R- Stranger in a Strange Land (some x,v,b), Job: A Comedy of Justice (x,v,b), Time Enough for Love (x,v,b), I Will Fear No Evil (heavy x,slight v), Glory Road (x,v), Friday (v,x), The Number of the Beast (some x,b), Farnham's Freehold (v,x,b), To Sail Beyond the Sunset (some v,x,some b)
PG16- Starship Troopers (v,some b), Future History (some v,some b), Beyond This Horizon (some x,v), The Past Through Tomorrow (slight x,some v), The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (v,some x), Sixth Column (v,b)
PG13- Tunnel in the Sky (v), Assignment in Eternity (v), The Door Into Summer (some v,some x?), Double Star (v), Waldo and Magic, Inc. (some v,some b)
PG- Podkayne of Mars (slight v), Citizen of the Galaxy (slight v,some b), Have Spacesuit- Will Travel (some v), Between Planets (some v), Time for the Stars (some v), Red Planet (slight v), The Rolling Stones (slight v)
Not Rated- Grumbles from the Grave (collection of correspondence and essays)
Robert Heinlein was one of the greatest hard SciFi writers of this century, ranging from young adult adventures to fantastical sagas to racy adult fiction that pushed the envelope of what was acceptable during his time. He wrote prolifically and left a legacy of high standards and brutally honest social commentary that helps his work remain some of the widest read in the SF&F community.
Unfortunately, popularity also works the other way. The release of "Starship Troopers" as an adventure film was, to the minds of many who read the book first, a sad commentary on what has to be done to great books to make them movie-worthy today. Also, there are a few of Heinlein's novels which probably should not have been printed, but they were anyway. Even the best author has a few lemons now and then. The trick is to distinguish between lemons and style changes, the latter of which Heinlein pulls on a regular basis.
Heinlein had very strong opinions about the world around him. His views on gender, sexuality, love, the military, family, work, religion, and human nature are enlightening in many respects, but they can also be grating for those who don't share his perspectives. The only way I can describe him is as an ultra-conservative liberal. Take that as you will. His writing style was nearly unequaled during his time and his capacity for story-telling and surprising (but fitting) conclusions is stunning. To consider yourself well-read in this genre, you must pick up at least one Heinlein; he's part of the canon.
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Stranger in a Strange Land is probably the most well-known of all Heinlein's books. Michael, the only human born on Mars and raised by Martians, returns to Earth. He understands nothing of humanity, or even his own origins, yet he cannot truly live among the Martians either. Together with his nurse Gillian and the reclusive author Jubal, he explores the limits of human understanding. Shocking for its time, this story explores life, sex, society, politics, religion, and what makes us laugh, all with an adorable outside perspective that may remind many women of puppy-dog boys they have met. For those who want to revisit the sixties, this is a nice SciFi view of it. I will warn you, however, that Heinlein has his own strong views on women (among other things), and you must be willing to overlook his moments of preachiness to get to the good parts. At the very least, however, he showed off his incredible predictive powers here- how many post-college students do you know live in group houses? Mike might not grok the money reason, but he would be satisfied anyway.
Heinlein's greatest satiric novel about organized religion (he has written several) is Job: A Comedy of Justice. It has a distinctly different tone compared to that of other Heinlein novels. Alex, a preacher trapped in a stifling marriage and life, finds his world turned upside down after a trip to Polynesia. Suddenly, he falls into a relationship with the beautiful pagan Margrethe, who accompanies him through the destruction and change of Armageddon and the Rapture, as both of them must redefine what they thought life, and life after death, were about. With several plot twists and a delightfully irreverent tone, this is one of Heinlein's best creations yet, and it is completely self-contained. This book redefines the meaning of life and afterlife in engaging detail. Definitely worth reading a few times.
I Will Fear No Evil stands as one of the most controversial of Heinlein's adult novels. Either you get it or you don't. A sickly old man with lots of money has his brain transplanted into the body of a young woman he once knew. It turns out she's not quite dead yet. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me...." This book is about what Heinlein thinks life should be. You don't have to agree with him to love it. Even more brain-warping than Stranger (such as meeting the former husband of your new body...) and more well-written than Time Enough for Love, this novel finally pulls the best of Heinlein's themes into a single, coherent whole. The combination of plot twists, creative science, and a couple of incredible characters made me able to accept Heinlein's funny ideas about women as perfectly natural- for a woman who was once a man. As he stared death in the face, the Master discovered how to truly acheive immortality. If you can deal with graphic sex, I highly recommend this novel.
