L Ron Hubbard - Fear.pdf - L Ron Hubbard - margozap

FEAR

L. Ron Hubbard

L. Ron Hubbard. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief

quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address Bridge Publications, Inc., 4751 Fountain Avenue, Los Angeles, CA

90029.

Jacket illustration by Gerry Grace.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Hubbard, L. Ron (Lafayette Ron), 19H - 1986

Fear

1. Fiction, American. I. Title

ISBN 0-88404-599-4 (alk. paper)

AUTHOR'S NOTE

There is one thing which I wish the reader could keep in mind throughout, and that is: this story is

wholly logical, for all that will appear to the contrary. It is not a very nice story, nor should it be read

alone at midnight-for it is true that any man might have the following happen to him. Even you, today,

might lose four hours from your life and follow, then, in the course of James Lowry.

- L. Ron Hubbard

FOREWORD

Once in a while an editor sees a story that is so finely crafted that it provides immeasurable pleasure

to bring it before the reader. Fear is just such a work, and more, for it not only has great reader appeal, it

uniformly inspires awe in top authors themselves. From Ray Bradbury to Isaac Asimov, it has earned rare

praise as an unforgettable, timeless classic.

Written more than fifty years ago, the story has not only withstood the test of time, but additionally,

it is credited by literary historians, such as David Hartwell, for transforming and creating "the foundations

of the contemporary horror genre."

Legend, too, has a habit of springing up around great works. Robert Heinlein, a close friend of L.

Ron Hubbard, was fond of relating the story of how Fear was written on a single train ride from New York

to Seattle.

But it is the impact on the reader that is the singular, most important test of any work. Fear delivers.

Stephen King, without question today's master of the horror genre, says it best when he looks back at

the accomplishment represented by Fear:

L. Ron Hubbard's Fear is one of the few books in the chiller genre which actually merits

employment of the overworked adjective "classic,” as in "This is a classic tale of creeping,

surreal menace and horror." If you're not averse to a case of the cold chills-a rather bad one-and

you've never read Fear, I urge you to do so. Don't even wait for a dark and stormy night. This is

one of the really, really good ones.

In that, he is not alone. Whether read today or reread fifty years from today, the chilling impact will

never fade.

Why is this?

L. Ron Hubbard did something no other author had ever successfully done. Without the use of

supernatural contrivance-werewolves, vampires; without resorting to extreme venues-the haunted house-

on-the-hill, the cellar lab, the strange planet; and without using super-psychotic protagonists-Freddy

Kruger, Norman Bates; he took an ordinary man, in a very ordinary circumstance and descended him into

a completely plausible but extraordinary hell.

Why is Fear so powerful? Because it really could happen. And that is terrifying.

That simple premise has garnered more accolades than a thousand books of wolves howling to a pale

moon on a "dark and stormy night."

So, if you're not afraid of the ordinary, this story is for you.

But, don't say we didn't warn you...

THE EDITORS

CHAPTER 1

For the briefest flicker he half recalled the birth of his own wanderlust. A theft in his dorm,

accusation, expulsion and disgrace...

Lurking, that lovely spring day, in the office of Dr. Chalmers, Atworthy College Medical Clinic,

there might have been two small spirits of the air, pressed back into the dark shadow behind the door,

avoiding as far as possible the warm sunlight which fell gently upon the rug.

Professor Lowry, buttoning his shirt, said, "So I am good for another year, am I?"

"For another thirty-eight years," smiled Dr. Chalmers. "A fellow with a rugged build like yours

doesn't have to worry much about a thing like malaria. Not even the best variety of bug Yucatan could

offer. You'll have a few chills, of course, but nothing to worry about. By the way, when are you going

back to Mexico?"

"If I go when my wife gives me leave, that'll be never."

"And if I had a woman as lovely as your wife Mary," said Chalmers, "Yucatan could go give its

malaria to somebody else. Oh, well"-and he tried to make himself believe he was not, after all, envious of

Atworthy's wandering ethnologist- "I never could see what you fellows saw in strange lands and places."

"Facts," said Lowry.

"Yes, I suppose. Facts about primitive sacrifice and demons and devils- Say, by the way, that was a

very nice article you had in the Newspaper Weekly last Sunday."

The door moved slightly, though it might have been caused by the cool breath of verdure which came

in the window.

"Thank you," said Lowry, trying not to look too pleased.

"Of course," said young Chalmers, "you were rather sticking out your neck. You had your friend

Tommy frothing about such insolence. He's very fond of his demons and devils, you know."

"He likes to pose," said Lowry. "But how do you mean, 'sticking out my neck'?"

"You haven't been here much under Jebson," said Chalmers. "He nearly crucified a young

mathematician for using Atworthy's name in a scientific magazine. But then, maybe our beloved president

didn't see it. Can't imagine the old stuffed shirt reading the Newspaper Weekly, anyway."

"Oh," said Lowry. "I thought you meant about my denying the existence of such things. Tommy-"

"Well, maybe I meant that, too," said Chalmers. "I guess we're all superstitious savages at heart. And

when you come out in bold-face type and ridicule ancient belief that demons caused sickness and woe and

when you throw dirt, so to speak, in the faces of luck and fate, you must be very, very sure of yourself."

"Why shouldn't I be sure of myself" said Lowry, smiling. "Did anyone ever meet a spirit of any sort

face to face? I mean, of course, that there aren't any authenticated cases on record anywhere."

"Not even," said Chalmers, "the visions of saints?"

"Anyone who starves himself long enough can see visions.

"Still," said Chalmers, "when you offer so wildly to present your head in a basket to the man who can

show you a sure-enough demon-"

"And my head in a basket he shall have," said Lowry. "For a man of science, you talk very weirdly,

old fellow."

"I have been in a psychiatric ward often enough," said Chalmers. "At first I used to think it was the

patient and then, after a while, I began to wonder. You know, demons are supposed to come out with the

L Ron Hubbard - Fear.pdf

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: