Valentine Michael Smith - RAH (Heinlein) Fans Be Heard!

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Valentine Michael Smith - RAH (Heinlein) Fans Be Heard! (Page 1 of 3)

Posted: 6/25/2005 4:15:12 PM EDT

Just curious, was RAH trying to draw a parallel to Jesus?

Posted: 6/25/2005 4:17:22 PM EDT

[#1]

Yes.

Posted: 6/25/2005 4:28:53 PM EDT

[#2]

Of course he was. Remember how they "ate of his flesh?"

Posted: 6/25/2005 4:44:43 PM EDT

[#3]

I'm lost. Who the hell are ya'll talking about?

Posted: 6/25/2005 5:00:28 PM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:
I'm lost. Who the hell are ya'll talking about?

Robert A Heinlein
Stranger in a strange land.

Posted: 6/26/2005 7:44:09 AM EDT

[#5]

Quoted:
I'm lost. Who the hell are ya'll talking about?

www.wegrokit.com/stranger_in_a_strange_land.htm

Posted: 6/26/2005 8:07:51 AM EDT

[#6]

Thanks for ruining it for me pal.

Posted: 6/26/2005 8:10:38 AM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:
Thanks for ruining it for me pal.

You learned to read?

Honestly - it's a good book. There are a number of cultural references you'll understand if/when you read it. Heinlein didn't even put in much incest.

Read it anyway.

Posted: 6/26/2005 2:29:43 PM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:
Thanks for ruining it for me pal.

That small fact doesn't "ruin" the story by any means, there is MUCH MUCH more excellent storytelling in the book.

If you haven't read it, I highly suggest that you do at your earliest convenience!

Does anybody else have other Heinlein books to recommend?

Posted: 6/26/2005 2:36:30 PM EDT

[#9]

I recently read about 10 heinlein books.
Moon is a harsh mistress and Starship Troopers are his two best books IMHO.
The guy has some sexual issues he needed to work out.

Posted: 6/26/2005 2:42:00 PM EDT

[#10]

Starship Troopers.

The Lazarus Long books have ups and downs...time enough for love, cat who walked through walls, moon is a harsh mistress....good. Some great points. Some shitty sections.

Starship troopers is a must, though. The BOOK.

Posted: 6/26/2005 2:46:59 PM EDT

[#11]

Nothing wrong with "Friday" either.

Posted: 6/26/2005 3:43:13 PM EDT

[#12]

Starship Troopers
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Tunnel in the Sky
Citizen of the Galaxy
Starman Jones
Have Space Suit, Will Travel
The Number of the Beast
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
Red Planet

Posted: 6/26/2005 3:46:52 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:
The guy has some sexual issues he needed to work out.

He had some interesting ideas on when it was ok to pork someone.

Anyone know if he lived like his heroes lived? I.e. fuck anything that moves, including members of your immediate family.

Posted: 6/26/2005 5:17:55 PM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:
Starship Troopers
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Tunnel in the Sky
Citizen of the Galaxy
Starman Jones
Have Space Suit, Will Travel
The Number of the Beast
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
Red Planet

Is "Time Enough for Love" any good?

I have Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land, and Have Spacesuit, Will Travel.

Those three generally don't have intense sexual overtones (well, a bit in "stranger"), Just trying to figger out which one to be "next".

Thanks in advance for all input!

Posted: 6/26/2005 5:32:01 PM EDT

[#15]

It's been 5 or 6 years, but TIME was pretty solid.

Heinlein was a strange bugger. Spoke several languages, fenced, probably shot recreationally...lots of BS going around about his life, though.

I strongly doubt he was able to screw at will. He got to be an old kind of old fart.

Posted: 6/27/2005 2:08:32 PM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
Quoted:
The guy has some sexual issues he needed to work out.

He had some interesting ideas on when it was ok to pork someone.

Anyone know if he lived like his heroes lived? I.e. fuck anything that moves, including members of your immediate family.

