Quote:
Originally Posted by Pajamaman
I liked Have Spacesuit will Travel as a kid. I read Stranger in a Strange Land a bit later. It was...all right. In those days I figured writers were wise with knowledge to impart.
I read I think it was Time Enough for Love, and recall wading through torturous pages of genetic justification why a brother and sister could mate. It was at that point that the penny dropped. This so-called great writer was just crap. It was an epiphany of sorts. Prior to that I thought published books and writers must be good.
I have yet to find anything I like by Heinlein except Have Spacesuit will Travel and Starship Troopers. I've got a copy of Tunnel in the Sky which looks all right. Partly I just don't like his tone. I find it grates. I guess some like it.
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The thing to remember about Heinlien is that he had three very distinct periods in which he wrote. The juvies were all his early stuff. While Starship Troopers wasn't technically a juvie, it was the last of that time period. There were a lot of good books from this time period. Revolt in 2100 (a collection of short stories and novellas) is my favorite. It was paired with Methuselah's Children (originally a serialized novella published in 1941, but released as a stand alone novel in 1958)
Stranger in a Strange Land was a turning point novel for him. IMPO, the best book from that second time period was The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. It's still my favorite Heinlien novel.
Time Enough for Love was the next turning point novel. IMPO, everything from Time Enough for Love onward was drek.