Kevin B. O'Brien reviewed The Menace from Earth by Robert A. Heinlein
Review of 'The Menace from Earth' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Robert A. Heinlein is one of the greats of Science Fiction, and this is one his stronger collections of short stories written in the 1940s and 1950s. The title story is a clever bit of word play, since the menace being referenced is an attractive female from Earth who comes to the Moon and may be stealing the boyfriend of the young lady protagonist. Clever enough, but the evocation of how life on the Moon might happen is what really makes this story great. Then there is "By His Bootstraps", which is one of two awesome time travel paradox stories written by Heinlein (the other is "All You Zombies"), and you feel like there is not much left to say on the subject when he gets done. "Year of the Jackpot" is an atmospheric end-of-the-world fantasy. And "Goldfish Bowl" is a wonderful exploration of the idea that we are being …
Robert A. Heinlein is one of the greats of Science Fiction, and this is one his stronger collections of short stories written in the 1940s and 1950s. The title story is a clever bit of word play, since the menace being referenced is an attractive female from Earth who comes to the Moon and may be stealing the boyfriend of the young lady protagonist. Clever enough, but the evocation of how life on the Moon might happen is what really makes this story great. Then there is "By His Bootstraps", which is one of two awesome time travel paradox stories written by Heinlein (the other is "All You Zombies"), and you feel like there is not much left to say on the subject when he gets done. "Year of the Jackpot" is an atmospheric end-of-the-world fantasy. And "Goldfish Bowl" is a wonderful exploration of the idea that we are being observed by intelligent aliens. The whole collection is great, and deserves a place in your library.
