# Which Heinlein Novel Do I Read First? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 10, 2001, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-heinlein-novel-do-i-read-first/86517 "2001-10-10T04:53:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Grok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/96bed5/32.png) [@Grok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grok)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-heinlein-novel-do-i-read-first/86517/21 "2001-10-11T01:26:43Z")
I’ve introduced a fair number of people to RAH, and have put some thought into the sequence of books to read. I avoid giving a newbie anything too “heavy”, if such a word can be applied here. Rather, I give them something entertaining and relatively light for their first foray, usually **The Puppet Masters**. After that maybe **Have Spacesuit, Will Travel** , and if they are enjoying it, then it’s on to some classics like **Starship Troopers** and **TMIAHM**. **Stranger In a Strange Land** is pretty far down the list of books I give to people. Not that it isn’t a great book - on the contrary! But I consider it a complex book of its type, and not that representative of RAH’s work on the whole. But if a person stays with RAH, eventually I give a strong admonishment to read it carefully, and draw out every drop. Do you Grok? ---
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-heinlein-novel-do-i-read-first/86517/22 "2001-10-11T06:17:37Z")
::_jots down the suggested titles_:: I’ve only read Stranger in a Strange Land, but the enthusiasm I see here for his other titles makes me want to go check them out. Looks like I’ll be visiting Borders again real soon. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Propski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Guy\_Propski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Propski)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-heinlein-novel-do-i-read-first/86517/23 "2001-10-11T12:21:10Z")
Gee, no one mentioned “Methusalah’s Children”, the first (and best) appearance of Lazarus Long, aka Woodrow Wilson Smith. For my money, this was Heinlein at his most enjoyable. A solid action/SF novel with some interestig ideas about longevity. I believe you can find MC as part of the anthology “The Past Through Tomorrow,” which I HIGHLY recommend. Not only is a good intro to Heinlein, it also has just about all of his “Future History” stories. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-heinlein-novel-do-i-read-first/86517/24 "2001-10-11T12:25:21Z")
No, no, no people!!! For a first-time Heinlein experience, you can’t beat **Starbeast**!! It rules!😃 Then, maybe, some of the other pulp-fiction books before you delve further into the Heinlein world… ---
**Author:** ![LateComer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5ac83/32.png) [@LateComer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LateComer)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-heinlein-novel-do-i-read-first/86517/25 "2001-10-11T12:40:12Z")
I don’t have too much to add other than to say not to start with **The Number of the Beast** as I did! It confused the hell out of me and much didn’t make sense outside of the context of the future history, though I did enjoy it. I enjoyed it more rereading it after reading several other novels. ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Propski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Guy\_Propski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Propski)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-heinlein-novel-do-i-read-first/86517/26 "2001-10-11T14:57:56Z")
Oh, and if you’re going to read “Stranger in a Strange Land,” get the uncut version that came out a few years ago. I feel that, by not censoring some key scenes, it adds more depth to the story. Of course, if you are under 16, forget what I said… ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-heinlein-novel-do-i-read-first/86517/27 "2001-10-11T19:54:29Z")
**Have Space Suit, Will Travel** was for many years my ideal candidate for introducing someone to science fiction. One thing most readers under 45 or so will have to take into account is that most of his works were published _before_ the Sixties – and so were required, by the editors and publishers, to kowtow to the customs of the time. (E.g., sex didn’t exist; it was invented in 1963, by two experimenters in an attic. :rolleyes: ) Seriously, the characters will often seem naive – in some cases, because it suited Heinlein’s plot line to have the viewpoint character a naive young person who learns the truth in the course of the novel; in others, because by a rather strange custom of the time, what everybody knew about, nobody spoke about. This leads to some rather goofy behavior indicating what was _supposed_ to be a happy marriage by mock insults, etc., since the characters were no permitted to show affection “onstage.” There is a school of thought that identifies **Stranger** as one of the prime mechanisms bringing us out of that hypocritical era. **Fenris** , a small gift for you, but one I know you’ll treasure: In Robinson’s **The Best of All Possible Worlds** , guess which Heinlein story Heinlein himself identified as his own favorite? (Hint: the primary non-human supporting character is named “Bindlestiff.”) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-heinlein-novel-do-i-read-first/86517/28 "2001-10-12T04:42:12Z")
Absolutely do not, _not_, **NOT** start with _Stranger in a Strange Land_. Everyone who reads that book will either love it or hate it. If you love it, you’ll probably like some of Heinlein’s other works, but if you don’t, you’re liable to be turned off to all of Heinlein, or even all of science fiction, forever. After you’ve read about a half-dozen other Heinlein books, pick up _Stranger_. You might like it, but even if not, you’ll know that he wrote other stuff as well. To start with: Definitely his juveniles. If you’ve read and disliked _Lord of the Flies_, you’ll love _Tunnel in the Sky_. _Space Cadet_ is very good… Believe it or not, the title wasn’t a cliche at the time it was written. I’d also recommend _Red Planet_ and _Farmer in the Sky_ Slightly more mature, _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ and _The Door into Summer_ are my favorites. Pick one of them as your second read. