Heinlein's "I Will Fear No Evil"

[triskellian]

I was talking to a colleague about science-fiction a couple of weeks ago. She claimed Heinlein as one of her favourite authors, and I confessed to having read nothing of his, put off by a possibly-unjustified impression of him being too interested in plot at the expense of character, and having misogynist tendencies. She claimed this wasn't true, and leant me I Will Fear No Evil to prove it. Yesterday, ill in bed*, I read the first two chapters. The characters are little more than props, and the main female character wears sexy clothes to please her elderly boss (and decides to make an effort to be extra-sexy tomorrow to thank him for a hefty bequest), doesn't mind being treated like a silly little girl, and, despite claiming to be happily married, throws herself into the arms of another much-older man at the first sign of danger, saying stuff like "Your arms are so strong. I feel safe when you're holding me", and then offers said older man a nude photo of herself. I gave up in disgust. Has anyone read it? Should I give the rest a try before returning it, or is it all like that?

*Hence no appearance at angry_marmot's party, and being off work today. secretrebel - want to come over and cheer me up?

Comments

[secretrebel.livejournal.com]

As far as I'm aware the general perception of Heinlein is that he has written three books which are considered to be 'good' and the rest are either bad or have cult appeal only.

The three to look out for are:
The Door into Summer, a time-travel adventure with a cat in it. :)
Stranger in a Strange Land, a human raised as a martian returns to earth to discover life and love. It's pretty good until he forms his own sex-based religion.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, communist style revolution on a futurist moon. My favourite and a real classic. Some strange views of women but these are excused/explained by special circumstances of the society concerned.

I would put aside this load of tripe you are reading now. I'll come visit you after I've had some lunch. Shall I bring you a better book then?

[triskellian]

The Door into Summer
Is this the one you read me the opening page of once? I remember rather liking it. Maybe I'll try that when I've got over the horror of I Will Fear No Evil.

I would put aside this load of tripe you are reading now.
Have done - I'm re-reading I Capture the Castle, having just reclaimed it from C. It's much better, and perfect sick-bed reading :-) And, oddly, Rose is really reminding me of C. Hmmm. Best not tell her that, I think ;-)

I'll come visit you after I've had some lunch.
Hooray!

Shall I bring you a better book then?
No thanks, I've got rather a pile waiting to be read after I've finished my comfort-reading: the new Garth Nix, kindly loaned by kauket, Middlesex, and The Life of Pi. I'm reasonably confident that all of them will be much better than evilevilHeinlein ;-)

[secretrebel.livejournal.com]

I think in your enfeebled state you've messed up your italicisation. But I sha'n't forbid you a biscuit.

Yes, TDIS is the one I read you some of. I think you'd like the cat bits and the rest is ok.

ICTC sounds much better for the sick, though, than any of Heinlein's works.

Illness

[killalla]

Sad to hear your not feeling well. (And yes, this means I will not badger you about the gym all week. ;) I have read one or two Heinlein books (can't quite remember which) and they did seem to have similar themes and a lot of sex. But, some had eugenics breeding programs as well, so that was alright.

Re: Illness

[triskellian]

Well, lots of sex isn't necessarily a problem. I mean, I read porn. But at least porn is honest about what it's doing ;-)

Re: Illness

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

So is Heinlein - "superficial pretty girls for older men" is the manifesto, which he seemingly makes little attempt to hide !

I don't really like any of his work myself despite the fact that I much prefer plot ro character in general. I have always assumed this was because I read him too late (ie. long after reading authors who wrote after him doing the same stuff way better).

Re: Illness

[lathany.livejournal.com]

I have always assumed this was because I read him too late (ie. long after reading authors who wrote after him doing the same stuff way better).

That's a pretty accurate guess. The best of the ones I read was Glory Road. It had some nice ideas in it (mainly in the dungeon section). But one of the best bits (the final battle between the hero and the big bad) has since been improved upon by Michael Scott Rohan in Chase the Morning (where it is also the final battle between the hero and the big bad, but this time at the end of the book).

Re: Illness

[triskellian]

So is Heinlein - "superficial pretty girls for older men" is the manifesto, which he seemingly makes little attempt to hide !
And I'd obviously picked up on this at some level - should've paid more attention ;-)