Bøker av L. Ron Hubbard

Embark on Voyages of Imagination and Wonder. Discover the new visionaries of imagination in the Writers of the FutureΓÇöcelebrating 25 years of showcasing the best new talent. Established in 1983 by L. Ron Hubbard expressly for the aspiring writer, Writers of the Future has become the most respected and significant forum for new talent in all aspects of speculative fiction. Never before published first-rate science fiction and fantasy stories selected by top names in the field. ΓÇ£Some of the best Sci Fi of the future comes from Writers of the Future and you can find it in this book.ΓÇ¥ ΓÇöDavid Hartwell, Editor Includes essays written by professionals of the craft: L. Ron Hubbard, Robert Silverberg and Ron Lindahn

Lynn Taylor and his kid brother Frank may not be angels, but they're not devils, either. They're just a couple of mentwo-fisted Texans who have landed on the wrong side of a corrupt lawman. And like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, they're up to their necks in trouble.Young Frank's been framed for robbery, rustling and murder, and if Lynn doesn't think fast, his brother's going to end up the guest of dishonor at a hanging party. Lynn cooks up a daring plan to clear his brother's name and rope in the real outlaw.But it means Lynn will have to turn outlaw himself, and if he's caught, it'll be his neck on the lineand in the noose.Hailing from the western states of Nebraska, Oklahoma and Montana, Hubbard grew up surrounded by grizzled frontiersmen and leather-tough cowboys. When he chose to write stories of the Old West, Hubbard didn't have to go far to do his research, drawing on his own memories of a youth steeped in the life and legends of the American frontier.Also includes the Western adventures, Ride 'Em Cowboy, the story of a man and woman's rodeo rivalry that leads to romance, and Boss of the Lazy B, in which a lady gets swindledand the swindler ultimately gets justice. ';Rough and tumble action with a twist, and all are a great read.' True West magazine* International Book Awards Finalist for best Western fiction 2012

Imagine a young Laurence Olivier cast as a scholarly Oxford professoran academic snatched out of his bookish world and pressed into service aboard Lord Nelson's legendary British fleetin the position of schoolmaster. Such is the life of the land-loving, seafaring Mister Tidwell, Gunner.Thrust into service at the height of the Napoleonic Wars, Tidwell soon finds himself directly in the line of fire and way out of his depth. Fate has cast him into a terrible and terrifying spotalone on deck to face the fearsome approach of a French man-o'-war.The professor is about to get an object lesson in war, self-reliance . . . and survival. Overwhelmed by the smell of gunpowder, the sound of cannons, and the sight of death, he will either experience the sweet taste of victory . . . or the bitter taste of his own blood.In an essay called Search for Research Hubbard wrote about how he came up with story ideas: ';I want one slim, forgotten fact. From there a man can go anywhere. . . . In one old volume, for instance, I discovered that there was such a thing as a schoolmaster aboard Nelson's ships. . . . When did this occur? . . . The Napoleonic Wars.' Drawing on this single obscure discovery, Hubbard delved deeper into the history and let his remarkable imagination do the rest. ';Complete after a few days of search, I had my Mister Tidwell, Gunner.'Also includes the sea adventures The Drowned City, the story of two deep-sea divers who set out in search of a long-lost treasure only to find that the waters are full of treacherous currents and even more treacherous men; and Submarine, in which a young sailor on leave enjoys a quiet interlude with his girlfriendonly to have it interrupted by a call to duty and danger.

Forged in the hot sun and sand of the Arizona desert, Chinook Shannon is as tough as they comeas steely-eyed and tall in the saddle as Randolph Scott. But Chinook is far from homein the north country of Montanaand facing a challenge as big as the territory itself.Following his grandfather's suspicious death, he's come to Montana to claim his inheritancethe family's cattle ranch. But the territory's crawling with bandits and bankers, and they all want a piece of Chinook's land. With foreclosure hanging over the ranch, Chinook's got exactly twenty-four hours to find out who killed his grandfather and become the Cattle King. He'll follow a trail of forgery, cattle rustling and murder to find the truth, knowing he has only one allyhis Colt Peacemaker.L. Ron Hubbard's detailed knowledge of ranch life and mining techniquesas well as the economics and legal issues surrounding mining and water rightsinforms Cattle King for a Day. He wrote: ';I became thoroughly acclimated to Montana ranch life and the very rough and tough atmosphere. . . . It was also a mining area, and I used to pan in these streams for pocket money.' It's no wonder, then, that these stories are pure gold.Also includes the Western adventure Come and Get It, the story of an Easterner who comes to Wyoming to find out who killed his fatherbut discovers that the only way to get justice is to cook up a new identity for himself.* An International Book Awards Finalist

