The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein

The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein
Author: Farah Mendlesohn
Publisher: Unbound Publishing
Total Pages: 445
Release: 2019-03-07
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1783526807

Robert A. Heinlein began publishing in the 1940s at the dawn of the Golden Age of science fiction, and today he is considered one of the genre's 'big three' alongside Arthur C. Clarke and Isaac Asimov. His short stories were instrumental in developing its structure and rhetoric, while novels such as Stranger in a Strange Land and Starship Troopers demonstrated that such writing could be a vehicle for political argument. Heinlein’s influence remains strong, but his legacy is fiercely contested. His vision of the future was sometimes radical, sometimes deeply conservative, and arguments have flared up recently about which faction has the most significant claim on his ideas. In this major critical study, Hugo Award-winner Farah Mendlesohn carries out a close reading of Heinlein’s work, including unpublished stories, essays, and speeches. It sets out not to interpret a single book, but to think through the arguments Heinlein made over a lifetime about the nature of science fiction, about American politics, and about himself.

The Pursuit of the Pankera

The Pursuit of the Pankera
Author: Robert A. Heinlein
Publisher: CAEZIK SF & Fantasy
Total Pages: 504
Release: 2021-04-20
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781647100292

First paperback publication of the national bestseller by one of the greatest science fiction writers of all time. "An absolutely essential and 'must read' novel for the legions of Robert Heinlein fans, The Pursuit of the Pankera: A Parallel Novel About Parallel Universes is an extraordinary work of science fiction"--Midwest Book Review "Heinlein still offers a rollicking ride even after all these years."-- The Oklahoman The Pursuit of the Pankera is one of the most audacious experiments ever done in science fiction by the legendary author of the classic bestseller Starship Troopers. Robert A. Heinlein wrote The Number of the Beast, which was published in 1980. In the book Zeb, Deety, Hilda and Jake are ambushed by the alien "Black Hats" and barely escape with their lives on a specially configured vehicle (the Gay Deceiver) which can travel along various planes of existence, allowing them to visit parallel universes. However, unknown to most fans, Heinlein had already written a "parallel" novel about the four characters and parallel universes in 1977. He effectively wrote two parallel novels about parallel universes. The novels share the same start, but as soon as the Gay Deceiver is used to transport them to a parallel universe, each book transports them to a totally different parallel world. From that point on the plot lines diverge completely. While The Number of the Beast morphs into something very different, more representative of later Heinlein works, The Pursuit of the Pankera remains on target with a much more traditional Heinleinesque storyline and ending, reminiscent of his earlier works. The Pursuit of the Pankera was never published and there have been many competing theories as to why (including significant copyright issues in 1977). Over time the manuscript was largely forgotten but survived in fragments. A recent re-examination of these fragments, however, made it clear that put together in the right order they constituted the complete novel. And here it finally is: Robert A. Heinlein's audacious experiment. A fitting farewell from one of the most inventive science fiction writers to have ever lived: a parallel novel about parallel universes as well as a great adventure pitting the forces of good versus evil only the way Heinlein could do.

Podkayne of Mars

Podkayne of Mars
Author: Robert A. Heinlein
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2010-01-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1101171367

A classic tale from the Grandmaster of Science Fiction. Podkayne Fries, born and raised on Mars, has just one ambition: to earn her wings as a starship pilot and rise through the ranks to command deep-space explorations. The opportunity to travel aboard the Tricorn- on an interstellar journey to Venus and Earth in the company of her diplomat uncle-is a dream come true. Poddy's idea of diplomacy is keeping the peace with her troublesome brother, Clark, but she's about to learn some things about war and peace. Because her uncle is the Ambassador from Mars to the Three Planets Conference, which makes him-and his niece and nephew-potential targets for any radicals looking to sabotage the negotiations between three worlds.

The Notebooks of Lazarus Long

The Notebooks of Lazarus Long
Author: Robert Anson Heinlein
Publisher: Baen Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2004
Genre: Aphorisms and apothegms
ISBN: 9780743488440

In an illustrated, hand-lettered edition of maxims, Lazarus Long, the oldest living member of the human race, shares his wit and wisdom culled from his twenty-four-century odyssey through space and time.

