Robert A. Heinlein
Paperback | Pages: 511 pages Rating: 3.61 | 11485 Users | 411 Reviews
Be Specific About Epithetical 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 |
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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.
Mention Books As 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 Epithetical Books The Number of the Beast (The World As Myth #2)
Ratings: 3.61 From 11485 Users | 411 ReviewsCriticize Epithetical Books The Number of the Beast (The World As Myth #2)
I did enjoy it, but not as much as I hoped for. I think I would have enjoyed it a great deal more if it had been shorter. This novel felt overwritten, self-indulgent and repetitive at times. Sure, there was much to like, such as an interesting cast of characters and fantastically written dialogues, but even the things I liked were dulled with repetition. The story itself is pretty good. A mad scientist Jacob (mad as in temperamental not clinically insane) invests a time machine. With the help ofThis 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
If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review.Non-Sexist Rip-Roaring SF: "The Number of the Beast" by Robert A. Heinlein(Original Review, 1980-08-31)Robert Heinlein's agent had hoped to get $1 million for his latest novel, "The Number of the Beast." What he had to settle for was half that, and not from his accustomed publisher nor from any of the houses with heavy SF publishing programs. The U.S. book rights went to Fawcett Columbine, and the resulting trade paperback is $6.95 per
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
I was looking forward to reading this and it started off quite pleasantly, I was enjoying the story, such as it was, but then it got dull, quickly, that is about a third of the way in, and its a 500+ page book.Basically a scientist invents a dimension jumping machine cum time machine, based around an old Ford car, and he comes up with a theory of the number of universes based on the number 6 raised to the power of 6, 6 times - 6 6 6. A group is assembled, a kind of family group, off on their
You can't go home again. I read this book a million times when it was new. When I was newish. And, oh, how I loved it. I thought the dialogue scintillating, the ideas deliciously outré, the sex delightfully transgressive, the politics brilliant. I tried to wrap my head around who I was then to think those things about this tired, clichéd, and worst of all- boring- story of some breasts and the brilliant women attached to them. I'm sorry I tried, I'd much rather have had the warm fuzzy memories.
This is a SF novel by Robert A. Heinlein, one of his latest, originally published in 1980. It is considered by many (e.g. The Pleasant Profession of Robert A. Heinlein by Farah Mendlesohn) one of his weakest works. Ive read is as a preparation to reading The Pursuit of the Pankera: A Parallel Novel About Parallel Universes, an earlier version of the same novel, published in 2020 at SFF Hot from Printers: New Releases group.The book starts with a bang, both actually and metaphorically: a man,
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