Every man walks with a shadow . . . but what happens when he acquires a second one? Just ask Brazosa dead ringer for Jack Palance who's a cold-blooded killer for hire with blood on his hands and a posse on his tail. Desperate for cash, Brazos accepts $200 to gun down a local man named Brant. He'll earn every penny . . . but in the end there'll be the devil to pay. Because to put a bullet in Brant means putting one in his partner as wellan eerie stranger schooled in the black art of witchcraft. This is one killing that brings with it a deadly curseand a second shadow.As Brazos is about to discover, the Wild West doesn't get any wilder than when a man is damned to liveand diein the Shadows from Boot Hill. A note from L. Ron Hubbard, written many years ago, that could as well be addressed to you, today's reader: ';Dear Range Boss: Four million of my words have been published in fifty different magazines. . . . Just now I'm larruping fantasy fiction more than anything else, though I've been writing Westerns for some time, too. Hope your readers like Shadows from Boot Hill. The Old West was superstitious in the extreme and . . . reeks with more fantasy than The Arabian Nights.'Also includes the Western adventures The Gunner from Gehenna, in which a plot to steal a miner's gold reveals how a good man can go bad . . . and a bad man can do good, and Gunman!, the story of an aging gunfighter turned lawman who shows his town what a real man is made of.';A minor masterpiece.' author Will Murray

They call him Suicide, Smoke or simply Sudden Death. His name is Kit Gordon, and from the banks of the Mississippi to the shores of the Pacific, he is King of the Gunmen. As tall and lean and tough as a young John Wayne, Kit's about to discover that sometimes it takes more than a quick draw and a sure aim to stand up like a man.Falsely accused of murder and one step ahead of a lynch mob, Kit escapes to the next county overand a whole new identity. He changes his name and his whole outlook, teaming up with a lawman out to bring the rule of law to this untamed corner of Arizona.But the two men are soon drawn into the middle of a bloody feud between cattle ranchers and sheepherders. Before it's over, the battle will lead Kit to a moment of truth . . . or a lifetime of lies. He'll have to take a stand and reveal that he's a wanted manor turn tail and run for his life, never looking back.Born and raised in the twilight of the Old Westfrom Nebraska plain to the mountains of MontanaL. Ron Hubbard grew up in the company of real cowboys and rugged frontiersmen, even becoming a blood brother to a Blackfoot medicine man. His firsthand knowledge allowed him to instill a grit and authenticity into his stories that made him one of the leading writers of Westerns, publishing a total of 34 of them by the 1950s.Also includes the western adventure The No-Gun Gunhawk, the story of a legendary gunslinger's son who swears never to take up a gununtil he is forced to break his vow when it becomes a matter of life and death.

Sunset Maloney is about to find big trouble in the Big Sky country of Montana. Like Alan Ladd as Shane, he's riding into the middle of a ruthless land grab, and his fight for what's right takes an unexpected turn . . . in the face of a young, attractive woman. Slim Trotwood is a cruel, greedy tinhorna gambler with little money and less skillwho's determined to take possession of all the land in Puma Pass, whether by fraud or by force. And Sunset's the only man willing to take him on. Faster than greased lightning with his six-gun, nothing can stop him from taking Trotwood down . . . until he meets Tinhorn's Daughter. Just arrived from Boston, she's as nave as she is beautiful, and Sunset falls hard for her. But if he can't make her see what kind of man her father really is, he may fall even harder. Because if he loses this fight, Sunset may never see the sunrise again.Hailing from the western states of Nebraska, Oklahoma and Montana, Hubbard grew up surrounded by grizzled frontiersmen and leather-tough cowboys. When he chose to write stories of the Old West, Hubbard didn't have to go far to do his research, drawing on his own memories of a youth steeped in the life and legends of the American frontier. Also includes the Western adventure When Gilhooly Was in Flower, in which there's romance on the range, as an unlikely cowpuncher mixes lassos with literature to find love in Gunpowder Gulch.