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Mike, controller of almost everything on the moon, is just a computer, like a super-intelligent child with no one to watch over him. His only friend is Mannie, the computer programmer who tries to teach him what humor is. One day, Mannie and his friends Hazel and the Professor realize that the power of Mike may be the one thing that could free the Loonies from the tyrranical grip of an Earth that still bleeds them like the penal colony they once were. Thus begins a gripping tale of revolution, friendship, cultural boundaries, and sacrifice. Probably one of the best Heinlein books ever written, this novel can even be enjoyed by people who don't normally read science fiction, because the writing is clear and the setting is not all that futuristic. If you enjoy Heinlein's characters, or his sheer capacity for generating ideas, pick up this book. It also serves as a partial introduction to The Rolling Stones and The Cat Who Walks Through Walls.
Hazel Stone, now a grandmother, sets off with her family in the jolly fun novel The Rolling Stones. Hazel's twin grandsons Castor and Pollux (Heinlein's idea of perfect boys) decided to buy a secondhand spaceship so they could go exploring, but they never expected the whole family to tag along. Taking an RV Camper trip through the solar system, the family has a number of adventures, most of which involve cleaning up after the twins' entrepreneurial experiments. But who knew you had to pay import taxes on Mars? Or that those Martian flat-cats breed like tribbles? Or that the asteroid miners' situation would be so bad? Lots of fun for any age, with far less proselytizing that your average Heinlein, this book is great for a rainy day.
Double Star: Lorenzo was an actor. Now he's a politician, but he's still an actor. An important Earth dignitary was kidnapped before his critical meeting with the Martians. Under Martian custom, death is an excuse for not appearing on time- kidnapping is not. Of course, the kidnappers are now after Lorenzo himself, and if anyone finds out he's an imposter, he will surely die. But if he doesn't play his role, peace between Humans and Martians may never be possible. This book is interesting mostly in two places- the beginning, and the end when the mystery is unravelled. The middle shows a distinct lack of character development for all but about two people, and Lorenzo was never interesting enough to hold my attention. Read this only if you are a die-hard fan of Heinlein's mysteries, or if you just really want another glimpse of Martian culture.
Time Enough for Love is the central tale of Heinlein's Future History series. This is the story of Lazarus Long, oldest living human at more than 2000 years. He saved the long-lived Howards from certain destruction and became their permanent chairman. He was the first to try time travel. He singlehandedly waged a war against slavery in the galaxy. He also seems to speak with the author's voice, handing out truth, lies, and mixtures of both with wit and hefty doses of his own opinions. Definitely one of Heinlein's racier books, it nevertheless has strong themes and plenty of headstrong characters, even if they all seem to speak with similar voices. While once again readers should take some parts with large grains of salt to avoid being insulted, the book as a whole is well-written despite its lack of clear plot structure (which this reader forgives because it fits the character of Lazarus so well).
"To Sail Beyond the Sunset/ To follow knowledge like a sinking star...." Like many of his later novels, Heinlein's title has an important reference to the theme of his story- the idea of living beyond death and never ceasing to live simply because we have found something comfortable. Maureen Johnson, Lazarus Long's mother, is not one to twiddle her life away. As a young woman, her goal in life is to get married and have lots of kids- but because she likes sex and she likes kids, not because she's an ordinary girl born at the turn of the century (the 19th to the 20th, in this case). This story is revealed to us while Maureen is in prison for a murder she didn't commit on a planet she doesn't know. It follows her life, both the ordinary and extraordinary parts, and she doesn't apologize for anything she's done- you can take it or leave it. Maureen remains Heinlein's most powerful female narrator, on par with Lazarus himself, and she recounts her memories of their meetings with a slightly different plot than the one in Time Enough for Love. If you ever thought Lazarus was hiding something in order to be a gentleman, you were right. Sort of. He was also hiding things that probably shouldn't have happened because they interfere with the timeline, but Maureen doesn't seem to care about that. After she finishes most of her biography (still leaving us to wonder how she got here), chaos erupts and her life begins to fly by us in real-time, revealing that she has lost none of her spunk in her 160 years of life. This novel was one of my favorites, though anyone who likes their pacing steady or dislikes surprises probably won't enjoy it. The style is reminiscent of Time Enough for Love and The Cat Who Walks Through Walls. This was the last novel Heinlein completed, and it is a tribute to one of his strongest female characters of all time.
