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Heinlein's Last Novel Coming in September

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the pages-out-of-time dept.

Frightened_Turtle writes "Robert Heinlein's last novel, Variable Star , will be released in September. Completed by Spider Robinson at the behest of Heinlein's estate, the novel is based on the notes and outline created by Heinlein for the novel over 50 years ago. It was set aside and forgotten when Heinlein went to work on other projects. The story follows the life of Joel Johnston who — after having a fallout with his girlfriend and going on a bender — wakes up on a starship bound for the stars. Spider Robinson has done an excellent job maintaining Heinlein's style and flow throughout the novel. Want to check out the story for yourself? You can download the first eight chapters online from the 'Excerpts' link on the site as they are released over the next few weeks."

3 of 276 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Scared, I am... by msuzio · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    That's funny, because I thought everything after "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" blew donkey dongs. I got rapidly tired of the endless retelling of stories of randy old men and super-intelligent, pneumatic, horny women who loved to please them. Blech. "Friday" was barely tolerable, in that at least I felt like an interesting story was happening around the ridiculous sex scenes. By the time of "Number of the Beast", I gave up. I completely skipped "Time Enough For Love" and it's ilk, one I knew Lazurus Long was just an annoying twit who would prattle on while shagging his mother.

    What I'm really mad about, though, is that I still gave the old bugger a chance and read "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls". I mostly was intrigued by the return to the setting of MiaHM, but the book (although not horrible) just left me feeling "eh". I wanted something more satisfying out of a "sequel" to one of my favorite books.

    So, yeah... give me juvenile fiction Heinlein (and short-story Heinlein) any day over the stuff he churned out in the late sixties onward.

    --
    It's a strange world -- let's keep it that way
  2. Re:Scared, I am... by IronTeardrop · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Thank you for writing exactly what I feel about Heinlein. Lazarus Long and Jubal Harshaw were little more than thinly cloaked (and boring) fantasies of the author. I wonder if he ever met real women.

  3. Re:Scared, I am... by DerekLyons · · Score: 0, Flamebait
    inability to go more than a page or two without repeating a cultural reference already made twenty seven times (either in that work or earlier) or superimposing his political or computer biases - even when such references or superimpositions have nothing to do with the story at hand.

    Sounds like Heinlein to me!

    Umm.... No.
     
     
    Seriously, did you ever read any of his books? TANSTAAFL and free love and cat's are good and let's have sex with our mothers by using a time machine, and then space some slavers. Next we'll talk like 30's gangsters because that's how people talk. After that we'll convince a bad guy to give up because we can prove him logically wrong. Wash, rinse, repeat for 500 pages * 20 books.

    Yes, I have read Heinlein, and what you write above shows that either you haven't - or it's been so long you've forgotten them.