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The Pursuit of the Pankera: A Parallel Novel About Parallel Universes
The Pursuit of the Pankera is one of the most audacious experiments ever done in science fiction by the legendary author of the classic bestseller
Starship Troopers.
Robert A. Heinlein wrote The Number of the Beast, which was published in 1980. In the book Zeb, Deety, Hilda and Jake are ambushed by the alien “Black Hats” and barely escape with their lives on a specially configured vehicle (the Gay Deceiver) which can travel along various planes of existence, allowing them to visit parallel universes.
However, unknown to most fans, Heinlein had already written a “parallel” novel about the four characters and parallel universes in 1977. He effectively wrote two parallel novels about parallel universes. The novels share the same start, but as soon as the Gay Deceiver is used to transport them to a parallel universe, each book transports them to a totally different parallel world.
From that point on the plot lines diverge completely. While The Number of the Beast morphs into something very different, more representative of later Heinlein works, The Pursuit of the Pankera remains on target with a much more traditional Heinleinesque storyline and ending, reminiscent of his earlier works.
The Pursuit of the Pankera was never published and there have been many competing theories as to why (including significant copyright issues in 1977). Over time the manuscript was largely forgotten but survived in fragments. A recent re-examination of these fragments, however, made it clear that put together in the right order they constituted the complete novel.
And here it finally is: Robert A. Heinlein’s audacious experiment. A fitting farewell from one of the most inventive science fiction writers to have ever lived: a parallel novel about parallel universes as well as a great adventure pitting the forces of good versus evil only the way Heinlein could do.
Robert A. Heinlein wrote The Number of the Beast, which was published in 1980. In the book Zeb, Deety, Hilda and Jake are ambushed by the alien “Black Hats” and barely escape with their lives on a specially configured vehicle (the Gay Deceiver) which can travel along various planes of existence, allowing them to visit parallel universes.
However, unknown to most fans, Heinlein had already written a “parallel” novel about the four characters and parallel universes in 1977. He effectively wrote two parallel novels about parallel universes. The novels share the same start, but as soon as the Gay Deceiver is used to transport them to a parallel universe, each book transports them to a totally different parallel world.
From that point on the plot lines diverge completely. While The Number of the Beast morphs into something very different, more representative of later Heinlein works, The Pursuit of the Pankera remains on target with a much more traditional Heinleinesque storyline and ending, reminiscent of his earlier works.
The Pursuit of the Pankera was never published and there have been many competing theories as to why (including significant copyright issues in 1977). Over time the manuscript was largely forgotten but survived in fragments. A recent re-examination of these fragments, however, made it clear that put together in the right order they constituted the complete novel.
And here it finally is: Robert A. Heinlein’s audacious experiment. A fitting farewell from one of the most inventive science fiction writers to have ever lived: a parallel novel about parallel universes as well as a great adventure pitting the forces of good versus evil only the way Heinlein could do.
503 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 24, 2020
909 people are currently reading
1825 people want to read
About the author
Robert A. Heinlein
1,053 books10.5k followersRobert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accuracy in his fiction, and was thus a pioneer of the subgenre of hard science fiction. His published works, both fiction and non-fiction, express admiration for competence and emphasize the value of critical thinking. His plots often posed provocative situations which challenged conventional social mores. His work continues to have an influence on the science-fiction genre, and on modern culture more generally.
Heinlein became one of the first American science-fiction writers to break into mainstream magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post in the late 1940s. He was one of the best-selling science-fiction novelists for many decades, and he, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke are often considered the "Big Three" of English-language science fiction authors. Notable Heinlein works include Stranger in a Strange Land, Starship Troopers (which helped mold the space marine and mecha archetypes) and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. His work sometimes had controversial aspects, such as plural marriage in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, militarism in Starship Troopers and technologically competent women characters who were formidable, yet often stereotypically feminine—such as Friday.
Heinlein used his science fiction as a way to explore provocative social and political ideas and to speculate how progress in science and engineering might shape the future of politics, race, religion, and sex. Within the framework of his science-fiction stories, Heinlein repeatedly addressed certain social themes: the importance of individual liberty and self-reliance, the nature of sexual relationships, the obligation individuals owe to their societies, the influence of organized religion on culture and government, and the tendency of society to repress nonconformist thought. He also speculated on the influence of space travel on human cultural practices.
Heinlein was named the first Science Fiction Writers Grand Master in 1974. Four of his novels won Hugo Awards. In addition, fifty years after publication, seven of his works were awarded "Retro Hugos"—awards given retrospectively for works that were published before the Hugo Awards came into existence. In his fiction, Heinlein coined terms that have become part of the English language, including grok, waldo and speculative fiction, as well as popularizing existing terms like "TANSTAAFL", "pay it forward", and "space marine". He also anticipated mechanical computer-aided design with "Drafting Dan" and described a modern version of a waterbed in his novel Beyond This Horizon.
Also wrote under Pen names: Anson McDonald, Lyle Monroe, Caleb Saunders, John Riverside and Simon York.
Heinlein became one of the first American science-fiction writers to break into mainstream magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post in the late 1940s. He was one of the best-selling science-fiction novelists for many decades, and he, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke are often considered the "Big Three" of English-language science fiction authors. Notable Heinlein works include Stranger in a Strange Land, Starship Troopers (which helped mold the space marine and mecha archetypes) and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. His work sometimes had controversial aspects, such as plural marriage in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, militarism in Starship Troopers and technologically competent women characters who were formidable, yet often stereotypically feminine—such as Friday.
Heinlein used his science fiction as a way to explore provocative social and political ideas and to speculate how progress in science and engineering might shape the future of politics, race, religion, and sex. Within the framework of his science-fiction stories, Heinlein repeatedly addressed certain social themes: the importance of individual liberty and self-reliance, the nature of sexual relationships, the obligation individuals owe to their societies, the influence of organized religion on culture and government, and the tendency of society to repress nonconformist thought. He also speculated on the influence of space travel on human cultural practices.
Heinlein was named the first Science Fiction Writers Grand Master in 1974. Four of his novels won Hugo Awards. In addition, fifty years after publication, seven of his works were awarded "Retro Hugos"—awards given retrospectively for works that were published before the Hugo Awards came into existence. In his fiction, Heinlein coined terms that have become part of the English language, including grok, waldo and speculative fiction, as well as popularizing existing terms like "TANSTAAFL", "pay it forward", and "space marine". He also anticipated mechanical computer-aided design with "Drafting Dan" and described a modern version of a waterbed in his novel Beyond This Horizon.
Also wrote under Pen names: Anson McDonald, Lyle Monroe, Caleb Saunders, John Riverside and Simon York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 257 reviews
March 21, 2020
Before I start, let me say that I’ve been a Heinlein fanatic for at least sixty years. I have on my bookshelf *everything* that has been published by the Grand Master, and reread the vast majority every three years or so. He is easily my favorite author.
Pursuit of the Pankera is a close relative of The Number of the Beast, which was published in 1980, one of Heinlein’s final novels. The Number of the Beast is not one of my favorite books, in fact I’d put it in the bottom 10% of his works. I was excited when the Heinlein estate managers allowed Pursuit of the Pankera to be released. The publisher decided to produce the book exactly as Heinlein wrote it, probably nearly at the same time he wrote The Number of the Beast.
The first 152 pages of Pursuit of the Pankera are exactly the same as The Number of the Beast. From there it branches out in a somewhat different direction, with a similar plot line but different actions. However, there are long passages that are either vastly similar or actually verbatim from The Number of the Beast. If you’ve read The Number of the Beast, you won’t be surprised by anything that appears in Pursuit of the Pankera.
Basically, four travelers - Zeb, Deety, Jake and Hilda - are hounded by vermin (called Pankera in this book but unidentified in The Number of the Beast) and begin to run from them with the help of Jake’s Continua Craft. They go skipping through various universes, some of which are similar to the Earth we know, some of which are wildly different and based upon the worlds created by other Science Fiction or Fantasy authors. Eventually, they wage war against the Pankera with the assistance of various allies they meet along the way.
What is missing is the final stages of The Number of the Beast, when Heinlein recreated characters from many of his previous works at a ‘convention.’ Many reviewers believe this was a silly piece that Heinlein wrote late in his life. Pursuit of the Pankera ends in a vastly different place, but one that won’t be unexpected by any devoted Heinlein lover.
