Final Blackout

infobox Book |
name = Final Blackout
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = Dust-jacket from the first edition
author = L. Ron Hubbard
illustrator = Betty Wells Halladay
cover_artist = Betty Wells Halladay
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Science fiction
publisher = The Hadley Publishing Co.
release_date = 1948
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback)
pages = 154 pp
isbn = ISBN 0884043401
oclc = 18604884
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Final Blackout" is a dystopic science fiction novel by author L. Ron Hubbard. The novel is set in the future and follows a man known as "the Lieutenant" as he restores order to England after a world war. First published in serialized format in 1940 in "Astounding Science Fiction", "Final Blackout" was published in book form in 1948 by The Hadley Publishing Co. Author Services Inc. published a hardcover edition of the book in 1988, and in 1989 the Church of Scientology-affiliated organization Bridge Publications announced that film director Christopher Cain had signed a contract to write and direct a movie version based on the book.

The novel was generally well received by literature critics, and is seen as an early classic of the Golden Age of Science Fiction. It has received positive mention in the "Chicago Sun-Times" and the "Daily News of Los Angeles", and has been used in a science-fiction writing class at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Publication history

The story appeared in print in a 3-part serialized format,cite book | last=Tuck | first=Donald H. | authorlink=Donald H. Tuck | title=The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy | location=Chicago | publisher=Advent | pages=233 | date=1974|id=ISBN 0-911682-20-1] beginning with the April 1940 issue of "Astounding Science Fiction".cite book | last =Robinson | first =Frank M. | coauthors =Lawrence Davidson | title =Pulp Culture: The Art of Fiction Magazines | publisher =Collectors Press, Inc. | date =1998 | pages =183| isbn = 1888054123] "Final Blackout" was first published in book form in 1948 by The Hadley Publishing Co. in an edition of 1,000 copies and with a new preface by Hubbard.cite book | last=Chalker | first=Jack L. | authorlink=Jack L. Chalker | coauthors=Mark Owings | title=The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998 | location=Westminster, MD and Baltimore | publisher=Mirage Press, Ltd.| pages=343 | date=1998] The book was re-released in a hardcover format in 1988 by the Church of Spiritual Technology subsidiary company Author Services Inc. [cite news | last =Welch | first =Scott | coauthors =Simone Welch (L. Ron Hubbard Publications) | title =Book Characters Come to Life at American Bookseller Convention | work =PR Newswire | date =June 3, 1988 ]

In 1989, "Young Guns" film director Christopher Cain optioned the rights to "Final Blackout" and developed a script for a possible film-version of the book. [cite news | last =Honeycutt | first =Kirk | title =Cinefile | work =Los Angeles Times | page =28 | date = November 5, 1989 ] According to the Church of Scientology company Bridge Publications, Cain signed a contract to write a screenplay based on the book and to direct the film.cite news | last =Welch | first = Scott (Bridge Publications) | title =FINAL-BLACKOUT; L. Ron Hubbard's "Final Blackout" goes to screen | work =Business Wire | publisher =Business Wire, Inc | date =August 22, 1989 ] "The book is massive in scope and transcends time. It's a powerful look at the idiocy and futility of war. I look forward to making 'Final Blackout' into a major movie," said Cain in a press release put out by Bridge Publications.

An audiobook was released by Bridge Publications in 1991 and read by "Planet of the Apes" actor Roddy McDowall, who also voiced audiobook versions of Hubbard's novels "Battlefield Earth" and "Fear". [cite news | last =Robison | first =Ken | title =McDowall Reads Hubbard For Sci-Fi Fans | work =The Fresno Bee | page =F20 | date =December 22, 1991]

Plot

Set in the future, the novel concerns the rise of a Lieutenant (known in the book only as "The Lieutenant") to dictator of England after a world war. The Lieutenant leads a ragtag army fighting for survival after Europe has been ravaged by 30 years of atomic, biological and conventional warfare. The book opens with a prologue titled: "The Lieutenant" which describes a man that grew up in the United Kingdom during a period of world war. The Lieutenant learned the art of war from soldiers at a young age, and was commissioned an officer at age fourteen. By age twenty-three he had command of his own brigade and had survived World Wars two, three, four and five.

As a result of the most recent war a form of biological warfare called "soldier’s sickness" has ravaged England, and America was devastated by nuclear war. At the start of the novel a quarantine placed due to the soldier’s sickness prevented The Lieutenant from returning to England from his encampment in France. The Lieutenant leads the Fourth Brigade, which is comprised of one hundred and sixty-eight soldiers from multiple nations. The Fourth Brigade travels throughout France in search of food, supplies, arms and ammunition. The Lieutenant is approached by a Captain Malcolm, who informs him that all field officers are being recalled to General Headquarters with their brigades and are to report to General Victor, the commanding officer at G.H.Q.

Upon the brigade's arrival at G.H.Q., The Lieutenant is informed by General Victor and his adjutant Colonel Smythe that he is to be reassigned and will be stripped of his command. He is effectively confined to his quarters and is told his entire brigade will be broken apart and assimilated into another brigade. Meanwhile, in the barracks at G.H.Q., the Fourth Brigade learns of crucial news through back channels. They are told that a vaccine exists for the soldier's sickness, and are informed by other soldiers of General Victor’s plans for their brigade. The men decide to rebel, and break through the defenses of the barracks and free The Lieutenant, killing Captain Malcolm in the process.

The Fourth Brigade successfully escapes G.H.Q. in France and begins to make their way to London, along with other soldiers who are dissatisfied with General Victor's command. A battle ensues between General Victor's men and The Lieutenant's troops, with a significant portion fought on the Thames River using vessels and commandeered fishing ships. The Lieutenant and his expanded Fourth Brigade eventually successfully take control of London and subsequently all of England and Wales.

