Comments on: Solving a decades-long science fiction mystery via the blog

By: Alex Bensky

Alex Bensky — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:51:53 +0000

There’s some internal evidence in another Heinlein juvenile (the publisher was Scribner’s) that in “Tunnel in the Sky” the protagonist is black, although it’s not clear.

Another thing is that in many Heinleins, not just the juveniles, there are strong female characters, although only (among the juveniles) in “Podkayne of Mars”) is the protagonist a girl. And it’s not this self-conscious, “hey, look, a girl can be brave, too” stuff that gets jammed into books today. It’s simply taken as read that a girl (or woman) can be intelligent, courageous, and resourceful.

Clarke also had a few poetic titles: “The Songs of Distant Earth,” and “The Fountains of Paradise” spring to mind.

By: BrotherCadfael

BrotherCadfael — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:28:21 +0000

TAANSTAFL notes that “One of the most improtant protagonists in “Star Beast” is a black man, something unheard of in 1954.”

Even more amazingly, Mr. Kiku was a career bureaucrat, miles away from the typical Heinlein hero.

By: Data Schlepper

Data Schlepper — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:06:35 +0000

You read all the science fiction I read and at the same time, in the 60’s and 70’s. But in your gripping account of that time, your “change story”, you never mention science fiction at all. Did I miss something?

By: Les

Les — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:41:19 +0000

For a contemporary author who reminds me very much of Heinlein, try reading something by John Scalzi.

By: TANSTAAFL

TANSTAAFL — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:32:08 +0000

“The Voyage of the Space Beagle” was by A. E. van Vogt.

My very first novel was Andre Norton’s “Star Man’s Son”.

By: TANSTAAFL

TANSTAAFL — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:18:58 +0000

“Robert A. Heinlein’s “The Star Beast” is a wonderful book, and I actually re-read it not that long ago.

It was one of Heinlein’s series of juveniles published, IIRC, by Scrivners. He had an informal agreement with them that he’s submit a new juvenile every 2 years, to be acdcepted as is. The first time the editor tried to change something in th estory was his last submisssion to them.

One nice thing about his books is that RAH schooled his young readers against racism in any way shape or form. One of the most improtant protagonists in “Star Beast” is a black man, something unheard of in 1954.

By: Commenter formerly know as roc scssrs

Commenter formerly know as roc scssrs — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:27:07 +0000

Was never a big SF fan, but what I read impressed me mightily, e.g. Ray Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles. I liked the Cold War, twilight-struggle atmosphere of a lot of that old stuff, but eventually it got depressing. Too many doomed planets and lost civilizations, I guess.

By: Ymarsakar

Ymarsakar — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:14:55 +0000

My favorite short story slash novella was “The Voyage of the Space Beagle” which was, for me, an early foray into the power of the mind and how someone, a crewmember, could use his mind to discover solutions which inevitably also required him to manipulate his fellow crew who had been themselves manipulated by strange entities they found along the journey.

While the short stories each had a satisfying ending, the entire series had an overarching plot. For some reason, later novels and such were too large and cumbersome to provide multiple good endings and climaxes. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I started reading Japanese visual novels that I rediscovered my favorite aspect of The Space Beagle.

For a long time, I couldn’t remember the title of the book until somehow I rediscovered it. When I mentioned it to someone else that was a scientist, he said that the Beagle was the name of Darwin’s ship. That suddenly clicked because the story was about an interstellar ship going around the universe looking into weird, and dangerous, phenomenon.

By: Ymarsakar

Ymarsakar — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:10:52 +0000

At one time, I basically went through all the science fiction authors of a particular style in the library by simply picking each book with an interesting cover from the aisle.

By: Mac

Mac — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:13:47 +0000

"...how evocative and poetic many of the great sci-fi short story titles are..." Oh, how very well I understand that. My memories of my early acquaintance with sci-fi are almost as poignant as memories of first (second, third) love. It was true of the titles of novels as well, of course: I vividly remember discovering on the shelves of the library Star Gate (now ruined by overuse, but pretty potent in the imagination of a 14-year-old), Citizen of the Galaxy, and others. I once did a blog post called I Miss the Future. I do. (Since I wrote that, btw, I've seen Blade Runner, and thought it was excellent.)