Doug Pensinger wrote: > > >> "Cat" is the worst possible "First Heinlein" to read. It makes too >> many references to other books, it should be Heinlein's _last_. > > Cat wasn't my first Heinlein, I'd read a few others including > Stranger in a Strange Land which I enjoyed. > Ok, but "Cat" makes so much references to other books (including "Moon", the Future History and specially "Number") that reading it without the other books is a huge spoiler. [The Moon is a Harsh Mistress] > >> Since you didn't read "Cat", you didn't see how the Anarchy evolved >> in the Moon: it didn't. Even in "Moon", Manuel says so. > > It didn't in the end, but you get the feeling that the author thinks > that its a good idea. > No... We get the feeling that _Manuel_ thinks it's a good idea. Somehow the book passes the idea that Anarchy is not practical due to human nature.
> Certainly, the system prior to the revolution with its chuck 'em > out the door if you don't like 'em justice is to a large degree > anarchical, and Manny seems to take a great deal of pride in that > element of the system. > Yes, but Manny is a kind of Moon-elite :-) > How is The Number of the Beast? I read an excerpt from the book > way back before it was published (in Omni) and was hot to read > the book after that but for one reason or the other never > picked it up. > If you didn't like "Cat" you probably won't like "Number". OTOH, it makes reference to many classical sf (and fantasy) stories, so maybe if you like those other stories you will like it. And Gregory Benford makes a cameo appearance at the end of it. I think the sf community should force him to write an account of his (or, rather, he-made-character's) experiences in that book. Alberto Monteiro _______________________________________________ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
