Valentine Michael Smith is a human being raised on Mars, newly returned to Earth. Among his people for the first time, he struggles to understand the social mores and prejudices of human nature that are so alien to him, while teaching them his own fundamental beliefs in grokking, watersharing, and love.
I know this is supposedly a magnificent, timeless, classic sci-fi novel. However for me from about the mid-point on the novel diminished finally ending in a formulaic whimper.
okay
it is pure commercial writing born back in the 60s, I wouldn't expect anything of quality here.
extremely disappointing, this novel is anything but futuristic.
if you replace a couple of things in that 'work of art' you might get as well a story written by J.H.Chase or Simenon.
Simenon, I guess, yeah, Chase wasn't that boring in describing one's mortal routine (but he had plenty of sexy secretaries Heinlein was fantasizing about... consider it a mix of both staged in the near future).
I think I have stopped somewhere in the middle, I couldn't make it.
Better go for Neuromancer or Mona Lisa Overdrive by Gibson, I am telling ya
I'm afraid I haven't grokked it in fullness yet. Waiting will fulfill.
4.5 stars rounded up because it left me feeling quietly happy
Call this more of a 2 1/2 star rating. While the martian aspects are interesting, there’s some bizarre homophobia, sexism, and racism going on in this book’s subtext that felt more like reflections of the author than a culture critique.
Like the first half of the movie FULL METAL JACKET is a masterpiece, the first half of this is the same. The second half? Not so much for me.
This book is too much a product of its times for me to fully enjoy it, but that night I dreamed of Mars.
I tried reading this classic but I was bored out of my mind by page 130. It's possible that I just can't read sci fi anymore. Skipped this book.
What a frustrating book to reread in 2016. Go forth! Question all the tribal taboos of Earth! Except, you know, the ones about female secretaries or homophobia. The questioning is genuine and of course necessary (and entertaining, though probably mostly only for guys) and yet also so obviously insufficient. Meh.
This is by far the most boring book I've read in a few years. I don't mind it being 'dated'. I don't mind the sexism. I don't mind the ideas. I can even handle the cardboard characters to some extent. But did it really need that many pages? Did it really need that many pointless, long monologues?
Originally published at Forest Azuaron.
Stranger in a Strange Land, in two parts. 1: The Obligatory What Does the Government Do. 2: The Philosophy of Sexual Politics according to Robert Heinlein.
Part 1 is quite good, and you can see how it will later become the foundation for many "lone special person baffles government officials" stories for decades to come--though I do wonder how much Stranger was influenced by The Day the Earth Stood Still, which came out a decade earlier.
Unfortunately, it feels a little rushed. Like, Heinlein really wanted to write Part 2, but knew he couldn't get away with it without addressing Part 1.
Part 2, well, let's just say you may not want to talk sexual philosophy with the same book that brings us such wonderful quotes as, "9 times out of 10, when a woman is raped, it's her fault," and, "This isn't …
Originally published at Forest Azuaron.
Stranger in a Strange Land, in two parts. 1: The Obligatory What Does the Government Do. 2: The Philosophy of Sexual Politics according to Robert Heinlein.
Part 1 is quite good, and you can see how it will later become the foundation for many "lone special person baffles government officials" stories for decades to come--though I do wonder how much Stranger was influenced by The Day the Earth Stood Still, which came out a decade earlier.
Unfortunately, it feels a little rushed. Like, Heinlein really wanted to write Part 2, but knew he couldn't get away with it without addressing Part 1.
Part 2, well, let's just say you may not want to talk sexual philosophy with the same book that brings us such wonderful quotes as, "9 times out of 10, when a woman is raped, it's her fault," and, "This isn't one of those times when women have the vote!" Also, you'll never understand the philosophy, anyway, unless you learn to think in Martian. Thanks Heinlein for clearing up everything! Thou art God!
A single 3.
Edit: Ugh, I've just found out there's "cut" (the original publication) and "uncut" (published in the 90s) versions of Stranger, and I read the cut version. I am not interested enough to try it again, but it's likely that colored my perception of the book.
This is not the first time I read this book. The first time is many years ago and when I read it back then I didn't grok the entire depth of it. This is an amazing read from start to finish, partly seeing our world through the eyes of someone from another planet, partly seeing how we the people are wrapped into things. The explanations of Jubal, who's a wonderful character in the book, excel in clarity for me. Definitely worth the re-read.
Read this book when i was 18 and it took me on a mid trip for months. I read every Heinlein book i could get my hands on since then. ;)
When I grow up I want to be Jubal Harshaw.
The first 1/2 to 2/3 about seeing our culture through an alien lens were great--like watching classic Japanese films to see where Star Wars came from. The power struggle was good also. Heinlein was very aware that an ability to transport objects would be absolutely, fundamentally disruptive. It would not be the shiny elevator/plot device it has routinely become in typical sci-fi.
Once the book gets into squishy floors and free luuuuv it lost me. The final showdown felt a bit like Jesus Christ Superstar in the original tie-dye.
Unarguably a classic. Glad to have read it even tho I didn't love it.
