Leaving the Scientology part out of this discussion, I tried to read L. Ron Hubbard's The Kingslayer. It's considered a science fiction classic.
Ugh.
If writing about the future, maybe things that were problematic in the writer's time would have been worked out. Society does change, even if it isn't perfect. The issue with this book arises in chapter 2, page 16. A chauffeur named Henry is described as: "...Henry, a huge Negro of no expression whatever..." Now this book was published in 1949 and the term 'Negro' was acceptable and widely used. (I'm not justifying it- I'm only saying it was part of the culture, so don't @ me). What I find offputting is the fact that Henry is portrayed as a servant. From the beginning of this book to wherever I left off, there are no people of color in high level positions. It's a really white world. No way am I saying that this book should be banned, burned, or consigned to oblivion. It is what it is and there is no rewriting history. However, L. Ron considered himself super intelligent, a genius in the field of psychiatric and/or mental sciences. The guy was a kook, a con man, and believer in outrageous science fiction, 'spiritual' and magical practices. Hey, everyone's free to believe what they want. My issue is why his writings about the future didn't forsee a time when all humans were equal and represented as such. If he truly was that brilliant (he wasn't) he could have projected a better society. This book feels so outdated even though it's set in the future.
In my opinion, this book does not deserve the title of 'classic piece of literature'. In no way, whether talking about the writing or the content, is it memorable. Back to the bookshelf, unfinished, it goes. Onto the next unread 'classic'.
Char
