Robert Heinlein and Spider Robinson
I just finished reading Variable Star, a semi-posthumous collaboration between Heinlein and Robinson. On a (personally biased) two-axis scale where Orphans in the Sky is a 10,0 and Lady Slings the Booze is a 0,10 I'd rate it a 4,5. Passable by either classification, but nowhere close to my favorite solo works by either author.
The strongest parts of the novel, I think, are the ones where the two authors are in agreement. You can really tell that Spider is a huge fan of Heinlein's work; cool references to Revolt in 2100 and other parts of Heinlein's Future History are sprinkled liberally throughout. And Spider does a great job on Heinlein's theme of sexual liberation, with realistic extrapolation of gay and polyamorous relationships.
Both authors also seem to have rural leanings, and the farmer-protagonist's space agriculture scenes come out very well. If I can remember rightly: "Goats in one-third gravity jump around. More like birds than mammals. Big, smelly birds with offensive weaponry."
In some ways, Spider even improves on Heinlein. I think he does better, more meaningful stories of death and mourning, and in a novel with as much tragedy and loss as this one, that's an important qualification. Imagine a version of Star Wars where the destruction of Alderaan leaves lasting scars on Princess Leia's psyche.
There are frictions. For Heinlein, the rich are generally on the side of the good guys, entrepreneurial heroes who support invention and exploration when government is too timid or too corrupt. But Spider has more of a hippie, anarchist sensibility; where wealth is the result of luck, cheating, or ruthless backstabbing. The super-rich characters in Variable Star seemed the least realistic to me, in their wild vacillations between saving humanity and exploiting it.
The science, I think, also suffers. Spider likes "soft" science. His interstellar travelers communicate with home using telepathy, and power their ships by the meditative prowess of Zen mystics. But Heinlein calls for gamma ray bursts and shielding mass, and the resulting interaction seems at times uneven, hastily fudged.
There's a great scene in Lucifer's Hammer by Niven and Pournelle where a couple of scientists are discussing the possible impact of a comet with Earth. And it sounds real. You can tell that the authors did the calculations, and enjoyed it. In Variable Star, the plot-critical numbers seem to be handed out from on high, a much less satisfying (IMRHO) pattern.
I think I'd give the novel more credit if I shared Spider's feeling for music. Too many of the musical allusions I just didn't grok. I did love Spider's discussion of didgeridoos and circular breathing and the scene where "Sol keeps on Shining", but that's only one scene of very many.
To sum up: If you love Heinlein, read it; you'll appreciate the echoes of the grandmaster's work. If you love Spider Robinson, especially his telempathy stuff, read it, it's got a lot of his themes of healing and emotional connection to the universe. If you don't know either author, skip this book, and read Starship Troopers or Stranger in a Strange Land or Callahan's Crosstime Saloon instead.
The strongest parts of the novel, I think, are the ones where the two authors are in agreement. You can really tell that Spider is a huge fan of Heinlein's work; cool references to Revolt in 2100 and other parts of Heinlein's Future History are sprinkled liberally throughout. And Spider does a great job on Heinlein's theme of sexual liberation, with realistic extrapolation of gay and polyamorous relationships.
Both authors also seem to have rural leanings, and the farmer-protagonist's space agriculture scenes come out very well. If I can remember rightly: "Goats in one-third gravity jump around. More like birds than mammals. Big, smelly birds with offensive weaponry."
In some ways, Spider even improves on Heinlein. I think he does better, more meaningful stories of death and mourning, and in a novel with as much tragedy and loss as this one, that's an important qualification. Imagine a version of Star Wars where the destruction of Alderaan leaves lasting scars on Princess Leia's psyche.
There are frictions. For Heinlein, the rich are generally on the side of the good guys, entrepreneurial heroes who support invention and exploration when government is too timid or too corrupt. But Spider has more of a hippie, anarchist sensibility; where wealth is the result of luck, cheating, or ruthless backstabbing. The super-rich characters in Variable Star seemed the least realistic to me, in their wild vacillations between saving humanity and exploiting it.
The science, I think, also suffers. Spider likes "soft" science. His interstellar travelers communicate with home using telepathy, and power their ships by the meditative prowess of Zen mystics. But Heinlein calls for gamma ray bursts and shielding mass, and the resulting interaction seems at times uneven, hastily fudged.
There's a great scene in Lucifer's Hammer by Niven and Pournelle where a couple of scientists are discussing the possible impact of a comet with Earth. And it sounds real. You can tell that the authors did the calculations, and enjoyed it. In Variable Star, the plot-critical numbers seem to be handed out from on high, a much less satisfying (IMRHO) pattern.
I think I'd give the novel more credit if I shared Spider's feeling for music. Too many of the musical allusions I just didn't grok. I did love Spider's discussion of didgeridoos and circular breathing and the scene where "Sol keeps on Shining", but that's only one scene of very many.
To sum up: If you love Heinlein, read it; you'll appreciate the echoes of the grandmaster's work. If you love Spider Robinson, especially his telempathy stuff, read it, it's got a lot of his themes of healing and emotional connection to the universe. If you don't know either author, skip this book, and read Starship Troopers or Stranger in a Strange Land or Callahan's Crosstime Saloon instead.