.G. Wells and Jules Verne dreamed, but Robert A. Heinlein had a waking vision. He saw a human future, a future that lived and breathed and propagated and flourished as if all on its own, and not as the result of a half-century of hard work, praise and rejection. Heinlein saw a vital, viable future in which people meet and recognize their own descendants of body and mind, of invention and aspiration.
A writer as concrete and red-blooded as Heinlein provokes raw emotional response. Even today, a decade after the Grand Master's death and longer still since he wrote his most seminal works, science fiction fans sport ardent and opposing views about him. But as James Gifford began to realize, these passions are often skewed by readers' limited exposure to the prolific author's oeuvre--a couple of novels here, more rarely an anthologized short story there. This is especially true today, as the pulps in which Heinlein got his start--and even the bright-eyed novels of SF's Golden Age--become more and more a distant memory. So Gifford set out to compile an exhaustive companion to Heinlein's works, published and unpublished, fiction and nonfiction, SF and mainstream, juvenile and adult, short story and epic novel. His goal was to make the discussion more informed, placing everything from "'All You Zombies--'" to "The Year of the Jackpot" in its proper context.
Robert A. Heinlein: A Reader's Companion comprehensively presents all of the author's known works and provides a new opus-numbering framework for the nascent field of Heinlein scholarship. Each entry discusses the work's significance, documents connections with other works, compares different published versions and notes any curiosities or anomalies. The Companion also contains several cross-reference indices and a section on Heinlein's best-known accomplishment, the lattice of interconnected stories known as the Future History.
The past through tomorrow
While Heinlein mapped out a possible future for humanity, it appears he did not foresee the changing face of science fiction. In his day, short stories and novellas--eagerly awaited from dime magazines--ruled the SF landscape, and editors like Astounding's John W. Campbell cast shadows over an entire genre. But--surprisingly, in an era of MTV attention spans--today's readers care only about the novel. Books like A Reader's Companion are a reminder of how the short story, novella, juvenile and novel can all be used to maximum effect.
A "companion book" is of value only if it's both exhaustive and readable.
Gifford's guide is comprehensive and thorough, the product of painstaking research and attention to detail. But it's also a fascinating read, whether approached as a hop-and-skip reference or full-on, cover to cover. The entries offer surprising insight into an enigmatic author who sometimes obfuscated his own history. Gifford also makes an effort to treat story elements that might have confused or annoyed readers (often there's a behind-the-scenes explanation), and adds anecdotes about the stories' impact, such as the immortalization of a Heinlein story by the crew of Apollo XV. Though this is clearly a labor of love, Gifford generally retains his objectivity, seeking mainly to incite his audience into finding out for themselves the merit of a particular story or novel. That's refreshing.
Readers who have read a lot of Heinlein will enjoy comparing notes with Gifford and tripping over works they've never heard of. Those who have not read a lick of Heinlein can use the Companion as a road map of discovery. And--most importantly--those who have never read anything other than Stranger in a Strange Land (or, worse, The Number of the Beast) are urged--nay, required!--to get hold of this book immediately, so they'll know what the heck they're talking about.
