Red Thunder by John Varley

The Washington Post said it well - "A realistic and funny novel."

John Varley reminds me a bit of Robert Heinlein, and I found out later was influenced somewhat by him in his career.

This book has unforgettable characters, believable plot lines, and a thrilling conclusion.

The best of science fiction, in my opinion, takes the world as we know it, and makes one changed assumption, and then proceeds logically from there. As you can figure out for yourself, how well any given book "proceeds logically" from there is dependent on the author's ability to explain the steps of his reasoning. It also depends on whether he can tell a story without the explanation getting in the way.

Without giving the story away (since it says so on the cover) this is a "trip to Mars" story. The characters in the story do a believable job of making that happen, and give an interesting perspective on the role of technology in space travel while they do it.

The one changed assumption has to do with energy. It takes a while for the author to get there, but the trip includes some very memorable characters, so I didn't mind the wait.

I would say this is a good book for young adults to read. It isn't too cerebral, and there is fun along the way to keep you engaged in the story.

It is a Penguin book, and 411 pages long. I recommend it for your kids, or for a plane flight.

On the book cover the blurb compares it to a "comic caper of Carl Hiaasen", quoted from Science Fiction Weekly. I've recently had the chance to read a Hiaasen book, and would agree.

Variable Star by Robert Heinlein and Spider Robinson

This novel has been written by Spider Robinson from an outline by Robert Heinlein.

When I sat down to read it I felt like it was going to be a special experience because I figured it would be the last new Heinlein novel I would ever read. The book cover describes it as a powerful and passionate tale of two young lovers driven apart by pride, power, and the vastness of interstellar time and space. It is that story as well as it is a novel.

To me, a novel is defined as a story in which the protagonist goes through a series of experiences which lead to personal growth or at least change. This story certainly qualifies as that. It also encompasses a lot of of by-the-way ideas, or ideas which at least seem as by-the-way ideas. I think this novel is different from Heinlein's novels in that some of the by-the-way ideas in Heinlein's other books seeem truly to be by-the-way ideas.

In Variable Star, these ideas and observations all seem to be essential to the story, even if you don't know it at the time. Even the small plot elements become important to the story later.

In the introduction and after note, Spider Robinson talks about how he came to know and enjoy Heinlein's books, and how he got to know Heinlein himself. It is interesting to me as a fan to know a little bit more of the background. I don't think I'll ever go to a convention, but I am interested in some of those human elements.

I would venture to say that this is a better book because Spider Robinson worked so hard on it to live up to his opinion of Heinlein.

It's in paperback from Tor, and is 339 pages. It is perhaps denser prose than other Heinlein books, so it read a little bit slower for me. But, I think that is because Spider put more into it, and made it more intricate. I really could relate to the main character, Joel, and feel for his emotions as he went. Spider also references 9-11-2001 and Star Wars. Those references alone are worth the read, and make this a uniquely post-Heinlein take on a Heinlein idea.

I would say this is the best book I've read in a long time.

Revolt in 2100 / Methuselah's Children / Robert Heinlein

I originally had read these two novels some years ago, perhaps as early as 1985. It has been long enough that I had forgotten the names, but not all of the plot details. Now that I've re-read them I know that they are certainly among the most enjoyable of the Heinlein future history stories, and they are also among the shorter, if an off-hand judgment serves as an indication.

This particular pair of books deals with the post-Prophet period, and the early interstellar space exploration period. As always with Heinlein, there are many sub-texts and these are instructive and interesting by themselves. There are also a few very memorable alien species and swashbuckling characters, such as the remarkable Lazarus Long.

I was at the airport on the way to Manila reading Revolt in 2100, and a fellow traveler said that she had read it, under protest, at the suggestion of her husband, and she had really liked it.

Combined paperback edition from Baen at 480 pages.

