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The boyfriend recently suggested adding that book to my reading list, LC. I haven't read anything by Heinlein, so maybe this isn't the book to start off with... ? My boyfriend also has Friday, The Cat Who Walked Through Walls, Glory Road, and The Number of the Beast. Would you recommend any of these?
Of those four, remote goddess, I'd recommend Friday and Glory Road without reservation, though I'd personally put off Friday till you've read some of his earlier works. Some of his best work is short stories and juvenile fiction from 30-50 years earlier. Glory Road is a departure for him in that it is fantasy, not sci-fi (as I view it). Its also one of my favorite Heinlein novels.
I'd (personally) leave The Number of the Beast and The Cat Who Walked Through Walls for somewhere down the line when you've both read more of his other work and have nothing much else to read.
I loved Heinlein as a kid, but the first book of his I ever read was The Red Planet and who wouldn't love Willis. All his novels for young adults are terrific. But I must admit I was dissappointed with Stranger in a Strange Land. I simply never grokked it. After that his books just went downhill. I got all the way through Number of the Beast and felt the ending was a total copout. Same with The Cat Who Walks Through Walls. Interesting concept, long convoluted plot, dozens of story arcs and after 400 pages he wraps it up in a paragraph or two and you go huh! That's it! What a rip! Save yourself any grief and just read his early stuff.Quote:
Originally Posted by Leftcoaster;2704479;
A bit late to the party, but I also wouldn't start with Friday....definitely not a very feminist (or female friendly) take on rape which is basically how it starts. I did like Stranger in a Strange Land, but hey, it was the 70's...:). Also liked The Moon is a Harsh Mistress for the way he worked out alternative family relationships. The Star Beast was what got me into SF as a teen. Heinlein's teen novels are a lot shorter and still have some interesting ideas--can be enjoyed by grown ups, and vice versa with the long ones. My son fell in love with The Door into Summer and still loves it as an adult. The only ones I'd avoid were the final ones...which you'd only read if you want to have read all of Heinlein...very wordy and rambly and obsessed with the idea of the aged protaganist having sex with his offspring/semi twin in one form or another...quite creepy once you tune into it.Quote:
Originally Posted by remote_goddess;2705197;
On a different topic, our grocery store was carrying two of Gould's Jumper series books because of the movie, got them and enjoyed them both--good "coming of age" novels.
Here's a fun little book, Bradley Denton's 'Buddy Holly Is Alive And Well On Ganymede'
It entails what goes down after ALL tv programming worldwide is preemptedly replaced by an airing of Buddy Holly, who unsure of where he is but desiring to get home early on names the storys primary characters name and address as the person to contact.
More sweetly funny than hilarious, levened with sadness as well, it also in part provides a trip down memory lane primarily of the sixties and seventies.
It read like a longer novel than it actually is for soime reason to me, but in a good way; probably because of the format, where 4 or 5 groups of individuals involved in what goes down have their parts alternatively told.
My favorite character is a cyborg doggie capable of downing a 12 pack of beer {and more} and burping up unopened cans at a later point to open and enjoy.
The only thing I'd change in the story is the ending, believing personally that substituting the placement of the novel ending 4 word line with the 4 word line that immediately preceeded it would have made for a sweeter ending.
I just found Terry Brooks and like that series very much. The first Shannara book is not that great (a little amateurish), but if you can make it through that one, and get to book #2 they get sooo much better.Quote:
Originally Posted by tickerrose;1709403;
Love Sci Fi - Some of my favorite authors are:
Raymond Feist
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Jonathan Wylie
Anne McCaffrey (Crystal Singer & Powers That Be series)
I didn't read all the way back in this thread, but it seems that nobody has mentioned these two by Mary Doria Russell:
The Sparrow - 1996 and its sequel,
Children of God -- 1998
I read these maybe 10 years after those dates. I had always declared that I hated science fiction/fantasy and refused to read it, but my good friend and fellow booklover made me read these.
These are such well-written stories that people who claim to not like this genre will love them. After all, quality writing is quality writing...
My favorite fantasy books are The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind and The Belgariad and The Mallorean series by David Eddings. The last 2 series I read as a teenager and it was fun to go back and reread them all last summer. And then who can forget Tolkien. :biglove
My favorite science fiction book is Childhood's End by Sir Arthur C. Clarke. I read it once in 8th grade and it stuck with me so much that I went and bought it again a few months ago. Such an interesting book.
There are lots of other fantasy books that I love as that's the genre I predominantly read, but these are my fav's.