Off topic question about R.A. Heninlen

[Drewfasa]

Hi Mark,

I recently read Starship Troopers (in large part because of your recommendation) and really enjoyed it. Would you consider this the best Heinlein novel? Which one should I read next?

Your recommendations are appreciated,

Drew

ps - are there any other SF novels you are particularly fond of?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Yes, wildly off-topic, but I'll indulge. Starship Troopers is one of my favorites, along with Glory Road, one of the most fun books I've ever read 20 times. But there are more important works, like The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress that other people who I'm sure will be posting after this could suggest. RAH was one of the most important writers of the 20th century, irrespective of genre, and it is one of my greatest disappointments that I never got to meet him.

[Tuesday]

Drewfasa, if you like Heinlein, you'll probably like Ayn Rand as well. The Fountainhead is a good place to start. Don't take her too seriously, though. Not as serious as her critics take her, and certainly not as serious as she takes herself.

I think Heinlein's best book was Stranger in a Strange Land, though The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is excellent as well.

[Alpha Zulu]

I've read most of Heinlein. Oddly enough, Stranger in a Strange Land is one that I haven't read, but that is often given as one of his classics. The two Mark mentions are great, although Glory Road is not sci-fi if that is what you are intent on reading (its more of the wizards and beasts type). Another solid bet is The Puppet Masters but my favorite is The Door Into Summer. Some of the young adult ones are also very good, if you want to read those.

[Robert Callahan]

Coach Rip, have you read much Ayn Rand?

[Mark Rippetoe]

I've read The Fountainhead, Anthem, and as much of Atlas Shrugged as I could stand by reading every third paragraph.

[Atlas shrugged]

please don't hold it against me. i just liked the title.

[Drewfasa]

Thank you all for your replies, and Mark for tolerating the thread. I think I'm going to read Stranger in a Strange Land next, and then Glory Road. I just started Ender's Game, and so far, so good.

[banderbe]

Ayn Rand is okay fiction. Objectivism is an idiotic philosophy.

[Tuesday]

I've read The Fountainhead, Anthem, and as much of Atlas Shrugged as I could stand by reading every third paragraph.

Atlas Shrugged is indeed a monster. I had to buy it as an audio book and listen to it at double speed to get through it in a reasonable time. It still took me a month of commutes to finish it that way. Galt's speech toward the end went on for days. Literally.