Greetings, travelers, and welcome back to another trip through the Otherworld! Today’s journey takes us to a meta-fantasy like no other, a story where fiction becomes reality, and a man is forced to live through the pages of an adventure he didn’t ask to be part of. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to be trapped inside a pulp fantasy novel with no control over your fate, Typewriter in the Sky delivers that bizarre and brilliant premise with old-school flair. Read on to learn more about this classic story.
Written by legendary storyteller L. Ron Hubbard, Typewriter in the Sky is a fascinating blend of swashbuckling action and mind-bending metafiction. When musician Mike de Wolf finds himself pulled into the world of his friend’s novel, he doesn’t just become a character, but the villain. Trapped in a pirate-infested fantasy realm where the author quite literally types out his fate, Mike has to contend with not just swords and cannon fire, but the terrifying reality that he’s probably not going to get a happily-ever-after. Readers will be delighted with the twists and turns, and Mike is a great character to spend some time with, as he contends with everything that unravels.
The author has a plot, but the villain has other plans.
Mike de Wolf is a pianist on the verge of his big break—until his friend Horace Hackett casts him as the tragic villain in a swashbuckling pirate novel. The plot? Buccaneers, lost love, and a duel between a noble English rogue and a poetic Spanish admiral. The villain? Mike himself—reimagined as the brooding Miguel de Lobo.
A freak electrical accident propels Mike from 1940s New York into the magical realism of the 1640s Caribbean—an alternate history shaped by cannon fire, cutlasses, and the whims of a frustrated writer. Trapped inside Horace’s unfinished manuscript, Mike must navigate a world where fiction is fact, plot is fate, and a flame-haired beauty may yet break his heart.
Back in New York, Horace relentlessly plots the demise of the villainous de Lobo with no idea his best friend is living every word. If Mike wants to survive—or escape—he’ll have to outwit the plot itself … and possibly rewrite his own ending.
Typewriter in the Sky is a genre-bending classic of magical realism and alternate history, where the only way out of the story … may be to finish it.
“An adventure story written in the great style adventure should be written in.” —Clive Cussler (Spartan Gold)
“A true masterpiece of the genre.” —Kevin J. Anderson (Spine of the Dragon)
“Fans and other writers were doing variations on that for years.” —Frederik Pohl (Gateway)
“Fantasy masterpiece—both a cracking good adventure yarn and a rollicking comment on pulpsmiths and pulpsmithing. I have read it innumerable times since its first appearance, and it never flags, it never gets old.” —Algis Budrys (Rogue Moon)
“I particularly like Typewriter in the Sky because it was such a skillful parity of adventure fiction and was written with a great deal of lightness and touch which you didn’t get much in those days.” —James Gunn (Star Bridge)
“An ironic, and jaunty adventure story.” —Times
“I grew up reading Hubbard’s science fiction and fantasy. Such stories and novels as Typewriter in the Sky, Final Blackout, and his masterpiece Fear remain for me exemplary pulp that can be read down the decades.” —Mystery Scene
Spanning two very different worlds, Hubbard’s 1940’s classic capitvates no matter what. Typewriter in the Sky is a clever, page-turning read that plays with storytelling tropes in a way that still feels fresh today. It moves at a fun pace, keeping readers hooked throughout its adventure. Fans of genre mashups, self-aware narratives, and classic pulp adventure will find a lot to love here. And, for creators and fantasy fans alike, it’s a reminder of the power, and the danger, of the written word. Ready to sail into a story where the fourth wall is more of a suggestion than a rule? Then don’t wait. Check out Typewriter in the Sky, by L. Ron Hubbard, on Amazon today!
Michael DeAngelo
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