The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (1985)

One of Heinlein's last books, and not one of his best. It represents yet another installment in the "World As Myth" theme that he used so often later in life, and therefore includes many characters from his older, better works - including, inevitably, Lazarus Long, who continues his long (pun intended) degeneration from the original interesting protagonist of "Methuselah's Children" into an annoying incest-freak, Heinlein surrogate, self-parody (I suspect), and all-around jerk-who-must-be-worshiped-due-to-his-natural-moral-superiority.

Still, Heinlein retained his great gift as a storyteller even at this late date in his career. And the first two-thirds of the book are basically a well-told, straightforward science fiction adventure story, albeit a chatty one. The main protagonist is yet another Heinlein surrogate, even more thinly-disguised than usual; Richard Ames (apparently born Colin Campbell), a writer, combat veteran, and general man of action and competence.

For the first two-thirds of the book, Ames has near-future adventures in space, told with the usual Heinlein flair - albeit with a greater-than-usual helping of Heinlein smarm and the usual badly dated romantic banter (the older I get, the more obvious it becomes that Heinlein all too often used the language and idioms of his youth in Kansas City - which makes his one exception to that habit, [b:The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress|16690|The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress|Robert A. Heinlein|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166740333s/16690.jpg|1048525], all the more surprising and impressive).

I don't want to get too detailed, so let me wrap this up quickly. Once Lazarus Long enters the picture, the book rapidly degenerates into the usual confused World-Is-Myth mishmash, with the obligatory long expository party scenes in which far too much is explained. Including (of course!) lots of sex, homophobia overcome, and incest. Please don't get the idea that I'm a prude! Actually, I am a prude in many ways, but not when it comes to reading. It's just that Heinlein is so one-sided, and such a one-note author when it comes to sex and incest, that it really becomes tiring and annoying. It's a waste of his incredible talent.

One odd thing: toward the end, a large, black, rage-filled character named Samuel Beaux is suddenly introduced as yet another two-dimensional foil. The pun (if that's what it is) is obvious - Samuel Beaux, "Sam Beaux", "Sambo" - but Heinlein spells it out just to make it clear for the idiots in the crowd. He apparently felt that he nullified the implied racism by suddenly having Ames/Campbell turn out to be black himself, although there were absolutely no clues to indicate that anywhere prior to that point. In fact, Ames calls Beaux "Boy" in the process, which strikes a very false note indeed!

I'm not one of those people who subscribes to the concept of political correctness. Nor do I practice it - I'm a fanatic when it comes to free speech, and believe that the notion of political correctness was either created or adopted as a form of characterizing criticism of racism (and sexism, etc.) as reverse racism. That is, accusations of "political correctness" are usually just an attempt to defend racism and other outdated behaviors; either that, or they're just idiotic attempts to "protect the children" or similar nonsense. I hate racism, but I also strongly object to censorship of [b:Huckleberry Finn|2956|The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn|Mark Twain|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161831948s/2956.jpg|1835605] and [b:The Story of Doctor Dolittle|325421|The Story of Doctor Dolittle (Books of Wonder)|Hugh Lofting|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173762816s/325421.jpg|803204] on racial grounds.

So I'm not criticising Heinlein for racism per se; as far as I know, he didn't practice racism, and his language is probably just a reflection of the language and concepts that were commonly accepted in the time and place of Heinlein's childhood. But "Sambo" is rather egregious, doesn't really bring anything to the story, and Heinlein's sudden revelation of Ames/Campbell as black strikes me as very phony and dishonest. I disapprove of bullshit, and given that Heinlein always presented himself as tough and plainspoken, that whole passage strikes me as very hypocritical - the literary equivalent of "some of my best friends are gay/black/Jewish/whatever".

Sorry to have gotten so tangled up in the issue of race; it was unplanned.

And now, the ending: I don't like it. No, let me make that stronger: I really don't like the ending. It leaves the plot hanging, badly. What's more, there's a large hole in the plot - we've been told repeatedly that there are only two possible outcomes, and while the outcome isn't necessarily final at the close of the book, it seems to be as close to it as possible - and it doesn't match either of the two scenarios that were presented.

And dammit, it's a sad ending. I don't like that, particularly when kittens are involved. Call it a personal quirk.

Heinlein only wrote one more book after this; I've read it, but don't remember much of it (which is not very high praise, I must say). Unfortunately, that means that I don't remember if there was any mention of the outcome in that book. I suppose I'll have to re-read it to find out.

