Quote:
Originally Posted by ZodWallop
+1
Honestly, I'm not a fan of Heinlein. I far prefer Asimov and Clarke. But I will say that Heinlein's stories and characters are more sophisticated than my two faves.
I'm not saying he is Henry James. But compare Heinlein to the authors that he was in competition with.
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Or what came before.
It's not so much that the writers themselves were incapable of writing at his level as the fact that the genre conventions and establishment expectations were geared to more pulpish and high concept storytelling. Some of the same writers quickly adopted to the new paradigm. One that comes to mind as successfully adapting is Jack Williamson of both LEGION OF SPACE and HUMANOIDS fame. Read both and it's hard to believe it's tge sane guy.
In some ways he was like Babe Ruth and Wayne Gretzky whose careers transformed their fields by showing just what was possible.
Heinlein wasn't the last word, of course, but he did blow open the gates and pave the way for the New Wave and Dangerous visions cohorts that followed.