Science Fiction Aficionados discussion

I am actually here on time this month YAY! I noticed it has been a while since we read a Heinlein book...si this months them is The Works of Robert Heinlein!


iI looked in our bookshelf and it appears the last time we read Heinlein was in 2015, so I am going to let anything go for this one. So nominate away!

I have Friday sitting on my shelf unread for the longest time. If it wins the poll vote that would be sufficient impetus for me to pull it from my shelf and read along with everyone else. If not, it's a hardback and will therefore, no doubt, outlive me.

Dan wrote: "I have Friday sitting on my shelf unread for the longest time. If it wins the poll vote that would be sufficient impetus for me to pull it from my shelf and read along with everyone el..."

Great suggestion, Dan! I just recently asked my sister who her hero or heroine was and she answered "Heinlein's Friday" -- which surprised the heck out of me but made me want to dive in!

I'll nominate Robert Heinlein's Expanded Universe: Volume One which Spider Robinson has called “The single most important and valuable Heinlein book ever published.”

To help everyone out, I'd like to point out the four previously-read-by-the-group and therefore still-open-for-comment Heinlein books:
1) The Puppet Masters
2) The Door into Summer
3) The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
4) Stranger in a Strange Land.

Friday is one of the books I have been re-reading on a regular basis since I first read it at about age 14.

I am overdue to re-read Stranger in a Strange Land and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress is staring at me right now from my 'to read' shelf so I am a bit sad they have both been done.

How about Methuselah's Children? The basic concept there is quite fascinating and I think it is the first Lazrus Long book. It did lead into a lot of repetitious, self indulgent books, but I think this first one is really pretty good.

I have not been very active in the sci-fi department this year, I hope to change that a bit next year.

I would go with The Door Into Summer, but if that's off the table https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

Friday is an all time favorite. Several of the 'best' are mentioned in this discussion.

Leaving aside the incredible length of the work Time Enough for Love is one of the RH magnum opus works that needs more love:)

I really liked Friday too. That was my first Heinlein!

Double Star is a Hugo winner, but gets little attention today.

Gosh difficult decision, I really enjoy Starship Troopers, Glory Road and Waldo and Magic, Inc, but I'd nominate
Methuselah's Children as I've wanted to re-read for some time

Will wrote: "Double Star is a Hugo winner, but gets little attention today."

I know right? I think the political element puts a lot of people off, but I think Double Star is one of his best.

Adrian wrote: "Gosh difficult decision, I really enjoy Starship Troopers, Glory Road and Waldo and Magic, Inc, but I'd nominate
Methuselah's Children as I'..."

Yes! Two for Methuselah's Children (which GR for some reason will still not let me link to).

Deborah wrote: "Will wrote: "Double Star is a Hugo winner, but gets little attention today."

I know right? I think the political element puts a lot of people off, but I think Double Star is one of his best."

Much of Heinlen is political or is strongly influenced by politics.

But not like Double Star which was all about political intrigue.

I'm not sure what distinction is being attempted in reference to Double Star and politics, but from what I read of it on Wikipedia, it sounds like the novel was set in something a lot like Corey's Expanse universe, which also has a lot of politics. Anyhow, I'm intrigued and will happily read this novel that won Heinlein his first Hugo should it win our poll.

You know, in the twentieth century there was a lot of politics in a lot of SF. Most of Ben Bova's work has a lot, Pohl's Gateway and all of the Heechee series, Bester's My Destination the Stars, Anthony's Bio of a Space Tyrant series, and so on. I don't see having politics in SF as necessarily a bad thing, or that unusual.

Dan wrote: "I'm not sure what distinction is being attempted in reference to Double Star and politics, but from what I read of it on Wikipedia, it sounds like the novel was set in something a lot like Corey's ..."

Given the timelines, I doubt that Heinlein ever heard of Corey. Corey might well have taken his trope from Heinlein, as many authors have.

Corey started writing well after Heinlein died. I really don't understand the attempted correlation.

CD wrote: "Deborah wrote: "Will wrote: "Double Star is a Hugo winner, but gets little attention today."

I know right? I think the political element puts a lot of people off, but I think Double Star is one of..."

Libertarian

Peter wrote: "I really don't understand the attempted correlation."

The correlation is that both included a lot of politics in their work, not that they lived at the same time. That's difficult to understand?

I think one of the really interesting things about the early (or as it is today 'classic') Science Fiction is that it included a lot of political, social and scientific exploration. The medium allowed the authors to explore concepts way beyond what 'normal' fiction could ever do.

That said, the exploration was often subtle and incorporated into the story, so Double Star where the character is an actual politician engaged in political action (albeit on Mars) may be less attractive to someone who 'does not like reading about politics'. While Friday which is also very political, has incorporated it into the narrative so well than it is less obvious.

I'll add Have Space Suit—Will Travel to the mix.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

(Seems something is wrong with the "add book/author" link.)

Clyde wrote: "I'll add Have Space Suit—Will Travel to the mix.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

(Seems something is wrong with the "add book/author" link.)"

That's a great book, I would be happy to re-read that one.