h e i n l e i n b l o g

Death in the family

Cats are always on-topic in any discussion of Robert Heinlein. alt.fan.heinlein Bill Reich regular reported on the recent death of long-time family member Feather. All A.F.H. regulars offered Bill their condolences.

News on the powered armor front

The Department of Defense is developing an exoskeleton that could lead to the type of powered armor Robert Heinlein invented in "Starship Troopers." Check out this article in Discover magazine.

L. Neil Smith's 'American Zone' preaches to choir

"The American Zone," like most of the books set in L. Neil Smith's North American Confederacy universe, suffers from preachiness. Which is understandable, considering Robert A. Heinlein's great influence on Smith. Heinlein has been accused of preachiness. But, unlike the first grandmaster of science fiction, Smith lets the preaching get in the way of the action. For every page devoted to advancing the plot, it seems there are five that portray characters doing little more that sitting and standing around telling each other, in no uncertain terms, what an evil thing government is. It's hard to blame Neil for this. Becoming a libertarian is a, well, liberating experience. It's like a damn bursts in your soul. Suddenly, even the slightest government intrusion -- especially those once considered innocuous -- are the horrible violations of personal liberty. Neil's characters -- unless they're the statist villians -- almost universally seem to be in the early stage of post-Libertarian conversion. It seems unnatural that people who are the products of 200-plus years of libertarian civilization would be that worked up about the evils of a form of government they have never experienced first-hand. Smith is preaching to the choir. Anyone uninitiated into libertarianism is going to be very put off by this book, and write it off as far-right dogma. True believers aren't going to learn anything new and will get bored quickly. "Yeah, we get it Neil. Got anything new to say?" I had hoped to see Neil's insights into the events of Sept. 11. Nothing. There are glimmers of hope. At the end of the book, a bad, pro-government character is portrayed at having a sense of honor. Much the same thing happened to a different pro-government character at the end of "The Probability Broach." Neither redeemed character was developed further. I recommend "Probability Broach" and others book in this fictional universe, like "Tom Paine Maru" and "Brightsuit MacBear." Both are libertarian science fiction at its best. In "The American Zone," Smith neglected the science fiction part.

I'm about half-way through The American Zone and folks ... it ain't looking good.

L. Neil Smith's new book, "The American Zone," is out in bookstores right now. It is a sequel to his award-winning "The Probability Broach." It features the newest adventure of Detective "Win" Bear, who escaped from an oppressive United States of America to the parallel universe of the "North American Confederacy." Why is this news Heinlein-related? Heinlein greatly influenced L. Neil Smith. Readers of TPB and TAZ will notice Heinleinesque elements. Like his hero, Neil likes to toss out concepts that challenge our concepts of freedom, liberty, honor and responsibility. Also of note, in the universe of the North American Confederacy, Heinlein became a famous, war-hero admiral. (maybe the next sequel will have Heinlein as a character) Neil has been a guest on the Heinelin AIM chat. I am just getting started on TAZ and will post a review as soon as possible (it may be a while now that I have a day job).

Mrs. Heinlein reports that the content of the new British edition of "Citizen of the Galaxy" will be virtually identical to the U.S. version, except spelling of some words will be changed. ("Color" changed to "colour," I would imagine). The exact changes depends on who does the editing. The book will be available throughout the British Commonwealth. It is a hardback trade edition. Maybe I'll be able to post an image of the cover. Check back.

Mrs. Virginia Heinlein reports that today's mail included a copy of the new British edition of "Citizen of the Galaxy." Details to follow.