One of the problems that exists in Pursuit of the Pankera is that page 152 (where the split begins) to page 318 is a superb exercise in world creation - who would expect anything less from RAH? - but the plot doesn’t seem to go anywhere. Another is that Heinlein always tends to preach philosophy in his work, and Pursuit of the Pankera has more than enough of that; it becomes pedantic, even for a Heinlein lover such as myself.
This work wasn’t published during Heinlein’s life, nor that of this wife while she was still alive and protecting his legacy. I suspect that’s because he felt this work wasn’t up to snuff. He wrote both novels during a long illness and both could have been much improved with the help of an autocratic editor. Pursuit of the Pankera could easily been stripped of 25,000 words in my opinion, but the current publisher felt, I’m sure, that any attempt to censor Heinlein’s words would be met with antagonism.
If you are just introducing yourself to the works of this great author, I’d advise you to start elsewhere. And unless you are either a true fanatic or completist, if you’ve read The Number of the Beast this novel won’t take you anywhere you haven’t already been.
I’m glad this final bit of Heinlein was printed, but I doubt I’ll read it again. Now let’s see, where did I put my copy of The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress . . .
March 4, 2023
This novel is presented as an alternate (or parallel or first draft or perhaps rejected, depending on who you believe) version of another Heinlein novel, The Number of the Beast. I wasn't a big fan of The Number of the Beast when I first read it forty-some years back, and felt it was Heinlein's poorest novel, but I bought and read this one because, hey, it's unfamiliar Heinlein. The first third of the book is the same as the originally published version, but then it branches into a much different, more traditional story. It has the same ideas and hallmarks of Heinlein's other work, some good and some bad... All of the characters sound too much alike; the dialog suffers because no one in real life speaks with as much precision and formality, especially to spouses or family members or close friends...he makes a car ride sound like a military expedition. He goes on for too long about sex and nudity and there's an uncomfortable preoccupation with breasts. Some of the mathematics is way too long and complex and you'd think the computer could handle some of those details. On the other hand, he creates fascinating worlds, has good command of language, and tells a great story. My big insight halfway through is that he was indulging himself, trying to present his beliefs and philosophy while at the same time discovering (inventing?) fanfic. He was writing in the world of Burroughs' Barsoom and "Doc" Smith's Lensmen. (And anyone unfamiliar with those two universes won't get much out of this book, I believe.) There are a lot of entertaining bits and quips about fictional worlds, such as one character's observation about Stranger in a Strange Land (arguably Heinlein's finest and most influential and most famous novel) that some guys will do anything for money. I enjoyed it both as a fan of Heinlein and of Burroughs and Smith; Heinlein seems to have been having a lot of fun in the writing and succeeded in taking the reader along for the ride. It struck me as a good blend of his later philosophical work and his earlier adventure genre stories. The Number of the Beast got a mostly negative reception in the field when it appeared in 1980, and many of the defenses offered to the criticism centered around the idea that he was very ill while it was in preparation and that it was the best he could do. I think many readers, me included, were disappointed because it was a very different type of book than we wanted and expected from Grand Master Heinlein, but I enjoyed reading this one and will now give The Number of the Beast another shot.
August 10, 2020
Robert Anson Heinlein wrote 32 novels, nearly 60 stories. I devoured them all like candy—better actually—starting about age eight. Of course, I began with the juveniles—obtainable via the school library—yet I remember reading the (terrible) “I Will Fear No Evil” when published in 1970.
For the most part, my preferences are catholic, with the possible exception of disliking rather strongly the second half of “Stranger in a Strange Land.” Several of his works make my “Top Dozen SF” list—“Moon Is a Harsh Mistress” is my favorite SF novel; “By His Bootstraps” is on of my favorite novellas; and “All Us Zombies” among my favorite short stories. All told, I’ve read every Heinlein work at LEAST thrice, and a few (“Citizen of the Galaxy”) a dozen times or more.
Except for Heinlein’s last five books, a category by themselves. “Friday,” published in 1982, is the only decent one of the bunch. I re-read it again this summer—perhaps for the fourth time—and, while flawed, it’s entertaining. Three others—“Job, A Comedy of Justice” (1984); “The Cat Who Walks Through Walls” (1985); and “To Sail Beyond the Sunset” (1987)—jog few memories. Job was a knock on religion; Cat was some kind of spy story; and Sail was another one of those built around Oedipal desires. I read each once, forgot three, and own none but Friday now.
Once also was enough for 1980’s “The Number of the Beast”—I remember actively loathing that novel. It seemed too similar to Heinlein’s “The Puppet Masters,” a 1951 thinly disguised anti-Communist tale appropriate then but generations out of place by 1980. I certainly never expected to read the book again.
This spring, to great fanfare, a new version was published, retaining the original first third, with the remainder reconstructed based on an alternative manuscript found among RAH’s papers.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
To distinguish it from the original, it was given a new title: “The Pursuit of the Pankera.”
Agreeing, for once, with the Manchester Guardian, it’s good. I don’t have both versions, and have blocked most memories of version 1, but the seam seems to occur once the four lead characters—who share in rotating narration—escape the initial danger on “Earth Prime” into other dimensions. Telling what those dimensions are would be a spoiler, but it’s a puzzler, resolved at about the 85% mark. Some of my visible highlights give away more of the game.
Bottom line: the nasty aliens (mostly) go away, and Heinlein produces what would have been a captivating, capstone juvenile. It would have led me, far earlier, to read other, older works by other authors I filled-in only later (not necessary for the read, but helpful). Simply put, it’s a damn shame RAH published the execrable “Number of the Beast” as opposed to this playful joy ride.
Add whatever caveats you want about sexism or conservative politics: Heinlein’s unique genius was his characters felt real; they inhabited your head while reading and invaded your dreams when you set down the novel for bed. Experiencing that especial magic again should make “The Pursuit of the Pankera” Number One on your Summer reading list.
Though it won’t break my “Top Dozen SF” list.
For the most part, my preferences are catholic, with the possible exception of disliking rather strongly the second half of “Stranger in a Strange Land.” Several of his works make my “Top Dozen SF” list—“Moon Is a Harsh Mistress” is my favorite SF novel; “By His Bootstraps” is on of my favorite novellas; and “All Us Zombies” among my favorite short stories. All told, I’ve read every Heinlein work at LEAST thrice, and a few (“Citizen of the Galaxy”) a dozen times or more.
Except for Heinlein’s last five books, a category by themselves. “Friday,” published in 1982, is the only decent one of the bunch. I re-read it again this summer—perhaps for the fourth time—and, while flawed, it’s entertaining. Three others—“Job, A Comedy of Justice” (1984); “The Cat Who Walks Through Walls” (1985); and “To Sail Beyond the Sunset” (1987)—jog few memories. Job was a knock on religion; Cat was some kind of spy story; and Sail was another one of those built around Oedipal desires. I read each once, forgot three, and own none but Friday now.
Once also was enough for 1980’s “The Number of the Beast”—I remember actively loathing that novel. It seemed too similar to Heinlein’s “The Puppet Masters,” a 1951 thinly disguised anti-Communist tale appropriate then but generations out of place by 1980. I certainly never expected to read the book again.
This spring, to great fanfare, a new version was published, retaining the original first third, with the remainder reconstructed based on an alternative manuscript found among RAH’s papers.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
To distinguish it from the original, it was given a new title: “The Pursuit of the Pankera.”
Agreeing, for once, with the Manchester Guardian, it’s good. I don’t have both versions, and have blocked most memories of version 1, but the seam seems to occur once the four lead characters—who share in rotating narration—escape the initial danger on “Earth Prime” into other dimensions. Telling what those dimensions are would be a spoiler, but it’s a puzzler, resolved at about the 85% mark. Some of my visible highlights give away more of the game.
Bottom line: the nasty aliens (mostly) go away, and Heinlein produces what would have been a captivating, capstone juvenile. It would have led me, far earlier, to read other, older works by other authors I filled-in only later (not necessary for the read, but helpful). Simply put, it’s a damn shame RAH published the execrable “Number of the Beast” as opposed to this playful joy ride.
Add whatever caveats you want about sexism or conservative politics: Heinlein’s unique genius was his characters felt real; they inhabited your head while reading and invaded your dreams when you set down the novel for bed. Experiencing that especial magic again should make “The Pursuit of the Pankera” Number One on your Summer reading list.
Though it won’t break my “Top Dozen SF” list.
