Pick Some Heinlein Books for Me !!

[lee n. field]

Red Planet
Bettween Planets
Double Star
Starship Troopers (don't even think to compare it to the movie).

 

[Scottmkiv]

I like Stranger in a Strange Land a lot, but I think it is very different from his other novels, and I wouldn't start with it.

 

[Lancel]

For you: Time Enough For Love
Not just a big book but a collection of stories connected by a central character with two great "intermissions" that are often quoted.

For your daughter: Star Beast
If she likes being friends with puppies, horses, or E.T., she'll love Star Beast.

Larry

 

[Rezin]

Stranger in a Strange Land" was excellent, as was "Starship Troopers". I also enjoyed "Friday" and strangely, I enjoyed "I will Fear No Evil"

"JOB: A Comendy of Justice" I found to be hilarious when I read it, but it was many years ago..............

If you want an interesting (But childish) short by Heilnlen, check out "Orphans of the Sky"

I miss the days when RAH could dazzle my mind with the future......

 

[grimjaw]

"Starship Troopers" was my favorite, but I haven't read them all. There was several short stories that I can't remember the names of, appeared in a few compilations of his works.

jmm

 

[dzimmerm]

Some comments

I would like to make a point that might have been missed. Heinlein never brought up the idea of incest with anyone below the age of consent. Most of his situations involving what would be called incest were between very consenting adults. Many of Heinlein's charactors lived 200 to 300 years old so the concept of incest in such a scenario is much different from what we would commonaly think of as incest.

I liked all of Heinlein's books I have ever read. I think I have read all of them.

The really weird ones are

I will fear no evil

and

Stranger in a strange land

Heinlein had a problem with a blockage of an artery in his brain. His story telling dryed up until this was discovered and repaired. It was after this repair that he wrote a number of his more recent novels in rapid succession.

Friday is one of those. Friday deals with what many would consider the "perfect woman" as far as Heinlein is concerned. She would definately not be a role model for today's youth but she was certainaly a dynamic charactor whose story makes an excellent read. As an aside, the invention in the Friday story called a "shipstone" is desperately needed in todays world.

If you are looking for interesting books that might appeal to a 12 year old daughter you might try the Honor Harrington Series. The first several of those
books can be read for free from www.baen.com . Look for the free library link on the main page. There is usually an advertisement for the latest books that goes away after about 10 seconds and reveals the home page with it's various links.

dzimmerm

 

[SIGarmed]

Starship Troopers!

That's the one!

 

[Derby FALs]

Heinlein book REVIEWS

 

[Byron Quick]

After that Heinlein gets on his high horse and tries to become a great novelist.

Sorry, you apparently have not read his essays where Heinlein touches on what he trying to do with his writing. Pay off his mortgage. Value given for value received. He laughed at the idea of his work as literary art. Throughout his lifetime.


Some of y'all get all bound up in the sex issues in some of his work. ALL of his work is subversive to impressionable minds. Including the juveniles. I love them.

 

[Go For Broke]

I have several copies (HB & PB) of Starship Troopers and Space Cadet. I read each of these about twice a year.

Starship Troopers is an excellent military/political novel. Good for a conservative minded student of political possibilites.

Space Cadet is an old fashion "can do" novel. This one will make you feel good about the world.

You can hand these out to any age without worry.

I am also very fond of Glory Road. In its day it was "R" rated, today, it might reach PG-13. I would not hesitiate to hand it to a pre-teen. The risque parts are mild compared to what is on TV on daily basis.

In addition to Heinlein, I would heartily recommend Issac Asimov, especially any of the robot novels, as well as the detective series featuring Lije Bailey (Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun and the Robots of Dawn).

Enjoy!

 

[karlsgunbunker]

The Science Fiction Book Club has some good 3 in 1 Heinlein novels.

I'm a big RAH fan and have read every one of his books I can find.

I have a large collection of hardcovers from SFBC.

All of the recomendations above are excellent. RAH has lots of strong female characters.

Enjoy exploring his excellent works with your daughter.

I just started my 12 yo son on Star Beast and The Rolling Stones.

 

[Subby]

Time Enough For Love.

Sub

 

[coylh]

I recommend reading them in chronological order. While the stories don't exist in one universe, there's enough intertwining that you'll miss references to other books if read out of sequence.

That said, I found I Will Fear No Evil tedious and didn't finish it.

 

[Drizzt]

He has too many good books to list. Speaking of other authors, I know Dean Koontz has been mentioned many times in this forum (and I have been one of those mentioning him), but I gained even more respect for him when reading one of his more recent novels which had a child's sitter/caregiver reading him Heinlein for his bedtime stories....

