# Just Read My First Heinlein!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [January 22, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532 "2011-01-22T02:40:23Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532/1 "2011-01-22T02:40:23Z")
I’m an avid reader, I just never happened to read Heinlein until recently. I checked out\* A Heinlein Trio\* and just finished it…and it was awesome!
The stories in that book are _The Puppet Masters, Double Star_ and _The Door Into Summer._
My question is…what next? I gather from reading forums that his later stuff is pretty uneven. What I want is recommendations for his other works that are similar to the ones I just read.
Help a brother out?
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### Author:  [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2011, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532/2 "2011-01-22T03:06:03Z")
Bear in mind that there are effectively two different Heinleins: everything before _ **Stranger in a Strange Land** _, and that novel plus all the ones after it. I’d say read the older stuff first.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532/3 "2011-01-22T03:13:20Z")
_The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ is arguably the best science-fiction novel ever written, so that’d be a good next step. And since you specifically called out _The Puppet Masters_, _Friday_ has a very similar feel. And it’s hard to go wrong with any of his juveniles.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2011, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532/4 "2011-01-22T03:24:19Z")
SF pros consider **Double Star** his best novel. **Moon** is worth reading, but you really need to read them both together to see more than the cliched look of Heinlein’s philosophy.
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### Author:  [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2011, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532/5 "2011-01-22T11:52:19Z")
Since you liked _The Puppet Masters_, I’d also suggest looking for the short stories _Gulf_ and _If This Goes On–_. Both feature the sort of secret agent tone that features so prominently in _The Puppet Masters_. _Gulf_ is in the collection _Assignment in Eternity_, a collection of short stories not in his Future History; _If This Goes On–_ is in the collection _Revolt in 2100_.
Another collection I’d recommend is _6xH_ also published as _The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathon Hoag_. This collection contains two of my favorite Heinlein stories: _All You Zombies_ and _The Man Who Traveled in Elephants_. They are good, but different from the novels you’ve already read.
IMNSHO most of Heinlein’s short fiction is enjoyable reading. But a lot of it is going to be horribly dated in terms of the science: a habitable Venus and the only computers around in many of his earlier stories are large electro-mechanical beasts will often be a stumbling block for modern readers coming to the stories cold.
I agree with the other suggestions you’ve gotten in this thread, already. _Moon_ is a great book, and the juveniles are usually great fun. _Have Space Suit - Will Travel_ is a perennial favorite of mine. I just happen to like short story collections, and think that some of Heinlein’s short fiction is among the best in the genre.
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### Author:  [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2011, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532/6 "2011-01-22T12:14:03Z")
I liked _Door Into Summer_ and _The Puppet Masters_, never really liked _Double Star_. Anyway, the RAH novels I like to revisit, other than those:
_The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Starship Troopers
Tunnel in the Sky
Glory Road_
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### Author:  [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2011, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532/7 "2011-01-22T12:29:35Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#):
>
> IMNSHO most of Heinlein’s short fiction is enjoyable reading. But a lot of it is going to be horribly dated in terms of the science: a habitable Venus and the only computers around in many of his earlier stories are large electro-mechanical beasts will often be a stumbling block for modern readers coming to the stories cold.
I find it helps to think of some of Heinlein’s work as Retro-Futurism; taking place in a universe where the future really is full of computers that run on reel-to-reel tapes and everything seems slightly hokey in a 1950s sort of way; kind of like the _Fallout_ universe before the Atomic War That Destroyed Civilisation, basically.
> [@](#):
>
> I agree with the other suggestions you’ve gotten in this thread, already. _Moon_ is a great book, and the juveniles are usually great fun. _Have Space Suit - Will Travel_ is a perennial favorite of mine. I just happen to like short story collections, and think that some of Heinlein’s short fiction is among the best in the genre.
I’ll add another vote for _The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress_- it’s an excellent and entertaining book that’s well worth reading. _Starship Troopers_ is very good too, and has nothing to do with the movie of the same name. _Orphans Of The Sky_ also has an intriguing story which will seem vaguely familiar if you’ve played _Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri_.
One piece of advice I will give you, though: _The Number Of The Beast_ isn’t very interesting and you won’t be missing anything when you don’t read it.
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### Author:  [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2011, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532/8 "2011-01-22T12:59:05Z")
Thanks guys! I have a lot of work to do, it seems!
And for the poster that mentioned the potential stumbling block with some of the science being dated in some of the stories, eh, it doesn’t bother me. I’m just over 40 years old now so I can suspend my disbelief pretty well. In fact, like Martini Enfield suggests, I do tend to place it in some hokey other-verse in my mind as I read it.
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### Author:  [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2011, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532/9 "2011-01-22T15:02:26Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#):
>
> I find it helps to think of some of Heinlein’s work as Retro-Futurism; taking place in a universe where the future really is full of computers that run on reel-to-reel tapes and everything seems slightly hokey in a 1950s sort of way; kind of like the _Fallout_ universe before the Atomic War That Destroyed Civilisation, basically.
IIRC, in _To Sail Beyond the Sunset_ Maureen mentions some of the differences between her timeline and ours — including the fact that in hers Mars and Venus are indeed habitable.