August 4, 2020
I eagerly waited for this book a year or so before its release. The date was pushed back and so on... Then the pandemic came about and I discovered that the publisher would not be shipping copies to Canada... As I was considering some way to have someone from the States order it for me and then, perhaps, send it here, a good friend of mine (from this side of the boarder), who also was trying to get himself a copy, managed to get two, “First Edition 2nd Printing” hard covers! And so, here we are, reading new material from the Grand Master himself – new material by any Grand Master, for this reader is a genuine thrill - I was a teen during the eighties, and could have been anticipating the last few newly published Heinlein novels had I discovered the joy of reading scifi during that time rather than during the early 2000’s.
First off, and to get this out of the way, I was disappointed with the chosen cover artwork for “The Pursuit of Pankera” by Scott Grimando. To be clear, the artist is an absolute competent illustrator and obviously very talented. I simply dislike when characters are rendered in a realistic/photographic manner on the cover, preferring that left to the imagination. I would have preferred a more generic presentation of some scene or idea from the manuscript.
The publisher’s notes by Shahid Madmud, which precedes David Weber’s introduction, states that the “The Pursuit of the Pankera”, an alternate version of the 1980 “Number of the Beast”, took three years to assemble from “fragments” as well as “Heinlein’s handwritten notes” while assuring readers that it is “100 percent Heinlein” and that “Other than editorial work, no additional author was asked to provide fillers.”
I read both versions simultaneously – Number by audiobook while following through the Pankera hardback. The first 152 pages are almost identical, sauf additional bits and edits indicating that Pankera was written before Number. Those early “Number” pages are more polished (a good thing) while there is more emphasizing on the goofy titillation or flirtatious (way too many baths being taken in either version of this book) aspects between the four featured characters (not so good). The more straight forward adventure story ark of Pankera will appeal to fans of Heinlein’s earlier work and of golden age scifi as it is a fine tribute to the ERB’s Barsoon and Doc Smith’s Lensmen series. I do, however, in the end, love that Heinlein chose to go farther with this book than his first attempt, favouring taking the story to where he did, even though nearly abandoning the point of the original book.
I am glad this version was eventually published as the 200+ or so rejected pages are mostly gold. I enjoyed every bit of it. An even newer expanded version ought be compiled/edited inserting the best of Pankera’s abandoned Barsoon and Lensmen scenes into Number. Why the heck not? Even the alternate ending could be salvaged somewhat with the Number party thrown in in the end... Then again, maybe not...
First off, and to get this out of the way, I was disappointed with the chosen cover artwork for “The Pursuit of Pankera” by Scott Grimando. To be clear, the artist is an absolute competent illustrator and obviously very talented. I simply dislike when characters are rendered in a realistic/photographic manner on the cover, preferring that left to the imagination. I would have preferred a more generic presentation of some scene or idea from the manuscript.
The publisher’s notes by Shahid Madmud, which precedes David Weber’s introduction, states that the “The Pursuit of the Pankera”, an alternate version of the 1980 “Number of the Beast”, took three years to assemble from “fragments” as well as “Heinlein’s handwritten notes” while assuring readers that it is “100 percent Heinlein” and that “Other than editorial work, no additional author was asked to provide fillers.”
I read both versions simultaneously – Number by audiobook while following through the Pankera hardback. The first 152 pages are almost identical, sauf additional bits and edits indicating that Pankera was written before Number. Those early “Number” pages are more polished (a good thing) while there is more emphasizing on the goofy titillation or flirtatious (way too many baths being taken in either version of this book) aspects between the four featured characters (not so good). The more straight forward adventure story ark of Pankera will appeal to fans of Heinlein’s earlier work and of golden age scifi as it is a fine tribute to the ERB’s Barsoon and Doc Smith’s Lensmen series. I do, however, in the end, love that Heinlein chose to go farther with this book than his first attempt, favouring taking the story to where he did, even though nearly abandoning the point of the original book.
I am glad this version was eventually published as the 200+ or so rejected pages are mostly gold. I enjoyed every bit of it. An even newer expanded version ought be compiled/edited inserting the best of Pankera’s abandoned Barsoon and Lensmen scenes into Number. Why the heck not? Even the alternate ending could be salvaged somewhat with the Number party thrown in in the end... Then again, maybe not...
April 12, 2020
This book was like a first draft of The Number of the Beast
Not nearly as good. Reads like a first draft. The characters are not very differentiated and some of the most fun stuff in The Number of the Beast is missing. Pieces that are substituted are not as well written as what was in The Number of the Beast
If you are familiar with the you might like it better than I did
Not nearly as good. Reads like a first draft. The characters are not very differentiated and some of the most fun stuff in The Number of the Beast is missing. Pieces that are substituted are not as well written as what was in The Number of the Beast
If you are familiar with the you might like it better than I did
February 26, 2020
Id love to give this a 5 star review, because its a 5 star book.
I dropped a star though, because all they hype and years of announcements Ive been reading, really make this sound like a new (old), book from Heinlein.
And at the end of the Day, I just felt like I was re-reading number of the beast. The differences between the two books does not take place until a 159 pages in. At that point, without getting out Number of the beast, and putting the books side by side, id have a hard time from memory telling you what the differences are.
Sure I noticed some, but they were minor. Overall, I didn't feel like I was reading a different book. Felt like I was reading number of the beast with some minor edits.
The completely different story written by heinlein its advertised of? Yeah, not in my opinion unfortunately. Same story, few tweaks, is how Id put it.
In fact having read Number of the Beast many times, Id call this a watered down version.
The claims of "we don't know why he didn't publish it", seem fairly obvious to me as simply he or an editor said.. it needs more work.
I absolutely enjoyed it, taken on its own, its a 5 star book. Its not QUITE as good as number of the beast, and did not offer enough differences to warrant a reprint and certainly not a new title, in my opinion.
The biggest difference is the ending.
I dropped a star though, because all they hype and years of announcements Ive been reading, really make this sound like a new (old), book from Heinlein.
And at the end of the Day, I just felt like I was re-reading number of the beast. The differences between the two books does not take place until a 159 pages in. At that point, without getting out Number of the beast, and putting the books side by side, id have a hard time from memory telling you what the differences are.
Sure I noticed some, but they were minor. Overall, I didn't feel like I was reading a different book. Felt like I was reading number of the beast with some minor edits.
The completely different story written by heinlein its advertised of? Yeah, not in my opinion unfortunately. Same story, few tweaks, is how Id put it.
In fact having read Number of the Beast many times, Id call this a watered down version.
The claims of "we don't know why he didn't publish it", seem fairly obvious to me as simply he or an editor said.. it needs more work.
I absolutely enjoyed it, taken on its own, its a 5 star book. Its not QUITE as good as number of the beast, and did not offer enough differences to warrant a reprint and certainly not a new title, in my opinion.
The biggest difference is the ending.
July 28, 2020
Heinlein was a brilliant writer of heroic characters. This continues in Pursuit with four main heroes acting as a team. Weaving in stories from sci-fi and fiction including Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, Barsoom, and more, his six-dimensional universes are essentially limitless. Surprisingly, that's a problem for me. His multiverses in this and others of his oeuvres feel like deus ex machina. The last chapter, the finale, was boring. Kinda Starship Troopers on steroids. IMO, the best RAH novels remain: Stranger in a Strange Land, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, and Time Enough for Love.
March 15, 2020
I'm very glad I participated in the Kickstarter campaign to get this book published; I hope it does well commercially.
I've been a Heinlein fan for decades. He is one of the few authors that I re-read, or buy the books (thank you public library system, for keeping me out of bankruptcy!)
I don't know why RAH wrote, or published, "The Number of the Beast" the way he did, but "The Pursuit of the Pankera" is a better novel. If you liked "The Number of the Beast", you'll love "The Pursuit of the Pankera".
I've been a Heinlein fan for decades. He is one of the few authors that I re-read, or buy the books (thank you public library system, for keeping me out of bankruptcy!)
I don't know why RAH wrote, or published, "The Number of the Beast" the way he did, but "The Pursuit of the Pankera" is a better novel. If you liked "The Number of the Beast", you'll love "The Pursuit of the Pankera".
March 28, 2020
I admit that I still love "The Number of the Beast". And this is maybe the reason why I don't like this book at all.
While about half of the books are the same, the changed parts are not for the better. I like the Lensmen series for its action, but it's not in the least funny. And the attempt to use it in this book fails epically in my humble opinion.
And I never encountered an ending to a RAH book that was as boring, confusing and infodumping as this one. It completely spoiled the little esteem I had left before.
This book should have been let rest in peace.
