I am a Heinlein fan, and I have read just about everything he has ever written. But, I have to admit, he lost me somewhere in "Number of the Beast." One too many reality hops for my poor, feeble brain. LOL.
Heheheh. Alright, I'm going to say it, after which I'm sure I'll be stoned as a heretic (on this thread, anyway).
Heinlein occassionally produced a novel worth reading, and while I haven't read Troopers yet, I have seen and enjoyed the movie and the animated series and from what I've heard of some of the sociological ideas expressed in it, it sounds like a worthwhile read. I'll get to it one of these days.
But as a consistently good sci-fi writer, Larry Niven runs circles around him. I'd even put Orson Scott Card higher on my list.
And as for fantasy? Roger Zelazny.
Okay. Let the stoning begin.
Qwinn
Shortly after Number of the Beast was published, he had a "Transient Ischemic Attack," which is, essentially, a precursor to a stroke. Looking back at that book, it's easy to see that he was having problems while writing it.
I don't think it was your feeble brain. I think it was jump the shark. An earlier poster said Heinlein got loony. As a certified Heinlein fan, I have to say I agree. He really started recycling the same stuff. This criticism does not detract from the wonderful body of work he did create.
You want to talk about confused! I read Number of the Beast BEFORE reading any of this other books featuring Lazarus Long!
I think that my favorite moment in that book was at the very end, where Harlan (Ellison) sets a trap for all the literary critics! lol
Mark