When Blackstone Audio recently started releasing some of his later novels on audio, I thought it was time to check out some I’d never read. These novels are part of the reason I kept reading science fiction - they left such an impression on my young mind.ĭespite this nostalgia, I haven’t read Heinlein in years. Red Planet was one of my favorites and I must have read it at least five times. Heinlein’s “Juveniles” - science fiction stories for children and teens. When I was a kid I loved some of Robert A. Dick, Heinlein’s The Number of the Beast may only be for true fans. This was a libertarian space opera that would have had Philip K. I cannot help but compare this work to Poul Anderson’s Harvest of Stars (which had some traces of homage to Heinlein), which was published in 1993 when Anderson (another SFWA Grandmaster) was 67. Secondly, had the man moved into a nudist colony and time traveled to pick up a septuagenarian value pack of Cymbalta? I love the libertarianism and his egalitarian sexism, but Time Enough for Love was enough already.įinally, he went on and on and on some more about militaristic group dynamics until the worthwhile and relevant observations on leadership and command were lost in blurred paragraphs and diminished by over exposure. A 200 page Number of the Beast would have been much better, faster paced and pithy. First of all, it’s about twice as long as it needs to be. To be certain, a Heinlein story where four interesting characters experience an adventure into Barsoom and Wonderland and Oz and also meet up with some classic Heinlein characters like Lazarus Long and Jubal Harshaw sounds like a great story and much of it is … but.Īs much of a fan as I am, I cannot help but apply the damning tag of self-indulgent. Heinlein’s earlier works, generally classified as his “juveniles” published from 1947 until the late 50s, may be confused and disappointed by his 1980 novel Number of the Beast.Īlso, those familiar with and inspired by his middle period, roughly late 1950s until 1970, spanning the publications of The Door Into Summer in 1957 until I Will Fear No Evil in 1970 (the period that I regard as his zenith) may likely be nonplussed by what is going on in this work published when the grandmaster was 73 years old.

Robert heinlein time for the stars