by Robert A. Heinlein, Lloyd James
Implausible and impossible to put down- like all of Heinlein's books I've read its hero is a man of action and boundless self confidence, a wisecracking all-American cowboy figure who brushes obstacles aside, a genial dictator figure who knows that as long as he's left in charge everything will be o...
One of my favorite Heinlein adult SFs, it nevertheless shows signs of it's age. One minute, down and out actor Lorenzo Smythe was — as usual — in a bar, drinking away his troubles as he watched his career go down the tubes. Then a space pilot bought him a drink, and the next thing Smythe knew, ...
Read as part of A Heinlein Trio omnibus.
This isn't my favorite Robert Heinlein book, and it's not in my opinion his best book, nor his most famous book, but it may very well be his most fun--science fiction writer Brian Aldiss thought so. It's one of only four of Heinlein novels that won him a Hugo in his lifetime. (The others were Starsh...
An enjoyable romp, I may have missed some of the finer points about politics. Will look for annotations to fill me in, if need be. On many Sci Fi classics lists, and deservedly so - this book certainly influenced other writers in the last 56 years.
This is a lesser known Heinlein compared to 'Moon', 'Stranger' and 'Troopers' but is as entertaining. I felt that the first half of the novel was better than the last one.
I have a soft spot for Heinlein. Often I think that a Heinlein book that I really enjoy will not be for everyone, however, in this case, I think nearly everyone would enjoy this light, entertaining romp of a book. The narrative is from the POV of the protagonist Lawrence Smythe (hack actor "The Grea...
I liked this book very much. The writing was good, not too much lecturing by the author. Additionally I liked the resolution and found the entire book very uplifting and positive.
Brian Aldiss, in Trillion Year Spree, says this is Heinlein's most enjoyable novel. Who am I to fault his judgment? It is, indeed, a lot of fun: pathetic, failed actor Laurence Smith (stage name, "Lorenzo Smythe") is hired to impersonate John Joseph Bonforte, leader of the Expansionist party, and th...
To be honest, I'm not a big fan of Heinlein; I find that his plots follow a pretty standard formula that he uses in nearly every novel (Starship Troopers is the only exception that I have encountered so far). Nevertheless, I did find this novel's first-person account of a down-and-out actor who find...
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