Comments on: What’s your favorite Heinlein novel?

By: Buckethead

Buckethead — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:37:41 +0000

Gulf is one of my favorite Heinlein shorts — that, and the Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag. Gulf is the predecessor to Friday that SV mentioned.

John, are you like the devil, and but you show up only when Heinlein’s name is mentioned? Have you ordered vol. 1 of the new biography yet?

By: Isegoria

Isegoria — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:34:58 +0000

I've been meaning to read Gulf, the first novella in Assignment in Eternity, since I read about the language of clear thinking.

By: John Lanius

John Lanius — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 03:18:01 +0000

My favorite of all time is The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. I love the idea of a house of congress devoted to simply repealing unnecessary laws. The quasi-Nadsat language was a bit off-putting at first, but I stopped noticing it after a while. When I was younger, my favorite would have been Tunnel in the Sky. I identified with the young survivalists and wished my parents would send me away on a trek like that.

By: Siddhartha Vicious

Siddhartha Vicious — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:36:43 +0000

Though Assignment was not really a novel, but a novella with a few short stories to fill the book. Friday picked up the world of intrigue used in Assignment and carried it out to a Balkanized world of strange societies at a nearly Swiftian level. In Friday, Heinlein did go as far as genetically altered people, as well as talking dogs, and genetically designed creatures used in dangerous environments and for particularly onerous work. Or try Starship Troopers and pay attention to just how the current society transformed into the one described there. As to favorites, that is more difficult. I am not enamored of the 'let's all go back in time and f**k Mama Maureen' series of books, but pretty much everything else he's written, including the juveniles, is worth more than one read, just for the societal ideas embodied within.

By: Aretae

Aretae — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 19:41:46 +0000

Assignment in Eternity

By: Buckethead

Buckethead — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 19:10:40 +0000

That's a tough call — I read Brin's piece last week, and started thinking about it. I think in terms of just sheer enjoyment, I love Citizen of the Galaxy best. I think Starship Troopers and Moon is Harsh Mistress are his best novels. My all-time favorite, though, was one part of Time Enough For Love, the story where Lazarus and his wife homestead in a remote valley on a colony world.

By: David Foster

David Foster — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:22:50 +0000

Not sure it's my absolute favorite, but Tunnel in the Sky is a very interesting book. Written about the same time as Golding's Lord of the Flies, it projects a very different idea of human nature. Worthwhile thoughts on government and the importance of institutionalization vs personal leadership, interestingly expressed by an irritating student-government type who turns out to be basically right.