Citizen of the Galaxy, by Robert A. Heinlein

I always consider it a great day when I come across a Heinlein book that I haven't read yet. I think I picked this one up years ago in a library and read a few pages, always meaning to get back to it. I remember the early part of the story where the young boy is being sold at a slave auction for a rediculously small price.

I really enjoyed this book, and found myself rooting for the protagonist. There are two characteristics that are often found in Heinlein's books that are found in great amounts in this one:

First, there are all sorts of observations about the nature of culture, and how arbitrary that our customs sometimes are, and yet how critical they are to proper functioning. Some people have no respect for customs, and act as if it doesn't matter whether they follow custom at all.

Second, there is a strong father figure in this story, not unlike Jubal Harshaw in "Number of the Beast", or "Stranger in a Strange Land". There is also an element of how such a father has to manipulate his son for the sake of the son.

There is also a progression - in a sense that the protagonist can not absorb all of the knowledge about himself all at once, but must accumulate it bit by bit.

I also was struck by the number of times Heinlein comments that people are able to ignore facts that are right in front of them, or even horrific facts if they are separated by enough time or distance.

This book was first published in 1957, and at 282 pages, I would say it is of middling length for a Heinlein story. There are several that are much longer. It is one of only a few books that I've been reading that my son Nick has picked up and read.

It is well recommended.

Job: A Comedy of Justice

Or, perhaps, I should call this "Job: Revisited".

This book is a retelling of the story of Job from the Bible. For those of you not familiar with the story, Job is an upright man of God, and God decides to put him to the test, to determine if he will keep his faith, under distress. God proceeds to cause, or allow to be caused, many calamaties to befall our poor hero, Job.

The author is Robert Heinlein, who is a master science fiction storyteller who has written many great works, with religion being a theme of many of his books, although not generally the primary theme.

Along the way, Robert often debunks popular myths, such as the popular interpretation of the commandment against lying. In this particular case, the popular understanding of the commandment is "Thou Shalt Not Lie". The protagonist is struggling with the dishonesty his struggles are putting him through - namely that if he admitted that he believes God is persecuting him, he would probably be labeled a crazy person and confined to an institution. So, he comforts himself by reminding himself that the commandment is actually "Thou Shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." (Exodus 20:16.)

When I say he debunks popular myths, I am referring to a strict interpretation of the ninth commandment, in the sense that no lie is ever acceptable. When I look around at the world, I see something quite different - it seems almost as if people lie all of the time, and it is merely a matter of degree - whether it is pretending you like someone just to be polite, or whether it is stating an opinion about a matter for which you have no knowledge, or simple white lies like "you look fine".

Heinlein's books often make me think, by scattering nuggets like the above throughout the text, often prompting me to do research later on what the Bible text says, and what other thinkers have to say about it.

In the Biblical story, along the way we discover many attitudes that are uncomfortable today, such as the concept that Job is finally rewarded for his faith by being given new wives and properties, and particularly that he is happy with these. In other words, wives and children are generic and interchangeable. He is not given his original wives back, but new ones, and he is well pleased by the quantity and quality of these new wives.

In the Heinlein story of Job, we find other ways to be uncomfortable. The hero in this story is one Alexander Hergensheimer, who has long been the successful fund raiser for an ecumenical brotherhood of Christians. Unfortunately, the works of this brotherhood are not the praiseworthy (in my mind) comforting of the sick, feeding of the hungry, and housing of the poor. This brotherhood works for political change and counts a long list of accomplishments, among them the outlawing of abortion, banning of birth control, censoring of books, and so forth. Future plans include the ghetto for black people, bans on Catholic churches, and similar ideas which would not currently be regarded as examples of Christian love.

However, Alexander proves that he is faithful to God, and refuses to curse Him, no matter how many trials he is put through. He continues to work for the salvation of others, and is in a perfect state of grace, kneeling penitent in prayer when the Trump and Shout occur, and he is taken bodily up to Heaven.

The book is excellent, thought provoking, and a great read. I recommend it highly. I'd love it if others would read it and post their comments.