 

[Texfire]

I'd pretty much recommend any Heinlein, though those already mentioned are a good place to start.

I have noticed that many people have confused what they read from the writer, with the personal views of the man. Especially with his works that included more extreme situations/values. Liberals look at Starship Troopers and call him a fascist, and conservatives look at Stranger in a Strange Land, and think that he's a closet hippie.

The truth is he was a very good writer who could write believable characters with value structure that he didn't necessarily believe in and make them logically consistent. Robert Anson Heinlein was a writer, and a darn good one.

Any of his juveniles would be good to read with your daughter. As she grows older his later works would be a good read, and a source for discussion about societal issues and values.

Other authors/series worth looking at are the Honor Harrington by David Weber, which have a very strong central female character. Also I would highly recommend any of Anne McCaffery's stuff, especially the Dragonsinger and Crystal Singer series.

 

[wingnutx]

Starship Troopers #1

It is on the Marine Corps reading list for a reason.

"I Will Fear No Evil" is the only RAH book that I really didn't like, and did not finish.

 

[Punkermonkey]

Tunnel in the Sky - I liked that one the best......

 

[Byron Quick]

Liberals look at Starship Troopers and call him a fascist, and conservatives look at Stranger in a Strange Land, and think that he's a closet hippie.

This is true. In "Grumbles from the Grave," he wrote of his own beliefs to some extent. Some of them were directly contradictory to the belief systems of some of his protagonists. For that matter, careful reading will demonstrate to the reader that many of his protagonists had mutually contradictory beliefs.

Heinlein's writing career spans fifty years. During that same time span, he went from being a member of a draft board to being opposed to the draft. He was a Naval Reserve Officer till the day he died. You can't read his books and say to yourself that you know what the man believed. His beliefs changed radically over fifty years. He once ran for office as a Democrat way back when.

In fact, he wrote Stranger in a Strange Land long after he abandoned the Democratic Party. And the Republican Party, for that matter.

 

[scout26]

Everyone, Thanks for your input. I checked out The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Starship Troopers (didn't have much time at the library last night). I'll get back there this weekend to check out others and some of the ones recommended fo my daughter.

Read TMIAHM last night. Hmmmm, struck me more as a how to stage a communist takeover (Step 1: Befriend the computer that runs everything. Step 2: Have a professor who is smarter then the combined membership of Mensa. ) I liked the justice system and agree with the TANSTAAFL idea. Maybe I missed something, and I'll go back and re-read it in month or so.

Now ST, I'm only to chapter 9, but I can relate. Good book so far.

Yes, he does get preachy at times, not a bad as Ayn Rand gets, but still kills flies with sledgehammers. (She used steam powered pile drivers to get her point across.)

 

[thumbtack]

Farnham's Freehold was the first RH story I ever read, my in laws turned me on to RH.

 

[Yowza]

I read Starship Troopers first and loved it. Then I tried The Cat Who Walks Through Walls and lost interest a little over halfway through. Currently reading Time Enough For Love and it's a bit easier to get through because of all the different approaches in telling the story, but the dialogue is killing me. Some of it sounds so ridiculous, I can barely stand to read it.

Rick

 

[Werewolf]

but the dialogue is killing me. Some of it sounds so ridiculous, I can barely stand to read it.

So it's not just me. Heinlein goes overboard with the sickeningly sweet and unrealistic dialogue that occurs between male and female in his stories. The use of pet names is so overused it makes me want to sometimes.

I've gotten to the point where I just chop off in my head about the first third of any line of dialogue in any RAH story post '63 that occurs between a man and a woman - especially when that man and woman are romanticly or potentially romanticly involved.

 

[Ravenlunatic]

The Man Who Sold the Moon is another good one.

I have collected most of his works, and my daughter (started when she was 12) read them all. I started reading Heinlein when I was about 10, my sister gave me a boxed set of the juveniles for my birthday. I believe in Space Cadet he wrote about a telephone that could be carried in the pocket, yet be used to place a call anywhere on earth. But for calculations, the slide rule was the tool of choice. Pretty good, predicting cell phones, but missed computers by a wide margin.

 

[SaMx]

Beyond This Horizon has some nice .45 action

 

[Claude Clay]

above mentiond are all good
short stories including 'By His Bootstraps' in The Menace From Earth. stories from 1941 to 1957.

Byron--i have also used this as a sig; it is A.E. Van Vogt "The Weapon Shops of Isher" c1947:
"The Right To Buy Weapons Is The Right To Be Free"