What Heinlein should I read next?

I find that I'm finishing most of the completed series I'm reading and catching up with the authors on the ones that are ongoing, so I'm starting on the list of other things I should read, like Robert A. Heinlein. I've read and loved Stranger in a Strange Land, the original and uncut versions, and Time Enough for Love. I liked To Sail Beyond the Sunset and I Will Fear No Evil less, maybe because of something of a "been there, done that" feeling (though in a way I'd like to read some of the other books where characters from the books I've read were featured), and liked parts of Expanded Universe, but not enough to read the whole thing multiple times. I've also read Farmer in the Sky, but I'm not really interested in reading more of the juveniles. If I go to the bookstore tomorrow, what should be at the top of my shopping list?

I recommend Starship troopers because it's a classic, Job : a comedy of justice because it's brilliant, and Friday because it has the distilled essence of all of Heinlein's female characters.

Basically with Heinlein the earlier the better. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is my favorite. Then I would read the juveniles, so perhaps I'm not the best person to advise you.

Yep, like ringman I think the earlier the better. Perhaps what you should go for are the short story collections.

And don't dismiss his juveniles on the basis of one; Farmer in the Sky is good but Double Star and The Door into Summer are better.

And then there are the collections: The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag, Waldo & Magic, Inc. and The Menace from Earth are still pretty easy to find and are very much different from what you've read already.

> 1 Definitely try Job: A Comedy of Justice and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress . . . the best of Heinlein's later (post-1960) work IMHO.

They're two of the Heinlein titles I recommend to "everyone" who's new to his work. The other three being . . .

Double Star
The Door into Summer
Have Spacesuit, Will Travel

With all due respect to wyrdchao, I can't see any rationale for classifying the first two as juveniles: Heinlein didn't treat them as such, and their protagonists are definitely grown men rather than teenagers. Have Spacesuit--will travel clearly *is* a juvenile, but like Citizen of the Galaxy and some others, many adults (including me) have enjoyed it.

One last thought: If you liked Lazarus Long in his later incarnations in Time Enough for Love and To Sail Beyond the Sunset, you might enjoy his first appearance in Methusalah's Children, originally written in 1941.

>6 ABVR: I'm classifying them that way because... I got confused...*smirk* Heinlein had an ongoing agreement with his publisher to produce 1 juvenile and 1 adult novel every year, roughly 1951-1959. This all blew up after Starship Troopers. He'd been at loggerheads with the editor for years, and he was just as happy to move elsewhere: Stranger In a Strange Land was the result.

I have a tendency to group the 50's books together in my head; there really isn't a lot of stylistic difference since he didn't dumb-down the juveniles, as far as complexity goes. He figured kids were smart, and perfectly capable of handling adult issues, but DID want characters they could identify with. Tunnel in the Sky, for instance, sure seems like a adult novel to me, even if it's about a bunch of kids.

Well, I picked up Starship Troopers this morning. If B&N keeps sending 15% off coupons every couple of weeks, I imagine I'll be going back to grab some more.

8> hee-hee. I can just see the flames arising when you post your review of that. Think I'll step aside this time (try to recover from your shock) and watch the fun.

9> *raises eyebrow* I know about Starship Troopers. The book, anyway. All I know about the movie is that it was apparently barely even an attempt at having anything to do with the original. I know that a lot of people think that it glorifies war, apparently because either the movie confuses them or because some kind of service to the government is required for the full priviledges of citizenship (if I understand that plot point correctly) and they don't pay attention to the fact that civil service also qualifies, it's just that the characters we're following are doing theirs in the military. Now, I don't know if I'll like the book or not, but I think I know what I'm getting into. Any delay in my reviewing it will be because it's still a few books down on my TBR pile, not because I'll be recovering from a shock. Unless, of course, it's shockingly badly written, and I wouldn't say that even of the Heinlein I've liked less out of those works I've read.

10: "All I know about the movie is that it was apparently barely even an attempt at having anything to do with the original."

Oh!!! I know this is a tangent, but I can't help it! Yes, "Starship Troopers" the movie does not follow the plot of the book. However, like many other excellent movie adaptations of books, it captures the essence of the book keenly. The satire and the irony and the majority of the overriding themes all move cleanly and clearly from book to movie. I think Heinlein would have loved the movie.

In my opinion, point by point plot translations make poor movie adaptations (see the first Harry Potter movie). Books and movies develop characters and themes in completely different ways. Successfully translating one media to the other without losing these essential elements requires a lot of fiddling.

Starman Jones is another good one to read. I would view it as one of his juveniles but I grew up reading those juveniles and they are still my favorites, ranking above his later work IMO.

These earlier stories were more concise and have more of a message in them. His later stories were interesting but bordered on being too long and rambling.

I've picked up Double Star as well, to read after I get to Starship Troopers.