Which of his works have incest in them? (not that I am looking for it, just curious, as I would rather avoid those...)

TIA

Posted: 6/27/2005 2:17:31 PM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
Which of his works have incest in them? (not that I am looking for it, just curious, as I would rather avoid those...)

TIA

Most of them.

One of the books goes into some detail about arranging an orgy amongst 2 protagonists, a daughter, and friends of the family. Culminated in RAH's fictional universe declaring it a holiday.

It was part of the Lazarus Long series....think it was Time Enough for Love, but may have been another.

Posted: 6/27/2005 2:43:04 PM EDT

[#18]

Any truth to the rumor that RAH bet LRH that one of them could start a religion and make millions of dollars? The story I heard was that RAH took the bet in jest and wrote 'Stranger in a Strange Land' and LRH took the bet seriously and wrote 'Dianetics' and made up the whole Xenu/Thetans/Scientology trip.

Maybe just an urban legend.

Posted: 6/27/2005 3:30:13 PM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
The guy has some sexual issues he needed to work out.

He had some interesting ideas on when it was ok to pork someone.

Anyone know if he lived like his heroes lived? I.e. fuck anything that moves, including members of your immediate family.

Which of his works have incest in them? (not that I am looking for it, just curious, as I would rather avoid those...)
TIA

Awww, c'mon.
Some people say, "incest makes ya stupid,"
I say "the family that plays together, stays together."

It's fiction for cryin' out loud.
Just close your eyes during the yucky parts.

Posted: 6/27/2005 4:07:17 PM EDT

[#20]

Jeep - I'd heard more that he wrote part of Stranger as a warning about 'certain other sci-fi inspired cults'. Just so I don't get sued...

Posted: 6/27/2005 4:10:50 PM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:
Nothing wrong with "Friday" either.

I liked Friday as well. When the protaganist kills someone in the first sentence, you are off to a noticeable start...

Posted: 6/27/2005 4:28:21 PM EDT

[#22]

Also check out Glory Road. It's one of my all time favorites, and nobody every seems to mention it.
For me it's right behind Starship Troopers and right before Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

What did I want?

I wanted a Roc's egg. I wanted a harem loaded with lovely odalisques less than the dust beneath my chariot wheels, the rust that never stained my sword. I wanted raw red gold in nuggets the size of your fist, and feed that lousy claim jumper to the huskies! I wanted to get up feeling brisk and go out and break some lances, then pick a likely wench for my droit du seigneur - I wanted to stand up to the Baron and dare him to touch my wench! I wanted to hear the purple water chuckling against the skin of the Nancy Lee in the cool of the morning watch and not another sound, nor any movement save the slow tilting of the wings of the albatross that had been pacing us the last thousand miles.

I wanted the hurtling moons of Barsoom. I wanted Storisende and Poictesme, and Holmes shaking me awake to tell me, The game's afoot! I wanted to float down the Mississippi on a raft and elude a mob in company with the Duke of Bilgewater and Lost Dauphin.

I wanted Prester John, and Excalibur held by a moon-white arm out of a silent lake. I wanted to sail with Ulysses and with Tros of Samothrace and to eat the lotus in a land that seemÀd always afternoon. I wanted the feeling of romance and the sense of wonder I had known as a kid. I wanted the world to be the way they had promised me it was going to be, instead of the tawdry, lousy, fouled-up mess it is.

I had had one chance - for ten minutes yesterday afternoon. Helen of Troy, whatever your true name may be - and I had known it÷and I had let it slip away.

Maybe one chance is all you ever get.

Posted: 6/27/2005 4:47:07 PM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Nothing wrong with "Friday" either.

I liked Friday as well. When the protaganist kills someone in the first sentence, you are off to a noticeable start...