> [@](#):
>
> I’ll add another vote for _The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress_- it’s an excellent and entertaining book that’s well worth reading. _Starship Troopers_ is very good too, and has nothing to do with the movie of the same name. _Orphans Of The Sky_ also has an intriguing story which will seem vaguely familiar if you’ve played _Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri_.
Another advantage to reading _Moon_ next (or at least soon) is that you can get introduced to Heinlein’s political philosophy without getting beaten over the head with it. It doesn’t hurt that Prof is one of his most likable “wise old man” characters (though I personally prefer Rufo).
> [@](#):
>
> One piece of advice I will give you, though: _The Number Of The Beast_ isn’t very interesting and you won’t be missing anything when you don’t read it.
WARNING: If you don’t read _Number_, skip _The Cat Who Walks Through Walls_ as well. I read the latter first and didn’t know where some fairly important characters came from.
Come to think of it, don’t bother with _Cat_. It’s better than _Number_ (faint praise), but it’s still a great deal of sound and fury signifying very little.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532/10 "2011-01-22T18:14:56Z")
The OP listed what I consider three of Heinlein’s best. I’d also recommend the following:
Farmer in the Sky
Citizen of the Galaxy
Starship Troopers
Podkayne of Mars
Glory Road
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
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### Author:  [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532/11 "2011-01-22T19:09:08Z")
I would go for Starship Troopers
Then Starship Troopers
And then probably Starship Troopers.
But the Moon is a Harsh mistress is very good and Double Star ,very readable.
Also Starship Troopers.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532/12 "2011-01-22T19:40:31Z")
> [@](#):
>
> If This Goes On-- is in the collection Revolt in 2100.
True, but it seems to be easier to find in _The Past through Tomorrow_, which contains everything in _Revolt_ and then some.
I’ve heard it suggested that _Number of the Beast_ was written deliberately bad, as an object lesson in all the things not to do when writing a story. Frighteningly, this is actually plausible.
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### Author:  [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532/13 "2011-01-22T19:41:31Z")
I’ve only read three Heinlein novels. “Stranger in a Strange Land” and “Friday” were only meh to me, but “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress” I found to be excellent.
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### Author:  [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532/14 "2011-01-22T20:41:13Z")
I’d recommend (in rough chro’nological order):
The Past Through Tomorrow
The Unpleasant Profession of One Johnathon Hoag
Assignment in Eternity for “Lost Legacy” and “Jerry was a Man.” The latter is one of the funniest SF stories I’ve ever read.
Orphans of the Sky for “Universe.”
“Magic, Inc.”
The Puppet Masters
Of his juveniles: Citizen of the Galaxy, Tunnel in the Sky, Farmer in the Sky, The Rolling Stones, and The Star Beast. I also like Between Planets, Space Cadet, and Have Space Suit – Will Travel.
Starship Troopers
Double Star,
Glory Road
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, one of the finest science fiction novels ever written.
“The Tale of the Adopted Daughter” from Time Enough from Love. The rest of the novel, aside from Lazarus Long’s notebooks is pretty awful
Job, a Comedy of Justice.
Friday is likeable, but weak.
Enjoy.
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### Author:  [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532/15 "2011-01-22T21:47:20Z")
I just started dabbling in some Asimov as well. I picked up a collection of his short stories and while I like most of them, some of them are _really_ short…like two pages!
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### Author:  [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532/16 "2011-01-22T23:21:21Z")
Asimov is best in his short stories, to my thinking. I find his novels to be a little tiresome. _Foundation_ is the big exception, of course, but it almost reads as a collection of related shorts.
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### Author:  [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)
#### Post date: [January 22, 2011, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532/17 "2011-01-22T23:26:26Z")
All of these are excellent recommendations, but you’re old enough to eat at the grown-ups table. I think you should jump straight to [Methuselah’s Children](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methuselah%27s_Children). **FoisGrasIsEvil** , meet Lazarus Long. It’s a fantastic short introduction to [Time Enough for Love](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Enough_for_Love), arguably Heinlein’s magnum opus.
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### Author:  [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532/18 "2011-01-23T01:25:41Z")
> [@Washoe](#):
>
> All of these are excellent recommendations, but you’re old enough to eat at the grown-ups table. I think you should jump straight to [Methuselah’s Children](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methuselah%27s_Children). **FoisGrasIsEvil** , meet Lazarus Long. It’s a fantastic short introduction to [Time Enough for Love](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Enough_for_Love), arguably Heinlein’s magnum opus.
I’m there dude…as long as I don’t get crumbs on the grownups table!
🙂
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532/19 "2011-01-23T02:16:18Z")
Not a lot to add to previous suggestions, but I will add my vote for **Moon** and **Double Star**. But **Chronos** is right - you really should just get **The Past Through Tomorrow** and go from there. Then get **Expanded Universe** for dessert.
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### Author:  [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2011, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-read-my-first-heinlein/568532/20 "2011-01-23T02:23:30Z")
_Time Enough For Love_ and _Stranger In a Strange Land_ are my favorites.
From _Stranger_, I use the term ‘grok’ in every day English.
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