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-heinlein-novel-do-i-read-first/86517/29 "2001-10-12T11:56:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Polycarp \* > \*\ ***Fenris** , a small gift for you, but one I know you’ll treasure: In Robinson’s **The Best of All Possible Worlds** , guess which Heinlein story Heinlein himself identified as his own favorite? (Hint: the primary non-human supporting character is named “Bindlestiff.”) 🙂 \*\* Alright…this is getting scary. You’re the only other person I’ve _ever_ met who’s gotten a copy of that anthology. It’s _rare_! So…Fenris and Polycarp: psychic twins seperated at birth by different parents and several years? 😃 And I agree with **Chronos**. I _really_ didn’t like Stranger the first time I tried to read it. I loved the first third, got to the second third and tossed the book. I came back to it years later (age may have been a factor too. A 19 year old Fenris could deal with some of the tone and philosophical shifts that happen in the second third, when a 12 year old Fenris couldn’t.) and loved it. I’d say, much as I like Moon better, I’d say that Door or Puppet Masters is a better first book. (Door is more representative, but Puppet Masters is _better_ Fenris ---
**Author:** ![croaker67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@croaker67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/croaker67)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-heinlein-novel-do-i-read-first/86517/30 "2001-10-12T15:23:45Z")
I knew Dopers were a smart lot. The best Heinlein novel has got to be “Time Enough For Love”. (can’t believe it wasn’t mentioned before) Probably not the first book to read, but DEFINATELY one to check out. PROPSKI was right, read " Methusala’s Children" first then enjoy thae further adventures of Lazarus Long. Your money back if not enjoyed completely. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-heinlein-novel-do-i-read-first/86517/31 "2001-10-12T15:31:32Z")
I’d recommend **Farmer in the Sky** as a good first book. This seems to me to be the classic Heinlein story: an interesting situation (overpopulation on earth, colonization of a strange world) and a young man learning to be an adult. Second, probably **Have Spacesuit, Will Travel** , although the ending is a bit too cliched (but maybe it’s just become a cliche since the book was written?). However, the protagonist is interesting, as is PeeWee, and I’m always a sucker for stories in which the protagonist, galvanized by something that happens, strives to improve himself. Third, **The Door Into Summer**. There just aren’t that many books out there where the hero is an engineer, since we’re usually too darn dull to interest a reader. And Pete the cat is wonderful, and the villains are believable and human. The only thing that makes me nervous about this one is the odd romance; it seems almost like pedophilia to me… The later stuff, like **Friday** and **I Will fear No Evil** is almost unreadable. What RAH needed was a brutal editor to force him to prune these babies down to the essential ideas. The Lazarus Long stuff is okay, but smells too much like wish-fulfillment on RAH’s part to interest me. The whole idea of an immortal hero does not appeal to me, and it seems that immortality removes a major theme and source of dramatic tension. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-heinlein-novel-do-i-read-first/86517/32 "2001-10-13T09:15:15Z")
I just realized I didn’t mention my actual first Heinlein. **Between Planets** , the story of the Venerian revolution. I didn’t know who Heinlein was and didn’t realize he had written the book until years later when I found it again. Not a bad starting place. Actually, any of his juveniles are great starting places. Lok ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Propski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Guy\_Propski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Propski)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-heinlein-novel-do-i-read-first/86517/33 "2001-10-13T12:43:28Z")
Fenris–I, too own a copy of S. Robinson’s “The Best of All Possible Worlds.” I also have “6xH” (aka “The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag”), which, IIRC, also contains “The Man Who Travelled in Elephants.” ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-heinlein-novel-do-i-read-first/86517/34 "2001-10-13T13:00:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guy Propski \* > \*\*Fenris–I, too own a copy of S. Robinson’s “The Best of All Possible Worlds.” I also have “6xH” (aka “The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag”), which, IIRC, also contains “The Man Who Travelled in Elephants.” \*\* Cool! It and Antimony are Robinson’s rarest. I always wished that Robinson did the sequel he’d promised for All Possible Worlds. Sigh. Great anthology and great concept. And 6xH: what a _horrible_ title! What where the people at Ace(?) thinking? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2001, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-heinlein-novel-do-i-read-first/86517/35 "2001-10-13T16:30:07Z")
I used to own a copy of _Antinomy_ – the American Dell printing. Unfortunately, I loaned it to a friend, who left it at his parents’, who **threw it away** when they moved out of state. Held for another few years, it would have paid for their move. ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-heinlein-novel-do-i-read-first/86517.md?page=1)