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jenniferdenslow 's review for:
The Pursuit of the Pankera: A Parallel Novel About Parallel Universes
by David Weber, Robert A. Heinlein
I would agree with many people who say that Robert Heinlein’s novel, [b:The Number of the Beast|50877|The Number of the Beast|Robert A. Heinlein|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1201734223l/50877._SY75_.jpg|1077659] is one of his worst. Heavy with dialogue, occupied with irritating familial arguments, weirdly filled with incestuous longings, and devoid of much actual plot, it’s a stinker. But if a reader wanted to experience the complete future history and have access to Lazarus Long’s full biography, the book is a must-read. The book opens as a mad scientist, his beautiful daughter, an erstwhile professor, and a hostess reminiscent of Auntie Mame — flee a party after a fistfight nearly erupts over the scientist’s new invention, an invention capable of facilitating not only time travel, but travel to multiple universes. Once they’ve escaped, they tumble through time and multiple fictional universes, always one step ahead of the terrible beings sent to kill the scientist and presumably, destroy his device.
Long after THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST was published, the existence of a parallel novel that features the same main characters --- Jake, Hilda, Deety, and Zeb --- and begins the same way was discovered. PURSUIT OF THE PANKERA is that novel.
PURSUIT OF THE PANKERA opens the same way as the familiar NUMBER OF THE BEAST, but about chapter three, the plot and character begin to diverge from those in the published version and frankly, it’s all for the better. I have only recently discovered the existence of this book, and so I am not well-versed in the reasons THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST made it to publication and PANKERA didn’t.
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST has great chunks of dialogue among the four main characters where nothing much happens. In PURSUIT OF HTE PANKERA, the dialogue is in about the right ratio to the narrative, and the plot is more well-developed. The mad scientist marries the hostess, and the beautiful daughter marries the professor, who turns out to be a military type with excellent fighting skills and a head for strategy. They can’t just live happily ever after, though, because the Pankera are out to kill them.
In the original novel, long swaths of the book are given over to squabbling among the protagonists. In PURSUIT OF THE PANKERA, much of that dialogue is gone and there is real conflict; the family must work together, and recruit some of the best mathematical and military minds from fiction, to eliminate the Pantera before they destroy humanity.
A big part of THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST concerns the Burroughs-Carter family’s rendezvous with Lazarus Long and his family, and how he ropes them into rescuing his mother and reuniting him with her. In PURSUIT OF THE PANKERA, that storyline never raises its head. Instead, the last part of the book is focused on the Burroughs-Carter family’s preparation for the showdown with the Pankera.
The book is not without its faults. Heinlein’s work is, overall, problematic given his attitudes toward women and BIPOC. The female characters in THE PURSUIT OF THE PANKERA are strong, athletic, intelligent women. But they are inordinately concerned with hair and makeup and sometimes seem more childish than feminine.
Overall, this novel reminded me of the juvenile novels Heinlein wrote. Those novels —and this one — feature strong action and characters and make for a great read.
Long after THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST was published, the existence of a parallel novel that features the same main characters --- Jake, Hilda, Deety, and Zeb --- and begins the same way was discovered. PURSUIT OF THE PANKERA is that novel.
PURSUIT OF THE PANKERA opens the same way as the familiar NUMBER OF THE BEAST, but about chapter three, the plot and character begin to diverge from those in the published version and frankly, it’s all for the better. I have only recently discovered the existence of this book, and so I am not well-versed in the reasons THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST made it to publication and PANKERA didn’t.
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST has great chunks of dialogue among the four main characters where nothing much happens. In PURSUIT OF HTE PANKERA, the dialogue is in about the right ratio to the narrative, and the plot is more well-developed. The mad scientist marries the hostess, and the beautiful daughter marries the professor, who turns out to be a military type with excellent fighting skills and a head for strategy. They can’t just live happily ever after, though, because the Pankera are out to kill them.
In the original novel, long swaths of the book are given over to squabbling among the protagonists. In PURSUIT OF THE PANKERA, much of that dialogue is gone and there is real conflict; the family must work together, and recruit some of the best mathematical and military minds from fiction, to eliminate the Pantera before they destroy humanity.
A big part of THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST concerns the Burroughs-Carter family’s rendezvous with Lazarus Long and his family, and how he ropes them into rescuing his mother and reuniting him with her. In PURSUIT OF THE PANKERA, that storyline never raises its head. Instead, the last part of the book is focused on the Burroughs-Carter family’s preparation for the showdown with the Pankera.
The book is not without its faults. Heinlein’s work is, overall, problematic given his attitudes toward women and BIPOC. The female characters in THE PURSUIT OF THE PANKERA are strong, athletic, intelligent women. But they are inordinately concerned with hair and makeup and sometimes seem more childish than feminine.
Overall, this novel reminded me of the juvenile novels Heinlein wrote. Those novels —and this one — feature strong action and characters and make for a great read.