Anyone familar with the works or Robert A. Heinlen?

[Silver Knight]

Im sure alot of you are, seeing as he is oen of the greatest Sci-Fi authors in the genre. I mean who doesnt know of Starship Troopers? I personally think the movie ruinend the book. I read the book a few months ago, and its like one of my fav books ever, not to mention one of my fav Sci-Fi. I read a new book of his that was just published rencently, I cant rember the title, but the plot was a navy enginer from 1935 that was supposed to die in a car accident is somehow transported into the year 2075. (I think) And the future world discribed in it is simular to our world and the world of "Brave New World" By Aldous Huxley, Im sure yall are familular with it. Any way I think he was way ahead of his time in his writing and thinking, and would like to know more about him. My favorite work of his, in fact just about my favorite novel is "A door into Summer" In it a inventor is ousted out of his newly formed robot company, by his partner and former fiance, in 1970, cryogenically frozen and wakes up in the year 2000. Oh and did I mention the book was written in '53? It is great I recommend it, its a quick read and worth it. But as far as I can tell, most people seem to like a book of his called "The cat who walks through walls." Is that any good? Anyway I hope I can find someone to talk about this with.

[Core]

I'm a Heinlein fan myself. I haven't read The Cat Who Walks Through Walls yet, but I'll get to it some day. My favorites so far, other than Starship Troopers, which you're right about the movie not doing justice to, would have to be Time Enough for Love and To Sail Beyond the Sunset. Both of those are rather long framework style narratives, and I think they work best when read as a pair, as they retell many of the same events from different characters' perspectives.

A lot of people don't care for Heinlein and find him too polemical to be enjoyable. And I guess I can see how some of his political arguments parading around in fiction's clothing would turn some people off. But although I don't always agree with his political stance, his novels almost always engage me in patterns of thought that I don't really find in other writers, at least not in the same way.

Oh, and, if you haven't read it, Strange In a Strange Land is one of Heinlein's most popular novels, and it's a fun read to boot.

I've never read (or even heard of) A Door Into Summer. I'll have to check that out, Silver Knight.

[Corsair]

The Cat Who Walks Through Walls is a bit difficult to follow if you haven't yet read any of the other Lazarus Long books. It was actually the first Heinlein that I ever read, and boy was I confused.

I'd say the best reading order for these would be:

Methuselah's Children (this one isn't necessarily necessary...er, yeah. It was written a number of years prior to the rest and doesn't exactly tie in, though it does provide some background for the characters.)
Time Enough for Love
The Number of the Beast
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
To Sail Beyond the Sunset

...

For Us, The Living is the new one (well...newly published, anyway) you referred to. Haven't read it yet myself, so I'm curious what you thought of it.

[Silver Knight]

For Us, The Living is the new one (well...newly published, anyway) you referred to. Haven't read it yet myself, so I'm curious what you thought of it.

Thx alot. Yes I read it. Not all the way through, could have but but was kinda getting repetive and I got busy. Anyway, I actually enjoyed most of the book, up until 3 quarters in, then it got slow but you could tell he was building to something, I wish I thought about it more, and read it all. Oh well se la ve. Im not sure if you know what it is about, told you some of it, but it really is a fasinating read. The future world discribed is simular to Aldous Huxley's Brave New World in that the world has changed so much that most of the world is clothing optional, and ambigous sexuality runs rampant. Thier is no fear of disese of course, and violence towards your fellow man is seen as crazy. But the world also has things from our time, and posible near future, such as TX, Helicopters, flying cars, heck he almost, if you think about it, predidted the internet. Im not sure if Heinlen had this idea before or after Brave New World, maybe thats why the book wasnt published untill today, or maybe like Huxleys "World" It was seen as too controversel. Oh well I recomend this book to any Sci-Fi fan, especially Fans of the author, they will enjoy it eminsly, as did I.

[Greg Hatcher]

If you really want the full Heinlein experience, you should check out EXPANDED UNIVERSE. Some futurist essays, some SF stories, some political articles, it's the one-stop Heinlein book. I think there might be some minor overlap with THE PAST THROUGH TOMORROW (also a good one) but of the two, I prefer EXPANDED UNIVERSE. You probably can find it used somewhere for a couple of dollars.

[Sir Tim Drake]

I've mostly gotten tired of Heinlein, but I think my favorite Heinlein book at the moment is either The Door into Summer or The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Also, the short story "All You Zombies--" is brilliant.

[Silver Knight]

I've mostly gotten tired of Heinlein, but I think my favorite Heinlein book at the moment is either The Door into Summer or The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Also, the short story "All You Zombies--" is brilliant.

Finally someone that, not only has read The Door into Summer but actually likes it. I must have misspelled the title. Any fan of Heinlen will like it, im suprised that more people havent read it. Its not an epic adventure like Starship Troopers, but it deserves its credit.

[Greg Hatcher]

I actually HAVE read The Door Into Summer; it's just not my favorite. I think if I had to pick a favorite it would be the one I mentioned above, Expanded Universe. On the heels of that one would be probably either Double Star or Have Spacesuit Will Travel, then The Puppet Masters and The Past Through Tomorrow, then comes The Door Into Summer. After that would be Stranger, then Friday... The Future History/Lazarus Long stuff is actually pretty far down the list. Somewhere in there are more of the juveniles like Rocket Ship Galileo and The Rolling Stones, too, though of those Spacesuit really is the only one I loved so much (and still do) that it makes the A list.