It is one of the greatest conflictsand a pivotal turning pointin historythe Chinese civil war. On one side stands Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalists. On the other, Mao Zedong and the Communists. And their forces are about to meet in a decisive battlethe outcome of which is in the hands of one American pilot, John Hampton, a man who, like Bogart in Casablanca, couldn't care less He's a mercenary, flying for the highest bidder, his only loyalty to himself and to cold hard cash. He has nothing to believe in, and nothing to lose. But just as this is a critical moment in history, so, too, is it about to become a defining moment in Hampton's life. What is the extraordinary experience that has the power to penetrate Hampton's armor of cynicism and touch his heart? What is it that makes him see that there are things, other than money, that are worth fightingand maybe even dyingfor? The surprising answers spur him to undertake the ultimate mission in Red Death Over China.Hubbard experienced China in the 1930s in a way few Westerners did. Traveling from the ports of the China Sea to Beijing to the Great Wall and onto the hills of Southern Manchuria, he came to know the land and its peoplesoldiers, spies, outlaws and monksas well as any American could. It is that background that shines through in stories like Red Death Over China. Also includes the flying adventures The Crate Killer, in which a test pilot uses up his nine lives parachuting nine times from crumbling planes, only to discover that his tenth flight presents the biggest challenge of all; and Wings Over Ethiopia, the story of a pilot captured and accused of being a spy by both sides in a warand his only means of escape is through the lens of a camera.Highly recommended for aviation action/adventure pulp fiction.Midwest Book Review

Primed for promotion to the World-Journal city editor, grizzled senior reporter Pop is stunned when it's announced that young Leonard Caulborn, the publisher's son-in-law, will get the post. Worse, the lad wants him out. In protest, Pop demands to be given a beat again and gets his wish. . . only now he's got just two days to find the "e;real"e; story about a dead-end assignment- a month-old physics lecture- or be fired.

An obscure original manuscript of Marco Polo's travels . . . A tantalizing clue to the site of Kublai Khan's fabled burial site . . . A chance to unearth the truth behind a long-lost treasure. It's an opportunity that would make Indiana Jones drop everything but his whip and race off to China. But he'd be too late. Lieutenant Jonathan Daly is way ahead of him.Two bullet holes and a bad case of malaria may not be enough to stop Daly, but a crew of criminals, a brood of British agents, and the entire Chinese army are all in the game . . . and determined to keep him out of it. The stakes are too high, and the potential rewards too great, though, to let a little treachery, betrayal and human sacrifice stand in Daly's way.He's hot on The Trail of the Red Diamondsa cache of exceedingly rare gems that were meant to light the way to heaven as an offering to the gods. And only God knows if Daly will manage to dig up the diamonds . . . or end up buried with them.It was on Hubbard's second journey to East Asia that he met British Secret Service agent, Major Ian MacBean, who introduced him to a world of deception and conspiracy in the region. He also learned of the thrivingand dangeroustrade in stolen Chinese treasures. As if to underscore the authenticity of The Trail of the Red DiamondsHubbard published the story under the byline Lieutenant Jonathan Daly, the hero of the piece.Also includes the rousing adventure Hurricane's Roar, the story of an American pilot in Mongolia who whips up a storm of death-defying air battles . . . in the search for peace.

Winchester Remington Smith is a crack shot. Problem is, surrounded by roller coasters and merry-go-rounds, his talent is going to waste, knocking down ducks in a carnival shooting gallery. Win wants some real action, and like Gary Cooper as Sergeant York, he's going to warrunning off to join the U.S. Marines to fight a guerilla insurgency south of the border. In the jungles of Central America, Win takes a different kind of roller coaster ride. Quick and quiet, he's now a runner. It's a vital role, but he feels like a messenger boy, unable to put his rifle to good use. Even when he saves the life of First Sergeant Fifty-Fifty O'Briena Marine so gung-ho he has about a fifty-fifty chance of survivalWin ends up facing a disciplinary hearing for disobeying orders. Can the young sharpshooter redeem himself? Win's about to get his chance, an opportunity to deliver a message that the Marines will never forget.Hubbard knew exactly what it meant to be a Marine. As he wrote in 1935: ';Most of the fiction written about [Marines] is of an intensely dramatic type, all do-or-die and Semper Fidelis.' But the reality, he said, was far different. ';I've known the Corps from Quantico to Peiping, from the South Pacific to the West Indies, and I've never seen any flag-waving. The most refreshing part of the U.S.M.C. is that they get their orders . . . and do the job and that's that.' It's that kind of unique and pointed insight that he brings to stories like Fifty-Fifty O'Brien. Also includes the military adventures The Adventure of X, in which a French Foreign Legionnaire's intelligence mission leads him into an enemy ambush, and he has to warn his fellow Legionnaires before they walk into a massacre; and Red Sand, the story of a disgraced Chicago cop who joins the Legionnaires and finds his investigative skills invaluable in the desert.

