Heinlein's Last Novel Coming in September

Frightened_Turtle writes "Robert Heinlein's last novel, Variable Star , will be released in September. Completed by Spider Robinson at the behest of Heinlein's estate, the novel is based on the notes and outline created by Heinlein for the novel over 50 years ago. It was set aside and forgotten when Heinlein went to work on other projects. The story follows the life of Joel Johnston who — after having a fallout with his girlfriend and going on a bender — wakes up on a starship bound for the stars. Spider Robinson has done an excellent job maintaining Heinlein's style and flow throughout the novel. Want to check out the story for yourself? You can download the first eight chapters online from the 'Excerpts' link on the site as they are released over the next few weeks."

Worth Buying

[neonprimetime]

The Variable Star project is intended to help the Heinlein Trust continue to fund the $500,000 Heinlein Prize [heinleinprize.com] for commercial manned spaceflight

It's worth buying just for that!

Re:Scared, I am...

[Anubis350]

But unlike most ghost written crap, this is being finished by a very good author (and alumnus from my college :-p). I think Robinson's up to it, should be a good read (though it might contain some very bad puns)

Re:Scared, I am...

[L7_]

same with the new Dune book... Hunters of Dune.

We'll see if the authors can hold true to the Frank Herbert's legacy.

Re:Does that mean no sex scenes?

[Chris Burke]

Nobody seems to get the joke, which is that Heinlein's earlier books were more-or-less sex-free, or at least keeping it to a minimum, while his later books got more and more randy and referenced group sex, underage sex, incest, and other taboos. I'm not Heinlen-ologist, but it seems the turning point was Stranger in a Strange Land, which was an excellent book. Some of the later ones seem to be more dominated by the sex themes, and very light on substance. In other words he slowly transitioned from young serious author to mature exploratory author to dirty old man.

Re:Scared, I am...

[big-magic]

Not quite. The recent Dune books (prequels and sequels) were written by Brian Herbert (son of Frank Herbert) using notes left by this father. They do not claim to be written by Frank Herbert. Although I have not read them, my understanding is that the Dune books written by Brian Herbert received decent reviews.

Re:Scared, I am...

[fumblebruschi]

Especially since the reason Heinlein set aside the unfinished book and forgot about it was probably that he'd decided it wasn't any good. In the years after Hemingway died, his heirs kept publishing "new Hemingway novels" that were really just unfinished books he'd abandoned because he thought they weren't going anywhere. (The result being that future generations will think Hemingway didn't know the difference between his own good writing and his own bad writing.) In this case I can't see any grounds for optimism, since A) Heinlein abandoned the book, which suggests he didn't think much of it himself, and certainly means he never went back and edited it; and B) it's being "finished" by a guy who has shamelessly fan-wanked over Heinlein (see Robinson's embarrassingly bad article "Rah Rah R.A.H.") and who firmly believes Heinlein can do no wrong, so will probably not edit those parts of the unfinished story that need editing. Robinson is one of those people who confuse the "I like Heinlein's writing" school of being a fan with the "I embrace Heinlein as my personal savior" school. So, unfinished and probably subpar book + adoring and uncritical editor = waste of paper.

Re:Scared, I am...

[moggie_xev]

Spider Robinson is an excelent author in his own right. I own atleast 5 of his books and he is known to be an old time Heinlein fan. He is the best choice I can think of to do the job and I suspect it will be a good book. I not sure if they have the names the right way round on the cover though :)

Re:Story outline is not enough...

[dracphelan]

I completely agree with you. Some of his greatest novels dealt troubling or taboo subjects involving human nature. Some examples are: Farnham's Freehold - Racism A Stranger In A Strange Land - Religion The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress - Government Time Enough For Love - Mortality, Love The Long Patrol (may not be remembering the title right) - Duty What I have always loved most about Heinlein's work is that it was never really about the technology. It was about people and how they interact. It was about what it takes to be a human being who is worth more than the chemicals that make up the body. Even in his juvenile novels, he wrote about what it takes for a boy to be a man. The last unpublished Heinlein novel I tried to read (Requiem?) was horrible. I could see why he chose not to publish it. Hopefully, this one will be better.

Just finished Heinlein's FIRST novel...

[libertytrek]

"For US, the Living" www.heinleinsociety.org/newsFUTL.html Very interesting, with a forward by Spider, and an afterward by Robert James. You can definitely see the seeds of many of his best works in this novel - highly recommended...