+1

Posted: 6/27/2005 6:18:54 PM EDT

[#24]

Ive got a bunch of heinleins books, but stranger in a strange land is one of his weakest in my opinion. there are some good moments to be sure, but all in all it seems too hippie-ish for my tastes. i prefer the stuff like farnams freehold, tunnel in the sky, glory road, starship troopers etc.

farnams freehold has a bit of incestual stuff, but i didn't find it particularly disturbing, and under the circumstances, it did make some sense. Hell, if adam and eve were the parents of the humanity, there was a lot of sibling on sibling action going on to kickstart the human race. i can live with it. and Farnams Freehold is stuill a great book.

Posted: 6/27/2005 6:23:07 PM EDT

[#25]

Quoted:
Ive got a bunch of heinleins books, but stranger in a strange land is one of his weakest in my opinion. there are some good moments to be sure, but all in all it seems too hippie-ish for my tastes. i prefer the stuff like farnams freehold, tunnel in the sky, glory road, starship troopers etc.

farnams freehold has a bit of incestual stuff, but i didn't find it particularly disturbing, and under the circumstances, it did make some sense. Hell, if adam and eve were the parents of the humanity, there was a lot of sibling on sibling action going on to kickstart the human race. i can live with it. and Farnams Freehold is stuill a great book.

I have Farnams Freehold but haven't taken time to read it yet... I know... I suck.

Posted: 6/27/2005 6:28:08 PM EDT

[#26]

Starship troopers is his best work, hands down. I love that book, although I haven't read it in a while. The movies didn't do it half the justice it deserved.

"Come on you apes, you wanna live forever?"

Ben

Posted: 6/27/2005 6:38:52 PM EDT

[#27]

Quoted:
Also check out Glory Road. It's one of my all time favorites, and nobody every seems to mention it.
For me it's right behind Starship Troopers and right before Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

What did I want?

I wanted a Roc's egg. I wanted a harem loaded with lovely odalisques less than the dust beneath my chariot wheels, the rust that never stained my sword. I wanted raw red gold in nuggets the size of your fist, and feed that lousy claim jumper to the huskies! I wanted to get up feeling brisk and go out and break some lances, then pick a likely wench for my droit du seigneur - I wanted to stand up to the Baron and dare him to touch my wench! I wanted to hear the purple water chuckling against the skin of the Nancy Lee in the cool of the morning watch and not another sound, nor any movement save the slow tilting of the wings of the albatross that had been pacing us the last thousand miles.

I wanted the hurtling moons of Barsoom. I wanted Storisende and Poictesme, and Holmes shaking me awake to tell me, The game's afoot! I wanted to float down the Mississippi on a raft and elude a mob in company with the Duke of Bilgewater and Lost Dauphin.

I wanted Prester John, and Excalibur held by a moon-white arm out of a silent lake. I wanted to sail with Ulysses and with Tros of Samothrace and to eat the lotus in a land that seemÀd always afternoon. I wanted the feeling of romance and the sense of wonder I had known as a kid. I wanted the world to be the way they had promised me it was going to be, instead of the tawdry, lousy, fouled-up mess it is.

I had had one chance - for ten minutes yesterday afternoon. Helen of Troy, whatever your true name may be - and I had known it÷and I had let it slip away.

Maybe one chance is all you ever get.

My wife and I thought of using their "wedding ceremony" instead of spending all the bucks on a preacher!

Posted: 6/27/2005 6:53:23 PM EDT

[#28]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Which of his works have incest in them? (not that I am looking for it, just curious, as I would rather avoid those...)

TIA

Most of them.

One of the books goes into some detail about arranging an orgy amongst 2 protagonists, a daughter, and friends of the family. Culminated in RAH's fictional universe declaring it a holiday.

It was part of the Lazarus Long series....think it was Time Enough for Love, but may have been another.

Lazarus goes back in time and has sex with his mom in that one.

I've enjoyed the Heinlein books I've read, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress being one of my favorite books, period.

Posted: 6/28/2005 1:08:02 PM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:
Any truth to the rumor that RAH bet LRH that one of them could start a religion and make millions of dollars? The story I heard was that RAH took the bet in jest and wrote 'Stranger in a Strange Land' and LRH took the bet seriously and wrote 'Dianetics' and made up the whole Xenu/Thetans/Scientology trip.

