The Number of the Beast (The World As Myth #2)
Also, those familiar with and inspired by his middle period, roughly late 1950s until 1970, spanning the publications of The Door Into Summer in 1957 until I Will Fear No Evil in 1970 (the period that I regard as his zenith) may likely be nonplussed by what is going on in this work published when the grandmaster was 73 years old. To be certain, a Heinlein story where four interesting characters experience an adventure into Barsoom and Wonderland and Oz and also meet up with some classic Heinlein characters like Lazarus Long and Jubal Harshaw sounds like a great story and much of it is … but.
As much of a fan as I am, I cannot help but apply the damning tag of self-indulgent. First of all, it’s about twice as long as it needs to be. A 200 page Number of the Beast would have been much better, faster paced and pithy. Secondly, had the man moved into a nudist colony and time traveled to pick up a septuagenarian value pack of Cymbalta? I love the libertarianism and his egalitarian sexism, but Time Enough for Love was enough already.
Finally, he went on and on and on some more about militaristic group dynamics until the worthwhile and relevant observations on leadership and command were lost in blurred paragraphs and diminished by over exposure. I cannot help but compare this work to Poul Anderson’s Harvest of Stars (which had some traces of homage to Heinlein), which was published in 1993 when Anderson (another SFWA Grandmaster) was 67. This was a libertarian space opera that would have had Philip K. Dick scratching his head.
Like The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick, Heinlein’s The Number of the Beast may only be for true fans.
I've been a big fan of Heinlein for years. But with each successive Heinlein book I read these days, my enthusiasm for his writing wanes just a bit more. This book was so dismal that it actually negatively affected my feelings about other Heinlein books (specifically Time Enough For Love).In a nutshell, this is Heinlein at his most masturbatory. Towards the end of his career, he set out to tie together not only his own quite broad body of work but also the entire scope of human fiction, sending
This is the worst book I have ever read.On the surface, it's just trashy disposable science fiction. But it possesses a solipsistic, asphyxiating quality that I found disturbing.In fact, the text is so solipsistic that I wonder why it was ever written. I don't think it was intended to be read by other sentient beings besides the author; it is more a "memo to myself" filled with fantasies both vapid and lurid, that somehow got printed in a sad publishing accident. It reminds me of Mark Twain's
I must say that I didn't like at all. This is the first book I read by Heinlein and this is already a disadvantage. It should be a science fiction story: there is a brilliant scientist, a great invention, a group of adventurers, a threat to their life and the beginning of an inter-dimensional travel. Halfway though, I began to wonder if it was worthwhile to finish it and it went from there getting worse. The player follow the adventures of the characters in their wanderings, in some cases
WARNING: Do not read this book until you have read Heinleins Time Enough For Love, Revolt in 2100, Methuselahs Children, Stranger in a Strange Land, Glory Road, Podkayne of Mars,and The Rolling Stones. You should also have at least a familiarity with The Land of Oz, Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars series, and Wonderland. Fans of Science Fiction from the 1940s to 1980s will be most capapble of enjoying the work in its entirety.During the last years of his life, it seems Heinlein had a desire to gather
I read this book a long time ago, but it stayed with me... oh how it stayed with me. Go ahead and read some of the other one star reviews of this book that are here on goodreads. I'll wait....So, having read them, you might want to ask me "Come on Mike, is this book really that bad?" I'm glad you asked, because it is. It really and truly is. This book is bad in the way that only a master like Heinlein could achieve. Other bad books can only dream of being as bad as this. The hypothetical
A complete stinker of a novel. It meanders, it wanders, it stutters, it changes direction, it digresses. Heinlein rides all of his hobby horses. The original premise is okay, though not up to Heinlein at his best: a machine which can translate our explorers into other times and alternate universes. They discover that all the fictional worlds that they have explored in literature can be accessed through this device (and have a visit in Oz with Glinda as a result). Time traveling aliens seem to
Robert A. Heinlein
Paperback | Pages: 511 pages Rating: 3.61 | 11485 Users | 411 Reviews
Define Of Books The Number of the Beast (The World As Myth #2)
Title | : | The Number of the Beast (The World As Myth #2) |
Author | : | Robert A. Heinlein |
Book Format | : | Paperback |
Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
Pages | : | Pages: 511 pages |
Published | : | September 12th 1986 by Ballantine Books (first published 1980) |
Categories | : | Science Fiction. Fiction. Fantasy. Science Fiction Fantasy. Time Travel. Adventure. Speculative Fiction |
Rendition Conducive To Books The Number of the Beast (The World As Myth #2)
A fan of Robert A. Heinlein’s earlier works, generally classified as his “juveniles” published from 1947 until the late 50s, may be confused and disappointed by his 1980 novel Number of the Beast.Also, those familiar with and inspired by his middle period, roughly late 1950s until 1970, spanning the publications of The Door Into Summer in 1957 until I Will Fear No Evil in 1970 (the period that I regard as his zenith) may likely be nonplussed by what is going on in this work published when the grandmaster was 73 years old. To be certain, a Heinlein story where four interesting characters experience an adventure into Barsoom and Wonderland and Oz and also meet up with some classic Heinlein characters like Lazarus Long and Jubal Harshaw sounds like a great story and much of it is … but.