Before Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark were even a gleam in Spielberg's eye, one intrepid pilot flew out of the sky in search of treasure . . . only to find a bit of hell on earth.Captain Gordon lives like he fliesby the seat of his pants, taking on any job and all comers. Now he's bound for the forbidding mountains along the shores of the Arabian Sea, transporting a team of anthropologists on the trail of Alexander the Great. But ancient history is about to come to dangerous life with the discovery of a long-buried mapa map leading to high adventure, untold treasure, and cold-blooded murder. . . .Gordon's headed deep into The Tomb of the Ten Thousand Deadunearthing a secret that could bury him.Not only was Hubbard steeped in the history of the ancient world, he was also an avid adventurerboth in his own right and as a respected member of the famed Explorers Club. As such, he brought a wealth of insight, experience and authenticity to all his tales of adventure. Also includes two additional adventures: The Price of a Hat, in which the key to the Russian Czar's life is hidden in a most unexpected place, and Starch and Stripes, the story of a U.S. Marine who sets a trap for a tropical warlord that reverberates all the way back to Washington.';An exciting story told at a brisk clip, with characters and dialogue that keep readers glued to the page: Hubbard at his best.' Booklist* An International Book Awards Winner

Meet Lieutenant Flint: hard-edged and muscle-bound, radiating machismoa bull of a soldier. In the opposite corner stands Captain Turner: with his pencil mustache and tailored shirts, he's a Trick Soldiersmart, crisply-dressed, and always at attention. They're fire and ice, oil and water . . . Sean Penn and Michael J. Fox in Casualties of War.Ten years ago and a thousand miles away, they attended boot camp together. They didn't get along then . . . and they don't get along now. Reunited in the Haitian jungles, in the midst of a fierce rebel uprising, they confront the most dangerous enemy of alleach other.It's time for heroes to rise and cowards to fall, and in the case of Lieutenant Flint and Captain Turner, bravery runs deep. When brute strength confronts military honor, the true measure of a man is not in his fists, but in his heart.A First Sergeant with the 20th United States Marine Corps Reserve, Hubbard knew exactly what it meant to be a Marine. As he wrote in 1935: ';Most of the fiction written about [Marines] is of an intensely dramatic type, all do-or-die and Semper Fidelis.' But the reality, he said, was far different. ';I've known the Corps from Quantico to Peiping, from the South Pacific to the West Indies, and I've never seen any flag-waving. The most refreshing part of the U.S.M.C. is that they get their orders . . . and do the job and that's that.' It's that kind of unique and pointed insight that he brings to stories like Trick Soldier.Also includes the military adventures He Walked to War, in which Marine Sergeant E.Z. Go appears to take it easy, but always gets the job done . . . even if it's hard as nails or dangerous as hellin the end E.Z. does it; and Machine Gun 21,000, the story of a soldier who loses a gun and faces a court martial, but finds a way to save the day.

Flying into action, daredevil photojournalist Johnny Brice is always looking for trouble . . . and more often than not, finding it. But he doesn't know what real trouble is until he rescues the beautiful woman he calls Jinx from a sinking ship. Like Bogie and Bacall, they're made for each othereven if they are a dangerous mix. Get the picture? Well, Johnny always does. The problem is, with Jinx now in the picture, all his photo-scoops are going down the drainlosing his film to water, fire or war. And it all comes to a head on assignment in China, when the Japanese shoot his plane down and take Jinx and Johnny prisoner. Their lives at risk, it's time for Johnny to get the real story about the lady. Is she really a jinx . . . or something even more sinister? In an adventure full of surprising discoveries, getting at the truth leads to the most shocking twist of all.L. Ron Hubbard had first-hand experience of flying high with Trouble on His Wings. As a young aviator, he loved to tempt danger. One journalist wrote: ';The flaming-haired pilot hit the city like a tornado a few years ago. . . . He just dared the ground to come up and hit him.' The knowledge and insight he gained during those flights is clearly evident in his aerial adventure stories.

