On the occasion of Peter Diamandis winning the Heinlein Prize, I thought some of my readers might want to reacquaint (or introduce, if they haven't had the pleasure) themselves with some of the great man's books.

And yes, if you're wondering, I do get a cut (assuming that enough people purchase some to get me to the minimum). Think of it as an alternative means of tipping me, while getting in some good SF.

They've got the movie poster cover on "Starship Troopers". Yuck! The Peter Verhoeven movie was a poorly done satire of the book, taking the left's POV on the controversity surrounding the book. Not to mention not even living up to the books far superior combat sequences.

I believe Heinlein is the author who I have read the most of. His sexual predilections in the whole lazarus long thing, is a little off puting, but there is always something more interesting. Though most would say "stranger in a strange land" I think the one I enjoyed the most is "tunnel in the sky," it was prolly one of his most main stream books.

Even though it too had some sexual things involving adultish children.

What would be a good place to start with Heinlein? Are any of the books part of an ongoing storyline or series? I'm almost through a different series by a different author, and I'm looking to get into something else, so the timing on this was rather welcome. But, it would be nice to know what a good starting point would be for someone that's never read Heinlein before, and Wikipedia is a little scarce on the subject.

IMHO

I'd start with
"Starship troopers"
or maybe
"The Moon is a harsh mistriss"

Paul

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Citizen of the Galaxy
2a&2b. Starman Jones or Time for the Stars
3. Methusalah's Children
4. Magic, Inc.

#1 is an "slave boy rescued and goes on to great things" story

#2a & 2b are good "exploring space" yarns -- the first is a "teen finagles his way onto a colony ship, grows up, and has adventures" type, while thie second focuses on telepathic twins used as interstellar communicators, with time dilation fun.

#3 is a good introduction to Lazarus Long, an "immortal" who figures in several of his later books.

#4 is a fantasy that takes the line "what if magic was real and a basis for industry?"

I love Troopers but how can you leave off 'Puppet Masters' as a starter. It's got both old and new Heinlein aspects. 'Double Star' is a classic as is 'Door Into Summer'. All 3 are adult Heinleins.

My fav juveniles are 'Time For The Stars', 'Red Planet' and 'Starman Jones'. The last 2 are dated by real Mars knowhow and computer technology. I love them anyhow.

"And yes, if you're wondering, I do get a cut"

Big whup, they do the same thing with my book reviews at Out of the Cradle.

Oh wait...I don't get anything from those...

hmmm...

(Actually I consider any revenues generated by my reviews, if any, to be going towards the maintenance and upkeep of the site. Traffic is what I'm interested in, not pennies. Course, they don't get quite the traffic Rand does.)

"Moon is a Harsh Mistress" is almost required reading at XCOR. "Citizen of the Galaxy," "Green Hills of Earth" anthology, "Door Into Summer," "Starbeast."

I prefer "tunnel in the sky" because, with so many of his books, INCLUDING "Stranger in a Strange Land" he was developing his ideal of the "line" family. Valintine Michael Smith, created the foundation of the new sexuality he attached himself too, EVEN in "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" I don't know about the IN FACT timeline, but he was playing a simple game.

He built lazarus longs broad sexual, but distinct procreative class, in "Stranger", and that is why I think that "tunnel in the sky" which was a story, that was completely clear of any social arguments. It was a clear cut effort to depict individuals doing as TALENTED individuals do, without interference.

my SECOND favorite is Starship, but my FAVORITE is "Tunnel...."

My favorite Heinlanian fiction is probably "Moon is a Harsh Mistress", though "Door Into Summer" is also great.

Rand, I clicked expecting to buy all of Peter Diamandis's science fiction books, but there's just Heinlein books--already read all of those, sorry.

I think "Have Spacesuit Will Travel," is a great introduction, although I read "Moon is a Harsh Mistress" first. I tried reading "Spacesuit" to my kids when they were six. My mistake. It was too scary for that age, and now they won't go near him. I think of "Spacesuit" as showcasing all of Heinlein's virtues without troubling his audience with some of the line family and sexual freedom issues he spent so much time on in his later years.
Laura

"Spacesuit" may have been the very first book I recall reading all the way through. It was two years ago.

Just kidding. I was about five or six. I don't recall being frightened by it--I just remember becoming an instant Heinlein fan.

I'm a big Heinlein fan as well, and sympathize with how frustrating it is to have already read all of his work. A couple tips: First, there's a (relatively) "new" (just released a couple years ago; now out in paperback) Heinlein novel, "For Us, The Living," which is actually RAH's long unpublished first novel; second, a new quasi-Heinlein novel, called "Variable Star," will be coming out later this year. This book has been written by Spider Robinson, with the cooperation of the Heinlein estate, from a detailed outline and notes by Heinlein.

OTOH, those of who are "troubled" by Heinlein's thought-experiments regarding sexual mores and family structures (Heaven forfend that SF should challenge our preconceptions, eh?) may not like "For Us, The Living," which, as his first-written novel, pretty much explodes the myth that all that "sex stuff" was an artifact of his dotage. ;^)

Finally, I note that nobody so far in this thread so far has mentioned "The Man Who Sold the Moon" among their faves, despite its being cited as a major influence in most of the articles about Peter Diamandis winning the Heinlein Prize. I think TMWSTM is a wonderful story, and D.D. Harriman is a great fictional character... but I've always been amused by the many space enthusiasts who have pointed to old Delos as a role model: Here's a guy who lies, cheats, steals, and bribes (by his own description, BTW) and leverages massive corporate power, all in the service of creating a U.N.-backed *monopoly* over travel to, and exploitation of, the Moon. How is *THAT* a good model for free-market, entrepreneurial opening of the space frontier? Jes' wondrin'?

I think "Have Spacesuit Will Travel," is a great introduction,
although I read "Moon is a Harsh Mistress" first.
I tried reading "Spacesuit" to my kids when they were six.

For hooking a six-year-old, I'd try the first chapter (just the first chapter, mind you) of "The Star Beast".

Quote from K : "They've got the movie poster cover on "Starship Troopers". Yuck!"

They totally missed out on an oppurtunity for a great Mecha-combat movie. Sure some could say that George Lucas already went over all that with the storm trooper/republic commando thing. But I think they could have sniffed out some ideas from countless sources of Japanimation work. And to not even have any mention whatsoever of the Skinnies was just a travesty.

Thanks, Kathy. They are 11 now and reading way too many books about dragons, so there might be some fruitful cross-over there. I will try Star Beast.