tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post2956166036177106986..comments2024-02-05T10:41:31.777-05:00Comments on I Saw Lightning Fall: Friday's Forgotten Books: Starman Jones by Robert A. HeinleinLoren Eatonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-55565443867789595692010-06-11T08:58:09.222-04:002010-06-11T08:58:09.222-04:00I'd say Hubbard definitely lost that bet!I'd say Hubbard definitely lost that bet!Loren Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-68888954785322981282010-06-10T22:16:42.594-04:002010-06-10T22:16:42.594-04:00I grew up on Heinlein and Asimov and Anderson and ...I grew up on Heinlein and Asimov and Anderson and on and on. There's a gossamer story floating around that Asimov, Heinlein and Hubbard made a wager as to who could create the "best" religious system. Asimov wrote the Foundation Series, Heinlein wrote Stranger, and L. Ron Hubbard developed Scientology. <br /><br />Now as to the truthfulness of the claim, I can't say. But I really, really enjoyed Stranger in a Strange Land.<br /><br />CR- Is Star Beast the one where the animal is a many-legged over-exuberant dragon/dog thing called Lummox? If so, it's a good one.B. Nagelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07620736939701035617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-35031153284486242982010-06-10T09:44:28.542-04:002010-06-10T09:44:28.542-04:00I don't recall a lot of the lecturing bits of ...I don't recall a lot of the lecturing bits of <i>Starship Troopers</i>, although I know Heinlein wasn't a fan of communism. I read it such a long time ago.<br /><br /><i>The Star Beast</i> sounds quite good to me. Think I'll add it to the list!Loren Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-54048106519209297792010-06-10T09:38:32.574-04:002010-06-10T09:38:32.574-04:00Yeah, Starship Troopers is quite a bit lecture-y. ...Yeah, Starship Troopers is quite a bit lecture-y. I'm not sure I'd like it so much if I hadn't read it at the perfect moment in my life; even though I disagreed with it, I loved the way it gave me ideas that I could argue against. <br /><br />But both The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and The Star Beast are far more entertaining, and do a much better job of integrating ideas and plot. Also, both are much funnier, which is always a good thing.Chestertonian Ramblerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01550643992523840950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-73873952709391393322010-06-09T08:51:37.630-04:002010-06-09T08:51:37.630-04:00Heinlein really does have great titles, doesn'...Heinlein really does have great titles, doesn't he? The only thing I've read from him other than <i>Starman Jones</i> is (naturally) <i>Starship Troopers</i>, which was a little lecture-y for my taste. I certainly enjoyed this foray into his kids' stuff, so I may need to give <i>The Star Beast</i> a go.Loren Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-72986039404993739012010-06-08T13:28:52.727-04:002010-06-08T13:28:52.727-04:00Have you read The Star Beast? It's probably m...Have you read The Star Beast? It's probably my favorite of his juvenalia--a rather unexpectedly hilarious yarn about a boy and his "pet," which turns out to be a member of an ancient race that may decide to blow up Earth.<br /><br />And then there's always The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, which isn't juvenalia but is more narrative-driven and less ramblingly philosophical than most of his middle or late works.<br /><br />However...I still think, as good as his stories are, nothing can equal his titles. For Us, The Living; Have Spacesuit, Will Travel; The Moon is a Harsh Mistress; Stranger in a Strange Land; Beyond This Horizon; Tunnel in the Sky; The Cat Who Walks Through Walls; To Sail Beyond the Sunset.<br /><br />Just reading them sends shivers down my spine and makes me want to grab a spacesuit and ray-gun, and go see what's Out There to be found.Chestertonian Ramblerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01550643992523840950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-1404958627820761972010-06-04T20:04:51.829-04:002010-06-04T20:04:51.829-04:00Yeah, I don't think than Heinlein's juveni...Yeah, I don't think than Heinlein's juveniles got all that much attention. They were pretty much all written at the very beginning of his career.Loren Eatonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12488412683340389286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4025264318423694875.post-17767695012576653062010-06-04T17:22:12.055-04:002010-06-04T17:22:12.055-04:00I'm surprised I don't remember this one. I...I'm surprised I don't remember this one. I was sucking up all the science fiction I could find in my grade school and junior high libraries.Evan Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07620731784654779358noreply@blogger.com