He's a handsome American Lieutenant in the French Foreign Legion. She's a beautiful woman who's as fiery as the North African sun . . . and as mysterious as the far side of the moon. And she's all hisbought and paid for in the village square. Put them togetherCary Grant and Hedy Lamarrand you're sure to get fireworks. The only reason the Lieutenant bought her was to free her from the slave trade. But now that he's got her, he's got trouble. Two violent native tribes are determined to get their hands on the woman . . . even if it means unleashing an all-out war. The warriors lay siege to the outpost3000 of them versus 60 Legionnaires within. Can the Lieutenant hold the fort against the onslaught? And how long can he fend off the powerful feelings he has for the woman in his care? And, finally, does he have any idea of the secret in her past that could change everything?On the subject of North Africa, Hubbard said that writers too often ';forget a great deal of the languorous quality which made the Arabian Nights so pleasing. Jewels, beautiful women, towering cities filled with mysterious shadows, sultans equally handy with robes of honor and the beheading sword.' Hubbard brings this unique insight to his stories of North Africa and the Legionnaires, investing them with an authenticity of time, place and character that will keep you asking for more.

When former captain of this army and that, Phil Sheridan, lands on the shore of the forgotten Indonesian island of Kamling-jewel of the Banda Sea-he's captured instead of welcomed by warriors of a primitive and bloodthirsty tribe. Marched to the natives' camp, he meets Jose Emanuel Batista-one-time slave trafficker, long-time murderer, and now self-appointed tyrant. Using his smooth-talking tongue and shooting skills to escape, Sheridan finds temporary shelter at the lodgings of a miner and his beautiful daughter. With limited arms and supplies to hold off Batista and his men, Sheridan must take a desperate chance and journey ever deeper into the jungle. His plan? Enlist the help of headhunters who may be more interested in his head than in driving out Batista's regime and ending its tyrannical reign.

Stop the presses! One hundred thousand dollar reward offered for the return of George Harley Rockham! That's more than enough to turn Shanghai newspaperman Jimmy Vance's head. Throw in the gorgeous dame who's offering the rewardRockham's daughter Virginiaand he might lose his head altogether. As fast-talking as Jimmy Stewart in The Philadelphia Story, Vance jumps at the chance . . . the money . . . and the girl.But as Jimmy quickly discovers, there are several billion reasons to watch his back. Because that's how much Rockham is worth, and there are some very hard cases out there willing to kill to separate the old man from his money.Next thing Jimmy knows, Virginia's tied to a chair, and he's got a couple of guns pointed at his head. But it'll take more than a little rope and a couple of firearms to keep this reporter down. The truth is tied to the mysterious fate of a steamship named Shanungand what Jimmy finds could be the biggest story of his life . . . if he lives to tell it. In the issue of Smashing Novels where this story first appeared the editor wrote: ';Loot of the Shanung is a soul-stirring tale of the China Sea, a story of modern piracy set in the Far East. L. Ron Hubbard wrote it. He knows China. He has been there. He traveled through the country and met the people and observed their customs. Smashing Novels will have other stories from himstories of far-off places and little known people. He knows of what he writes.'

In The Great Escape and Papillon, Steve McQueen embodied the tough guy on the run from captivity and injustice. But when it comes to toughness, McQueen is following in the daring and determined footsteps of Captain Spar. Wrongfully accused, Spar has been condemned to suffer the brutality of the guards and the conditions on Devil's Island. But they haven't broken his will, and now, escaping, he has one mission in life: revenge. Spar's out to kill the man who put him into the devil's hands. But he'll have to take on a gallery of rogues who are as treacherous as the waters of the Caribbean. Pressure is rising and a storm is brewing. But even in the face of a natural disaster, Spar discovers that nothing is more volatile than human natureas temptation and danger are about to collide with Hurricane force.In 1937 L. Ron Hubbard wrote to one of his editors: ';You might have noticed that I am intensely wary of becoming any kind of a story specialist. I have sold the gamut of types: air war, air, western, detective, love, terror. . . . My one passion is to build a name for variety. . . . I like my freedom. I fight hard for independent individualism. I love to tie into a yarn and make it blaze in print.' Hubbard's passion for writing, creativity and individualism certainly blazes across the page in stories like Hurricane.';Hurricane will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end as it unfolds.' Mommy's Favorite Things * An International Book Awards Finalists

