done on purpose especially after reading the brilliant sci-fi novel "Battlefield Earth" also by Hubbard.

They are all aliens one of whom knows something about earth society and this is used as a basis for the satire in this book. The supposed alien characters are also used for satire as they depict known earth characters and behaviours. I say supposed because the depictions are alien life and society are ridiculous in-fact non-existent because Hubbard made almost no effort, these aliens and alien world might as well be humans on earth living in the future. Hubbard uses names like "Posh Hills" and "Delbert John Rockecenter" which are funny satiric references.

If you accept the book for what it is you will find it funny and enjoyable with wild superhero and villain characters that you love and love to hate. I felt that there could have been more use of subtle levels of satire that sometime lie the surface of this dramatic soap opera. However what made the book worth reading for me was the view inside the mind of the antihero who narrates the story. He is self indulgent, self centred, self pitying, violent evil man who uses devious tricks of politics, manipulation, bribery, theft and violence to survive and get ahead in his world. As powerfully he is in manipulating his world at times he is the one who is being dominated and controlled as a pawn in other peoples plans. It is then that we the weakness of his pathetic ego driven character. Although his caricature is naturally over the top his deviousness and character flaws are familiar to us because we see them so often in the underworld of politics and business in the world around us although obviously in a greatly subtler form.

This novel never won and never will win any sci-fi awards. An entertaining and operatic satire but without any real substance that is quickly forgotten I could not bring myself to give it anything more than 6/10 or 3 stars because.

I personally love this series!! L. Ron Hubbard tells it like it is.... This is a satire and sure there are parts that are better than others, but I am an avid reader and the series kept me entertained. Book 1 really just sets the stage for lift off to Planet Earth. Book 2 Jettero arrives to Earth and the adventure begins. He literally has no idea how Earth works and finds himself in many funny situations. Book 3 will make you laugh. In general it's a good funny comparison to what goes on here on Earth. There are certainly a couple of books in the whole series which progressed more slowly than others, but overall the books move along and the story is entertaining. I do recommend it!

This series has generated more than its fair share of HATERS, and it's interesting how many of them wind up attacking Scientology instead of looking to the qualities of the Mission Earth books themselves...

The books are imbued with all the cleverness of plotting, detail of setting and intrinsic motivation of character that marked Hubbard's classic novel Battlefield Earth. They are logical and fast-paced. Unlike Battlefield Earth, they possess a sardonic tone with Hubbard's satire wounding many a deserving victim in American culture.

It's not quite the masterpiece that Battlefield Earth was, but it's an amazing achievement to sustain the story across ten volumes as well as it does. The last few volumes suffer from a change in narrator, and one can wonder if they were ghost-written as Hubbard did pass away before their copyright and publication.

The bulk of the series are the prison confessions of Soltan Gris, and these are funny and engaging. The final volumes are the scribblings of Monte Penwell, an incompetent hack who finds the Gris confession and wonders how the story ended. The style of writing changes so thoroughly and the quality is so diminished under the hand of Penwell, that it is easy to use this as evidence of a ghost-writer working from Hubbard's notes or perhaps nothing more than hunches. It is also possible that the very-clever Mr. Hubbard used the conceit of writing in the style of an incompetent hack for the Penwell volumes. Whichever is true, the series ends weakly, though it is worth reading the 4,000 pages to get there.

The audio dramatization is superb and the abridgement very well edited. Little info is given on the cassettes as to the cast and director, and that's a shame as they truly deserve a bow.

This was an extremely funny book. Lots of action, adventure, satire and intrigue. The pacing leads you to read just one more chapter to find out what happens next, and then you look up to see 4am on your clock. A classic!

I read the entire series back around 1985 when it was first released so bear with me as I reach back into these old burned out brain cells to bring out my recollections of the Mission Earth series. I remember that L. Ron Hubbard died before he completed the series and his son(?) wrote the last two volumes of the series.