The Number of the Beast

The Number of the Beast
Author: Robert A. Heinlein
Publisher: CAEZIK SF & Fantasy
Total Pages: 540
Release: 2022-04-19
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781647100605

The Number of the Beast is a mind-bending experiment by one of the greatest writers in science fiction who ever lived and the author of the classic bestseller, Starship Troopers. It is a parallel book about parallel universes. Most readers did not realize in 1980 (when it was originally published) that the novel had a sister book, written in 1977, that was never published. That book is finally being published under the title The Pursuit of the Pankera. . Both novels deal with parallel universes, share the same main characters and have the same first one-third of the book. However, from that point on (after they make a jump to a parallel universe) the novels diverge completely. . And here is where the second part of the experiment comes in. While The Pursuit of the Pankera continues the adventure in a very customary Heinlein manner, reminiscent of his earlier works, The Number of the Beast becomes something very different. . On surface, the book is about two men and two women who are attacked by aliens and then embark on roller coaster ride of an adventure through a myriad of universes. But as Jack Kirwan wrote in The National Review, "describing The Number of the Beast thus is like saying Moby Dick is about a one-legged guy trying to catch a fish." The Number of the Beast is a homage to science fiction, to his friends and to characters used in other books, also serving as a parody and a lesson to anyone willing to listen, in a way only Robert A. Heinlein could have presented it.

Space Opera

Space Opera
Author: Jack Vance
Publisher: Spatterlight Press
Total Pages: 188
Release: 1965
Genre: Science fiction, American
ISBN: 1619470330

The Unreal and the Real: Selected Stories Volume One

The Unreal and the Real: Selected Stories Volume One
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Publisher: Small Beer Press
Total Pages: 299
Release: 2012-11-27
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1618730363

Praise for Ursula K. Le Guin's short story collections: "It is the author's more serious work that displays her talents best. . . . [A] classy and valuable collection."—Publishers Weekly "A master of the craft."—Neil Gaiman The Unreal and the Real is a two-volume selection of Ursula K. Le Guin's best stories. It is a much-anticipated event and there is no doubt it will delight, amuse, and provoke. Where on Earth explores Le Guin's satirical, risky, political, and experimental earthbound stories. Ursula K. Le Guin has received the PEN–Malamud and National Book Awards, among others. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Outward Bound

Outward Bound
Author: James P. Hogan
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2000-02-15
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780812571912

A 15-year-old homeless boy in 22nd-century Los Angeles gets involved in a heist-gone-sour and is sent to a grueling labor camp. He is about to lose all hope when a mysterious psychologist offers him the chance of a lifetime. Can the boy overcome one of the worst neighborhoods on Earth by proving his worth on a mission beyond the stars?

The Last Dark

The Last Dark
Author: Stephen R. Donaldson
Publisher: Ace
Total Pages: 590
Release: 2014-09-02
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 042527005X

Compelled step by step to actions whose consequences they could neither see nor prevent, Thomas Covenant and Linden Avery have fought for what they love in the magical reality known only as "the Land." Now they face their final crisis. Reunited after their separate struggles, they discover in each other their true power--and yet they cannot imagine how to stop the Worm of the World's End from unmaking Time. Nevertheless they must resist the ruin of all things, giving their last strength in the service of the world's continuance.

Spin

Spin
Author: Robert Charles Wilson
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 359
Release: 2011-09-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0575117508

One night in October when he was ten years old, Tyler Dupree stood in his back yard and watched the stars go out. They all flared into brilliance at once, then disappeared, replaced by a flat, empty black barrier. He and his best friends, Jason and Diane Lawton, had seen what became known as the Big Blackout. It would shape their lives. The effect is worldwide. The sun is now a featureless disk - a heat source, rather than an astronomical object. The moon is gone, but tides remain. Not only have the world's artificial satellites fallen out of orbit, their recovered remains are pitted and aged, as though they'd been in space far longer than their known lifespans. As Tyler, Jason, and Diane grow up, space probe reveals a bizarre truth: The barrier is artificial, generated by huge alien artifacts. Time is passing faster outside the barrier than inside - more than a hundred million years per day on Earth. At this rate, the death throes of the sun are only about forty years in our future. Jason, now a promising young scientist, devotes his life to working against this slow-moving apocalypse. Diane throws herself into hedonism, marrying a sinister cult leader who's forged a new religion out of the fears of the masses. Earth sends terraforming machines to Mars to let the onrush of time do its work, turning the planet green. Next they send humans...and immediately get back an emissary with thousands of years of stories to tell about the settling of Mars. Then Earth's probes reveal that an identical barrier has appeared around Mars. Jason, desperate, seeds near space with self-replicating machines that will scatter copies of themselves outward from the sun - and report back on what they find. Life on Earth is about to get much, much stranger.