The Problems With Heinlein

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Sigh. Heinlein. Read this review: Time Enough for Love. Yup. Aerin has it right. Heinlein is your creepy uncle, and a giant in sci-fi (mostly because his titles are kick-ass). I think of him as the science fiction Ayn Rand because his stories are really just vehicles for promoting his creepy philosophies of free love, nudism, and sometimes incest. (No, really. Incest.)

I stopped reading Stranger in a Strange Land when the buxom swinger secretaries were jumping on the trampoline. At that point I realized that his sexual liberation philosophy was really sexist crap, and aside from the incredibly intriguing premise, it wasn't worth struggling on. That said, I vividly remember the plot of The Puppet Masters, which is an effective and creepy alien invasion story (like The Host by Stephenie Meyers, except for teenage boys instead of teenage girls).


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