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Heinlein in Dimension, a Critical Analysis. (1968)

by Alexei Panshin

Other authors: James Blish (Introduction)

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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From the early 1940s until his death in 1988, Robert A. Heinlein reigned unchallenged as the most influential contemporary author of science fiction. His first few stories turned the field upside down, and set new standards of narrative and scientific excellence. He was justly credited with introducing narrative techniques which are now taken for granted, but were revolutionary at the time. This book was the first full-length critical analysis of Heinlein's work and his place in modern science fiction. Like Damon Knight, Mr. Panshin works on the assumption that the ordinary standards of literature apply with full force to science fiction; a vaulting imagination does not excuse bad writing or foolish plotting. In addition there are criteria of narrative technique and scientific plausibility that are peculiar to science fiction. Rigorously applying these standards, Mr. Panshin discusses Heinlein's fiction and analyzes its strengths and weaknesses; he traces the constants and the variables in Heinlein's interests and viewpoints; and he offers a suggestion as to the ultimate significance of Heinlein both in science fiction and in literature as a whole. Neither adulatory nor carping, this is a study in depth which is both readable and comprehensive. With bibliographies of Heinlein's works up to 1968.… (more)
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Panshin was a young man when he wrote this book, and seemed very confused about the role fiction plays in someone's life. He was also confused about the difference between short stories, novellas, and novels.

One has to wonder how much of the criticism in this book was fueled by vendetta. As a teen, Panshin wrote a series of increasingly antagonistic letters to Heinlein, to the point where Heinlein had to stop answering him. This sort of behavior disqualifies Panshin as a dispassionate critic.

One could forgive the naivety and absolute nonsense contained in this book if it had ended there. However, you can still find the same ridiculous simple-minded ideas on his web site.

You can safely skip this trash. ( )
  vetteranger | Jul 10, 2020 |
Best thought of as a reader's companion.

Heinlein in Dimension is a surprisingly controversial book, for reasons which haven't got a lot to do with its (de)merits. It was already controversial before it was completely written, and consequently had a very odd publication history. Over four decades later, neither Panshin nor his critics have been able to come to terms with this book's reputation, and that reputation, unfortunately, has come to dominate far too much of the ongoing discussion of Heinlein's merits and Heinlein's legacy.

While Heinlein in Dimension is neither perfect nor definitive, it's a decent, though often misguided, analysis of Heinlein's work through 1967. Some of the commentary is painful to read, and parts are just plain wrong, but the context is an author pioneering in difficult terrain. On the one hand, Panshin shows some improbable blind spots, which severely damage the book; on the other, he makes some valuable observations about Heinlein's themes and methods.

The book is neither as good as many think nor as terrible as others claim. And it's really quite necessary to reject some folks' claim that Panshin has polluted the waters for his successors, as Heinlein was already both intensely private and prone to misleading statements about his life. All these years later, we really ought to move the discussion to another place.

In sum, this was an adequate first critical venture. Worth a read, but you'll certainly find things you disagree with.

