Tag Archives: robert heinlein

Tramp Royale by Robert Heinlein: a short review

Starts well, ends poorly–the trip, the book, everything. Worth reading for Heinlein fans, and for anyone who wants a reasonable summary of a mid-50s round-the-world trip. Heinlein has some interesting things to say, is up-front about his prejudices, and is a product of his times. Basically a southern-hemisphere trip, by the way.

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Robert A. Heinlein by William Patterson: a short review

Good enough; ends with Heinlein’s marriage to Ginny. The book really needed more extensive editing, mostly to remove unnecessary redundancies, but I’ve read biographies which were far less readable and showed far less research. Looking forward to the second volume.

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Farnham’s Freehold by Robert Heinlein: a short review

Creepy. I first read Freehold as a serial in IF magazine, in my teens. Didn’t like it then. Don’t like it now. Appalling at basically all levels.

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Heinlein in Dimension by Alexei Panshin: a review

While Heinlein in Dimension is neither perfect nor definitive, it’s a decent, though often misguided, analysis of Heinlein’s work through 1967. Some of the commentary is painful to read, and parts are just plain wrong, but the context is an author pioneering in difficult terrain. On the one hand, Panshin shows some improbable blind spots, which severely damage the book; on the other, he makes some valuable observations about Heinlein’s themes and methods.

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To the Stars by Robert Heinlein: a review

All four novels are Heinlein juveniles, with the strengths and weaknesses of all juvies. If you can to set aside the improbable competence Heinlein sometimes gives to youngsters, you can enjoy the rich environment he’s created for the characters to act in. All four are strong stories; the fourth is exceptional.

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The Man Who Sold the Moon, by Robert Heinlein: a short review

In many ways my favorite Heinlein book. Future history written in the fifties; a portrait, reasonably convincing, of the way things might have happened in the second half of the century. The Roads Must Roll–about a strike by the technicians who run the transportation system–is nicely worked out. The title story, beyond question, is RAH at his very best.


This short review was originally published on LibraryThing.

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Pay it Forward

Offered without comment.

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