Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site uvacs.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!whuxl!whuxlm!harpo!decvax!mcnc!ncsu!uvacs!rwl
From: rwl@uvacs.UUCP (Ray Lubinsky)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Re: NofTheBeast - True STINKER
Message-ID: <2033@uvacs.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 17-Apr-85 01:11:08 EST
Article-I.D.: uvacs.2033
Posted: Wed Apr 17 01:11:08 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 19-Apr-85 00:49:28 EST
References: <147@yetti.UUCP> <1331@reed.UUCP>
Organization: U.Va. CS in Charlottesville, VA
Lines: 25

>                                    He grew up reading Heinlein and
> pays homage to him in many of his books.

--
   I grew up watching cartoons on Saturday morning, but I out-grew those, too!

   To say that Heinlein is self-indulgent in the greater part of his novels  is
understatement  indeed.   I  haven't bothered with ``Number of the Beast'' but,
for my money, to say that ``Friday'' was up to RAH's standards is pretty  damn-
ing.   It  was hundreds of pages of non-story mascarading as character develop-
ment.  Heinlein has never shown that he has any depth of understanding when  it
comes  to real human beings, but his portrayals of women are simply travesties!
``Friday'' is, as I had expected, just that.

   Now, before you scream about unfairness, I liked Heinlein's juvenile stories
and  I  liked  ``The  Moon  is a Harsh Mistress''.  When Bob stays in his place
(writing hard-SF idea stories) he's OK; when he starts to  think  that  he's  a
Writer  of  Merit and a Philosopher, that's when the bullshit starts flying and
that's when I drop his book for something more enlightening.  Like scrubbing my
bathroom, or taking out the trash.
-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ray Lubinsky		     University of Virginia, Dept. of Computer Science
			     uucp: decvax!mcnc!ncsu!uvacs!rwl