Maybe just an urban legend.

Probably an urban legend started on the half truth that somebody tried to make a real church as mentioned in Stranger, but it kinda fell apart.

I am looking to download my next as MP3 so I can listen to it at work. I use www.audible.com right now, they don't have all of his titles.

Anybody else know of a good site for "audio books"?

Posted: 6/28/2005 1:45:52 PM EDT

[#30]

"Job: A Comedy of Justice" is one of my favorites, but I've read all of his books. RAH is definitely one of my favorite authors.

Posted: 6/28/2005 2:03:34 PM EDT

[#31]

Quoted:
"Job: A Comedy of Justice" is one of my favorites, but I've read all of his books. RAH is definitely one of my favorite authors.

not at www.audible.com

Browse through their selections and let me know some good ones. Doesn't have to be RAH

I have:
Starship Troopers
Stranger in a Strange Land
Friday
Have Spacesuit, Will Travel

and

Atlas Shrugged

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (the whole series in paper form, also).

Any fresh suggestions to broaden my mind?

Posted: 6/28/2005 2:19:35 PM EDT

[#32]

Steve Perry

- The whole matador series

Posted: 6/28/2005 2:25:05 PM EDT

[#33]

Quoted:
Quoted:
"Job: A Comedy of Justice" is one of my favorites, but I've read all of his books. RAH is definitely one of my favorite authors.

not at www.audible.com

Browse through their selections and let me know some good ones. Doesn't have to be RAH

I have:
Starship Troopers
Stranger in a Strange Land
Friday
Have Spacesuit, Will Travel

and

Atlas Shrugged

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (the whole series in paper form, also).

Any fresh suggestions to broaden my mind?

If you're into sci fi, try anything by Allen Steele. He has a realistic approach and, I think, interesting stories... Coyote, Orbital Decay, Lunar Descent, Clark County Space.

If you don't mind semi-fantasy, go for the Pendragon Cycle by Stephen R. Lawhead... awesome series about the origin of Merlin and Arthur, but read them in order, Taliesin first.

Posted: 6/28/2005 2:52:35 PM EDT

[#34]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Which of his works have incest in them? (not that I am looking for it, just curious, as I would rather avoid those...)

TIA

Most of them.

One of the books goes into some detail about arranging an orgy amongst 2 protagonists, a daughter, and friends of the family. Culminated in RAH's fictional universe declaring it a holiday.

It was part of the Lazarus Long series....think it was Time Enough for Love, but may have been another.

Lazarus goes back in time and has sex with his mom in that one.

Near the end he has sex with 14 yr old twin clones (except female) of himself....

Posted: 6/28/2005 4:53:07 PM EDT

[#35]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:
Which of his works have incest in them? (not that I am looking for it, just curious, as I would rather avoid those...)

TIA

Most of them.

One of the books goes into some detail about arranging an orgy amongst 2 protagonists, a daughter, and friends of the family. Culminated in RAH's fictional universe declaring it a holiday.

It was part of the Lazarus Long series....think it was Time Enough for Love, but may have been another.

Lazarus goes back in time and has sex with his mom in that one.

Near the end he has sex with 14 yr old twin clones (except female) of himself....

Intresting.

Almost Fruedian...

Posted: 6/28/2005 5:00:33 PM EDT

[#36]

OK, I am interested in trying out a RAH book. Which should I read first, second, etc....??

Posted: 6/28/2005 5:04:27 PM EDT

[#37]

Quoted:
OK, I am interested in trying out a RAH book. Which should I read first, second, etc....??

1st: Starship Troopers

If you saw the movie, try to purge it from your memory.

2nd: Depends... I personally liked "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel" (gauged for a younger/family audience) and "Stranger in a Strange Land" (His "Best Known/Celibrated" work)

Posted: 6/28/2005 5:07:43 PM EDT

[#38]

Quoted:
Quoted:
OK, I am interested in trying out a RAH book. Which should I read first, second, etc....??

