# tell me what heinlein book to read next
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [September 2, 2003, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038 "2003-09-02T00:38:38Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cornelius_Tuggerson)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2003, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038/1 "2003-09-02T00:38:38Z")
Hi all, I read Citizen of the Galaxy, Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Starship Troopers and Stranger in a Strange Land and loved them all, Stranger in a Strange Land being my favourite. What other ones would you say are worth a look or two?
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### Author:  [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2003, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038/2 "2003-09-02T01:07:54Z")
“Glory Road” is my personal favorite… has sort of a “tongue-in-cheek-Tolkien” feel to it.
“Time Enough For Love” is definitely a magnum opus and not to be missed.
“I Will Fear No Evil” is very thought provoking, and has yet another main character named “Smith”
That should hold ya for now! Happy reading!..Timmy
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### Author:  [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2003, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038/3 "2003-09-02T01:37:03Z")
Time Enough for Love. Super book.
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### Author:  [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2003, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038/4 "2003-09-02T01:40:38Z")
IMHO, the best Heinleins after The Moon is a Harsh Mistress are his juveniles. Time for the Stars, Between Planets, Tunnel in the Sky and Have Space Suit, Will Travel in particular.
After that, Methuselah’s Children and The Puppet Masters.
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### Author:  [@qwanderer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qwanderer)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2003, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038/5 "2003-09-02T03:44:30Z")
I read and enjoyed The Number of the Beast, although it was rather strange, and contained The Wizard of Oz and stuff. Stranger in a Strange Land is the best, you’re right. BTW, do you know if you read the abridged version or the original?
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### Author:  [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2003, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038/6 "2003-09-02T06:09:36Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by RikWriter \*
> \*\*IMHO, the best Heinleins after The Moon is a Harsh Mistress are his juveniles. Time for the Stars, Between Planets, Tunnel in the Sky and Have Space Suit, Will Travel in particular.
> After that, Methuselah’s Children and The Puppet Masters. \*\*
You missed “Door Into Summer”, “Double Star”, “Waldo”, and “Starbeast”. Well, okay, only “Starbeast” is actually a juvenile. But I would put the first 3 right after “Have Spacesuit…” and in front of “Tunnel”. Then the rest of the juveniles.
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### Author:  [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2003, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038/7 "2003-09-02T06:14:52Z")
I’d recommend “The Door Into Summer”, “Have Space Suit - Will Travel”, “Tunnel in the Sky”, “Time for the Stars”, and “Double Star” in no particular order. They are all excellent.
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### Author:  [@Laurasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laurasia)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2003, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038/8 "2003-09-02T06:28:20Z")
I liked Glory Road.
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### Author:  [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2003, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038/9 "2003-09-02T06:54:05Z")
_Time Enough For Love_ or _I Will Fear No Evil_
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### Author:  [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2003, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038/10 "2003-09-02T11:41:48Z")
Read ANYTHING but “The Number of the Beast” and “The Cat Who Walks Through Walls”.
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### Author:  [@obidiah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obidiah)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2003, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038/11 "2003-09-02T11:51:28Z")
I would have to say my favorite is Job. He nailed this book. I liked Stranger in a Strange Land, as well, but it isn’t my favorite by him. You should also check out Glory Road, as mentioned before. And I really liked The Cat Who Walked Through Walls and Time Enough for Love.
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### Author:  [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2003, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038/12 "2003-09-02T11:55:40Z")
The Door Into Summer
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### Author:  [@Sparrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparrow)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2003, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038/13 "2003-09-02T12:44:22Z")
And don’t go within a million miles of “Farnham’s Freehold”. Yuk.
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### Author:  [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2003, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038/14 "2003-09-02T13:02:16Z")
I really enjoyed “Tunnel in the sky” even though it was a Juvenile novel. Heinlein throws you a few red herrings about the plot that kept me guessing up to the very end 🙂
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### Author:  [@Politzania](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Politzania)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2003, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038/15 "2003-09-02T15:29:10Z")
FYI & IMHO: _The Sixth Column_ (can’t remember the alternate title) appears very racist to modern eyes. Personally, I’d put it & _Farnham’s Freehold_ in the “I want to read everything RAH wrote” category, but wouldn’t be in a hurry to find them.
_Job_ is fairly thought-provoking for the religiously-open-minded.
I still haven’t made up my mind about _Friday_ - other then to gripe that the cover artist for my copy OBVIOUSLY didn’t read the book - Friday is _not_ a blond, blue-eyed Nordic 🙂
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### Author:  [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2003, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038/16 "2003-09-02T15:40:39Z")
I vote for Time Enough For Love and The Number of the Beast. I love the literary conceits in The Number of the Beast. Friday is a fun read though too.
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### Author:  [@CurlyD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurlyD)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2003, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038/17 "2003-09-02T16:12:36Z")
All of the above. But don’t overlook _The Green Hills of Earth_, a short story collection, some of his earlier stuff. The title story contains the title poem.
[http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/241.html](http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/241.html)
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### Author:  [@prisoner6655321](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prisoner6655321)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038/18 "2003-09-02T17:20:40Z")
I did not like _Number of the Beast_ one bit. Had to stop reading that chauvinistic junk. And just about every single line the characters said to one another is a punchline. Come on, who talks like that. Is it just me, or did Heinlein become more chauvinistic as he matured?
To the OP, I generally do like just about everything he wrote though. NOTB was a fluke I think, even though his later work is more “old fashioned” in sentimentality it’s still good.
My favorite so far, after _Stranger in a Strange land_ is _Tunnel in the Sky_. A kid’s story, but it sure is fun.
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### Author:  [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2003, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038/19 "2003-09-02T17:34:49Z")
My vote is for _Double Star_. It’s a great story whose influence can be seen in many subsequent works.
_Time Enough For Love_ has excellent parts to it, but don’t read it unless you can tolerate bits of gratuitous incest.
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### Author:  [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2003, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-what-heinlein-book-to-read-next/199038/20 "2003-09-02T18:35:11Z")
In retrospect, I think _Time enough for love_ should be read only for the story _The tale of the adopted daughter_. The rest is just RAH trying to repeat the outrage he caused with SiSL.
Why not go back to the beginning - Pick up _The Past through tomorrow_ and get to the very start of the Lazarus Long stories, to get them in order. You also get _Misfit_ which fits in witth the rest of the Heinlein universe. Get _Expanded Universe_ after that, and you’re set to go after the novels. I still marvel when re-reading TPTT, and seeing the birth of modern SciFi.
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