Matter of Matter

When it comes to big dreams and schemes, young Chuck Lambert would give Walter Mitty a run for his money. In fact, Chuck's biggest dream of all is really out of this world. Because he's got his eyes on a prize in the sky. Chuck wants to buy a planet of his own.... Madman Murphy, the King of Planetary Realtors, is more than happy to oblige. He's got a whole galaxy of planets for sale. All Chuck needs is money ... and a lot of it. Eleven years later, saving every penny he can scrape up, Chuck's dream comes true. He takes possession and takes off for Planet 19453X.... One problem: Madman Murphy has sold Chuck a world of trouble. Because on Planet 19453X the water is undrinkable, the air is unbreathable, and the laws of physics don't apply. Has Chuck's dream turned into a nightmare? Not quite. As he's about to discover, sometimes, to fulfill your true desire, it's simply a matter of digging a little deeper.... By the time A Matter of Matter appeared in 1949, L. Ron Hubbard's stature as a writer was well established. As author and critic Robert Silverberg puts it: he had become a "e;master of the art of narrative."e; Hubbard's editors urged him to apply his gift for succinct characterization, original plot, deft pacing and imaginative action to the genre of science fiction and fantasy. The rest is Sci-Fi history. Also includes the science fiction adventures, "e;The Conroy Diary,"e; in which the man who opens up the universe to mankind also opens himself to charges of fraud and tax evasion; The "e;Obsolete Weapon"e;, the story of an American GI involved in the 1943 invasion of Italy who slips back in time and finds himself fighting a different kind of battle-as a gladiator in ancient Rome; and "e;The Planet Makers"e;, in which a great deal is at stake for the engineers who make planets habitable, but one of them has a surprising plan all his own. "e;... this is a real corker, pulp fiction at its most entertaining."e; -Booklist* An International Book Awards Finalist