Startlingly enough, one of the most hotly debated novels in Heinlein's repetoire turned out to be The Number of the Beast, the story of a newlywed scientist, his newlywed daughter, and their escape from Earth as aliens attack. The four travelers then attempt to use the scientist's theoretical work to send them back in time. Instead, they find themselves racing through strange universes that are disturbingly similar to ones they've read about in books... This story doesn't connect to the Lazarus Long plot until the end, but it does explain much of the background of The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, including the Gay Deceiver and her crew. The point of view shifts (first person) and the plot movements make it confusing at times, but if you just relax and go with the flow without worrying about putting all the pieces together, you'll get by just fine. Those who enjoyed the other later-era Heinlein books will probably like this one more than those who prefered the jeuveniles.
I don't need to review this book as much as I need to explain it to all the people who hate it because it confused them. So far, I can classify the responses I've heard into three categories: 1) the science was too hard or made no sense; 2) the random nudity and permissive sexual activities were unnecessary; or 3) there was no plot or it was too confusing. I think the third problem often develops because the point of view is first person but changes between the four characters. Remember, this is Sci-Fi; you have to immerse yourself in it to believe it anyway, so just think of each section as a little short story, and don't ever try to read Neil Stephenson. Objections to Heinlein's science I will answer with this: what do we know? Probably we will not learn to travel between dimensions using the exact ideas Heinlein had, but quantum theory tells us it is truly possible that there is more than one potential universe out there. Neuroscience tells us there are parts of the brain's neurons that are small enough to be affected by quantum events. Is it such a huge leap to think human beings may have imagined some quantum events into being to the point where they could affect these other potential universes? And even if it is impossible, don't you wish it weren't? Heinlein isn't just talking about potential universes here: he's talking about our own potential selves. That his ideals may not match yours I concede- they don't match mine, either. But I admire him for trying.
I can't pretend I know for sure what Heinlein meant with this novel, but I found it very moving, if only as wish-fulfillment for all readers who wished they could go to other worlds. Have you ever thought what the real result of that ability would be, though? That you would drop into a world with no past, no position, and that some worlds are friendlier than others? Did you realize that you probably couldn't stay long, or wouldn't want to? So at least that part of the book is instructive. As for the deliberate breaking of taboos, it's nothing like To Sail Beyond the Sunset or Time Enough for Love. If you'e okay with those, this one's a piece of cake. As for overall theme, have you noticed how the movement of the point of view mimics the movement of the characters through different worlds, the sudden twists in the plot, and the violation of social mores? Perhaps Heinlein was trying to shake us up as much as the characters were being shaken up, to put us off our guard so we would see more clearly from their points of view. Perhaps he was trying to show us how strongly the characters remained themselves, even through the wackiest of adventures. Or maybe the whole darn thing doesn't have a serious point, and it's just Heinlein's off-beat brand of humor and a large helping of free-for-all imagination that we professional day-dreamers live for.
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Future History is a collection of stories mostly written in the first 10-15 years after World War II. Not all of it is SciFi, but they are definitely Heinleins. If you like his style, or you prefer stories set in the 40's and 50's, you'll like this collection. The writing is very well done. Unfortunately, it lacks the imagination that attracted many fans to Heinlein in the first place.
Probably the best collection of Heinlein's ever is The Past Through Tomorrow, containing such gems as "The Green Hills of Earth", "The Menace from Earth", "Methuselah's Children", "The Man Who Sold the Moon", and "-We Also Walk Dogs". It has classic stories all fans of the Future History should read, as well as funny, touching, or startling tales unrelated to Heinlein's standard timeline. Most of the stories do not require prior knowledge of other Heinlein books, but such information can certainly add to the pleasure, such as when reading "Misfit", it's nice to know that Andrew Libby is the man destined to become Lazarus Long's best buddy for several hundred years- and the grandfather of the time machine. Well written with some of the best plots and characters ever created by the master.
With four stories about the unfathomable strangeness of our universe and what it means to be human within those infinite confines, Assignment in Eternity is one of Heinlein's more mature novels in terms of philosophy. The first novella, "Gulf", is a predecessor of the novel Friday, describing how the supermen came to be organized to save humanity from itself. Captain Gilead, agent for the FBS (read FBI), is charged with the safety of plans for the nova effect, a process that turns a body of matter into a nova. It is not until he loses those plans, and meets up with "Kettle Belly" Baldwin, that he begins to discover his true potential as a human being. A fun story with better-than-Mensa mind tricks that you can try to figure out for yourself, a fast-paced plot, and decent characters. Emotionally, it's not very powerful, but the theory is great.