My main recollection is that the series is a satirical story about an alien race that is preparing to invade Earth. The story centers on a young alien (Jettro) who is recruited to reside/spy on Earth and his "intelligence handler" (Soltan). Jettro is a naive alien and is equipped unknowingly with video and audio equipment into his body that send information to Soltan. Soltan is an inept espionage analyst with his own agenda and has a tendency to misinterpret the video and audio that he receives from Jettro. This information is used in planning the invasion.

Simply put - the series is well written but much of Jettro's adventures are much too repetitive. I get the point after the 2nd volume.

This is definitely a must read series but I suggest you only read Volumes 1, 2, 8, 9 and 10. Hubbard's son(?) did a great job tying all the loose ends into the invasion in the last two volumes. Skip Volumes 3 thru 7. They are just the same old adventures told in different ways. I was bored reading and felt like stopping but trudged through it. The last volumes made it worthwhile but barely. If you like what you read then go back and read the other volumes you skipped.

You've been warned and that's my 2 cents.

Though stated in other reviews as terrible I found the first book to be interesting and comical. The way the main character bumbles around, and how the scientific knowledge know by Hubbard is astounding. Deffently worth the chance to read the next book.

This is one of the most exciting and most interestingly complex books I have ever read. The main character makes some pretty stupid mistakes, but covers them up nicely with a few bloody murders. (Hey, this kind of sounds like Joseph Stalin.)

I recall seeing a commercial many years ago when I was about 12 years old of a hand reaching up through the clouds and forming a fist around the Earth. Thus I became hooked on the idea of reading this book, as I've always loved science-fiction, but had no knowledge of L. Ron Hubbard at the time.

This book is not altogether bad, but it starts off exceedingly slow, and doesn't really get going even at the end. The novel is told from the viewpoint of Soltan Gris, a lowly and despised officer of the Coordinated Information Apparatus (aka the CIA), an evil intelligence branch of a galactic empire bent on conquest. Soltan has all the traits a bad guy should have with the exception of the intellect. He stands no chance against the hero he's trying to shut down, Jettero Heller.

There is a lot of excellent imagery in this book, and I particularly liked the idea of the game "bullet ball" even if it does seem uncivilized. Also Heller's quest to find the perfect ship for this mission to Earth, and his dragging of Sultan up in the air via a crane was pretty interesting. There was also some humor (not much, but when there is very good).

Probably the most disturbing part of this book to me was the fact that Soltan's boss is apparently very addicted to a variety of drugs they have found an abundant supply of on Earth. I know that this book was at least partially written as a satire, but if Hubbard was trying to send a message, it didn't come across. These parts of the book just really disturbed me.

As far as the rest of the series goes, Hubbard seemed to really pour on the gas for the next 6 books (all of which I really did enjoy), then just fizzled. I really got the impression that he had a great idea for a series, and was intent on making it into a dekology, whether he had enough story for one or not.

Much of the rest of the series depicts some extraordinarilly offensive acts of malevolence, however. I never reached a point where I actually wanted to vomit, but I've got a strong stomach. Included are serious drug habits, sex with minors, rape and others that I can't think of off hand.

The bottom line on this series is that it is not for the faint of heart, and it is definitely not for the underage.

This is a hilarious book. Definitely nails many American establishments and famous identities with a twist of sci-fi, humor, cynicalness and so forth. Makes you realize what type of people we have on this planet.

After reading Battlefield Earth years ago, I could hardly wait when it was announced that Hubbard was coming out with a ten book Sci-Fi series. As soon as this did appear I purchased the first two books and was excited to finally be able to read more from this author. It did not take long to realize, however, that this was not of the same caliber as Battlefield. I struggled through the first book, gave the second a chance just to see if things would improve, and was so bored by the end of the second book, I vowed never to waste my time on anything else by Hubbard.
Battlefield Earth was fantastic. Mission Earth is a lame duck. Hard to believe they are by the same author.

