Red Death Over China

HE FLIES FOR MONEY. THEN HE FINDS SOMETHING WORTH DYING FOR.

American pilot John Hampton has no cause and no loyalty beyond his next paycheck. Flying an aging Bristol for Mao Tse-tung’s army during the Chinese Civil War, he watches men fight and die below him with the detachment of a man who believes nothing is worth the sacrifice.

Then his gunner is killed in an aerial dogfight.

Shaken by a death that suddenly feels personal, Hampton rescues a wounded officer carrying vital dispatches through enemy territory. The officer tells him the story of the Red Pagoda—a lesson in courage and sacrifice Hampton cannot easily dismiss. When other men later risk their lives so he can carry another critical message, the cynical pilot must confront the question he has spent years avoiding: Is there anything worth fighting for when the price may be his own life?

With enemy aircraft overhead, armies closing in and the City of the Red Pagoda facing a last stand, Hampton must decide whether he is still merely a pilot for hire—or a man willing to take a stand.

Set against the conflict between Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist forces and Mao Tse-tung’s army, Red Death Over China combines military fiction and aviation action with the story of a man whose indifference is tested by courage under fire.

Three complete military adventures in one volume.

The Crate Killer — Lieutenant “Jumper” Bailey is a military test pilot who pushes experimental aircraft to the breaking point. After parachuting nine times from planes coming apart around him, he faces a tenth test flight with his career, confidence and perhaps his last life on the line.

Wings Over Ethiopia — Pilot Larry Colter flies a World Newsreel correspondent over war-torn Ethiopia to photograph the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. Forced down and captured, the pair are taken for spies, and Colter must rely on his flying skill and wits to get the correspondent—and the film—out alive.

“One of Hubbard’s signature aviation yarns ... enthusiastically recommended.” —Midwest Book Review

Drawing on his own military service and firsthand familiarity with military life, L. Ron Hubbard crafted stories of duty, courage, leadership and sacrifice when men are tested under fire.

Part of the L. Ron Hubbard Military & War Collection—14 books featuring 25 classic stories—available in paperback, eBook and full-cast dramatized audiobook. If you enjoy the classic adventures of Alistair MacLean and W. E. B. Griffin, discover another master storyteller of military adventures.

Enjoy both the book and the audiobook. Also available as a professionally produced, full-cast dramatized audiobook.