Calling All Geeks
There's a new Heinlein novel out. It was his very first book, written in the late 1930s but never published.
I'm sure it's not going to be his best work, but this man was clearly one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Casual readers probably won't care for it--I'm sure it's pretty rough and choppy--but serious fans of the man's work probably won't be able to stay away from it.
Well then, I know what I'm getting me for Christmas.
For Us, the Living: A Comedy of Customs. Any idea if that's Heinlein's choice of title? Obviously For Us, the Living is an allusion to Ayn Rand's We the Living (published 1936— and unlike several regular commenters on Dean's World, I know next to nothing about Rand.) What interests me especially is the subtitle, which (like the subtitle of two [or more?] of Heinlein's late novels) is a tribute to James Branch Cabell, another writer who in my opinion is very much worth reading.
I was at reading by Spider Robinson last week, who wrote the introduction for this book. He said that this book has bits in it that Heinlein mined for every one of his novels. Spider also said that part way through is where Heinlein becomes a writer & starts caring about the characters and story as opposed to just the message he's trying to get across. It's also supposed to be somewhat racy - Heinlein would have been charged with obscenity if he had published it in 1939
Cool! Heinlein was the first sci-fi author I ever read, and it started a love affair with books (and Lazarus Long ;) that lasts to this day :)
I can't wait - I have been a Heinlein fan since I got "Rocket Ship Galileo" for a birthday (my 8th, I think - my sister started converting me extra early). Definitly going on my Christmas wish list - thanks for the heads up on it!
My copy is on it's way (yes, it is out). Initial impressions I've gotten from other folks who already have their copies (grrrrr!!!!) is that it contains the seeds for many of the later works--Nehimah Scudder makes an appearance!--but isn't that good a book itself.
It contains the seeds, but the writer wasn't fully germinated.
Other news: Spider Robinson is "collaborating" on a novel with RAH called "Variable Star". I don't know whether he's working from a fragment, a outline or what, but keep an eye out for it. I wonder how many other things are in the vault that we may get to see (either as solo items or "collaborations").
Spider talked about that at the reading. "Variable Star" is a novel that Heinlein left a complete plot for but never wrote. Spider will be writing from that plot. Apparently there are also some unfinished short stories & short story plots.
And the postman rang twice today and delivered my package from Amazon.com with the new Heinlein in it!
The bad news is: Snow expected tomorrow, so my daughter probably **won't** be in school so I won't be able to start it!