ALTHOUGH LATER ON THE SERIOUS GETS PRETTY STRANGE THIS FIRST BOOK WILL HOOK YOU INTO THE SERIES FOR SURE. I'VE ALREADY READ IT TWICE AND WOULDN'T MIND READING IT AGAIN. PROBABLY ONE OF THE FUNNIEST AND EXCITING BOOKS I'VE EVER READ.

the mission earth books can be read out of sequence and still be good reads but its always best to start from the beginning. most of the 10 books are seen uniquely through the eyes and ears of the villain and not the hero.
very funny. very sarcastic! full of great gadgets and excessive amounts of (comical) violence.
never takes itself seriuously and makes the reader view human civilisation in a different light
i would recommend the complete series to any sci-fi or humor reader.
Hubbard's other classic "Battlefield Earth" should be read by anyone who enjoys Mission Earth. a rip roaring sci-fi yarn

I'm reading this series because I feel I should. I've been reading Science Fiction since my pre-teen years (a long time ago.) I grew up with Heinlein, Bradbury, Clark and yes I read a bit of Hubbard. I never read Mission Earth, but the subject comes up from time to time, I'm reading the series so that I can comment intelligently about it. If that's possible.

I find it incredible that this book can still be found in bookstores. You know that well-worn adage, "if a notable writer published a shopping list, somebody would publish it?" Well this book proves that the adage is false! Hubbard SELF PUBLISHED this book using his own Author Services publishing company. You know - the same one that published his sixty or so Scientology books.

This does not necessarily make it bad. Plenty of good books are self published. But Black Genesis IS a bad book. No publisher would touch it. It's, ponderous, flat, unbelievable, boring, forgettable and one other adjective - nearly unreadable.

I was told over and over that this was satire. Hubbard even gives a helpful definition of satire at the beginning of the book just in case the humble reader didn't know what the word means. Upon reading this book, my guess is that Hubbard didn't bother to read his own definition let alone understand what that branch of humor is all about (see Douglas Adams.)

Black Genesis is nominally the second in Hubbard's "Decology" known as Mission Earth (ME for those of us who loathe to type the title over and over.) ME is nominally about some human-type aliens who secretly land on Planet Earth in the early 1950s in order to pave the way for an invasion by a rather decadent and corrupt galactic empire. Think Star Wars meets Elliot Ness and the Untouchables and you get the basic idea. The Protagonist is a wholly unlikable character named Soltan Griss and the antagonist and hero is an ubermensch named Joseph Heller. Griss embarks on a number of Snidely Whiplash style "dastardly deeds" to thwart Heller's "mission" to save Earth so that the galactic empire can invade it. (If you said "huh? - WTF?" , you are not alone.)

Each time Griss attempts some overly complex plan to disrupt Heller the plan gets foiled - by Heller.

That's the entire plot of the book, played hundreds of times in excruciating detail. There is no message, there is no depth! Just Griss being evil and Heller being uber-good.

Bogged down in Hubbard's turgid prose and strange - overly cynical ideas. The story (such as it is) dies a slow horrible death. This volume could be called "My College Years" for it seems to have little to do with the core story, but more to do with certain (how shall we say) "autobiographical" bits of the author.

Drug abuse is featured in the early parts of the book, Heroin addiction to be specific. It's described in detail that could have only come from somebody intimately experienced with the drug. I'm not saying Hubbard ever used Heroin, he must have "interviewed" somebody to write that stuff (nuff said.) One of the minor plots of the book is that Earth is the only source of the Spice Melange (whups!) the opium poppy and vast quantities of this substance is needed by the evil galactic empire's psychiatrists so it's warehoused and sent to other planets.

Not just drug abuse is "satirized" here, college, corrupt college organisations, corrupt college faculty and administration, organised crime, corrupt police, corrupt governments, corrupt FBI agents, and many other things are depicted in a strange over-the-top cynicism which, coupled with Hubbard s brand of prose makes this a very difficult read. Just his abuse of explanation points is hard to take. In addition to the feeling that the book is only about Hubbard complaining about stuff outside of his ken makes this an unbearable work on many fronts. It's only interesting if you have a hankering to look inside Hubbard's mind during the heyday of Scientology.

It is a dark and lonely place, why would you want to?

Bottom line? Don't bother,
Sigh! On to the next one!