Trouble On His Wings


Reprints of LRH pulps continue with this gem from the 1930s before the USA got into WWII. Johnny and Irish are the best of the best when it comes to news cameramen for World News. The stereotypical publicity hound boss, the crazy sidekick and the newsman who can do no wrong is plastered all over this tale.

When word of a disaster taking place on a ship in the Atlantic hits, Johnny is on a plane and bound to get some pictures for the newsreels (remember those, kiddies?). Through some pretty farfetched plotting (it is a pulp after all) he gets a girl. A girl who is a mystery, who says it’s best if Johnny does not know her; it’s best if he is careful and it could mean the death of him if he finds out who she really is.

The story really pulls no punches as Johnny runs into more and more bad luck as he drags this gal and Irish across the country. Losing film, wet cameras, burning forest fires and the Japanese Imperial Fleet have nothing on Johnny’s ability to bring the news that’s fit to watch.

Fast paced, silly at times, and a surprise ending to a short story tale. Nice way to knock off an hour or so.

Recommended.


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Trouble On His Wings


Reprints of LRH pulps continue with this gem from the 1930s before the USA got into WWII. Johnny and Irish are the best of the best when it comes to news cameramen for World News. The stereotypical publicity hound boss, the crazy sidekick and the newsman who can do no wrong is plastered all over this tale.

When word of a disaster taking place on a ship in the Atlantic hits, Johnny is on a plane and bound to get some pictures for the newsreels (remember those, kiddies?). Through some pretty farfetched plotting (it is a pulp after all) he gets a girl. A girl who is a mystery, who says it’s best if Johnny does not know her; it’s best if he is careful and it could mean the death of him if he finds out who she really is.

The story really pulls no punches as Johnny runs into more and more bad luck as he drags this gal and Irish across the country. Losing film, wet cameras, burning forest fires and the Japanese Imperial Fleet have nothing on Johnny’s ability to bring the news that’s fit to watch.

Fast paced, silly at times, and a surprise ending to a short story tale. Nice way to knock off an hour or so.

Recommended.


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In this exciting pulp classic from 1939, Johnny Brice is working as a flyer and photographer for World News publications. He's a typical brash young man, intent on making a dollar and willing to take chances. Constantly putting himself at risk is second nature to him. Determined to get the first newsreel footage of disasters as they happen, he goes so far as to parachute into the ocean in order to get picked up by a rescue ship on its way to save the survivors of a burning vessel. Then one day he inadvertently saves the life of a beautiful girl, and as you would expect from a piece of pulp fiction the plot heats up from there.

Trouble On His Wings is one of many air-adventure stories penned by L. Ron Hubbard, himself a barnstorming pilot in his youth. This is one of his longer stories from the 30s and what a wonderful tale it is. Johnny Brice is identical to the male lead characters in Hubbard's best fiction; immediately likeable, handsome and resourceful. I'm particularly fond of Hubbard's air-adventure tales because his love of flying and adventure comes across in the writing. His characters speak to the joy of flight and the grand sweep of landscape below them: "She watched the country unroll below them, small ripples of pleasure going through her at the variety of colors of the checkerboard earth, of the dollhouse towns, always with their guardian church spires..." Such strong writing makes reading Trouble On His Wings all the more pleasurable. You can see and feel the action of the story.

And what would a great pulp fiction story be without a little romance? Trouble On His Wings is flavored with a blossoming romance as Brice takes note of his beautiful rescued passenger as they fly across the country: "Her honey-gold hair was delightfully real." But naturally their fate is undecided as Brice begins to think the girl, who refuses to tell him her name, has jinxed him. His best efforts at getting newsreel footage are crushed time and again with a string of incredible bad luck. The girl may be beautiful, but he can't shake either her or the trouble that keeps coming his way. Written in eleven thrilling chapters Trouble On His Wings is a robust and heartfelt adventure. The plot takes a few turns and twists that will keep readers guessing as they whip through the pages.

This was such a fun book to read. I was swept along myself on this cross-country thrill ride. Readers will be rooting for Johnny Brice and "Jinx" to not only work out their problems, but survive the inexplicable poor fortune that plagues Johnny at every turn. What you get with every story by L. Ron Hubbard is a dedication to the characters, the plot and a devotion to the readers who are expecting the best, and then receiving the best. Books like Trouble On His Wings can be enjoyed again and again along with the entire 80 volume series. ( )

Trouble on His Wings is essentially a throw-away pulp adventure following a flying news photographer after a chance encounter with a blonde bombshell who, quite literally, throws herself into his life. The story itself is entertaining enough, but it has very little umph behind it. It's more of a vignette, or a series of smaller vignettes, than a full story, almost like a one-act play broken into three acts. It also suffers from its datedness, though that's a fairly minor concern. Bottom line: it's an ok read but unless you're a die-hard Hubbard completist, you can probably skip this one. ( )

I really am enjoying these pulp stories of adventure and intrigue.
If you like mystery and adventure and want to escape for an hour or so, these are great stories.
Just ignore the liner notes about how great L. Ron Hubbard was... ( )