While about half of the books are the same, the changed parts are not for the better. I like the Lensmen series for its action, but it's not in the least funny. And the attempt to use it in this book fails epically in my humble opinion.
And I never encountered an ending to a RAH book that was as boring, confusing and infodumping as this one. It completely spoiled the little esteem I had left before.
This book should have been let rest in peace.
March 25, 2020
My wife regularly writes reviews, even of books we’ve both read and enjoyed, but I’m taking over the keyboard for this one. Why? Quite simply because Heinlein is not only the one who introduced me to my (gulp, near 6 decades) lifelong love of science fiction but of reading itself. The first book I ever borrowed from a library was Have Space Suit Will Travel and I’ve never looked back. The reason for this in the case of Heinlein is that they were all so astoundingly superb. That certainly included The Number of the Beast, the parallel novel to this one (they diverge at approximately the 1/3rd mark, at the perfect point for parallel story and universe divergence). Happily it’s also true of The Pursuit of the Pankera. I actually got my copy of this book by participating in the Kickstarter campaign for it. It’s the only such campaign I’ve ever participated in. Having now poured through the book, I’m delighted that I did so. It was just perfect and wonderful fun - and, I’m delighted to say - very easy to highly recommend.
April 7, 2020
In 1980, Heinlein published a book which he called "'The Number of the Beast--'". To say its reception was mixed would be fair; some considered it to be a mess of a novel; others, taking it more seriously, considered its theory of pandimensional multi-person solipsism the key to the book and interpreted it more positively.
_This_ book, now, is a close sibling to tNotB. In fact, _this_ book appears to be an early draft for _that_ book: its first 150 or so pages are identical (except for the absence of chapter titles) to the opening pages of _that_ book.
In both books, then, we are given the various viewpoints of Zebediah Carter, Jacob Burroughs, Dejah Thoris Burroughs Carter, and Hilda Corners Burroughs, as the two couples (one pair has met for the first time only hours ago) flee a car bomb at a party and solemnize two marriages. While hiding out in Burroughs's home, "Snug Harbor", for a couple of weeks, both women become pregnant; their idyll is rudely interrupted by a ranger who tries to kill them, gets killed instead, and turns out to be an alien disguised as a ranger.
So they flee the planet. Dr. J. Burroughs, you see, has invented a "continua craft," based on six-dimensional geometry, which can jump from universe to universe, and travel anywhere within a given universe, in zero time and with very little expenditure of energy. They have, during their idyll, fitted out Z. Carter's "duo", a combination car-plane, to hold in air. and thus serve as a makeshift spacecraft. Escaping just before "Snug Harbor" is atom bombed (the aliens play rough), they hop over a few universes to a parallel Earth; from there they decide to check out that universe's Mars.
This is where the two books diverge. _That_ book's Mars turns out to be colonized by rival camps of (at least) British and Russian settlers. _This_ book's Mars ... is Barsoom, Edgar Rice Burroughs's fantastic world with four-armed green giants and red people, both oviparous. Here they have a rest, restock the car (whose onboard computer, "Gay Deceiver", is a fifth main character), and learn something valuable about their alien enemies.
From there they visit other worlds, seeking a place (a) free of those aliens, (b) with advanced obstetrics, and (c) where they can fit in without anyone realizing that they aren't from that world. Along the way they visit most of the same worlds as in _that_ book, but in _this_ book, except for Oz, their adventures are quite different.
Is _that_ book better than _this_ book? Heinlein obviously thought so, or he would have published _this_ one without redoing it so thoroughly. I, on the other hand, think _this_ one better than _that_ one: it's more controlled, and doesn't go completely off the rails at the end -- though it _does_ suddenly become very compressed towards the end, and has an ending Heinlein has used before (in _The Puppet Masters_). Your mileage will almost certainly vary.
Final thought: I can imagine Heinlein (who was a bit of a joker) deliberately leaving this "parallel novel about parallel universes" to be found after his death It was in scattered pieces which had to be reassembled, but it is definitely a single and complete book with no lacunae. Whereever Heinlein is (if he is anywhere) I imagine him chortling over the publication of_this_ book.
_This_ book, now, is a close sibling to tNotB. In fact, _this_ book appears to be an early draft for _that_ book: its first 150 or so pages are identical (except for the absence of chapter titles) to the opening pages of _that_ book.
In both books, then, we are given the various viewpoints of Zebediah Carter, Jacob Burroughs, Dejah Thoris Burroughs Carter, and Hilda Corners Burroughs, as the two couples (one pair has met for the first time only hours ago) flee a car bomb at a party and solemnize two marriages. While hiding out in Burroughs's home, "Snug Harbor", for a couple of weeks, both women become pregnant; their idyll is rudely interrupted by a ranger who tries to kill them, gets killed instead, and turns out to be an alien disguised as a ranger.
So they flee the planet. Dr. J. Burroughs, you see, has invented a "continua craft," based on six-dimensional geometry, which can jump from universe to universe, and travel anywhere within a given universe, in zero time and with very little expenditure of energy. They have, during their idyll, fitted out Z. Carter's "duo", a combination car-plane, to hold in air. and thus serve as a makeshift spacecraft. Escaping just before "Snug Harbor" is atom bombed (the aliens play rough), they hop over a few universes to a parallel Earth; from there they decide to check out that universe's Mars.
This is where the two books diverge. _That_ book's Mars turns out to be colonized by rival camps of (at least) British and Russian settlers. _This_ book's Mars ... is Barsoom, Edgar Rice Burroughs's fantastic world with four-armed green giants and red people, both oviparous. Here they have a rest, restock the car (whose onboard computer, "Gay Deceiver", is a fifth main character), and learn something valuable about their alien enemies.
From there they visit other worlds, seeking a place (a) free of those aliens, (b) with advanced obstetrics, and (c) where they can fit in without anyone realizing that they aren't from that world. Along the way they visit most of the same worlds as in _that_ book, but in _this_ book, except for Oz, their adventures are quite different.
Is _that_ book better than _this_ book? Heinlein obviously thought so, or he would have published _this_ one without redoing it so thoroughly. I, on the other hand, think _this_ one better than _that_ one: it's more controlled, and doesn't go completely off the rails at the end -- though it _does_ suddenly become very compressed towards the end, and has an ending Heinlein has used before (in _The Puppet Masters_). Your mileage will almost certainly vary.
Final thought: I can imagine Heinlein (who was a bit of a joker) deliberately leaving this "parallel novel about parallel universes" to be found after his death It was in scattered pieces which had to be reassembled, but it is definitely a single and complete book with no lacunae. Whereever Heinlein is (if he is anywhere) I imagine him chortling over the publication of_this_ book.
April 29, 2020
I never thought I’d assign a 1 to a Heinlein novel, but it’s entirely apt in this case. What purports to be an alternate version of The Number of the Beast is a thorough disappointment. I must admit the marketing folks hooked me instantly with their talk of this recently discovered alternate novel as being “a much more traditional Heinleinesque storyline and ending, reminiscent of his earlier works.”
But after wallowing into the alternate version I can say that the above statement seems like an insult to the author’s earlier works. There’s a symbol on page 152 where the The Number of The Beast and The Pursuit of the Pankera diverge, but I think that the first 152 pages represent what Heinlein thought to salvage from a failed rough draft.
Unless I miss my guess the editors discarded Pankera’s first 152 rough draft pages, substituting the polished first part of The Number of the Beast, then tacking on the rest of the atrocious Pankera rough draft.
I’ve never been a fan of The Number of the Beast, where Heinlein seems to enjoy marinating in his own cleverness, but the first 152 pages were fun in their own way. But the paragraphs immediately following page 152’s symbol come off as sloppier in style, groping for plot, and fumbling for cute ways to pay homage to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Mars. And as the droll jokiness and Barroom ripoffs piled up over the next sixteen pages, I’d decided I’d had enough. Yes, I lasted only sixteen pages. I flipped through the book to spot more clever repartee between the four characters, but it all seemed more of the same Burroughs worship/ripoff. Maybe someone will point out that I missed something good somewhere down the line, but why should I waste the time finding it? There are so many other books out there to read, and The Pursuit of the Pankera is definitely not competing well with them.
I see no reason to expend attention on this one unless you’re an English Literature Ph.D. student working on your Heinlein dissertation.
The marketers dangle the intriguing implication that this genius alternate novel was held up by mysterious copyright issues. Perhaps it was thwarted by uptight lawyer types unwilling to let this jewel see the light of day? Or would that have anything to do with the estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs?
