Doesn't Anybody Read Robert A. Heinlein Anymore?
Earlier tonight (about 5 minutes ago) I read a post by a young man who has never heard of Robert A. Heinlein. Oh My, how did this travesty ever occur in my country? So then, while explaining who he was, I realized that he might not know what he was missing, and maybe some of you don't, either. R.A.H. is considered one of the Grandmasters of the golden age of Science Fiction, along with Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clark, and Poul Anderson. He has written novels since 1939, including everything from books written for boys age 12-18 (known as his juveniles), to the military classic "Starship Troopers" (destroyed when released as a movie), to the Libertarian classic "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress", to the hippie classic "Stranger In A Strange Land" (the only book he wrote I never liked), and a multitude of others. He is so important to SF readers, that 20 years after his death, an unfinished manuscript of his, finished by an adequate writer, still became an instant bestseller. It wasn't very good for a Heinlein, but it still kicked ass over everything else out there on the new lists at the time. Heinlein is with us today in ways many of you don't even realize. Love your cellphone? Introduced in "Space Cadet". Water beds? "Stranger in a Strange Land" . Ever hear the term "Grok"? Same novel. Ever hear of Tribbles (an old Star Trek animal)? Accidentally stolen from "The Rolling Stones" (Martian flatcats) by episode author David Gerrold. I could go on, but I can't even remember the number of things he came up with that others made into reality. And as for sci-fi's so-called "same old plots", most of them were his before there even was a "same old plot" category. He wrote the first "alien invades bodies and takes over the human" story, before "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", it was "Puppet Masters". He wrote one of the first modern novels about the search for life extension, "Methuselahs Children". Build a rocket in your back yard and go to the moon? "Rocketship Galileo". Clashes with extraterrestrial civilizations? "Stranger in a Strange Land"," Star Beast", and "Space Cadet", to name a few. He also wrote novels to educate people about politics. He wrote "Starship Troopers" to extol the merits of fighting to protect humanity and a way of life. "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" is the ultimate tale of colonialism and individualism, and the revolt necessary to end the one and guarantee the other. An entire political party (The Libertarian Party) holds the ideals he expressed there, even though the LP didn't exist when he wrote it. That book also introduces the concept of a computer becoming self-aware, and how it contacts it's first human friend. He wrote a novel that blasts organized religion. "Job: A Comedy of Justice". A nuclear holocaust survival novel with a unique twist. "Farnham's Freehold". The ultimate female secret agent. "Friday". One of the finest novels in the fantasy genre. "Glory Road". Temporal displacement (time travel) by means of suspended animation AND time travel machine in "The Door Into Summer". Castaways on other planets "Tunnel in the Sky". I can do this all night, but I have already bored half of you to death, and that wasn't the point of this, so I will have to wrap this up. OOH, I forgot one, the ultimate anti-slavery novel, "Citizen of the Galaxy". I know that I will, after I publish this, either remember ten things I left out, or be yelled at by the R.A.H. fans for leaving out their favorite. But there will be plenty of time (I hope) to add more after we begin discussing this. I think I will close this with a partial list of my favorite RAH novels.
"The Rolling Stones"
"Glory Road"
"The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress"
"Rocketship Galileo"
"Star Beast"
"Job: A Comedy Of Justice"
"Tunnel in The Sky"
"Time For The Stars"
"Time Enough For Love"
"Citizen Of The Galaxy"
"The Number Of The Beast"
I think that is enough to get the newbies started on Heinlein, and to start arguments among the old Heinlein hands on why my choices aren't the right ones.
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