The Lieutenant's government runs smoothly for several years, with seven hundred and fifty thousand people under his control. One day a battleship called the "U.S.S. New York" arrives from the United States carrying two United States Senators and Captain Johnson, who commands both the "U.S.S. New York" and the entire U.S. fleet. Under implicit threat from the U.S. battleship and its troops, The Lieutenant negotiates terms to transfer power to the Senators' associates – General Victor and Colonel Smythe, The Lieutenant's enemies. The Lieutenant's terms are quite specific: If anything happens to General Victor and Colonel Smythe, the country will be controlled by its officer corps. Swinburne, the Lieutenant's confidante and a fellow field officer, would be chairman of the officer corps. The Lieutenant also requested that immigration of Americans to England be kept to no more than one hundred thousand per month, and demanded that a favorable price be set for the purchase of land from their English owners.

Once the terms of transfer of control are established, The Lieutenant opens fire on General Victor and his men and a battle ensues. General Victor, Colonel Smythe and The Lieutenant and several of his men are killed. Years later The Lieutenant’s men still control England, and a flag flies honoring his memory. A memorial plaque at Byward Gate on Tower Hill reads: "When that command remains, no matter what happens to its officer, he has not failed."

Reception

"Final Blackout" is seen as an early classic of the Golden Age of Science Fiction. [cite news | last =Milan | title =The Invaders Plan MISSION EARTH VOLUME I by L. Ron Hubbard | work =Los Angeles Times | page =6 | date =February 9, 1986 ] [cite news | last =McIntyre | first =Mike | title =Hubbard hot-author status called illusion | work =The San Diego Union | page =A-1 | publisher =Union-Tribune Publishing Co. | date =April 15, 1990 ] In his book "The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy", Donald H. Tuck described the book as "Hubbard's masterpiece". Thomas D. Clareson writes in "Understanding Contemporary American Science Fiction" that prior to formalizing Dianetics and Scientology, Hubbard was "perhaps best known for "Final Blackout". [cite book | last =Clareson | first =Thomas D. | title =Understanding Contemporary American Science Fiction: The Formative Period, 1926 - 1970 | publisher =University of South Carolina Press | date =1992 | pages =73 | isbn = 0872498700] In his book "", George Malko writes that Hubbard's works including "Slaves of Sleep", "Kingslayer", "Typewriter in the Sky", "Fear", "Death's Deputy", and "Final Blackout" "were eagerly welcomed by devoted fans". [cite book | last =Malko | first =George | title = | publisher =Delacorte Press | date =1970 | pages =34 | isbn = 1112963731] In his 1967 book "Seekers of Tomorrow: Masters of Modern Science Fiction", Sam Moskowitz writes that the book "... was a stunning achievement, certainly the most powerful and readable 'warning' story that had appeared in science fiction to that date."cite book | last =Moskowitz | first =Sam | title =Seekers of Tomorrow: Masters of Modern Science Fiction | publisher =Ballantine Books | date =1967 | pages =411 ] Moskowitz comments: "The progress of today's events has made much of Final Blackout prophetic".

Roland J. Green of the "Chicago Sun-Times" called the book "One of the highwater marks of his [Hubbard's] literary career", and "perhaps the best single novel yet of what the Pentagon once so charmingly christened 'the broken-backed war' after a nuclear exchange". [cite news | last =Green | first =Roland J. | title =Some good old prose by Wolfe and Heinlein | work =Chicago Sun-Times | page =13 | publisher =Chicago Sun-Times, Inc. | date =April 5, 1992 ] Science fiction writer John W. Campbell wrote of the book: "H.G. Wells... never wrote anything more powerful than [Hubbard's] 'Final Blackout'". [cite book | last =Westfahl | first =Gary | title =The Mechanics of Wonder: The Creation of the Idea of Science Fiction | publisher =Liverpool University Press | date =1998 | pages =215-216 | isbn = 0853235635] Jon Stone of "NewsNet5.com" described "Final Blackout" and "Fear" as "pulp in composition and not great in length, they are straight stories with few or no elements of Hubbard's other career", and compared the "pages of battles and tactics" in "Final Blackout" to Hubbard's later work "Battlefield Earth". [cite web|url=http://www.newsnet5.com/sh/entertainment/stories/entertainment-20000511-225356.html|title=Hubbard Opus Delivers, Breaks Little Ground: 'Battlefield Earth' Takes Over 1,000 Pages To Show Readers Nothing New|publisher=www.newsnet5.com|work=NewsNet5.com|date=May 12, 2000|accessdate=2008-04-15|last=Stone|first=Jon] "Final Blackout" and "Fear" are often cited by critics as the best examples of Hubbard's pulp fiction works. [cite book | last =Testa | first =Anthony | title =The Key of the Abyss: Jack Parsons, the Babalon Working and the Black Pilgrimage Decoded | publisher =Lulu.com | date =2006 | page =15| isbn = 1430301600] Chuck Moss of "Daily News of Los Angeles" called the book "extremely good science fiction". [cite news | last =Moss | first =Chuck | title =Science Fiction - A Glimpse of the Future, From Present-Day Writers | work =Daily News of Los Angeles | page =L23 | date =March 15, 1992 ]

The book has been included in the curriculum of a science-fiction writing class at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.cite news | last =Thurston | first =Susan | title =Hubbard's 'Battlefield' opens: Scientology's Inland film unit wasn't in on the movie of the sect founder's epic sci-fi novel | work =The Press-Enterprise | page =A01 | publisher =The Press-Enterprise Co. | date =May 12, 2000 ] Cal Poly Pomona professor Steve Whaley told "The Press-Enterprise" that he thinks Hubbard was a "damn good storyteller".

References

External links

*isfdb title|1956