Chaos Critters Bookshelf: Heinlein

Anna covers the Heinlein books she likes (and the ones she doesn't). We also have a small update from yesterday's dog obedience competition - with more on that coming in future weeks.

When you get into writing circles, or science fiction reader circles, I have noticed that there is strong discussion and opinions about many of Robert Heinlein’s books. I am odd in one sense on this because I LOVE Heinlein’s Juveniles novels and more or less cannot read his more famous “adult books”. This week I have been listening to his collection of essays and story stories, The Expanded Universe, and loving most of them.

As a writer, I find it interesting that people who adore Heinlein often will strongly espouse writing rules which go counter to much of what Heinlein did. However, if you read him closely you will notice he often tells instead of shows, he also doesn’t provide crazy deep descriptions of every little thing. Instead often the description of people, places, and even ships or technology is vague. (This is why there are so many different depictions of Lummox, The Star Beast. -Tod) This in a way leads to an almost timeless quality to some of his works, while others where he added too much detail or used words which fit the time, became dated. Of all the items that date a story, I aways find the change in our modern language, as the hardest one to handle, as writers cannot be precogs, as much as we try. And often dated words or phrases are like waving red flags in front of a bull, causing reviewers to charge!

If you take the first chapter of a The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, it is almost all “telling”. However, there is a strong voice in how Manny tells and builds the story. That voice, the tension built into his past conflict, is what draws the reader forward. Because I adore so many of these I novels, I thought I would give a little once over of Heinlein’s novels, and make it a goal for this year to try and read some of the novels I haven’t yet covered.

But first, I thought I would actually provide a list of some of my favorite Heinlein Juveniles. They are ordered based on when they came out not based on which I love the best.

Heinlein's Official Juveniles (12 novels)

1. Rocket Ship Galileo (1947) - When teenagers and a slightly mad scientist build a rocket, only to discover that the moon is not as empty as it first appeared.

2. Space Cadet (1948) - I still need to read this one, don’t give it away too me too much!

3. Red Planet (1949) - I thought I have read this one, but I can’t remember all of it, so I am going to reread it. (One of my favorites. -Tod)

4. Farmer in the Sky (1950) - When a blended family emigrates to Ganymede to become farmers, they have more challenges than just learning to get along with each other, as colonizing a new world is not a simple thing.

5. Between Planets (1951) - A young man caught between Earth and Venus during an interplanetary war must choose sides and find his place in the conflict.

6. The Rolling Stones (1952) - An eccentric family travels through the solar system in their spaceship, encountering various adventures and challenges. They are hilarious!

7. Starman Jones (1953) - A young man with a photographic memory works his way up from apprentice to astrogator on a starship.

8. The Star Beast (1954) - A boy must protect his alien pet, which turns out to be more important than anyone guessed. (Another of my favorites. -Tod) (I think this book is closest to our brand. -Anna)

9. Tunnel in the Sky (1955) - Students on a survival test find themselves stranded on an alien planet and must build a colony to survive.

10. Time for the Stars (1956) - Telepathic twins participate in a relativistic space mission, with one staying on Earth while the other travels at near-light speed.

11. Citizen of the Galaxy (1957) - A slave boy rises from poverty to become a free trader and eventually discovers his true heritage.

12. Have Space Suit—Will Travel (1958) - A high school student wins a used spacesuit in a contest and ends up on an interstellar adventure defending humanity. (Yet another of my favorites. -Tod)

Unofficial Almost Juveniles (5 novels)

While these books are technically adult, to me they read more like Juveniles.

1. The Door into Summer (1957) - An engineer uses cryogenic sleep to travel to the future and solve a mystery involving his lost love and stolen inventions. (One of my favorites and the audiobook with narrator Patrick Lawlor is my favorite audiobook. -Tod)

2. Starship Troopers (1959) - A young soldier fights alien "Bugs" in a future society where citizenship must be earned through federal service.

