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Today I finally reveal my #1 all time favorite science fiction novel. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A Heinlein. Why did it win? Because it’s the first SciFi novel I ever read. It started me on this wonderful journey, introduced me to this new world that some people call “reading” and thus here I am. For that, Mr. Heinlein, I thank you for writing a novel full of sex, magic, interesting ideas about sex, counterculture, and sexual freedom. It really made an impression on my “innocent” 15 year old mind when I was forced to read it for senior English class (well I had a choice between five different books). I think made the right choice. It’s also a Hugo winner and one of the most well recognized titles in the genre.
Summary: Dated & overly political, this novel is both a product of the early hippie culture and an influence on it. Knowing that, the reader MUST suspend more of themselves as well as some of their own morals and values in order to enjoy this novel. If you can do that, then this is a solid piece of science fiction history.
That’s not quite the glowing review you’d probably have expected from me, eh? The truth is that this book makes #1 largely by favoritism. I’ve read better and more interesting Heinlein novels, and since Heinlein is one of my favorite authors I’ve read almost everything he’s ever written. But this was the first, and it’s stayed #1 ever since.
I encourage you to read it, but I’ll understand if you don’t. If you’re looking for something to hook a young impressionable male in your life on Science Fiction, this might be your ticket. I didn’t read for fun before this novel, but that’s only a sample size of one. I know many people who were turned off of Heinlein because of this novel too.
For those of you wanting a plot summary here you go: A human who is the offspring of a failed colony expedition and raised my Martians is returned to Earth in his late teens. He has learned how to control his mind like the Martians and is seemingly magical to the people of Earth. His alien personality and ideas win over female after female who throw themselves at his naive manhood. He slowly teaches all of his friends, male and female, how to use their minds like he does, and in the end forms a ministry (aka Cult) of the mind that has sexual freedom, individuality and polyamory at it’s core.
This novel is the original source of the terms “Water Brothers” and “Grok.” So, if you’re curious to see what these terms mean in their original context, you’ll need to read this book.
16 responses so far ↓
1 Jim Harris // Apr 19, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with Stranger in a Strange Land. When I first read it at age 13 I was blown away. I read it again four years later, around 1969 and I still liked it - I almost had an odd nostalga for it by then. But as the years and decades have passed I have come to dislike a lot of the novel. It has lots of innovative ideas, and it was a breakthru SF novel, but it also seems like an old man’s wife-swapping fantasy. And it feels like some kind of weird snuff fantasy - too many people get killed by being blinked out.
2 Cam // Apr 20, 2008 at 8:18 am
True enough. There are many parts I dislike now after reading a few hundred other novels, many by Heinlein himself. However, most of them came after SIASL and were influenced by it. I suspect many other authors loved the ideas, but didn’t like parts of the execution and so set out to “correct the problem”.
In the end though it doesn’t change the fact that I probably wouldn’t be here without this novel introducing me to SciFI :).
3 pm // Apr 20, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Another one on my list of must reads.
4 lm // Apr 20, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Another to add to the must read list.
Counter culture without a worthy mission is useless.
5 WitlessWarrior // Apr 20, 2008 at 4:34 pm
It was written as a satire, just about his only one. It shouldn’t be taken as a serious exploration of ideas, unlike most of his other work, although much of his other work is at least as subversive. If approached as a satire, it makes much more sense.
6 Cam // Apr 20, 2008 at 4:51 pm
It was written as a satire? Do you have a source for this? I’ve never heard of it and I read through all of Grumbles from the Grave. Maybe I missed it.
However, maybe it does work better as a satire… an interesting thought.
7 A Science Fiction Primer - Top 10 MUST READ Books | We Read Science Fiction // Apr 20, 2008 at 4:54 pm
[...] Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A Heinlein [...]
8 Jim Harris // Apr 20, 2008 at 5:37 pm
I have a book, The Martian Named Smith by William H. Patterson Jr that makes a huge case that SIASL is satire. I can’t buy that.
Saturday Night Live is satire, and SIASL doesn’t feel like that at all. I think Heinlein wanted to write a new kind of science fiction novel, one that dealt with ideas not normally covered by the genre at the time. The book is deadly serious to me - but with fantastic elements.
Generally satire goes to fantastic lengths to attack something. SIASL is a story with fantastic elements, but I don’t know if that makes it satire.
I think Heinlein’s stories from the 1950s are close to 10s in quality. I think his stories after 1965 are 1 to 2s in quality, and the stuff inbetween are 5-6s in quality. Something changed in Heinlein after 1960 but I don’t know what.
9 Cam // Apr 20, 2008 at 9:55 pm
Jim:
I agree. Unless Heinlein published something at some point claiming that SIASL was satire, then I doubt it was.
