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Loading... Beyond This Horizon (original 1942; edition 2002)by Robert A. Heinlein
Work InformationBeyond This Horizon by Robert A. Heinlein (1942)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Solid first half, then wanders off to a somewhat thin ending I think. Thought it was interesting that I didn't pick up the discussion of 3-d cams as calculating machines in previous reading - I only caught it this time because I'd tripped over a Navy video showing WWII era fire control computers and how they worked. Most of the rest of it stands the test of time pretty well I'd say (except perhaps the Newtonian universe ideas in there somewhere) Enjoyable read. Here we have the story of a future dystopian society with shades of Brave New World-esque classism/racism at perhaps his penultimate peak and an effort to overthrow it and return to a darker time as seen through the eyes of our protagonists. Beyond this Horizon is one of Heinlein's earlier, non-juvenile, works. While many of his later themes are present, its clear he's still working out some of his political and philosophical ideas. As is the case with any Heinlein, there is certainly misogyny, an unfortunate seeming fondness for both libertarianism and fascism (somehow), and in this case some definite hints of racism/elitism/classism. However, due to being an early work, I think this and several other works give us what may be hints that Heinlein perhaps did not agree as wholeheartedly with some of those distasteful ideas we believe due to his mouthpiece characters espousing them. Maybe even that, in some way, he's 'devil advocate'-ing these ideas and philosophy. A good example of this is the oft-(partially)quoted by the NRA passage about a polite society being an armed society. Besides the issues with it only being a fragment of a quote, and lacking context, there are certainly contradictions presented here. From everything he wrote, we see Heinlein viewing being armed, and even personal violence, as perhaps fitting with interpretation of the quote presented by gun advocates. However, the individual making that statement in this very book insists he prefers to go unarmed, and that sort of personal violence should be considered crass and distasteful, that we would better off if no one was armed. There are similar contradictions in his famously negative view of socialism and pro-capitalist/libertarian stance. While as usual characters may denigrate socialism vocally here, we also see that this post-scarcity utopian society only continues to function as a 'capitalist' one because annually wealth is redistributed among the population based on complex computations, and that the government is continually looking for projects that benefit and enrich society as a whole to throw money at, since 'production' is largely unnecessary. These are very socialist ideas, and presented in a very positive light...but are somehow still framed as being capitalist? If for no other reason than looking at these contradictions that either indicate Heinlein is still working out his ideas, or had been playing devil's advocate all those years in some kind of grand jest, this is definitely worth reading. Its a clunker of the novel that deserves begrudging respect. The science infomercials are tedious, the plot is absent. It is like it is super smart on some scientific elements and utterly moronic with some things like common sense, personal social skills, and entertainment. I'm glad I read it, I'm glad I never will read it again. no reviews | add a review
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Utopia has been achieved. Disease, hunger, poverty and war are found only in the history tapes, and applied genetics has brought a lifespan of over a century. But Hamilton Felix is bored. And he is the culmination of a star line; each of his last thirty ancestors chosen for superior genes. He is, as far as genetics can produce one, the ultimate man, yet sees no meaning in life. However, his life is about to become less boring. A secret cabal of revolutionaries plan to revolt and seize control. Knowing of Hamilton's disenchantment with the modern world, they want him to join their Glorious Revolution. Big mistake The revolutionaries are about to find out that recruiting a superman was definitely not a good idea. . . "Not only America's premier writer of speculative fiction, but the greatest writer of such fiction in the world." - Stephen King "There is no other writer whose work has exhilarated me as often and to such an extent as Heinlein." - Dean Koontz No library descriptions found. |
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Mind reading, for example.
Heinlein was a creative and imaginative writer, and he has actually contributed a lot to what we sometimes laughingly call "the real world."
In this book, though, other than "an armed society is a polite society," there is not much of real value.
However, it IS Heinlein, so is worth reading at least once. ( )