1st: Starship Troopers

If you saw the movie, try to purge it from your memory.

+1... excellent read, maybe even life altering.

#2, I liked Tunnel in the Sky... it has it week points but it's an entertaining SHTF type read.

Posted: 6/28/2005 5:08:57 PM EDT

[#39]

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, definitely.

I don't get down with his kinky shit, but otherwise, I love reading his books.

Posted: 6/29/2005 4:17:01 PM EDT

[#40]

Quoted:
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, definitely.

I don't get down with his kinky shit, but otherwise, I love reading his books.

Not on www.audible.com

I will read it, but in the non-work hours, vs. listening to it.

Listening to books is actually pretty cool when you are doing sub-menial to menial labor.

Posted: 6/29/2005 4:29:44 PM EDT

[#41]

Quoted:
Nothing wrong with "Friday" either.

" But I'm gonna get you high today,
cuz it's friday, you ain't got no job, and you aint got shit to do! ..."

Posted: 6/29/2005 4:31:49 PM EDT

[#42]

Am I the only one that liked "The Puppetmasters"?

That was his first book I read (well, a trilogy with Puppetmasters, Double Star, and A Door into Summer, a great combo) and yes, it was way before the movie. Thought the story was great, also thought Double Star was one of his best works.

Posted: 6/29/2005 4:40:17 PM EDT

[#43]

Quoted:
Am I the only one that liked "The Puppetmasters"?
<snip>

I grok that book too. It's a good one.

TC

Posted: 6/29/2005 4:52:27 PM EDT

[#44]

Quoted:
Starship Troopers.

The Lazarus Long books have ups and downs...time enough for love, cat who walked through walls, moon is a harsh mistress....good. Some great points. Some shitty sections.

Starship troopers is a must, though. The BOOK.

Is TMIAHM a Lazarus Long book? Been a long time since I read that one and I'm horrible at remembering character names.

Kharn

Posted: 6/29/2005 4:58:42 PM EDT

[#45]

It may be, but I can't answer with certainty because I don't understand the title you abbreviated.

Posted: 6/29/2005 4:59:34 PM EDT

[#46]

The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress

TMIAHM

Posted: 6/29/2005 5:05:30 PM EDT

[#47]

Nope, no Lazarus content there.

Read it in middle school....god, what a fucking trip. Not much sex, some meeting in sleazy hotel rooms, and Lazarus books do tie into the Moon book....but it's an interesting read.

Imagine a war for independence fought from the moon.

Imagine an insane sci-fi writer is in charge.

Posted: 6/29/2005 5:08:16 PM EDT

[#48]

Oh, ok. I noticed his age (just read Revolt in 2100 & Methusula's Children the other week) and the mention of the moon revolt, thought maybe he had a part.

And yes, Freud would have had MANY things to say about Mr. Heinlein, he was all about being kinky. (Mr. Heinlein died sometime around 1989)

Kharn

Posted: 6/29/2005 5:11:14 PM EDT

[#49]

Brasspile,

"Any fresh suggestions to broaden my mind?"

- For something that won't do anything to broaden your mind, but is VERY entertaining, try Peter Hamilton's "Naked God" series. It's nearly three thousand pages long, but it's space opera at it's best. This one also features "souls", but in a non-religous/Christian sense, for a little bit of an intellectual teaser. Lots of sex, but it's with sex objects of the legal, female, OF AGE AND NOT a relative category!
On the more intellectual, but still very readable end, I recently enjoyed Necronomicon by Neal Stephenson, and Pattern Recognition by William Gipson.
Both of these were chock full of those "AHA" moments where you have to sit back for a second and digest what you've just read.

Oh and yes, he wasn't just trying.. he did ... draw a parallel to Jesus.

Posted: 6/29/2005 5:20:41 PM EDT

[#50]

I liked puppetmasters.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is one of my favorites.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Valentine Michael Smith - RAH (Heinlein) Fans Be Heard! (Page 1 of 3)

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