But I enjoy all of them. I think the only Heinlein book I ever just plain didn't like was Job: A Comedy of Justice. Just out-and-out bad.

[Silver Knight]

But I enjoy all of them. I think the only Heinlein book I ever just plain didn't like was Job: A Comedy of Justice. Just out-and-out bad.

Well everybody has a run of bad luck, Im sure even Stan Lee had a run of creative bad luck once in awhile. Same here.

[Sir Tim Drake]

Well everybody has a run of bad luck, Im sure even Stan Lee had a run of creative bad luck once in awhile.

He did, and it lasted from about 1972 to 2005... :D

[Silver Knight]

He did, and it lasted from about 1972 to 2005... :D

(suprised gasp) Uh Blasphmey! Strike down the blaspemer! (then again not everyone is a marvel fan, so is cool :D )

[Sanagi]

I remember liking The Door Into Summer, though I don't remember exactly what happened in it.

But I enjoy all of them. I think the only Heinlein book I ever just plain didn't like was Job: A Comedy of Justice. Just out-and-out bad.
I remember finding the description of heaven as a frustrating bureaucracy amusing, but yeah, the rest of it was pretty dull...

I disliked The Number of the Beast more than Job. It had a really cool idea but the characters were boring.

[rudy]

I wouldn't say I'm a huge Heinlein fan, but I read Stranger in a Strange Land some years ago and it was very well done. And more recently (within the past two months) I read The Cat Who Walks Through Walls and found it a lot of fun. His style has a good dose of wacky-ness for some good entertainment without over doing it.

[Roquefort Raider]

I don't think Heinlein is ever bad, but his my appreciation of his books vary. Some are clearly classics: The moon is a harsh mistress, Stranger in a strange land, Starship troopers, Methuselah's children and the entire Future history series. Some are just good, intelligent fun, mixing humor and drama: Double star, the door into summer, Puppet masters, or Job, a comedy of justice. Some are maybe a little too conceited, with Heinlein playing at being Heinlein, resulting in the cat who walks through walls.

The Heinlein stories meant for kids are also honest stuff, but nothing I would have missed had I not missed it.

Asimov seemed to hold some kind of grudge against Heinlein for following societal trends (notably with an increased presence of sexual activities during the hippie years). Personally, I don't mind it at all. I don't think books like "stranger in a strange land" suffered from it at all; Heinlein's acknowledgment of changes in our society never felt like pandering.

[Rabid Trekkie]

I've only read three of his books so far. Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land, and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Mistress is my favorite so far and even changed some of my political views. I also love Starship Troopers, it is just great. I actually saw the movie first but it didn't ruin my enjoyment of the book.

I'm still a little confused about my feelings of Stranger though, definately one of the most interesting books I've read and Jubal is my favorite character but some stuff in it I really didn't agree with while other parts I did. I'd still recommend it to anyone though.

[Shellhead]

I read a bunch of Heinlein books when I was in my early teens. His early stuff was all gee-whiz space cadet crap that kind of bored me, but then I got into later stories like Stranger in a Strange Land and The Number of the Beast. I was too young for those books at the time and read them too quickly, skimming over the nuances that I didn't grasp. By the time I was old enough to maybe appreciate Heinlein's later works, I had become aware of his politics and decided not to bother.

[Slam_Bradley]

Yes, I'm very familiar with Mr. Heinlein's work. Over the last 25 years I've read virtually all of his short fiction and most of his novels. A lot of the novels were read quite some time ago and frankly, could use a re-read. My favorite novel, of Heinlein's, is Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

I'm a huge fan of Heinlein's short fiction and much of it holds up very well today. Greg is right that Expanded Universe is a very good Heinlein sampler, though there are some bombs in there. The Past Through Tomorrow, besides setting out his future history, hits most of his best short fiction. Follow it up by Orphans in the Sky ("Universe" is properly acknowledged as a classic).

I also have a major soft spot for Heinlein's juveniles. Yes, a lot of the science was bad, even at the time (and Heinlein knew that), but these are just rousing adventures. Keep in mind that Starship Troopers originally a juvenile, but was rejected by the publisher of his juveniles. So he took it to his adult publisher and won the 1962 Hugo with it.

I also recommend The Fantasies of Robert Heinlein. This collection, plus "Past Through Tomorrow" and "Expanded Universe" contain the vast majority of Heinlein's short fiction. Heinlein was one of the first SF writers to move from writing predominantly short fiction to predominantly novel-length fiction. His juveniles also helped pave the way for SF to appear in hardcover.

[Sanagi]

Oh, and Friday, I forgot about that one... That was good. Another one of his "lots of sex" books.

[howyadoin]

Big Heinlein fan here. Been reading his stuff since the early 70s, if not earlier.

And I've rarely read anything of his I didn't like. My faves would be The Past Throught Tomorrow, Time Enough for Love... and probably Glory Road.