If it weren't for Heinlein's great skill as a storyteller, I'd have given this two stars at best. It's certainly among his weakest novels. ( )

It is like J. Peterman is reading this book!

I never finished this, but I enjoyed what i ehard. I think the narrator was true dramatic and I just couldn't keep up with his voice.

Nothing in The Cat Who Walks Through Walls ever comes together or gets resolved. New elements are continually introduced to be left unexplained or to simply fade away. There is no climax, the book just seems to run out of pages with a fizzle.
The most disappointing thing is that the book starts out so strongly. It starts off with the protagonist's dinner being interrupted by a man who tells him that he needs him to kill another man. The uninvited dinner guest is then killed by an unseen assassin and this sends (or is supposed to send) the main character, Dr. Ames, headlong into adventure and intrigue. Unfortunately that never happens. Instead he and his new bride simply bounce around from one situation to the next.
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls is a science fiction book of the random ventures of Dr. Ames A.K.A Richard A.K.A the Protagonist and Gwen, his wife and how they celebrate their honeymoon by torturing sketchy Antagonists and having uncomfortable romantic scenes (for most people), as well as finding out more about themselves, leading in more intensity between the two’s relationships.
In a brief summary of this book, (As I said earlier) Colonel Colin Campbell, alias Dr. Richard Ames, alias Senator Richard Johnson, is enjoying an evening out with his date, Gwendolyn Novak, when a man approaches him in a crowded restaurant and tells him, “We need you to kill a man.” Colonel Campbell, a retired mercenary soldier who uses a cane (with a stiletto inside) because of his artificial leg, is about to brush the stranger off when the man adds, “Tolliver must die by noon Sunday or we’ll all be dead!” Before the uninvited guest can elaborate, he is fatally wounded by a four-millimeter dart projected by an unknown assailant.
Certain that the assassin will be after Richard (as she calls him) next, Gwen offers him the use of her compartment as a temporary hideout. While staying with her, he discovers that the man who was murdered in the restaurant was one Enrico Schultz; yet when he attempts to investigate further, he is evicted from his living quarters and denied access to his terminal--a combination TV, telephone, and Automated Teller Machine. It seems that not only do those in power at the Golden Rule, the privately owned space habitat on which he and Gwen live, want to run them out, but both are wanted in connection with the murder of Schultz.
Ultimately, Richard learns who killed Schultz, the true identity of Tolliver, and why Richard is a threat to two opposing factions who want to seize Tolliver for their own purposes.
By the time I had read my first Heinlein book, I could briefly describe the book as a book in which here is a cat and the cat may or may not actually walk through walls. If there'd been no mention of a cat that could walk through the walls the title would remain a mysterious metaphor which would have been preferable. Instead it is a reference to a completely meaningless and unexplored part of the story. The book may as well be named The Discussion About Dinosaur Meat Being Tough and Tasteless or The Man We Treated Like a Dog That Time. The fact that the cat enters the book so late causes the reader to be on their toes for the first hundred pages or so. Then, the reader assumes the title is a metaphor and relaxes just to be hit with the cat in the last section of the book. Then, lastly, the reader is filled with confusion as they try to figure out why this stupid cat thing got itself a pride of place mention in the book's title. I can say this by the end of the book because of it’s purpose being an analysis to my inquiry on why the title of the book is what it is.
I would give this book 2 out of 5 stars due to it’s dramatic and intense beginning (which I love in books) but not so great climax or resolution.

To self-obsessed to enjoy the action. The fog of war deleted all the interesting bits. Then the ending is just a term paper due in five minutes. Slap-dashery at best. ( )

As other reviewers have noted, it would no doubt be helpful to read a number of Heinlein's other books prior to reading this. However, I feel it stands on its own quite well.

Having said that I was drawn in by the dry, witty banter of the principle characters, Gwen and Richard (if that is his real name).

For fans of The Thin Man series, I found their polite, brisk dialog reminiscent of Nick and Nora Charles, and with their images and voices in mind it made for an entertaining read.

At times I felt let down by the slowing of the story but there always seemed to be another interesting person or location just around the corner - although in some respects this contributed to a feeling of disjointedness.

Commercial plugs were laid on a little thick and I occasionaly yearned for a cool jug of Sluggo Cola (or some other native concoction) to reinforce the sense that this story is set in a future where, perhaps, some of the currently familiar brands have been swallowed up by as yet unknown mega-corporations. I must say, however, that the idea of an unreliable Volvo was a nice touch. ( )