The Pursuit of the Pankera is a sobering reminder that the manuscripts found after writers’ deaths are almost always the failed drafts they never wanted to see published. Also a lesson in falling for clever marketing. And a waste of money unless I can say that my Heinlein collection is now more complete than it was--but that would’ve been worth about $2.00, not $29.99.
But after wallowing into the alternate version I can say that the above statement seems like an insult to the author’s earlier works. There’s a symbol on page 152 where the The Number of The Beast and The Pursuit of the Pankera diverge, but I think that the first 152 pages represent what Heinlein thought to salvage from a failed rough draft.
Unless I miss my guess the editors discarded Pankera’s first 152 rough draft pages, substituting the polished first part of The Number of the Beast, then tacking on the rest of the atrocious Pankera rough draft.
I’ve never been a fan of The Number of the Beast, where Heinlein seems to enjoy marinating in his own cleverness, but the first 152 pages were fun in their own way. But the paragraphs immediately following page 152’s symbol come off as sloppier in style, groping for plot, and fumbling for cute ways to pay homage to Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Mars. And as the droll jokiness and Barroom ripoffs piled up over the next sixteen pages, I’d decided I’d had enough. Yes, I lasted only sixteen pages. I flipped through the book to spot more clever repartee between the four characters, but it all seemed more of the same Burroughs worship/ripoff. Maybe someone will point out that I missed something good somewhere down the line, but why should I waste the time finding it? There are so many other books out there to read, and The Pursuit of the Pankera is definitely not competing well with them.
I see no reason to expend attention on this one unless you’re an English Literature Ph.D. student working on your Heinlein dissertation.
The marketers dangle the intriguing implication that this genius alternate novel was held up by mysterious copyright issues. Perhaps it was thwarted by uptight lawyer types unwilling to let this jewel see the light of day? Or would that have anything to do with the estate of Edgar Rice Burroughs?
The Pursuit of the Pankera is a sobering reminder that the manuscripts found after writers’ deaths are almost always the failed drafts they never wanted to see published. Also a lesson in falling for clever marketing. And a waste of money unless I can say that my Heinlein collection is now more complete than it was--but that would’ve been worth about $2.00, not $29.99.
June 14, 2022
As most of the other reviewers have stated, I have been a Robert Heinlein fan since my childhood. I enjoyed his juveniles, but my then-girlfriend, later-fiancee, and now-wife really got into his adult novels starting in the late '80s, around the time that Heinlein passed away.
Many Heinlein fans didn't like "Number of the Beast," but we really did. I wouldn't call it a favorite, but it's certainly one we enjoyed. I mention this because "The Pursuit of the Pankera" is kind of a companion piece to that book. My understanding is that it was written starting in the late '70s, and while NotB reached publication status, TPotP never did. Decades after Heinlein's death, pieces of manuscript were cobbled together with the opening of NotB to make a coherent storyline.
And it was coherent. I was, in fact, surprised by how well it flowed. It did seem in places like it was a work in progress, one that Heinlein would have polished a little more had he been in charge. But the people who assembled TPotP thought (probably wisely) that it was better to not enhance the work very much, and let Heinlein's words tell the story. I once reviewed an unfinished novel by Mark Twain, finished many years later by another author with the blessing of Twain's estate, for The Twainian. In that book, it was VERY obvious where Twain's voice left off and the new author took over; I suspect the same would have been true had they gone that way for this novel.
Was it perfect? No. Did I get a little thrill as I slipped back into the rapid-fire dialogue of Deety, Zeb, Hilda, and Jake? Absolutely. I wouldn't recommend this for those who are not already into Robert Heinlein, but for those of us who wish he'd written just a... you know, a LITTLE more... this is a welcome reminder of his greatness.
Many Heinlein fans didn't like "Number of the Beast," but we really did. I wouldn't call it a favorite, but it's certainly one we enjoyed. I mention this because "The Pursuit of the Pankera" is kind of a companion piece to that book. My understanding is that it was written starting in the late '70s, and while NotB reached publication status, TPotP never did. Decades after Heinlein's death, pieces of manuscript were cobbled together with the opening of NotB to make a coherent storyline.
And it was coherent. I was, in fact, surprised by how well it flowed. It did seem in places like it was a work in progress, one that Heinlein would have polished a little more had he been in charge. But the people who assembled TPotP thought (probably wisely) that it was better to not enhance the work very much, and let Heinlein's words tell the story. I once reviewed an unfinished novel by Mark Twain, finished many years later by another author with the blessing of Twain's estate, for The Twainian. In that book, it was VERY obvious where Twain's voice left off and the new author took over; I suspect the same would have been true had they gone that way for this novel.
Was it perfect? No. Did I get a little thrill as I slipped back into the rapid-fire dialogue of Deety, Zeb, Hilda, and Jake? Absolutely. I wouldn't recommend this for those who are not already into Robert Heinlein, but for those of us who wish he'd written just a... you know, a LITTLE more... this is a welcome reminder of his greatness.
April 16, 2020
I found this book to be an excellent read during the current situation where we are spending all our time at home. I consider myself a huge Heinlein fan, having read every fiction story he wrote, since the early 70's.
I don't enjoy spoilers in reviews, which is why I rarely read them myself before buying a book, so I will refrain from going into detail on the story, as some of the other reviewers have. Just know that if you have read Number of the Beast, the first third of the book will be very familiar. If you haven't read Number of the Beast, knowing that the first third of the book is almost identical may make you want to also read that one. When the storyline shifts a third of the way in, it is a very pleasant moment for a long time Heinlein reader who had feared to never read anything new from the Master.
I enjoyed the story because I felt familiar and comfortable with the characters, including the ones from Barsoom, Oz and Dr. Smith's universe.
If I were to have any criticism at all it would be that the final editing could have been better. There were a few typos and misspellings, more than I would expect from a Heinlein novel. This does not detract from the story at all and only reminds the reader that Mr. Heinlein was not around to put the final touches and approval on the book before it's final release.
I don't enjoy spoilers in reviews, which is why I rarely read them myself before buying a book, so I will refrain from going into detail on the story, as some of the other reviewers have. Just know that if you have read Number of the Beast, the first third of the book will be very familiar. If you haven't read Number of the Beast, knowing that the first third of the book is almost identical may make you want to also read that one. When the storyline shifts a third of the way in, it is a very pleasant moment for a long time Heinlein reader who had feared to never read anything new from the Master.
I enjoyed the story because I felt familiar and comfortable with the characters, including the ones from Barsoom, Oz and Dr. Smith's universe.
If I were to have any criticism at all it would be that the final editing could have been better. There were a few typos and misspellings, more than I would expect from a Heinlein novel. This does not detract from the story at all and only reminds the reader that Mr. Heinlein was not around to put the final touches and approval on the book before it's final release.
April 12, 2020
I own at least 35 of Heinlein's books. Many of them bought new as they were issued. Others I picked up 2nd hand in almost new condition. I'm a collector!
Pursuit of Pankera was an amazing trip and look into the author's mind as I read the first version of Numbers of the Beast and compared them in my mind and by opening my copy of Numbers to compare. Pankera is Heinlein at his best. I seriously hope they go digging further into his files for bits and pieces of other unpublished gems..
This book was an amazing read.
Pursuit of Pankera was an amazing trip and look into the author's mind as I read the first version of Numbers of the Beast and compared them in my mind and by opening my copy of Numbers to compare. Pankera is Heinlein at his best. I seriously hope they go digging further into his files for bits and pieces of other unpublished gems..
This book was an amazing read.
July 9, 2020
This is a very good book, and in many ways better then the Number of the Beast. So why wasn’t it published before? I don’t know it certainly deserved to be and I wish it had. Maybe these stories would have continued. I love the premise of the first third of each novel being identical and then breaking off at that point. I would have loved to see a number of variations in the story. I actually recommend this one stronger than Number of the Beast.
August 19, 2020
If you don't already know, this a discovered Heinlein first draft of his "Number of the Beast". The first 1/3 of the book is nearly identical, but then it takes a left turn.
A couple of pluses, it goes into the worlds of John Carter and Lensmen. The really good news, no Lazarus Long, and no incest (when I first read this as a kid, that really creeped me out). It's nice that I can actually recommend this version.
This version may have dialed down the sexifulness, (going to have to re-read NotB).
A couple of pluses, it goes into the worlds of John Carter and Lensmen. The really good news, no Lazarus Long, and no incest (when I first read this as a kid, that really creeped me out). It's nice that I can actually recommend this version.
