4 ms·
His writing is terrible on the level of style, characterisation, and even plot, but I think many of the ideas he expressed about human relations in his books ar
by grey-area 12y ago
His writing is terrible on the level of style, characterisation, and even plot, but I think many of the ideas he expressed about human relations in his books are profound - that the rules which govern our societies are temporary, contingent and negotiable, that we don't live according to the principles we claim to, that free is often anything but, that colonies often become stronger than the parent society, that revolution comes when there is too big a gap between perception and reality, the tension between soldiers and citizens etc.
- tjl 12y agoFor me, I really like the first half of the book where he's viewing society from outside. It kind of falls apart for me when that is kind of set aside. Heinlein almost always has problems with the endings of his books. There's some that stay consistent throughout, like The Moon is a Harsh Mistress or Podkayne of Mars, but most kind of land with a thud. I love his books quite often for the ideas and settings, but yes, the writing isn't the best.
- lmm 12y agoAre you sure you're not thinking of Starship Troopers?
- grey-area 12y agoI was thinking about all his books.