Comments on: The Zombie Robert Heinlein Rises From the Grave Yet Again to Annoy the Politically Correct http://whatever.scalzi.com/2007/12/10/the-zombie-robert-heinlein-rises-from-the-grave-yet-again-to-annoy-the-politically-correct/ I FORGET WHAT EIGHT WAS FOR Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:12:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Doc Rocketscience http://whatever.scalzi.com/2007/12/10/the-zombie-robert-heinlein-rises-from-the-grave-yet-again-to-annoy-the-politically-correct/#comment-234975 Sat, 08 Jan 2011 04:15:19 +0000 http://scalzi.com/whatever/?p=191#comment-234975 Wow, an hour later, mostly scanning… this is what i get for following Blatherations on posts i don’t remember. >.<

I do enjoy seen the Mallet in action. But i can't help a perverse sense of loss at not getting to see the Randroid self-destruct for myself.

]]> By: Dav R. Burroughs http://whatever.scalzi.com/2007/12/10/the-zombie-robert-heinlein-rises-from-the-grave-yet-again-to-annoy-the-politically-correct/#comment-234925 Fri, 07 Jan 2011 18:47:00 +0000 http://scalzi.com/whatever/?p=191#comment-234925 I am rereading all of the Heinlein books again, now at the age of 53, and finding great new enjoyment. I now have google to look up “Sisu” and learn it is the Finnish ideal of unrelenting effort in the face of great adversity.
I am enjoying all of your books, J.S., and I am looking forward to many more from you, so don’t you dare be too lazy nor too distracted by your well earned success!

]]> By: christopher http://whatever.scalzi.com/2007/12/10/the-zombie-robert-heinlein-rises-from-the-grave-yet-again-to-annoy-the-politically-correct/#comment-224839 Wed, 10 Nov 2010 07:14:26 +0000 http://scalzi.com/whatever/?p=191#comment-224839 Patrick (#59) wrote: ” So saying that people write literary fiction to impress their professors while sf authors are the ones telling stories isn’t an insult to litfic authors, John? ”

Just because MOST people regard ***-kissing as an ignoble way to live one’s life does not mean that *** kissers agree. It IS a useful, even indispensable, skill in many an hierarchical pursuit, academics far from least among them. (Just as an adroit hand with a stiletto is, as well.)

And, yes, when MOST of us say it, it very much IS an insult. Not because we don’t like their fiction, but because we don’t like *** kissers. Curious, how so many *** kissers don’t seem to realize that. I mean, I can understand them not CARING about what we think, but it truly does astound me how they can seemingly miss our curled lips.

]]> By: coonass http://whatever.scalzi.com/2007/12/10/the-zombie-robert-heinlein-rises-from-the-grave-yet-again-to-annoy-the-politically-correct/#comment-223318 Sun, 31 Oct 2010 03:44:46 +0000 http://scalzi.com/whatever/?p=191#comment-223318 I read Android’s Dream not long ago, and have to say the similarity to Heinlein is strong, but Scalzi is more readable; not unusual considering he’s more our contemporary here in the early 21st century than Robert A. Heinlein was. Scalzi’s worldview is closer to ours and he’s a bit less preachy than RAH; what’s better, he also comes close to being the American Douglas Adams. I can’t think of another SF novel (apart from Android’s Dream) that had me howling with laughter as much…

I’ll be looking for Old Man’s War.

]]> By: Paul Guay http://whatever.scalzi.com/2007/12/10/the-zombie-robert-heinlein-rises-from-the-grave-yet-again-to-annoy-the-politically-correct/#comment-202257 Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:36:40 +0000 http://scalzi.com/whatever/?p=191#comment-202257 As someone who loves the writing of both Heinlein and Rand and who sees their work as philosophically compatible, I’m surprised by the level of animosity some of the Heinlein admirers have for the Rand admirers, and vice versa. I’m dismayed by the snark of some of the Heinlein admirers and by the superciliousness and narrowness of some of the Objectivists.

]]> By: Greg VA http://whatever.scalzi.com/2007/12/10/the-zombie-robert-heinlein-rises-from-the-grave-yet-again-to-annoy-the-politically-correct/#comment-192447 Thu, 11 Feb 2010 03:24:25 +0000 http://scalzi.com/whatever/?p=191#comment-192447 With what other author can you unwitting pick up the most random of their works, and in the wrong order, read it and be immediately hooked for life? Is that my failing, or Heinlein’s brilliance? I found “The Number of the Beast” at a tag sale in 1985 and never looked back. The work he did for Scribner’s, was wonderful and the rest is just gold.

