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alex_ellermann 's review for:
Stranger in a Strange Land
by Robert A. Heinlein
Hmm. Well.
'Stranger in a Strange Land' is a science fiction classic. It was beloved of the hippies of the free love era. It's a weird combination of author Robert A. Heinlein's personal wish fulfillment, libertarian proselytizing, societal trolling, and futurism. It's super-anachronistic take on women is off-putting, and its enthusiastic depiction of what's basically a sex cult strikes the modern reader as naive, at best. It's also well-written, funny, well-plotted, and thought provoking.
It's like the very definition of the literary mixed bag.
Here's the story: an expedition to Mars go wrong. Twenty or so years later, a follow-up expedition brings back the one survivor: Michael Valentine, born on Mars and raised in Martian society. He's completely ignorant of human social mores and ideas, but his Martian upbringing has given him the kind of wisdom and miraculous abilities upon which religions are founded. By hook and crook, he comes under the protection of one Jubal Harshaw, who's basically an idealized Bobby Heinlein. Harshaw's a doctor, a lawyer, a bestselling writer, a father figure, and a tireless proselytizer for his (and Heinlein's) libertarian ideology.
It's only a matter of time, of course, before the protector and educator becomes the protected and educated. It's only a matter of time before Valentine's (literally) far-out perspective germinates a new religion - that refuses to call itself a religion. It's only a matter of time before, well, you know how stories like this end.
The hippies loved this book because, I suppose, Valentine's ideology basically sums up as "We're all God, man. And we should be naked. And every chick should happily bang every dude. And the chicks should bang each other, too. But dudes shouldn't bang. Our free-love sex cult thing is totally no homo." The modern reader, of course, knows that sex cults are exploitative as all get-out. Absent a total rewiring of human psychology (which Valentine seems to effect), they simply don't work.
The libertarians loved this book because, I suppose, Harshaw's ideology basically sums up as "The government's lame, man. The cops are a bunch of thugs and the government is run by self-centered goofballs." Never mind that the government does things like enforce contracts and protect people from being exploited by predatory sex cults.
The trolls loved this book because, I suppose, Heinlein sings the praises of cannibalism. He yanks feminists' chains by making his female characters both capable professionals and dewy, submissive sex goddesses. He really lays into organized religion, equating it with carnival shows. And he has one of his female characters say, "Nine times out of ten, when a woman is raped she did something to bring it about." That one really got my attention.
The futurists, and by futurists I mean contemporary tech bros, love it because they all think they're Michael Valentine. His word for comprehending, "Grokking," shows up in tech all the time. My employer offers its workforce the services of Grokker, a yoga and mental health app. I saw on ad for the social media service X (nee Twitter) the other day that misused "Grokking." These guys really do think they're changing the world. And they really do hope there'll be plenty of banging along the way.
With all that said, and it was a lot, this is a fun novel! Jubal Harshaw is funny! Robert A. Heinlein knows how to write a tense scene and keep things moving along, even if he does have a tendency to bog down in evangelizing for his worldview. His characters are interesting individuals, and I found myself interested in their fates even while rolling my eyes and "Oh, brother"-ing the book in general.
In short, 'Stranger in a Strange Land' may inspire you. It may amuse you. It may annoy you. It may infuriate you. It will definitely entertain you. If you care about science fiction, you should read this book - warts and all.
'Stranger in a Strange Land' is a science fiction classic. It was beloved of the hippies of the free love era. It's a weird combination of author Robert A. Heinlein's personal wish fulfillment, libertarian proselytizing, societal trolling, and futurism. It's super-anachronistic take on women is off-putting, and its enthusiastic depiction of what's basically a sex cult strikes the modern reader as naive, at best. It's also well-written, funny, well-plotted, and thought provoking.
It's like the very definition of the literary mixed bag.
Here's the story: an expedition to Mars go wrong. Twenty or so years later, a follow-up expedition brings back the one survivor: Michael Valentine, born on Mars and raised in Martian society. He's completely ignorant of human social mores and ideas, but his Martian upbringing has given him the kind of wisdom and miraculous abilities upon which religions are founded. By hook and crook, he comes under the protection of one Jubal Harshaw, who's basically an idealized Bobby Heinlein. Harshaw's a doctor, a lawyer, a bestselling writer, a father figure, and a tireless proselytizer for his (and Heinlein's) libertarian ideology.
It's only a matter of time, of course, before the protector and educator becomes the protected and educated. It's only a matter of time before Valentine's (literally) far-out perspective germinates a new religion - that refuses to call itself a religion. It's only a matter of time before, well, you know how stories like this end.
The hippies loved this book because, I suppose, Valentine's ideology basically sums up as "We're all God, man. And we should be naked. And every chick should happily bang every dude. And the chicks should bang each other, too. But dudes shouldn't bang. Our free-love sex cult thing is totally no homo." The modern reader, of course, knows that sex cults are exploitative as all get-out. Absent a total rewiring of human psychology (which Valentine seems to effect), they simply don't work.
The libertarians loved this book because, I suppose, Harshaw's ideology basically sums up as "The government's lame, man. The cops are a bunch of thugs and the government is run by self-centered goofballs." Never mind that the government does things like enforce contracts and protect people from being exploited by predatory sex cults.
The trolls loved this book because, I suppose, Heinlein sings the praises of cannibalism. He yanks feminists' chains by making his female characters both capable professionals and dewy, submissive sex goddesses. He really lays into organized religion, equating it with carnival shows. And he has one of his female characters say, "Nine times out of ten, when a woman is raped she did something to bring it about." That one really got my attention.
The futurists, and by futurists I mean contemporary tech bros, love it because they all think they're Michael Valentine. His word for comprehending, "Grokking," shows up in tech all the time. My employer offers its workforce the services of Grokker, a yoga and mental health app. I saw on ad for the social media service X (nee Twitter) the other day that misused "Grokking." These guys really do think they're changing the world. And they really do hope there'll be plenty of banging along the way.
With all that said, and it was a lot, this is a fun novel! Jubal Harshaw is funny! Robert A. Heinlein knows how to write a tense scene and keep things moving along, even if he does have a tendency to bog down in evangelizing for his worldview. His characters are interesting individuals, and I found myself interested in their fates even while rolling my eyes and "Oh, brother"-ing the book in general.
In short, 'Stranger in a Strange Land' may inspire you. It may amuse you. It may annoy you. It may infuriate you. It will definitely entertain you. If you care about science fiction, you should read this book - warts and all.