Robert Anson Heinlein was the Grandmaster of Science-Fiction, originator or populariser of many of the science-fiction tropes we take for granted today. Heinlein laid the groundwork for countless authors to follow, combining his engineering knowledge and experience with a knowledge of humanity to open vast vistas for his readers. His popularity remains undiminished, even three decades after his death. Heinlein remains one of the greatest science-fiction writers in history.
But is Heinlein still relevant today?
He could be – and still is, even by the standards of our time – very controversial. In his later years, he pushed the limits as far as he could. His characters were freethinkers to a degree even we find alarming, discarding the chains of their societies in a manner that could be both heroic and dangerously unwise. His books – and Heinlein himself – have been accused of being fascist, or sexist, or racist, or thoroughly immoral. Is Heinlein still a great mind? Or should he be forgotten like so many other writers of his time?
In this collection of essays, science-fiction writer Christopher G. Nuttall takes a fresh look at Heinlein’s books, assesses the accusations made against Heinlein’s work and concludes that yes, Heinlein is still relevant today …
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The Chrishanger 
Bravo!
‘His characters were freethinkers to a degree even we find alarming.’
We the staunch conservatives, you mean? 😉
And no, I don’t agree that Heinlein was such a Grandmaster: his time was the Golden Age of the American sci-fi and personally, I’d rate many authors and works way above his league. For example, Frank Herbert and his Dune; Alfred Bester and his Tiger! Tiger! (aka The Stars My Destination); Roger Zelazny with his many works, the Amber series, The Lord of Light, and This Immortal, just to nane a few… And the list goes on.
Yes, Heinlein was undoubtedly a great writer and thinker of his time, but one of the many, and certainly no ‘Grandmaster.’
Well, I meant ‘we’ as in the average person today …
Chris
I liked the book, I agree he was not a racialist, for a man of his time he was remarkably impartial and unbiased, I started reading Heinlein in the 60’s. I was his target market, ie a teen, the only book I could not read was stranger in a strange land, You did not mention Grumbles from the Grave by Robert A. Heinlein in which he prints posthumously the details of the battles he had with editors and publishers
Possible to get autographed copies?
I’m not sure if this one will be out in paperback anytime soon. It depends on sales and stuff.
Chris
Thanks, I’ve forwarded the Amazon link to a Heinlein fan friend of mine.
Thank you!
Chris
As Heinlein is one of my favorites, this book practically downloaded itself onto my Kindle. I was s little leary though because of the Panshin connection, but I gave it a try. It was a great analysis of the Grand Master’s work and its relevance today.
Thank you! Please review it
Chris
Mr. Nuttall, I discovered your Heinlein collection when searching for potential release dates for the next Kat Falcone book, a series of which I have been a great fan. <Obligatory reader whine< Pleeze hurry, moar buks.
In any event, I appreciated it quite a bit and was glad you put it together. I would disagree on some of your opinions of the books — I wouldn’t touch “Time Enough for Love” or “Farnham’s Freehold” again unless someone paid me a lot of money, but I really rather liked “Friday” as something of a return to normalcy after the balderdash of “Fear No Evil,” “Time Enough” and “Number.” But overall It gave me a couple of new questions to ask some of his work the next time I read it.
Have you ever had the chance to read his 1973 letter to Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle about their original “The Mote in God’s Eye” manuscript? It’s in The Virginia Editions of his work and papers and so is not reading his private mail 😉 , and is also online. I wondered, because in helping Niven and Pournelle revise their manuscript Heinlein laid out a lot of his thought about writing, story construction and so on. Yes, he then ignored almost every bit of that advice in “Time Enough” and “Number,” but it’s still a great window into what had once upon a time been one of the best storytelling minds of SF’s Golden Age.
In any event, thanks for the collection and best wishes,