Gaye, Bounce!… Bounce! Bounce! Bounce!

]]> By: Mark http://whatever.scalzi.com/2007/12/10/the-zombie-robert-heinlein-rises-from-the-grave-yet-again-to-annoy-the-politically-correct/#comment-179315 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 08:54:01 +0000 http://scalzi.com/whatever/?p=191#comment-179315 I have a comment that’s remarkably late to the party. One cannot fully understand Heinlein’s work, especially his “adult period”, without understanding Alfred Korzybski and General Semantics. One misses almost the entire point of the work without that framework. He could get pedantic and preachy but there was always a point to which the entire body of his work interconnected.

]]> By: Mark Bult http://whatever.scalzi.com/2007/12/10/the-zombie-robert-heinlein-rises-from-the-grave-yet-again-to-annoy-the-politically-correct/#comment-150243 Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:34:59 +0000 http://scalzi.com/whatever/?p=191#comment-150243 @Julia, comment 155: You are so right about The Number of the Beast. And that’s a hilarious capsule review.

FWIW, TNOTB was the first Heinlein novel to disappoint me when I read it back at about 19 or 20 years of age. I finally re-read it in my late 30s, and enjoyed a lot more the second time around. Not sure why. Maybe I was finally able to get more of the in-jokes and references to other literary figures, stories, etc.

@John Scalzi:
A blurb mentioning Heinlein might get me to look closer at a book, but I get most SF recommendations from trusted sources whom I know, and who know what I like about other authors.

I picked up The Ghost Brigades because it was recommended by a HS librarian I know who is also (as I am) a huge Heinlein fan, and he said I’d like your writing. He also said you’d be appearing at the Heinlein Centennial, which you did, and I was impressed enough by your panels to read the book when I got back from Kansas City.

So chalk one up for high school librarians.

FWIW, the other two writers I’ve really liked in the last few years were recommended to me by folks who work at my local F/SF bookshop (shout out to Borderlands in San Francisco, they rock), who turned me on to Lois McMaster Bujold and the horror novelist Michael Marshall Smith. I don’t usually go in for horror but this guy’s damn good, and his two noirish SF books turned me into a big fan right off.

]]> By: Peter D. Tillman http://whatever.scalzi.com/2007/12/10/the-zombie-robert-heinlein-rises-from-the-grave-yet-again-to-annoy-the-politically-correct/#comment-6280 Sat, 29 Dec 2007 22:53:43 +0000 http://scalzi.com/whatever/?p=191#comment-6280 John:

Re: Itzkoff on The Android’s Dream,
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/24/books/review/Itzkoff.t.html?_r=2&ref=books&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Hadn’t seen that one. Boy, is he full of shit.

Loved the Creation Museum piece!

Best for 2008, Pete Tillman

]]> By: David F. (Za5od) http://whatever.scalzi.com/2007/12/10/the-zombie-robert-heinlein-rises-from-the-grave-yet-again-to-annoy-the-politically-correct/#comment-6279 Tue, 25 Dec 2007 03:56:04 +0000 http://scalzi.com/whatever/?p=191#comment-6279 Personally, if I were a SCI/FI author, I don’t think there could be any greater honor than being compared to Heinlein. When I read “Old Mans War”, I kept thinking that “wow, this reads like Heinlein” (I missed the part on the cover where that’s printed..I bought the book based on the title and the synopsis printed on the back of the book).

I kinda wish you had been chosen to finish “A Variable Star”. Don’t get me wrong, I love Spider Robinson, but “A Variable Star” read like a SR story, not a Heinlein story. After reading the afterword in the book, I understand why (man, talk about a lot of pressure). I still liked it though, and it was great to read one more Heinlein story.

And you’re also right..a SCI/FI book is about telling a story. Politics, a characters personal beliefs, settings, technology, etc. are all just building blocks. Sure, they are important to the story, but they are just PART of the story.

Also, have to say, I just got finished reading “The Android’s Dream” and I was amazed. A book about a sheep. Wow.

Eagerly awaiting more books,

Za5od

p.s. Remember what Heinlein thought about critics. It’s the people that buy/read the books, not the critics.

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