Trail of the Red Diamonds (Stories from the Golden Age) [Kindle Edition]

"The Trail to the Red Diamonds" was first published in "Thrilling Adventure" in January, 1935 under the pseudonym of Lt. Jonathan Daly, the main character in this adventure story. Using a pseudonym is not unique since L. Ron Hubbard employed fifteen different pen names in addition to his own name in his many pulp titles. This fictional tale begins during Lt. Daly's recuperation from bullet wounds in a Gran Chaco hospital, He discovers an original manuscript of Marco Polo's travels: "I had come across an original manuscript of Marco Polo's. The man that lent it to me did not know its value," states Lt. Daly. Halfway through the manuscript, he reads a paragraph about a chest of red stones which glittered "like the sun through red-stained quartz." At first, he believes they are rubies but then he understands they could only be diamonds- rare red diamonds.

As Daly reads Marco Polo's words, he realizes the chest of red diamonds had been buried with Kublai Khan, the Emperor of China to lighten his way to heaven and to serve as offerings to the gods. Intrigued and seduced by greed, Daly wastes no time and sets off to find the buried treasure ignoring warnings from his doctors and friends. Little known to him, he has challengers- the Chinese army and disloyal renegades that complicate his journey for riches in this dark tale of betrayal, espionage, double crosses and death.

Also included in this volume is "Hurricane's Roar," a tale about a sinister and clever Mongolian warrior- Wind-Gone-Mad.

This is a very fun read taking place in asia. You have Lieutenant Daly setting out on an adventure to hunt for treasure worth several million dollars (diamonds) I listend to the audio which I thought was fabulous, with a full multicast and sound effects, very professionally done.

A decent example of pulp fiction, cranked out and paid for by the word. However, if you've read one of these, the other ones will follow a predictable pattern.

I doubt that this would get any notice at all if L Ron were not the Scientologist head guy. Amazon prices them about right.