The next story is "Elsewhen", starring one Professor Frost (the road less travelled?...) and five of his students who take an undrugged trip through time. The student characters are mostly stereotypes, but they are relatively well fleshed out, and Heinlein's imagination soars in his descriptions of different worlds, places where the laws of physics are different, and time flowing backwards. He accomplishes a solid weaving of character, plot, and theory in this one.
"Lost Legacy" seems almost like wish-fulfillment for someone sick and tired of watching evil people run the world. Phil and Joan, grad students in psychology, and Ben, a surgeon, discover by accident that every human being has the potential for all manner of ESP abilities. They soon find out they aren't the only ones who know this. People with both good and bad intentions have been honing their skills for centuries, aided by information left from the great civilization that existed before Atlantis and the empire of Mu. The coming of age of these three friends acts as a catalyst to the confrontation between the forces of good and evil. The only thing that keeps this story from being truly great is the simplicity of its final confrontation. On the other hand, the ending is as close to a Le Guin-style philosophy as Heinlein ever gets, so perhaps it's more than just wish-fulfillment after all.
My favorite story is also the shortest. Jerry, a neo-chimp worker retired because of cataracts, just happened to be in the right place at the right time to make friends with Martha van Vogel, a billionaire with a soft heart. Mrs. van Vogel, a shyster, and a respectable lawyer team up to prove that Jerry is legally human- and can't be killed just because he is old. With racial overtones, "Jerry Was a Man" predates David Brin's "Uplift" series and has a similar basis, though Heinlein seems more interested in the essential question of what constitutes humanity rather than in the several ramifications Brin follows. But the best parts of this story are the characters themselves, from the humorously sly Jerry, to the prissy Napoleon (a miniature elephant that can write), to the cagey shyster McCoy, Heinlein describes humanity at its best up against the world of corporations and profit margins.
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The closest Heinlein ever came to writing Fantasy was with Glory Road, which might as well have been wish-fulfillment for the author, at least in the first half. Gordon, the main character, reads an ad in the paper asking for someone with basically all the qualities he has except good looks. He is interviewed and accepted, and finds himself shoved through some sort of portal onto a primitive planet with a beautiful woman and her helpful dwarf. While on the planet, he basically gets all the things Heinlein thinks men want shoved into his lap (literally, sometimes). Then he discovers a few things about the woman he's with (as in, she's not so helpless after all), and the bubble bursts. In effect, life becomes too perfect. Now he has to choose between the idyllic life he thought he wanted and a little self-respect. Heinlein's two favorite themes (women and manliness) come together to make a couple of good philosophical points and perhaps some great action for those who like that sort of thing, but overall the design of the book lacks discipline or originality. Nothing about the main character caught my imagination, the secondary characters that were interesting were brushed over, and the vast potential of the Empire Heinlein describes simply goes unused. This is a book I would rather have edited than read for pleasure.
Beyond This Horizon: Hamilton and Cliff are just ordinary joes of the future who get caught up in the power-politics that surrounds an ongoing program of human genetic manipulation. Hamilton isn't the kind of guy who likes to be pushed around, as his brand new old-fashioned projectile sidearm shows, and Cliff isn't a guy who likes to have to think too hard about his life. They both have women troubles, and they both fight in their own way against a world where science and technology seem to free people but in fact enslave them to the will of the most intelligent people. A disturbing but solidly good book with strong characters, plot, setting, and theme. Well worth the trouble, if you can manage to find a copy.
Heinlein might well be called the Nostradamus of 20th century Sci-Fi. In Friday, he built a world with many of our current crises and a woman you can't help but love. So what if "her mother was a test tube, her father was a knife?" This genetically engineered courier is a perfect meld of her main progenitors' personalities. Racially as mixed as they come, extremely intelligent and caring, Friday nonetheless experiences rejection because she can't name her grandparents, or explain where she was born. Covering issues from genetic engineering and clone slavery to racism, militias, marriage rights and the plague, this book is a grab bag of current dilemmas facing humankind. In it, Heinlein makes up for much of his earlier racism and misogeny. If anything, he is transformed. A fast plot combined with mostly likeable characters and a powerful theme make this a book you don't want to miss.
It has been observed by many cat-lovers that some cats simply cannot believe that if it is raining outside one door, that it will be raining outside all of them. In the dead of winter, they will try every single exit, looking for The Door Into Summer. Dan Davis's cat is no exception. But Dan himself, betrayed by the people closest to him because of his chances for fortune, takes the long (cryogenic) sleep into a future that has mastered time travel in at least one direction- backwards. So Dan sets out to fix his life, find his true love, and follow his cat through that miraculous door. This story is pleasant and could almost be classified as a juvenile, with a tidy plot and interesting characters. It's not a groundbreaker in any sense, but it's not brain candy either. For Heinlein fans, cat lovers, and anyone who ever wanted a chance to put their lives back together.
