Next Up: Sphere

We're gonna take it easy with Tucker's choice for our next novel which will be the sci fi thriller, Sphere by Michael Crichton.

Should be a nice, quick read so stay tuned for our take on it!

Review: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

Stranger in a Strange Land was first published in 1961. Over 50 years ago. Though classic novels are considered timeless, I recommend taking this time gap into account before reading SiaSL. The novel is wonderfully and competently written. I'd even say I was surprised a number of times by how modern sounding much of the dialogue was. But where the age of the novel can be a problem is in the ideas presented within.
Heinlein is a genius of a writer and presents a number of thoughtful and razor sharp criticisms on humanity at large. But because those of us in this club were born almost 30 years after the novel was written we grew up with a number of other sources who presented the same ideas in better ways. But credit must be given where it's due. Robert Heinlein was a pioneer and without him so many other texts and sources would never have been explored.
So at the end of our time with SiaSL I'd have to say that though the book is truly a classic novel, its difficult to process if only because Heinlein had too much to say and didn't work it into the novel in the best way. He speaks very strongly through his characters and though it never seems unrealistic for them to be talking about such things, it ends up being a detriment to the novel's story which is quite fascinating in its own right.
This is hardly a review against reading the book. Instead, lets call it a warning light. If you're going to pick up this novel, be aware going in that the writing is rich, the characters are fully realized, and the narrative tends to drag when more focus is put on Heinlein's more philosophical points. Its a novel that requires a lot of focus and perseverance to get through, but at the end of the day I think that's what Heinlein wanted all along.