This version may have dialed down the sexifulness, (going to have to re-read NotB).
December 17, 2020
Weird. The story was written in pieces in parallel to Stranger in a Strange according to the introduction by David Weber and published long after Heinlein's death. Told from four perspectives, this story encompasses parallel universes in a highly technical setting. Heinlein mentions other science fiction and fantasy writers such as Edgar Rice Burroughs and Arthur C. Clarke throughout.
July 23, 2021
Four stars for the story, but I'm deducting one for the godawful cover.
It's astoundingly clear that this was the initial, sub-par attempt at the novel that eventually became The Number Of The Beast (my favourite Heinlein). Every clumsy transition or over-long segment was removed or tidied up in the original, with the result that anyone familiar with NotB will find this "newly discovered" manuscript clunky and poorly paced. There's also far, far too much time spent on discussing the attitudes towards nudity of everyone our heroes meet; and the ending, while slightly more exciting than the NotB original, is still pretty uninspiring. In short, one for Heinlein completists only. And did I mention the terrible cover?
It's astoundingly clear that this was the initial, sub-par attempt at the novel that eventually became The Number Of The Beast (my favourite Heinlein). Every clumsy transition or over-long segment was removed or tidied up in the original, with the result that anyone familiar with NotB will find this "newly discovered" manuscript clunky and poorly paced. There's also far, far too much time spent on discussing the attitudes towards nudity of everyone our heroes meet; and the ending, while slightly more exciting than the NotB original, is still pretty uninspiring. In short, one for Heinlein completists only. And did I mention the terrible cover?
June 12, 2020
I would probably rate this 3.5 but rounded down to 3 stars. I enjoyed it far more than NOTB, to my surprise and delight. It is an interesting experiment, I guess, in terms of it having been written before NOTB but never published (I assume it had to do with the copyrights of some of the material that shows up in this story) and it also being about parallel universes. It is more reminiscent of some of his earlier works (perhaps because of some of the attitudes expressed throughout the story)? The publishers did mark where the two books diverged into different stories, so I suppose if I had wanted to, I could have read them both side-by-side to get a better feel of the differences between the two of them (which might have been "interesting" if for no other reason than NOTB is about 50 pages longer than this novel).
I don't know how much character development there really was. Each of the same characters felt pretty locked-in as to who they were, how they acted, and what they believed. I did not feel like there was any true "growth" among them (until towards the end of the story ). I did think the author did a nice job of trying to present each chapter from the respective headliner's viewpoint(s) or perception(s). They did seem to work pretty well together, overall, and I really did not expect the end of the book to go the way it did, so that was also a nice surprise.
.
There were two "funny" moments for me while reading.
It was an interesting book to read. Elements of it did "feel" like his works prior to 1970. It felt like an "original story" in a rough mold, that was not touched up for a final product. And yet, even though the publishers claim there was no "ghost writing" involved, it still felt like, at times, that there was some kind of "ghost writing" that went on behind the publication of this novel. I did enjoy it more than NOTB (and it would be interesting to know the author's intent behind NOTB as opposed to people's interpretations of it, but that is a different review for a different time).
Also, it felt like it was mostly "talking" between the characters despite various descriptions of "action" taking place. I don't know if it was because of the way each chapter was written, as if from the perspective of a journal entry of each character who's name headed each chapter, but it felt more like it was a recording of conversations as opposed to describing action. I don't know how to describe it; there was plenty of action in the book but the way it was written felt like there was more talking than action.
I enjoyed it more than I hoped I would. I am glad that I took a chance and read it.
I don't know how much character development there really was. Each of the same characters felt pretty locked-in as to who they were, how they acted, and what they believed. I did not feel like there was any true "growth" among them (until towards the end of the story ). I did think the author did a nice job of trying to present each chapter from the respective headliner's viewpoint(s) or perception(s). They did seem to work pretty well together, overall, and I really did not expect the end of the book to go the way it did, so that was also a nice surprise.
.
There were two "funny" moments for me while reading.
It was an interesting book to read. Elements of it did "feel" like his works prior to 1970. It felt like an "original story" in a rough mold, that was not touched up for a final product. And yet, even though the publishers claim there was no "ghost writing" involved, it still felt like, at times, that there was some kind of "ghost writing" that went on behind the publication of this novel. I did enjoy it more than NOTB (and it would be interesting to know the author's intent behind NOTB as opposed to people's interpretations of it, but that is a different review for a different time).
Also, it felt like it was mostly "talking" between the characters despite various descriptions of "action" taking place. I don't know if it was because of the way each chapter was written, as if from the perspective of a journal entry of each character who's name headed each chapter, but it felt more like it was a recording of conversations as opposed to describing action. I don't know how to describe it; there was plenty of action in the book but the way it was written felt like there was more talking than action.
I enjoyed it more than I hoped I would. I am glad that I took a chance and read it.
February 6, 2021
Such a fun premise for having a novel with the same characters.
September 2, 2020
DISCLAIMER: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from the publishers in return for an honest review. My thanks to Caezik SF & Fantasy for giving me this opportunity.
Robert A. Heinlein, often referred to as ‘the dean of science fiction writers’, died in 1988, so to get a new, previously unpublished novel from one of the pillars of the Golden Age of Sci-Fi is something of an event in its own right. Add to this a lifelong love of Heinlein’s work and as you can probably imagine I was incredibly excited to be able to get my hands on this companion novel to The Number of the Beast (1980). But was it worth it?
I’m not going to lie, I was a little underwhelmed by this one. According to the publisher’s notes at the start of the book Pankera was written alongside The Number of the Beast, except Beast got published and Pankera didn’t, and nobody knows why. As a result, this fragmentary (but complete) unpublished Heinlein novel was all but forgotten about, until now. The notes then go on to explain how it’s taken three years of painstaking work to reassemble the manuscript, and aside from the usual editorial processes no additional work was required, and no third party was asked to provide filler material to finish the novel.
The narrative starts off pretty much identical to The Number of the Beast, right up until the point where the protagonists, Gay Deceiver included, make their first jump into a parallel universe, at which point the narrative diverges quite considerably. This basically means the first third (29% according to my eARC) is the same story as we get in Beast, but then things start to change. In the original version (Beast) the protagonists attempt to visit Barsoom but instead find themselves on a Mars that’s been colonised by the British and Russian Empires. In this new version, however, the Mars they visit is indeed the Barsoom of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and a large chunk of what remains of the novel sees our heroes and heroines getting into various adventures on Barsoom involving the alien antagonists of both novels.
Now here’s the thing. The Number of the Beast is in part Heinlein’s love letter to all the writers that influenced him, the authors he looked up to and wanted to emulate with his own writing. There’s also a remarkable write-up of Beast by David Potter that postulates that in it Heinlein is giving us countless examples of how not to write a story which I find particularly compelling given the quality of writing normally exhibited by the dean. But with The Pursuit of the Pankera we have something that is, by Heinlein’s standards, sub par at best. It has all the hallmarks of a Heinlein piece, and definitely pays homage to the works of Burroughs and E. E. “Doc” Smith in particular, but the new bits read more like fannish mimicry rather than crafted emulation. It feels like a first draft, where The Number of the Beast was the final draft that Heinlein submitted to his publisher, with Pankera getting pushed to the back of the slush drawer. And for me that seems like a perfectly good reason for it not to have been published alongside Beast.
Okay, so if it’s not so good, why have I given it a four-star rating? Well, if Beast is an instruction manual on how to not write a good story, this one is, as far as I’m concerned, an invaluable insight into the writing process of one of the greats of science fiction. It’s the abandoned ideas that didn’t make it into the final manuscript. It’s the early draft that he set aside and rewrote in favour of the masterpiece he eventually settled on. I can’t say with any certainty whether Heinlein intended the world to see this version of the novel or not, but now that it’s out in the open it gives us more of an idea of how he developed his ideas, and it also shows us just how much he respected and admired his antecedents in the sci-fi pantheon. That alone makes this book worthy of four stars.
It’s not as good as The Number of the Beast, not by a long shot, but it is important, and for me this book provides an invaluable snapshot of who Heinlein was in his later years. If you’re a Heinlein fan then this is definitely a book you’ll want to read. If, however, you’re new to the author’s works then I’d strongly suggest starting somewhere else, and there are dozens of articles out there on the web that will help you choose exactly which book would suit your personal tastes the most.
