Quote:
Originally Posted by pwalker8
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.
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I would like to expand on this. Most of Heinlein's stages, were really the stages of editors he worked with.
He started out with the Campbell years. Much of the "Future History" (But not all!) were Campbell era works (or expansion of those works). They have a particular "tone" to them.
The next big block was his juveniles. Some excellent, some very good, some so-so. I would recommend
The Star Beast or
Citizen Of the Galaxy.
At the same time as the juveniles, he wrote for the "slick" magazines. Most of
The Green Hills Of Earth was short stories written for the 'Slicks" (Saturday Evening Post, ect.). They have their own "tone", which was what was necessary to get them to sell to that market.
He wrote 3 adult novels in the Juvenile period,
The Puppet Masters,
Double Star, and
The Door Into Summer, which were for still different editors, some of which were heavily edited.
Then there was the third period, post
Starship Troopers, where he wrote what he wanted, and then tried to find a market for the results. His name was big enough to do that, by that time. Some great some not-so-great.
The final period was his period, post brain surgery (carotid artery bypass). Frankly, I didn't like them.
Pick the period you like, and avoid the rest.