I keep trying to like Heinlein. I even succeed sometimes. I enjoyed Starship Troopers and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. And I even kind of liked Citizen of the Galaxy. But The Glory Road is just blah.
It's a rather dull quest-story, that takes place in a parallel-world of some kind, though it opens in our world and follows a rather meandering plotline before getting to the fantasy part.Philosophically, it touches on the standard Heinlein themes - free sex and cultural relativity.
Mainly though, it's hard to overlook his strange mix of liberal philosophy and sexism. He's actually got a scene where the main guy threatens the main woman with a spanking, and she acts meek as a result. At first I thought it was tongue-in-cheek, like they were playing with each other, but no. Heinlein meant it to be read straight. Ick.
I could take the mild sexism in Stranger in a Strange Land, but this book was just too much. I got about halfway through before deciding that the plot or the characters weren't interesting enough for me to continue, so I returned it to the library. It's rare that I abandon a book like that, but I just couldn't take it anymore.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Into Space, Sterner St. Paul, 1930
LRC file
mp3 file, 64kbps
mp3 file, 128kbps
A story on the theme of The Lost Cosmonaut, from the days when space travel was utterly fantastic. The scientist attempts to travel through the moon using an antigravity technology. It's interesting that the author didn't consider rocketry to be a plausible technology. The control systems are unspecified "apparatus".
Another interesting thing about this story is that the inventor is not mad-obssessive, in the 19th century manner. Instead, he's simply pursuing research, and makes the mistake of not testing his invention before putting himself in it. While the story still focuses on the individual inventor (rather than the team, as in later sf), it is more focused on the idea of technology as progress, rather than striking a cautionary note.
There's a small bit of casual racism, but it isn't that egregious.
mp3 file, 64kbps
mp3 file, 128kbps
A story on the theme of The Lost Cosmonaut, from the days when space travel was utterly fantastic. The scientist attempts to travel through the moon using an antigravity technology. It's interesting that the author didn't consider rocketry to be a plausible technology. The control systems are unspecified "apparatus".
Another interesting thing about this story is that the inventor is not mad-obssessive, in the 19th century manner. Instead, he's simply pursuing research, and makes the mistake of not testing his invention before putting himself in it. While the story still focuses on the individual inventor (rather than the team, as in later sf), it is more focused on the idea of technology as progress, rather than striking a cautionary note.
There's a small bit of casual racism, but it isn't that egregious.
The Shadow - A Parable, by Edgar Allen Poe, 1850
LRC file
The Shadow is a nice short work, with great atmosphere. To modern ears, there's nothing particularly shocking about it - it's even a bit cliche. But you have to put yourself into the context of Poe's time, where even educated people thought there might be a legitimate reason to believe in the supernatural.
This story is set during a plague, where the main characters are sitting at some kind of wake for a dead companion. During the night, they experience a glimpse of what life after death might entail.
The Shadow is a nice short work, with great atmosphere. To modern ears, there's nothing particularly shocking about it - it's even a bit cliche. But you have to put yourself into the context of Poe's time, where even educated people thought there might be a legitimate reason to believe in the supernatural.
This story is set during a plague, where the main characters are sitting at some kind of wake for a dead companion. During the night, they experience a glimpse of what life after death might entail.
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