Robert A. Heinlein, often referred to as ‘the dean of science fiction writers’, died in 1988, so to get a new, previously unpublished novel from one of the pillars of the Golden Age of Sci-Fi is something of an event in its own right. Add to this a lifelong love of Heinlein’s work and as you can probably imagine I was incredibly excited to be able to get my hands on this companion novel to The Number of the Beast (1980). But was it worth it?
I’m not going to lie, I was a little underwhelmed by this one. According to the publisher’s notes at the start of the book Pankera was written alongside The Number of the Beast, except Beast got published and Pankera didn’t, and nobody knows why. As a result, this fragmentary (but complete) unpublished Heinlein novel was all but forgotten about, until now. The notes then go on to explain how it’s taken three years of painstaking work to reassemble the manuscript, and aside from the usual editorial processes no additional work was required, and no third party was asked to provide filler material to finish the novel.
The narrative starts off pretty much identical to The Number of the Beast, right up until the point where the protagonists, Gay Deceiver included, make their first jump into a parallel universe, at which point the narrative diverges quite considerably. This basically means the first third (29% according to my eARC) is the same story as we get in Beast, but then things start to change. In the original version (Beast) the protagonists attempt to visit Barsoom but instead find themselves on a Mars that’s been colonised by the British and Russian Empires. In this new version, however, the Mars they visit is indeed the Barsoom of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and a large chunk of what remains of the novel sees our heroes and heroines getting into various adventures on Barsoom involving the alien antagonists of both novels.
Now here’s the thing. The Number of the Beast is in part Heinlein’s love letter to all the writers that influenced him, the authors he looked up to and wanted to emulate with his own writing. There’s also a remarkable write-up of Beast by David Potter that postulates that in it Heinlein is giving us countless examples of how not to write a story which I find particularly compelling given the quality of writing normally exhibited by the dean. But with The Pursuit of the Pankera we have something that is, by Heinlein’s standards, sub par at best. It has all the hallmarks of a Heinlein piece, and definitely pays homage to the works of Burroughs and E. E. “Doc” Smith in particular, but the new bits read more like fannish mimicry rather than crafted emulation. It feels like a first draft, where The Number of the Beast was the final draft that Heinlein submitted to his publisher, with Pankera getting pushed to the back of the slush drawer. And for me that seems like a perfectly good reason for it not to have been published alongside Beast.
Okay, so if it’s not so good, why have I given it a four-star rating? Well, if Beast is an instruction manual on how to not write a good story, this one is, as far as I’m concerned, an invaluable insight into the writing process of one of the greats of science fiction. It’s the abandoned ideas that didn’t make it into the final manuscript. It’s the early draft that he set aside and rewrote in favour of the masterpiece he eventually settled on. I can’t say with any certainty whether Heinlein intended the world to see this version of the novel or not, but now that it’s out in the open it gives us more of an idea of how he developed his ideas, and it also shows us just how much he respected and admired his antecedents in the sci-fi pantheon. That alone makes this book worthy of four stars.
It’s not as good as The Number of the Beast, not by a long shot, but it is important, and for me this book provides an invaluable snapshot of who Heinlein was in his later years. If you’re a Heinlein fan then this is definitely a book you’ll want to read. If, however, you’re new to the author’s works then I’d strongly suggest starting somewhere else, and there are dozens of articles out there on the web that will help you choose exactly which book would suit your personal tastes the most.
April 6, 2020
RAH meets E.E. Smith (and more)
This alternate version of The Number Of The Beast varies from its more famous sibling at two main points: our protagonists go to Barsoom (not Mars); and they spend considerable time with members of the Galactic Patrol including — if I counted correctly — a half dozen Lensmen some of whom will be very familiar to Fans of Doc Smith’s epic series. You still get to ride along as they visit other alleged-fantasy worlds, and Gay Deceiver still gets her two bathrooms, but the two big changes mentioned above make this as essential a read for Heinlein fanatics (I have a complete Virginia Edition) as the version originally published. Very highly recommended.
This alternate version of The Number Of The Beast varies from its more famous sibling at two main points: our protagonists go to Barsoom (not Mars); and they spend considerable time with members of the Galactic Patrol including — if I counted correctly — a half dozen Lensmen some of whom will be very familiar to Fans of Doc Smith’s epic series. You still get to ride along as they visit other alleged-fantasy worlds, and Gay Deceiver still gets her two bathrooms, but the two big changes mentioned above make this as essential a read for Heinlein fanatics (I have a complete Virginia Edition) as the version originally published. Very highly recommended.
March 27, 2020
Enjoyable - fun read - less experimental than the Number of the Beast
I was very excited to read this book, as a new book by a long dead author is a rare occurrence. It is billed as a parallel book to the Number of the Beast. That Heinlein had taken and written the two together, as two separate paths that the characters in the Number Of the Beast could be on, based on their separate universe hopping adventures. I was thinking of something like Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, but done by a old master decades earlier and unpublished because of “nefarious reasons”.
Number of the Beast is a odd book. It has tons of spoken exposition that looks clumsy, but works. The plot is pretty thin, the characters pretty much cardboard cut outs of what you would expect and some of the book is pure Deus Ex. There is a lot of the book that reads like a pastiche of classic pulp sci fi and fantasy, with references to John Carter, wizard of oz, Doc Smith and others. In a way it is almost a guidebook by Heinlein for his influences and his childhood. The characters exposition near the start explicitly calls out the old magazines, comic books and novels that he references later. It embraces the “world as myth” concept very closely, and the author appears as a direct influence at the very end. It was a departure for the author when first published, and I loved it. I did not get everything about it. I loved the way it pushed you along, and still forgive it it’s myriad flaws.
I’ve only recently finished this book. It is roughly the same as the Number of the Beast for the first 1/3 of the book. The divergence is a point where I had predicted the Number of the Beast would go one way, and it did not, it went very different in direction. This new book follows the path I expected. I think the author finished the book with this text originally, then had to rewrite it due to rights issues on some of the characters. The new book has a more satisfactory ending than the Number of the Beast, but it is also less experimental.
I found the new book to be a fun read, and it delves much deeper into the worlds of the authors influences. I had issues with some of the characters introduced late in the book not being much more than a name, but Heinlein never did write parents with young children well.
I was very excited to read this book, as a new book by a long dead author is a rare occurrence. It is billed as a parallel book to the Number of the Beast. That Heinlein had taken and written the two together, as two separate paths that the characters in the Number Of the Beast could be on, based on their separate universe hopping adventures. I was thinking of something like Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, but done by a old master decades earlier and unpublished because of “nefarious reasons”.
Number of the Beast is a odd book. It has tons of spoken exposition that looks clumsy, but works. The plot is pretty thin, the characters pretty much cardboard cut outs of what you would expect and some of the book is pure Deus Ex. There is a lot of the book that reads like a pastiche of classic pulp sci fi and fantasy, with references to John Carter, wizard of oz, Doc Smith and others. In a way it is almost a guidebook by Heinlein for his influences and his childhood. The characters exposition near the start explicitly calls out the old magazines, comic books and novels that he references later. It embraces the “world as myth” concept very closely, and the author appears as a direct influence at the very end. It was a departure for the author when first published, and I loved it. I did not get everything about it. I loved the way it pushed you along, and still forgive it it’s myriad flaws.
I’ve only recently finished this book. It is roughly the same as the Number of the Beast for the first 1/3 of the book. The divergence is a point where I had predicted the Number of the Beast would go one way, and it did not, it went very different in direction. This new book follows the path I expected. I think the author finished the book with this text originally, then had to rewrite it due to rights issues on some of the characters. The new book has a more satisfactory ending than the Number of the Beast, but it is also less experimental.
I found the new book to be a fun read, and it delves much deeper into the worlds of the authors influences. I had issues with some of the characters introduced late in the book not being much more than a name, but Heinlein never did write parents with young children well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 30, 2020
I'm not going to give this a long review. And I will admit from the beginning I loved Number of the Beast. Maybe like Sharpie, I'm a button head... I'm sure some of you will appreciate the real meaning there.
Without giving too much away, Pursuit of the Pankera from an actual writing point of view feels like the original version. I believe that RAH wrote Pankera, then edited it into Number. The passages I recognize from Number feel to me the same as the passages in the unedited version of Stranger versus the original published version.
The plot differs slightly, the sequence is vastly different. Again I won't give much away but I guess the best way to describe it to another Heinlein fan is Number of the Beast meets The Puppet Masters with help from Starship Troopers and Lazarus Long gets an honorable mention. There might even be hints of Stranger.
