Robert A Heinlein

Lately I’ve been alternating between Robert A. Heinlein (hereinafter, “RAH”) and Philip K. Dick (hereinafter, “PKD”).   I downloaded their respective bibliographies and have been reading them in order of writing or publication, although I’ve already read their more popular and mainstream books.   Since I’ve already written on PKD, I’ll cover RAH now, a topic long overdue.

RAH, born 1909, died 1988, started out as a Navy engineer (USNA Class of 1929) and later turned into a science fiction writer.  Scientists and geeks love his material because he has a very strong basis in sound science and made a strong effort to make his sci-fi technology as plausible as he could. 

Early.  His earlier material, the novels Rocket Ship Galileo through Methuselah’s Children, could be described as “space cadet” fiction.  The protagonist is often a young man with ambitions of being a space pilot.   He encounters problems, adversity, and danger, but always seems to defeat these obstacles by determination, skill, intelligence, and some luck.  Romance is a non-issue, with girls and women being baggage.   Uppity women complain that the spaceship lacks the luxuries and amenities they enjoyed on Earth and somehow expect to find on a spaceship, so the ship’s captain puts them to work in the galley washing dishes for the remainder of the voyage to shut them up.  Absolutely, positively NO SEX.

            If you’re adult looking for sci-fi, his later work is better.  If you’re looking for some Hardy Boys in Space fiction for your 12 year old son or daughter, the earlier work is better.  Describing them all isn’t productive, as there are about 20 of them and they’re all pretty much the same.

Late.   Starting with Starship Troopers, Heinlein began writing for adults in the late 1950s.   He makes up for the lack of sex earlier with rampant promiscuity.  Mind you, this isn’t erotica: the sex is definitely implied yet never described. 

Unlike the earlier stories which are fairly formulaic and consistent, the later stories can be distinguished from each other.  I’ve yet to read one I didn’t like, but the following four should be considered the CORE RAH books to start with – even to own.

Starship Troopers (1959). The space cadets grow up and go to war against an alien bug race.  Powered armor, like Battletech!   RAH also starts injecting politics into the story, which also ups the sophistication.  He has a strangely militant form of libertarianism which resembles fascism at a casual glance.  

In particular, only military veterans have the right to vote, but this has several loopholes:  first, you don't have to be a combat veteran, you simply have to have served in the military; second, you can't vote until you've been honorably discharged and are now a civilian, so active duty military cannot vote; and third, and most importantly, the military has to accept literally anyone who volunteers, regardless of how poorly qualified they might be (e.g. blind, crippled, etc.).  Moreover, the penalty for desertion is none:  not death, simply nothing.  But you won't get your honorable discharge and the right to vote.  I consider this more of a later novel than the last of the early ones.  I saw the movie ages ago, but this is yet another story where reading the book is definitely the way to go; consider the movie a bonus - especially since Paul Verhoeven, who did the film, misunderstood Heinlein's politics and deliberately made the movie as stupid as possible.

Stranger in a Strange Land (1962).  Valentine Michael Smith is the sole remaining human left from an expedition to Mars.  Instead of wolves, he was raised by Martians, so he has supernatural powers he barely understands because he takes them for granted.  Also, his thinking – at least at first – is impenetrable.  He’s entrusted to a crusty old cynic, Jubal Harshaw, and eventually becomes something closer to a sideshow Jesus, with his own cult, although much more articulate and worldly.  Stranger is to Rocket Ship Galileo as Abbey Road is to Please Please Me.  I have the unabridged version released in the recent past, but since I read the abridged (as originally published) version so long before, I can’t tell you what the difference is.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (1966).  Settlers on the moon colony, which is somewhat of a penal colony, decide to break free from Earth’s dominance.   Mannie, the technician who services the moon’s computer system, HOLMES IV, soon discovers that HOLMES IV has actually achieved self-awareness, and calls him Mike.  They team up with Wyoming “Wyoh” Knott, and start a secret rebellion against Earth.   Mike comes in handy by adapting the moon’s catapult system, designed to get ships lifted off, into a deadly cannon to use against Earth.  Along the way libertarian values are espoused, and Mannie learns how to organize a clandestine organization with cells, etc.   Very anti-establishment, and very entertaining.

Time Enough For Love (1973).  The cornerstone story for Lazarus Long, a fascinating character who pops up in other stories.   Long is the patriarch of the Howard Clan, which is a family of extremely long-lived persons who interbreed only with others specifically invited because they share a genetic propensity for longevity.  Oh, Heinlein was also BIG on genetics, by the way, and it’s front-center in this book.  The clan has also developed a rejuvenation treatment which is proprietary – they do NOT share it with non-clan members.  Long is cynical, lusty, and clever.  He even goes back in time to the early twentieth century and romances his own mother (her story is told, from her perspective, in To Sail Beyond The Sunset).  Did I mention how lusty he is?   Rather than one continuous story, though, this is a collection of related stories which do have a consistent pattern.  

Longevity.  Clearly the rejuvenation business showed Heinlein's obsession with extending life and eternal youth.  I Will Fear No Evil tells of a Monty Burns-type old man who transplants his brain into a young woman in a brief experiment with prolonging life.  And Beyond the Horizon features a world government project to determine if there is life after death.  Unfortunately for us, RAH did not find the answers, but he was certainly active in looking.

Finally, I’ll add For Us, the Living, (not to be confused with Ayn Rand’s novel We The Living, with which it has nothing in common).  It was written in the late 40s but only published recently.  A man from the 40s winds up in the future and has to adapt quickly.  It seems in the future, nudity taboos are gone, so everyone walks around half-naked.  Maybe that was why it was shelved for so long….

Comparison with PKD.  Heinlein is very political, very science oriented, and very fact-and-reason based.  While you may never have all the answers until he gives them to you – which he will – you are never flat out confused or bewildered.  The furthest outside the box RAH gets is Number of the Beast, in which the main characters meet other Heinlein characters – as characters; it also acts as Heinlein’s tribute to Burroughs’ John Carter stories.  PKD loves to twist stuff around intensely, making us doubt our reality and our sanity.  Heinlein remains grounded in reality and never leaves.   Control freak types who prefer everything neat, tidy, and scientific might prefer Heinlein.  Others, who don’t mind thinking outside the box – WAY outside the box – can look to PKD for entertainment.  But since I read them both, they’re not mutually incompatible, just completely different flavors for completely different moods.  Enjoy.