Re:Scared, I am...

[Anonymous Coward]

FYI, Spider is as obsessive a fan of Heinlein as I have ever seen. If anyone could do this book, it would be him.

Re:Scared, I am...

[roystgnr]

see Robinson's embarrassingly bad article "Rah Rah R.A.H."

It's up on the web here [heinleinsociety.org], for anyone who really does want to see for themselves. I think "embarassingly bad" is an undeserved insult, but "shameless fan-wanking" is pretty accurate so maybe I'm just splitting hairs.

Re:Same writing style?

[C. Alan]

You forgot with a Cat.

"The cat whom walked through walls"

I have read the book; well an Advanced Proof.

[doobie]

I really really did not believe I wouldd read this book and think "wow this is a Heinlein novel." I never liked the NY Times quote "I'd nominate Spider Robison as the new Robert Heinein." quote. I did not fully believe John Varley's quote that it Robert Heinlein was at Spider Robinson's side.

It is now obviously I was wrong; very very very very wrong. I would put more very's in but it wouldn't get to the point. Heinlein outlined the journey; Spider followed it. Only a few points disappointed me (IMO Heinlein never pun'd that much; and I didn't like reading 'googled around' 2 or 3 times).

The following is early spoilerish material

The book is a story of a boy, Joel, who was in love with a girl, Jinny. They complete junionr college and start planning for the future. She wants to marry him, he wants to finish college to support her. When he finally accepts that he would marry her if he can support her, she takes him to "her home". Turns out this is a hidden house buried in a glacier. The house is home to Conrad of Conrad (I don't recall this in other Heinlein novels, but from what I can gather think Harriman Enterprises, but bigger; much bigger). After meeting Conrad of Conrad and telling him where to go stick his money/fortune/plans for Joel's with Jinny, he escapes back to his apartment with the help of Jinny's little cousin Elelyn.

After a major bender, he is reminded of a ship leaving to start a colony on a distant planet. He spends the last of his money to ge to FL and tries to get on. He's told that he's too drunk to make the decision but he could come back in a few days if he's sober and still wants to go. He of course returns and gets on the ship. This is where most of the story happens. I'm not going to get into many of the details because that would spoil the fun. There is talk of line/group marriages; there's music; there's science; there's romance and despair, and of course there's hope when all hope is lost.

Some of you may hate me for saying this, but if Heinlein had written this book he would have had a hard time improving on what was written.

Re:Scared, I am...

[wytcld]

Heinlein often moved notes and outlines to the back burner. Many of his strongest books, including Stranger in a Strange Land, were sitting in his files half-conceived for years before he finally wrote a finished draft and published. So when something was still in his files, it didn't always mean he thought it no good; sometimes he thought it so good that he felt himself not quite ready to do justice to it yet.

that's nothing

[pyrrho]

I've just finished a new chapter in the Bible by God. I worked from notes God had almost created on the 4'th day of creation but got distracted creating the slugs. It's The Book Of Slugs and goes in the Old Testament.

I kept God's original style rather well.

Re:Scared, I am...

[Dr. Podkayne]

Scared, be not. Variable Star rocks, and reads like a classic juvenile. In the case of "For Us, The Living" (the only other posthumous Heinlein) after a couple of rejections Heinlein took it off the market. He then mined its ideas after he learned how to write stories and plot. While ultimately the author's intention was not to have the thing circulating, since he had submitted it at some point it was deemed morally fair game for the estate to publish. With Variable Star, there was a good half chapter with characters and plot trajectory fully fleshed out and some notecards. I don't know why Heinlein didn't finish it...when I first encountered the chapter, his widow told me he'd always intended to complete it but never did. Health reasons...? Anyhow, I've been lucky enough to read the final draft of Variable Star. While there were a few moments of gears ratcheting between Heinlein style and Spider style in the second chapter, thereafter either it became indistinguishable or I was so into the story I failed to notice. My husband and I ended up trading pages until a 2AM photo finish, when we both turned to each other and did Keanu Reeves impressions. ("WHOA!") It was so great I wish I'd saved it until I was bummed out or otherwise needed a lift. Granted, I love both Heinlein and Robinson independently, and am biased. This is a great fusion, though...and I recall only one pun. I'm trying to forget details, so I can savor the hardback as the last new Heinlein I'll ever get to read.