I example, Number of the Beast was a “what not to do when writing” book that Heinlein himself claimed did two things:
1. It proved that he could write crap, intentionally, and still get it published with Gusto by anyone. He revealed this as a motive after the hardcover was in print.
2. Gave the finger to all those who praised anything he did no matter how many rules he broke.
If you’ve read Grumbles from the Grave you’ll see just how ludicrous he thought all of this was.
All that said, I still think he had more interesting ideas than almost anyone. Even his later works still had some great nuggets of ideas, even if he didn’t execute them well.
Does anyone do remakes of novels?
10 Jim Harris // Apr 20, 2008 at 11:27 pm
I don’t think they do actual remakes, but many authors write books that are inspired by previous works. I think The Forever War was written in response to Starship Troopers, and Old Man’s War was in reaction to several of Heinlein’s novels. SIASL throws down the gauntlet to challenge other writers to write a better starting a religion in modern times novel, but I’m not sure if anyone has taken it up. Lots of science fiction writers try their hand at alien invasion novels or first contact stories.
Even The Number of the Beast, a novel I can’t make myself read, has some good ideas in it. Charlie Stross is coming out with a new novel that’s suppose to be in reaction to Heinlein’s later novels. I’m looking forward that.
I’m a lifelong fan of Heinlein, and reread many of his novels on a periodic basis, but I can’t read his later novels.
Jim
11 Cam // Apr 21, 2008 at 8:33 am
Hey Jim, want to collaborate on a “starting religion in modern times novel”? I could probably find a publisher through my network. ;)
I just checked out the chronology of Heinlein’s works (since I read ALL of them after he died, I didn’t read them in any sort of order). I loved everything written before 1960, then enjoyed only 3 novels after that: SIASL, MIAHM and Friday. So I’d agree that the tipping point was sometime in the early 60’s.
Thanks for making me think about that.
For the record: Friday (1982) is more of a beach-in-the-summer read than a solid SciFi. I enjoyed it, but I was on the beach when I read it, so that might have something to do with it.
12 Albigensian // Jul 17, 2008 at 1:58 pm
The reviewer says that “this novel is both a product of the early hippie culture and an influence on it,” yet as I’m not aware of any significant influence of hippie culture on Heinlein, I’d have to question that.
Arguably, the book’s enthusiastic acceptance for “sexual freedom, individuality and polyamory” grew more out of Heinlein’s own libertarianism than from early hippie culture– thus providing the book’s unusual mixture of viewpoint characters with strongly conservative power politics combined with radically permissive social/sexual politics.
Since this book was Heinlein’s big breakout from his much smaller hardcore SF audience, it surely belongs in the “must read” category (even though I would have to agree that much of it has not aged all that well).
13 Cam // Jul 17, 2008 at 2:41 pm
@Albigensian:
After reading “Grumbles from the Grave” in which we see letters written to and from Heinlein himself, it is obvious that the sexual liberation in SIASL is at least partially influenced by the times and society, and also that the cult-like ideals in the book spawned real-life copy cults.
Having not personally seen the 70s as an adult, I’d contend that the word ‘hippie’ is likely a brash generalization on my part, and I apologize for it. However, as a stereotype it’s certainly not too far off.
I also agree that this is not the ONLY influence on the book and that Heinlein’s own libertarianism played a large role.
Lastly, you are right. SIASL has not aged well.. unless you’re a horny teenager with a love for Mars.
If you are a Heinlein fan, I highly recommend Grumbles from the Grave, even if it’s not a good book itself, it’s certainly a good back story to our favorite memories.
14 Jim Harris // Jul 18, 2008 at 7:54 am
Albigensian - I don’t think Heinlein ever hung with hippies, but he wasn’t your normal kind of guy either. Early in life he was a liberal, and late in life he was a conservative. I’ve read where he was a nudist and like taking nude photography of women. And he explored lots of weird ideas along the way. My guess is he knew plenty of out-there people.
Cam, sorry not to reply sooner, but I don’t think I saw your post about starting a SF book on religion. Any ideas? Now I’ve wanted to start a real religion, one based on science and atheism, but I don’t think it would work.
15 Al Luther // Aug 12, 2008 at 11:52 pm
As to Heinlein, libertarianism, and religion, Heinlein was a nothing if not bit of a chameleon, albeit a very independent, unpredictable, and above all competent one. Except that the idea would probably have made him laugh, some of his ideas would make great commandments.
Still, I imagine that from somewhere in his restlessness, nostalgia, skepticism, “in it for the species” almost mercenary brand of hope, humor, and the “why not?” of it all, he might just have taken up the mitre.
No doubt rubbing blue mud in his navel just as solemnly as the natives, at least for a while.
16 Al Luther // Aug 12, 2008 at 11:57 pm
After all, you only live forever.
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