A good science fiction story with much violence and destruction.
Plot
The setting is Earth 1000 years in the future. Aliens have taken over the Earth and enslaved what is left of mankind. The aliens are miners that want to drain all metal resources from the planet. One human, Jonnie Goodboy Tyler, decided to leave his village in search of something better for his people. He rallies some of the remaining humans to fight against the aliens.
Morality
The people of Battlefield Earth have no belief system at all. They are scattered remains of humanity and live by superstition and forms of mythology. There is an obvious distinction between good and evil between the characters. The humans are good, although there are bad human characters. The evil characters are the aliens. They treat the humans like animals and only use them as slaves.
Spiritual Content
This book is non-Christian. It is a look at humanity from a non-Christian perspective, in that man's nature is weak and his mind is not strong enough to withstand a test of faith in God. God is never mentioned in the book at all. However, references to mythology and Buddha are made.
Violence
This book is extremely violent. The blood and gore is not graphically described but is present.
Drug and Alcohol Content
The aliens were addicts of some sort. They used some made up drug that was from there home planet. It was mentioned that the humans had wine, but it was not focused on.
Sexual Content
None.
Crude or Profane Language or Content
Although the book is very violent and all about war and the devastation of the Earth, there is no bad language. There is no foul references to mention.
Conclusion
Overall, in reading quality, this was a good book. I don't really know what I liked about the writing style but it did keep me interested through all 1004 pages. There is very little down time in this book and when you pick it up, it is hard to put down. If you can get past the fact that the book is by L. Ron Hubbard, it is a good science fiction adventure.
However, this book is not a good choice for young teen readers because of the spirituality and the violence. Unlike some more universal books, this book's age genre should be adhered to.
Note from the Editor:
L. Ron Hubbard was the founder of Scientology, and this can be seen somewhat in the spiritual content of this book. Readers should be aware of this before purchasing or reading Battlefield Earth.