As much of a fan as I am, I cannot help but apply the damning tag of self-indulgent. First of all, it’s about twice as long as it needs to be. A 200 page Number of the Beast would have been much better, faster paced and pithy. Secondly, had the man moved into a nudist colony and time traveled to pick up a septuagenarian value pack of Cymbalta? I love the libertarianism and his egalitarian sexism, but Time Enough for Love was enough already.
Finally, he went on and on and on some more about militaristic group dynamics until the worthwhile and relevant observations on leadership and command were lost in blurred paragraphs and diminished by over exposure. I cannot help but compare this work to Poul Anderson’s Harvest of Stars (which had some traces of homage to Heinlein), which was published in 1993 when Anderson (another SFWA Grandmaster) was 67. This was a libertarian space opera that would have had Philip K. Dick scratching his head.
Like The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick, Heinlein’s The Number of the Beast may only be for true fans.
Identify Books To The Number of the Beast (The World As Myth #2)
Original Title: | The Number of the Beast |
ISBN: | 0449900401 (ISBN13: 9780449900406) |
Edition Language: | English |
Series: | The World As Myth #2, Lazarus Long |
Rating Of Books The Number of the Beast (The World As Myth #2)
Ratings: 3.61 From 11485 Users | 411 ReviewsCrit Of Books The Number of the Beast (The World As Myth #2)
What a weird book. And by 'weird', I don't mean that tangible sci-fi brilliance that gets under your skin and opens your mind to all the incredible possibilities of human endeavors. I mean, it's weird that Heinlein would think it a coherent idea to write this book at all, and even weirder still that a publisher would fund its release. Its content is a convoluted mishmash of Heinlein's worst excesses, including endless chummy banter that probably makes up 60-70% of the page count, characters fromI've been a big fan of Heinlein for years. But with each successive Heinlein book I read these days, my enthusiasm for his writing wanes just a bit more. This book was so dismal that it actually negatively affected my feelings about other Heinlein books (specifically Time Enough For Love).In a nutshell, this is Heinlein at his most masturbatory. Towards the end of his career, he set out to tie together not only his own quite broad body of work but also the entire scope of human fiction, sending
This is the worst book I have ever read.On the surface, it's just trashy disposable science fiction. But it possesses a solipsistic, asphyxiating quality that I found disturbing.In fact, the text is so solipsistic that I wonder why it was ever written. I don't think it was intended to be read by other sentient beings besides the author; it is more a "memo to myself" filled with fantasies both vapid and lurid, that somehow got printed in a sad publishing accident. It reminds me of Mark Twain's
I must say that I didn't like at all. This is the first book I read by Heinlein and this is already a disadvantage. It should be a science fiction story: there is a brilliant scientist, a great invention, a group of adventurers, a threat to their life and the beginning of an inter-dimensional travel. Halfway though, I began to wonder if it was worthwhile to finish it and it went from there getting worse. The player follow the adventures of the characters in their wanderings, in some cases
WARNING: Do not read this book until you have read Heinleins Time Enough For Love, Revolt in 2100, Methuselahs Children, Stranger in a Strange Land, Glory Road, Podkayne of Mars,and The Rolling Stones. You should also have at least a familiarity with The Land of Oz, Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars series, and Wonderland. Fans of Science Fiction from the 1940s to 1980s will be most capapble of enjoying the work in its entirety.During the last years of his life, it seems Heinlein had a desire to gather
I read this book a long time ago, but it stayed with me... oh how it stayed with me. Go ahead and read some of the other one star reviews of this book that are here on goodreads. I'll wait....So, having read them, you might want to ask me "Come on Mike, is this book really that bad?" I'm glad you asked, because it is. It really and truly is. This book is bad in the way that only a master like Heinlein could achieve. Other bad books can only dream of being as bad as this. The hypothetical
A complete stinker of a novel. It meanders, it wanders, it stutters, it changes direction, it digresses. Heinlein rides all of his hobby horses. The original premise is okay, though not up to Heinlein at his best: a machine which can translate our explorers into other times and alternate universes. They discover that all the fictional worlds that they have explored in literature can be accessed through this device (and have a visit in Oz with Glinda as a result). Time traveling aliens seem to
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