# Heinlein Fanatics Rejoice **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2005, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fanatics-rejoice/298417 "2005-04-08T16:57:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fanatics-rejoice/298417/1 "2005-04-08T16:57:37Z")
Press release: > [@](#): > > Meisha Merlin Publishing, Inc has been chosen by the Robert A. and Virginia Heinlein Prize Trust and the Butler Library Foundation to publish The Virginia Edition: The Definitive Collection of Robert A. Heinlein. > > The project will consist of forty-six titles spanning the entire writing career of Robert A. Heinlein. The Virginia Edition will contain all of Heinlein’s novels and short stories; all of his non-fiction titles; several volumes of his letters and personal correspondence; and the vast majority of his interviews, social commentaries, speeches and articles. > > The publisher will be assisted by several Heinlein experts, including Eleanor Wood (Robert Heinlein’s agent), Art Dula (the literary executor of the Heinlein > estate), and Bill Patterson (Heinlein scholar, organizer of The Archives). > > At the request of the Robert A. and Virginia Heinlein Prize Trust, The > Virginia Edition will be sold only as a set. The printing will be limited to > 5000 sets. The first, I Will Fear No Evil, will be published in fall of 2005, > followed by a new title every five weeks. More info at [Meisha Merlin](http://www.meishamerlin.com/RobertHeinleinTheVirginiaEdition.html). ---
**Author:** ![jimpatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@jimpatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimpatro)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fanatics-rejoice/298417/2 "2005-04-08T17:44:53Z")
I’m camping out!!! Right bookstore, wrong bookstore I don’t care. Thanks for that **Exapno Mapcase**. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fanatics-rejoice/298417/3 "2005-04-08T18:07:12Z")
> [@](#): > > The price for the cloth bound set of The Virginia Edition will be $2,500.00. 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. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fanatics-rejoice/298417/4 "2005-04-08T18:09:28Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fanatics-rejoice/298417/5 "2005-04-08T18:50:10Z")
> [@press release](#): > > The first, I Will Fear No Evil, will be published in fall of 2005, > followed by a new title every five weeks. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fanatics-rejoice/298417/6 "2005-04-08T19:02:40Z")
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! ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fanatics-rejoice/298417/7 "2005-04-08T21:10:53Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fanatics-rejoice/298417/8 "2005-04-08T22:34:25Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Starting with that book will weed out all but the collectors and die-hard fans! 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.) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fanatics-rejoice/298417/9 "2005-04-08T22:38:05Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > 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. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2005, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fanatics-rejoice/298417/10 "2005-04-09T00:04:55Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fanatics-rejoice/298417/11 "2005-04-12T01:53:33Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fanatics-rejoice/298417/12 "2005-04-12T01:56:01Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fanatics-rejoice/298417/13 "2005-04-12T15:36:27Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > 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. Heinlein very carefully never ruled out the possibility that the Eunice personality was a hallucination on Johann’s part. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fanatics-rejoice/298417/14 "2005-04-12T16:38:37Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > Are you sure you’re not thinking of **The Number of the Beast** , Sam? RAH seemed really out of control there. 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.” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fanatics-rejoice/298417/15 "2005-04-12T16:40:02Z")
> [@Sam Stone](#): > > 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. 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. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fanatics-rejoice/298417/16 "2005-04-12T17:00:51Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fanatics-rejoice/298417/17 "2005-04-12T20:42:21Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fanatics-rejoice/298417/18 "2005-04-12T20:46:07Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fanatics-rejoice/298417/19 "2005-04-12T21:12:20Z")
I’d love a Complete Works of RAH. One tome, onion-skin paper, £30 or so. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heinlein-fanatics-rejoice/298417/20 "2005-06-02T02:37:12Z")
Follow up. The website now says they’ll begin in Spring 2006 and follow every FOUR weeks. Sounds like there’s some order slippage.