Perhaps not The Masters best work, and it could have been improved. But I will not damn it for what it is. I enjoyed every page.
Without giving too much away, Pursuit of the Pankera from an actual writing point of view feels like the original version. I believe that RAH wrote Pankera, then edited it into Number. The passages I recognize from Number feel to me the same as the passages in the unedited version of Stranger versus the original published version.
The plot differs slightly, the sequence is vastly different. Again I won't give much away but I guess the best way to describe it to another Heinlein fan is Number of the Beast meets The Puppet Masters with help from Starship Troopers and Lazarus Long gets an honorable mention. There might even be hints of Stranger.
Perhaps not The Masters best work, and it could have been improved. But I will not damn it for what it is. I enjoyed every page.
August 2, 2020
At first I was excited about there being a "new" Heinlein novel, even thought I've read the original as "Number of the Beast." With the promise that there was a lot more content in this one, I thought it was going to be quite an experience to get a new version of one of his novels.
I'd forgotten how incredibly juvenile and tedious this story is. But that's okay -- it only took about forty pages for Heinlein to remind me. It's like it was written by a ten year old with a very sophisticated vocabulary. Every character is exactly the same as all others. They're all incredibly clever, full of obscure references and inside jokes that, of course, they all immediately get. It's like being stuck in a special hell where you just have to listen to a dozen lifetime SCA members convey how exceedingly clever they are, mainly by trading anecdotes about trivial shit and people you've never met.
Skip this one.
I'd forgotten how incredibly juvenile and tedious this story is. But that's okay -- it only took about forty pages for Heinlein to remind me. It's like it was written by a ten year old with a very sophisticated vocabulary. Every character is exactly the same as all others. They're all incredibly clever, full of obscure references and inside jokes that, of course, they all immediately get. It's like being stuck in a special hell where you just have to listen to a dozen lifetime SCA members convey how exceedingly clever they are, mainly by trading anecdotes about trivial shit and people you've never met.
Skip this one.
May 3, 2020
Later day Heinlein
I really wanted to like this book more than I did. Every character was the same. Different names, genders, and specialties, but essentially the same character. The only way to determine the POV of the chapter was to look at the heading.
I loved Heinlein 40 years ago, but now? Either I’ve outgrown him or his novels just haven’t aged well. His naive libertarianism is really annoying and the first half of the book had a creepy “dirty old man” vibe to it.
If you want to read something “new” from one of SF’s founding fathers, get this. But be aware that like Heinlein’s later novels the concepts and attitudes don’t really translate well in the early 21st century.
I really wanted to like this book more than I did. Every character was the same. Different names, genders, and specialties, but essentially the same character. The only way to determine the POV of the chapter was to look at the heading.
I loved Heinlein 40 years ago, but now? Either I’ve outgrown him or his novels just haven’t aged well. His naive libertarianism is really annoying and the first half of the book had a creepy “dirty old man” vibe to it.
If you want to read something “new” from one of SF’s founding fathers, get this. But be aware that like Heinlein’s later novels the concepts and attitudes don’t really translate well in the early 21st century.
January 13, 2024
In some respects, I think I liked this book better than the alternate. This version is the same as the original published book 'Number of the Beast' through the first third of the book. This parallel version diverges at that point making it a fresh new story, yet also a story that feels familiar.
Those who enjoy Edgar Rice Burrows will enjoy this version with a more lengthy visit with his Barsoom characters. The final chapters are cleaner I think, lacking the at times cumbersome name flipping of characters embraced by the 'family'.
Those who enjoy Edgar Rice Burrows will enjoy this version with a more lengthy visit with his Barsoom characters. The final chapters are cleaner I think, lacking the at times cumbersome name flipping of characters embraced by the 'family'.
March 26, 2020
This is certainly not Number of the Beast, despite it's similar start. In a lot of ways, this book is better. No spoilers, but if you like Heinlein, especially his later works, you should like this. Highly recommended.
July 11, 2023
I would agree with many people who say that Robert Heinlein’s novel, The Number of the Beast is one of his worst. Heavy with dialogue, occupied with irritating familial arguments, weirdly filled with incestuous longings, and devoid of much actual plot, it’s a stinker. But if a reader wanted to experience the complete future history and have access to Lazarus Long’s full biography, the book is a must-read. The book opens as a mad scientist, his beautiful daughter, an erstwhile professor, and a hostess reminiscent of Auntie Mame — flee a party after a fistfight nearly erupts over the scientist’s new invention, an invention capable of facilitating not only time travel, but travel to multiple universes. Once they’ve escaped, they tumble through time and multiple fictional universes, always one step ahead of the terrible beings sent to kill the scientist and presumably, destroy his device.
Long after THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST was published, the existence of a parallel novel that features the same main characters --- Jake, Hilda, Deety, and Zeb --- and begins the same way was discovered. PURSUIT OF THE PANKERA is that novel.
PURSUIT OF THE PANKERA opens the same way as the familiar NUMBER OF THE BEAST, but about chapter three, the plot and character begin to diverge from those in the published version and frankly, it’s all for the better. I have only recently discovered the existence of this book, and so I am not well-versed in the reasons THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST made it to publication and PANKERA didn’t.
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST has great chunks of dialogue among the four main characters where nothing much happens. In PURSUIT OF HTE PANKERA, the dialogue is in about the right ratio to the narrative, and the plot is more well-developed. The mad scientist marries the hostess, and the beautiful daughter marries the professor, who turns out to be a military type with excellent fighting skills and a head for strategy. They can’t just live happily ever after, though, because the Pankera are out to kill them.
In the original novel, long swaths of the book are given over to squabbling among the protagonists. In PURSUIT OF THE PANKERA, much of that dialogue is gone and there is real conflict; the family must work together, and recruit some of the best mathematical and military minds from fiction, to eliminate the Pantera before they destroy humanity.
A big part of THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST concerns the Burroughs-Carter family’s rendezvous with Lazarus Long and his family, and how he ropes them into rescuing his mother and reuniting him with her. In PURSUIT OF THE PANKERA, that storyline never raises its head. Instead, the last part of the book is focused on the Burroughs-Carter family’s preparation for the showdown with the Pankera.
The book is not without its faults. Heinlein’s work is, overall, problematic given his attitudes toward women and BIPOC. The female characters in THE PURSUIT OF THE PANKERA are strong, athletic, intelligent women. But they are inordinately concerned with hair and makeup and sometimes seem more childish than feminine.
Overall, this novel reminded me of the juvenile novels Heinlein wrote. Those novels —and this one — feature strong action and characters and make for a great read.
Long after THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST was published, the existence of a parallel novel that features the same main characters --- Jake, Hilda, Deety, and Zeb --- and begins the same way was discovered. PURSUIT OF THE PANKERA is that novel.
PURSUIT OF THE PANKERA opens the same way as the familiar NUMBER OF THE BEAST, but about chapter three, the plot and character begin to diverge from those in the published version and frankly, it’s all for the better. I have only recently discovered the existence of this book, and so I am not well-versed in the reasons THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST made it to publication and PANKERA didn’t.
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST has great chunks of dialogue among the four main characters where nothing much happens. In PURSUIT OF HTE PANKERA, the dialogue is in about the right ratio to the narrative, and the plot is more well-developed. The mad scientist marries the hostess, and the beautiful daughter marries the professor, who turns out to be a military type with excellent fighting skills and a head for strategy. They can’t just live happily ever after, though, because the Pankera are out to kill them.
In the original novel, long swaths of the book are given over to squabbling among the protagonists. In PURSUIT OF THE PANKERA, much of that dialogue is gone and there is real conflict; the family must work together, and recruit some of the best mathematical and military minds from fiction, to eliminate the Pantera before they destroy humanity.
A big part of THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST concerns the Burroughs-Carter family’s rendezvous with Lazarus Long and his family, and how he ropes them into rescuing his mother and reuniting him with her. In PURSUIT OF THE PANKERA, that storyline never raises its head. Instead, the last part of the book is focused on the Burroughs-Carter family’s preparation for the showdown with the Pankera.
The book is not without its faults. Heinlein’s work is, overall, problematic given his attitudes toward women and BIPOC. The female characters in THE PURSUIT OF THE PANKERA are strong, athletic, intelligent women. But they are inordinately concerned with hair and makeup and sometimes seem more childish than feminine.
Overall, this novel reminded me of the juvenile novels Heinlein wrote. Those novels —and this one — feature strong action and characters and make for a great read.
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