A satisfyingly scary twist on "the aliens take over our bodies" arrives in the form of The Puppet Masters. Sam Cavanaugh, secret agent, quickly realizes that something is wrong with the major branches of government, and he starts a general alert that helps people realize that humans are systematically being taken over by slug-like creatures that attach to their necks. What follows is a harrowing race against time as the remainder of humanity struggles to adapt faster than the slugs. Sam soon realizes that there's only one way to save his people- to go undercover deeper than he's ever been before. A good scare and well-written, this is not Heinlein's most original story, but it's good enough for fans.
Another apocalyptic novel is Farnham's Freehold. Hugh Farnham, his wife, two kids, houseboy, and his daughter's best friend are all calmly having dinner one evening when the bomb drops. Hugh, of course, was bright enough to build a bunker under his house. What follows is an eerily realistic description of life in a bunker for a while, complete with human foibles. Then Hugh decides it's safe to open the door. The resulting plot moves from wilderness survival to racism and cannibalism, to time travel. This is not really about the apocalypse- it's about the sociological and psychological effects of apocalypse. Personally, I enjoyed the first half better than the second, but others may feel differently. Overall, this is a decent Heinlein book, though certainly not his best.
Grumbles from the Grave is a collection of letters and essays by Robert Heinlein, edited by his widow Virginia Heinlein. This is a treasure trove for any Heinlein fan. Where did the background for To Sail Beyond the Sunset come from? Perhaps his childhood in rural Missouri and Kansas City. The insights his letters give are priceless, as is his dry sense of humor. My own copy of this book is more battered than any other non-fiction on my shelf. If you love the author, read the book.
One of the hardest books of Heinlein's to explain is also his first serialized novel, Sixth Column. The basic premise is that America is taken over by the Chinese Army in one day, but there are a few resisters left, especially in rural areas. Some scientists have also found a weapon that detects matter on a different scale our normal ones, and this weapon can differentiate between people of different races. The story itself is not very well written, especially in the beginning. The main character lacks the focus of later Heinlein heroes, the pacing is off (which may be because it was serialized), and the style barely even feels like Heinlein at all except where his specialties of engineering and the military come into play.
The only adequate explanation I have ever heard for Sixth Column is that it was one of those that was premised by Heinlein's original editor, Mr. John W. Campbell, Jr., who was well known to be both racist and sexist (he once refused to accept The Forever War by Joe Haldeman with part of the excuse being he thought people wouldn't want to read about American women fighting in a Vietnam-style war). Thus, we can blame the extremely racist premise on Mr. Campbell, while allowing that Heinlein showed some slight leanings in that direction that were later absolved by his delightful novel Friday. Nonetheless, I recommend that fans of Heinlein's more well-known works (Stranger in a Strange Land, Job, etc.), as well as anyone who might be offended by racism against Asians, should avoid this novel. There is so much better stuff out there to read.
Two novellas that are packaged together are Waldo and Magic, Inc.. The first story is better, in my opinion, if only for of its memorable characters and chilling plot. The impossible has finally happened- the aircraft that suck energy from the quantum universe itself are failing at an alarming rate. But they can't fail. The physicists are about to go crazy when someone suggests they visit Waldo. But who would want to do that? Waldo is a recluse who lives in space, the only place where his incredibly weakened muscles can be of any use to him. Even Waldo himself sees no reason to help the rest of humanity- unless his doctor is right, and his condition and the destruction of the aircraft are symptoms of the same disease. Good old-fashioned sci-fi with a Heinleinian twist- TANSTAAFL (There ain't no such thing as a free lunch- otherwise known as the third law of thermodynamics).
Magic, Inc. involves a monopoly on magic that is squeezing out the small-time magicians. If they don't want to sell their souls to the agency or eat shoe leather, a businessman, a little old lady with some black magic up her sleeve, and an African shaman are going to have to do some serious bargaining- with the devil himself. The lesson in economics is fairly clear in this story, though it's far more entertaining than your usual college lecture. The main characters are also quite delightful, though the brevity of the story makes some of the settings and secondary characters a bit shallow. Overall, Magic, Inc. is a nice change for Heinlein in terms of subject matter, though he reveals himself with an approach to the problem like that of a sociologist- or an engineer.
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