Kevin's Watch

Ok, so I get all juiced up for Stranger in a Strange Land, get half way through and discover that I wish I was finished. I finished it, but didn't like it, period.

Will I like any Robert Heinlein books?

bumped a thread for you Dawngreeter.

kevinswatch.ihugny.com/phpBB2/viewtopic ... ht=#472779

As you'll see in that thread, I'm a big fan of Heinlein. But Stranger, brilliant though it is and as much as I like it, is not necessarily for everyone.

Maybe try Time Enough For Love...or perhaps you'd do better starting with some of the shorter, less, "epic" type of stories.

--A

Nah. If you didn't like Stranger, you probably won't like anything else.

Thanks people. I was kinda thinking that way Wayfriend, I grok. Lucimay, (love your avatar, thanks for the bump) if I do give RH another shot, I think it would be The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

I also disliked stranger. IMO it isn't even sci-fi, if you go by the writer's own definition of what sci-fi is. I actually liked the legal messing around that happened to figure out michael's legal place in the human race, but other than that...I found it pretty bad. I do sorta sympathize with what I think what his viewpoint was, but didn't really enjoy the book. Jubal was fine, didn't care for the other characters.

I haven't read any of his other stuff, though (besides a few nonfiction essays which I thought were BS), and I won't presume to judge it.

The Moon in the Harsh Mistress just sounds sorta awesome, I wanna read that sometime.

EDIT-I think it's important to remember that, while Stranger was published in something like 1960 (I think) I'm pretty sure it was written 10 years before. The openness in dealing with sex is pretty revolutionary for that time period. So it is 'groundbreaking' to some extent, and that's a hallmark of great lit to some.

Thou art god, I think, was more revolutionary.

Wayfriend wrote:Thou art god, I think, was more revolutionary.

and that's the only bit i took away with me from that one too.

practically applied, it still works for me.

I really loved Starship Troopers which, by the way, is NOTHING like the flick.

I also liked Rocketship Galileo although, it WAS a tad bit strange.

Wayfriend wrote:Thou art god, I think, was more revolutionary.

Meh, I don't see that as being particularly new...

Dawngreeter wrote:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

My second favourite.

I disagree with WayFriend though. Stranger isn't typical of his writing, especially his earlier stuff, which tends more along the lines of good old fashioned escapist sci-fi.

Another good one to try is Citizen of the Galaxy, technically one of his juveniles but excellent nonetheless.

--A

Did anyone not enjoy "Citizen of the Galaxy"?

I know it's one of Heinlein's "juvenile" works, but... It gives you a glimpse of his milieu and it has some good things to say, so...

Read that and see what you think.

Avatar wrote:

Dawngreeter wrote:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

My second favourite.

I disagree with WayFriend though. Stranger isn't typical of his writing, especially his earlier stuff, which tends more along the lines of good old fashioned escapist sci-fi.

--A

Agreed. While I genuinely didn't like Stanger, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress turned out to be a very good book. I am glad I gave this author another chance. Two very different books. Thumbs up here for TMHM.

Hmm... I thought Stranger in a Strange Land was part and parcel with works such as The Number of the Beast, Time Enough for One, Friday ...

Yes, I would agree that Heinlein has a hard-science style he uses in some works (tending towards the earlier) and a more exploring-the-human-condition style (tending towards the later). (This latter style usually includes the "crotchety but wize old geezer who sexy women adore" character.)

But I think it's unfair to dismiss Stranger as "untypical".

I'm not a huge fan ... overall his works seem young-adult oriented, and I lost interest a long time ago. So I'm no big Heinlein expert, I'll admit.

Wayfriend wrote:Hmm... I thought Stranger in a Strange Land was part and parcel with works such as The Number of the Beast, Time Enough for One,

that's


not Time Enough for One, Wayfriend.

this is another one of my favorites.

the aforementioned "wise old geezer" would be Lazarus Long.

Wayfriend wrote:Nah. If you didn't like Stranger, you probably won't like anything else.

Actually Heinlein can be divided in his "adult" Sci Fi and "young adult" Sci Fi - I thorougly enjoyed Star Beast even though I wasn't particularly impressed with Stranger.

Suggestions for YA Heinlein? He was the next author to whom I was considering introducing Beorn.

If Beorn gets through the YA stuff, then perhaps he'll move up to the other Heinlein.

I've read Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land, and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.

Like them all about equally; found it impressive that the ideals Troopers espouses are nearly the antithesis of those in Stranger. Also: his characters are a bit too pulp comic to me, and he usually always has a "mouthpiece" character that represents his own views.

Otherwise, it's all good!

Wayfriend wrote:Hmm... I thought Stranger in a Strange Land was part and parcel with works such as The Number of the Beast, Time Enough for Love, Friday...

It shares a continuity line with Time Enough, Number of the Beast, The Cat Who Walked Through Walls and a couple of prequels. (Some other time-lines get drawn in, like Glory Road and The Man Who Sold The Moon, but those are once-offs largely.) Friday is a stand-alone.

Menolly, definitely Citizen of the Galaxy for Beorn.

--A

Avatar wrote: Menolly, definitely Citizen of the Galaxy for Beorn.

Thanks Av.

I know, he really is at an age where he should be choosing his own reading material. I don’t know if it is the AS, or simply his personality, but he is the type of reader who will choose one author and then reread only works by that author without ever branching out. Hence his penchant for reading the entire bibliography of an author in published order. So, if Citizen of the Galaxy resonates with Beorn, then I won’t need to worry if the next work of Heinlein is YA or not, as he’ll choose to read them all.

Hmm…a thought.

He read TCTC when he was 10 years old, so I never told him about The Gap cycle. I still haven’t read The Gap yet, and strongly suspect I never will. This doesn’t mean I won’t let Beorn read it. What do y’all think? Is it OK for a 13 year old, or should I give it a couple more years?