This review has also been published on a dabbler's journal. ( )
  joeldinda | Jan 3, 2011 |
I've never read anything that I recall by Panshin but he's obviously a much different person than Heinlein was. His inability to understand why Heinlein's story, "They" gets classed as horror shows this point very well. Panshin doesn't understand what Heinlein believed in politically & manages to mangle his message severely in several places. For instance, he finds that Hugh Farnham ordering someone around with a rifle to be inconsistent with his Libertarian principles. Seriously, this is a fiction book by Heinlein. Panshin seems to find more understanding for the totalitarian regime of "Starship Troopers". This speaks volumes about Panshin & makes much of his analysis suspect.Still, he does a wonderful job at concisely describing each story & book & he does take plenty of time at pointing out the good points. (There's a couple I want to re-read just because of this!) It is a book I would suggest to anyone who is into Heinlein's works.Panshin often ignores the market that Heinlein was writing for. For instance, he minimizes Campbell's influence & leanings on the SF market ("Starship Troopers" pretty much sums them up: Earthmen good & kickass, BEM's bad!) He doesn't seem to understand the ideals of the Boy Scouts, thus "Boy's Life" or the political climate of the US following WWII & into the 50's. A lot of Heinlein's success came from his popularity, not his writing ability & he was popular because he so often captured the spirit or dreams of the times as proven by "Project Nightmare". What American wasn't scared of the Red Threat & the atomic weapons we had lost our monopoly on?Many of Panshin points are valid. If he isn't a really good writer, he's probably an excellent editor, but many of the points he raises are specious. For instance, he feels that the 4 parts of "Citizen of the Galaxy" are too wrenchingly different. I thought they were supposed to be. That they are made the omniscient POV from which the story is told a lot more personal as the wrenched story line gives us an inkling of what Thorby felt as he was jerked around by life.He expects too much from a short story. He says,"..."Jerry Is a Man" is hardly long enough or deep enough to allow us to extract any final answers from it." Gee, it's a short story, makes one quick point very well - what defines a man is very complex. That's about all anyone can expect out of a short story. For long dissertations on such a complex subject one needs to look at some of the philosophy tomes that few bother to read.He dwells on mechanical problems in "Gulf", such as the card stacking to pass the messages. Please! They're supermen & can handle stacking cards for messages. Allowable suspension of belief. If there is any problem here, it is that Mrs. Keithley's people, so competent in so many ways, are fooled by this. Again, like in "The Long Watch" he doesn't seem to get the whole point of self-sacrifice as a heroic point from a man who obviously thought highly of the military. Think 'Congressional Medal of Honor'.Panshin doesn't particularly like Heinlein's characterization & I can't fault him there, but I do have one bone to pick with Panshin's inconsistencies. In one spot, he praises Heinlein's bare description of a character because he managed to slip in a black, lead character ("Tunnel in the Sky"). He allows the reader to use his own imagination to paint the picture of the character, yet disparages the lack of detail later. That Panshin can't make up his mind is his problem, not Heinlein's. I find that he considered "Starman Jones", "The Star Beast" & "Tunnel in the Sky" bleak to be interesting. I found them no more so than any of his other Scribner YA books. Young men caught in bad situations that come out on top through perseverance is the way I see them. Life doesn't always hand us what we want, but we can make it right, if we try. Maybe I'm an optimist & he isn't? I don't know, but we agreed completely on his review of "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel" as one of Heinlein's best.I think Panshin would have written a different book if he'd known about Heinlein's first novel, never published until after his death. He makes some assumptions - valid with the facts he had - that put a different light on "Part IV: The Period of Alienation", very aptly named but I think premature. Heinlein certainly alienated me, although not as quickly as he did Panshin. This was written before what I consider Heinlein's great decline in the 1970's. (It was published in 1968.) The political & philosophical differences between the two are to blame for much of what I thought wrong in this critique. Unfortunately, it makes this work less than it could have been. Panshin actually seems to make up some of the issues, such as his problems with the population of the moon in "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress". He dwells on population numbers with a lot of assumptions that I don't find valid. Also he hates the spoken language of the book, a device that I found delightful. Why would he think a future society should be completely true to its roots? He makes a point about the 'babu-russian' & criticizes this as if the entire society was rather than an amalgamation several generations old.Overall, it's an excellent read & well worth the time, but take it with a grain of salt. ( )
1 vote jimmaclachlan | Sep 25, 2009 |
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Panshin, AlexeiAuthorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Blish, JamesIntroductionsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Eisenstein, AlexCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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For  Erwin Bettingham
       Damon Knight

and  Joe Hensley
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INTRODUCTION [by James Blish]
Criticising Robert A. Heinlein, as I know from experience, can be a tricky business.
I. PRELIMINARIES
 
1. The Question

Science fiction is not a widely influential field, and it shows no real signs of becoming widely influential in the future.
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From the early 1940s until his death in 1988, Robert A. Heinlein reigned unchallenged as the most influential contemporary author of science fiction. His first few stories turned the field upside down, and set new standards of narrative and scientific excellence. He was justly credited with introducing narrative techniques which are now taken for granted, but were revolutionary at the time. This book was the first full-length critical analysis of Heinlein's work and his place in modern science fiction. Like Damon Knight, Mr. Panshin works on the assumption that the ordinary standards of literature apply with full force to science fiction; a vaulting imagination does not excuse bad writing or foolish plotting. In addition there are criteria of narrative technique and scientific plausibility that are peculiar to science fiction. Rigorously applying these standards, Mr. Panshin discusses Heinlein's fiction and analyzes its strengths and weaknesses; he traces the constants and the variables in Heinlein's interests and viewpoints; and he offers a suggestion as to the ultimate significance of Heinlein both in science fiction and in literature as a whole. Neither adulatory nor carping, this is a study in depth which is both readable and comprehensive. With bibliographies of Heinlein's works up to 1968.

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