3. Podkayne of Mars (1963) - A teenage Martian girl travels through the solar system with her genius brother and politician uncle, encountering adventure and political intrigue. (Get the one with the original ending. It’s way better. -Tod)

4. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966) - Lunar colonists, aided by a sentient supercomputer, stage a revolution against Earth's control. (Anna’s favorite Heinlein. -Tod)

5. The Puppet Masters (1951) - Secret agents battle parasitic aliens that can control human minds in a tense Cold War-era invasion story. (This one scared me in high school. -Anna)

Adult Novels (15 novels…)

Ones I have read or tried to….

1. Sixth Column (1949) - A small group of American scientists use a newly discovered radiation to overthrow an Asian invasion of the United States. I never could really get into this one, it just annoyed me.

2. Double Star (1956) - An out-of-work actor is hired to impersonate a kidnapped politician, leading to unexpected consequences and personal transformation. I just didn’t like the main character… at all.

3. Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) - A human raised on Mars returns to Earth and starts a cult. I like the first half, but then it got… strange in a way that I did not appreciate. Call me a prude if you wish, but nope not for me.

4. Farnham's Freehold (1964) - A family survives a nuclear war in a fallout shelter, only to emerge in a future where African Americans rule and whites are enslaved. I had to look up what this was one about because I only got through the first chapter before I put it down…. (I like this one. Especially the comment at the end about Memtok, that makes you reevaluate his and Ponse’s characters. -Tod)

The novels I have not read and I am trying to figure out which of them to try. So I am going to ask for you all to vote and I will will read and review at least one of the Heinlein novels I have not read….

1. Beyond This Horizon (1948) - In a genetically perfected future society, a man becomes involved in a plot to overthrow the government.

2. Methuselah's Children (1958) - The long-lived Howard Families flee Earth to escape persecution, leading to interstellar adventures and philosophical explorations. ** I plan to read this one.

3. Glory Road (1963) - A Vietnam veteran answers a newspaper ad and embarks on a heroic quest across dimensions. ** I plan to read this one.

4. I Will Fear No Evil (1970) - An elderly billionaire has his brain transplanted into a young woman's body... (I have no interested in reading this due to how little I liked Stranger in a Strange Land.)

5. Time Enough for Love (1973) - The 2,000-year-old Lazarus Long recounts his adventures and philosophies across time and space. (I have no interested in reading this due to how little I liked Stranger in a Strange Land.)

6. The Number of the Beast (1980) - Four characters travel through various fictional universes using an interdimensional device.

7. Friday (1982) - An artificial person works as a courier in a balkanized future Earth, facing discrimination and seeking her place in society. ** I plan to read this one.

8. Job: A Comedy of Justice (1984) - A modern retelling of the biblical Book of Job, following a man's journey through multiple realities and religious experiences. ** I plan to read this one.

9. The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (1985) - A writer becomes entangled in a complex plot involving time travel and parallel universes. ** I plan to read this one.

10. To Sail Beyond the Sunset (1987) - Maureen Johnson, mother of Lazarus Long, narrates her life story spanning multiple timelines and universes.

11. For Us, The Living (1938, published posthumously in 2003) - A man from 1939 awakens in 2086 and explores a utopian future society based on alternative economic and social systems.

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Critters in Color

Here is a picture of Dante who got the first win towards his first title - and got second place.

Poor Crokell, I messed up on Saturday and gave a double signal which NQed him (which mean the run did not count towards a title). But he was still a good, if laggy, boof. Got to love the big guy.

How does this relate to our writing?

Well, I want to be able to write like Heinlein, at least like the Juveniles. Personally, I think that the Juveniles were his best works, but more than that they are written in such a way to make one long for adventure, fun, or outer space. They are true adventure novels, but the characters use their cleverness to overcome challenges. I like that as message even more than the the science fiction backdrop of his worlds.

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Chaos Tip of the Week

Always have a pocketful of marbles; they might come in handy for negotiating peace treaties or distracting alien invaders.

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Critter’s Weekly Question

What is your favorite Heinlein book? And if you don’t like any Heinlein novels, who is your favorite author or favorite novel from someone else (preferable speculative fiction)?