Press release:
More info at Meisha Merlin.
I’m camping out!!! Right bookstore, wrong bookstore I don’t care.
Thanks for that Exapno Mapcase.
This particular Heinlein fan isn’t rejoicing. While I’d love to have a nice set of all of RAH’s writings, there’s just no way I’m going to pay that much for it. I’m sure others will, though, and will be very happy with it.
Yikes! $2200!!
I love RAH, but since I already own everything he ever published, I think I’ll give this one a pass. But I am glad to see the respect being given to his collected works.
Starting with that book will weed out all but the collectors and die-hard fans!
I wonder if they are going to say how the editions have been changed from the standard ones. Are they going to go back to the original submitted versions where the publishers requested changes (like for Poddy) or work off letters?
I wouldn’t be surprised if these showed up in a more reasonably priced edition someday.
Damn! I thought we’d finally found out what RAH’s first wife’s identity was! The one he married and divorced while attending Annapolis!
I’ve spent sizable sums on collectible books before (I have several of the signed/numbered Dark Tower books from Grant Publishing), but that’s a little steep even for me.
Bah. I’m no die-hard Heinlein fan, but I Will Fear No Evil is among his better books, in my opinion. I think it just gets a bad rap because the typical example of the genre’s readers (particularly pre-1970) are squeamish about gender identity issues.
On the contrary, I think it’s mainly the genre-centric fanboy types who badmouth I Will Fear No Evil. Uh, present company excepted, of course. 
Just considered as litracha, it holds up better than, say, Stranger in a Strange Land. (Which is still pretty fine.)
I thought it’s ending was stupid. Just grabbing the stray consciousness of a good friend who died and inviting it in to join the ‘group mind’? I liked it fine up until then.
There nothing wrong with I Will Fear No Evil that a new ending and a 500 page filler-reduction edit couldn’t have fixed.
It’s the only Heinlein book that I never finished on the first reading (or the the second, for that matter. I kept getting halfway through and putting it away because I was too bored. Eventually I read it all the way through because I wanted to read every Heinlein book, but I never did like it).
The thing is, at the time Heinlein was suffering from a brain disorder and was not thinking very clearly. And his name was big enough that editors were afraid to substantially chop the book. The result was, in my opinion, a mess.
Are you sure you’re not thinking of The Number of the Beast, Sam? RAH seemed really out of control there.
I can’t remember the exact timeline of his illness, but it may have spanned that novel as well. As I recall, he had a constricted blood vessel in the brain or something that was affecting his thinking, and he slowly deteriorated during the 70’s. Then he had surgery, and sharpened up considerably. I think ‘Friday’ was his first book post-surgery.
Heinlein very carefully never ruled out the possibility that the Eunice personality was a hallucination on Johann’s part.
I actually liked The Number of the Beast. It was sprawling, but had some new stuff, and was great fun. I must admit I have a weakness for going into fictional worlds - I even liked it when A. Bertram Chandler did it.
I must admit I read **I Will Fear No Evil[/b[ when it was serialized in Galaxy, but I can’t believe it was heavily edited. Heinlein doesn’t do well writing about the rich and powerful - with the exception of DD Harriman. (If I remember the name right, from Requiem.) And I don’t have a problem with gender identity. I like Varley and “All You Zombies.”
RAH was ill during IIFNE. He had recovered completely by the time he wrote Beast. That one was just RAH playing around with a bunch of half-formed ideas, poking fun at a number of his critics, and saluting a few of his friends. Not his best work by far, but not as bad as all that. It has its moments.
First, to all of you complaining about the price - what part of fanatics didn’t you understand?
I think silenus has it right. I was at the 1976 MidAmericon in Kansas City. Heinlein was the Guest of Honor, but was clearly very sick at the time. He had a stroke the next year and that was followed by the surgery.
THIS IS THE REASON I HAVE STRUGGLED ALL OF MY LIFE TO BECOME SUCCESSFUL AND WELL-OFF!
AHH!!!
Yes, I’ll be getting it if I can.
How’s that for fanaticism?
And yes, IWFNE (as published) was essentially a second draft and not edited. At the time it was thought his disorder would be terminal and it would be impossible to get any further work from him on the book. So rather than turn it over to an editor/co-author the publisher (and Virginia) decided to play the ball as it lies.
It clearly needs another go round to bring things together. But it’s readable as it stands.
I’d love a Complete Works of RAH. One tome, onion-skin paper, £30 or so. 
Follow up.
The website now says they’ll begin in Spring 2006 and follow every FOUR weeks.
Sounds like there’s some order slippage.