by Robert A Heinlein and Spider Robinson
Listened to the audio, read by Spider Robinson himself. Fantastic narration. He wrote this novel based on an 8 page outline (and a bunch of character notecards) of a 1950s novel that Heinlein never got around to.
Eight pagesof notes minus one! Heinlein either never penned an ending or the last page was lost. Spider Robinson did a heck of a job wrapping it up. In fact, it’s really a Robinson novel based on a Heinlein outline.
At the end of the audio, the author talks about how it all came about. This “last” novel by Heinlein was authorized by his estate, normally not a good idea, but the opening chapters are quite delightful.
(Trigger warning for those who don't hold to 1950s traditional family values. If you can't handle a retro-style novel, then I don't know what to tell ya. I was pleasantly surprised at how pro-life, pro-family, and Creator-friendly - aka Intelligent Design - the novel turned out to be.)
However, at about 40% (chapter 10), the storyline went nowhere fast and I lost the direction of the plot. I slogged through some interminable physics (planetary gravity, relative mass, time travel theory, etc – actual SF stuff which I don’t particular care for being more of a space opera fan) and then skipped to chapter 19.
Good choice, because the climax and denouement were pretty good and the main characters that were there in the beginning of the novel returned for a memorable showdown.
One other quibble. I enjoy humor, and this novel was full of it. Wit, sarcasm, funny cultural allusions. But the wittiness got so overwhelming that I sighed a lot as I listened to the story. Robinson is funny, no doubt, but the one liners were just too relentless.
So I give the book 3.5 stars. If you’re a fan of either author, you’ll probably enjoy it. I did overall, but it was almost too much of a good thing, if you know what I mean.
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