Cast Spencer Tracy as Speed Kyle, master-builder of the hottest, fastest planes around. Then give the role of Cal Bradley, daredevil test pilot who pushes those planes to the limit, to a young hotshot like Tony Curtis. Add Grace Kelly as Speed's blond bombshell daughter who fears that Cal will go too farand you've got a winner. And as far as Speed and Cal are concerned, winning is everything. Speed's company is bleeding cash, and they need money quick. They're competing in the upcoming National Air Meet, and to the victor goes the spoilssome extremely lucrative contracts. But there's sabotage in the air and love on the groundand together they make a very volatile mix. If you love fast planes, fast action and unforgettable women, grab onto Hurtling Wings and hold on for dear life.As a barnstorming pilot in the early days of aviation, Hubbard was dubbed ';Flash' Hubbard by the aviation magazines of the day. He covered air meets and the latest developments in aviation, advising pilots on flying in adverse conditions. His unique and pioneering insight of flight streaks across the page in novels like Hurtling Wings.

Some men look to keep the peace. Others look to make trouble. But sometimes even the most law-abiding of men are compelled to cross the line.Easy Bill Gates is just such a manas quick with a smile and as slow to anger as Gary Cooper in High Noon. He's a model of restraintuntil he's forced to strap on a holster and kill the outlaw who murdered his brother. But more than his honor is at stake. A ruthless land baron is out to grab Bill's ranch and he's hired a gang of gunslingers to get Bill out of the way.Between the rancher who wants to take his land, and the young guns who want to take his life, Easy Bill will have to make some hard choicesand fast drawsto avoid becoming just another notch in the Gunman's Tally. Hailing from the western states of Nebraska, Oklahoma and Montana, Hubbard grew up surrounded by grizzled frontiersmen and leather-tough cowboys, counting a Native American medicine man as one of his closest friends. When he chose to write stories of the Old West, Hubbard didn't have to go far to do his research, drawing on his own memories of a youth steeped in the life and legends of the American frontier.Also includes the Western adventure, Ruin at Rio Piedras, the story of a young cowboy kicked off a ranch for falling in love with the owner's daughteronly to devise a whip-smart plan to win the dayand the girl.';Outstanding.' Midwest Book Review

Sheriff Kyle of Deadeye, Nevada, is headed east to the nation's capital. Like Dennis Weaver in the television series McCloud, Kyle's about to discover that the law can be even wilder in the big city than in the Wild West. It's a fact that hits home when he's the one accused . . . of murder. Kyle's come to the city to give a report to his senator on the misdeeds of Nevada's filthy rich copper kings. But before he has a chance, he's knocked unconscious, later coming to alongside his senatornow dead, with Kyle's knife imbedded in the corpse. Welcome to Washington D.C., where corruption, intrigue and murder are all in a day's work. Kyle's got no alibi, no memory, and apparently doesn't have a prayer . . . unless he can find a way to outwit, outfox and outmaneuver the masters of deception and double-crosses.Much like Kyle, L. Ron Hubbard was born and bred on the western frontier and made his way east to explore and experience life in Washington, D.C. But unlike the sheriff, Hubbard enjoyed his time in the capital, where he went to college at Georgetown. He came to know the ins and outs of the city as well as he knew the arroyos and canyons of the west, giving him the kind of insights he needed to write stories like Killers Law. Also includes the mysteries They Killed Him Dead, in which a respected homicide detective solves a murder several times over, only to be proved wrong again and again, to the amusement of his fellow cops; Mad Dog Murder, the story of a patrol officer who dreams of joining the homicide squad, and finds that the ticket to advancementand romancemay be a Pekinese dog; and The Blow Torch Murders, in which every criminal in town is eager to turn himself in . . . and the reason is a real killer....some of the most carefully and beautifully crafted trade paperbacks of our time. Mystery Scene