“A society that gets rid of all its troublemakers goes downhill.”There's plenty of Heinlein's signature style—rethinking and questioning social norms—in *Time Enough for Love* (much like in *Stranger in a Strange Land*). However, without the strong narrative drive that *Stranger* had, *Time Enough for Love* mostly feels disjointed and, frankly, long-winded. The novel kicks off with Lazarus Long, the oldest man alive, reminiscing about his adventures. There are some cool stories here (including o...

(Read the other reviews for plot summaries. No point in rehashing.)Robert A. Heinlein has profoundly influenced my thinking and life since I was in my early teens, so I guess this review isn't exactly impartial. Still, there are books of his that bored me, among them *Stranger in a Strange Land*. In other words, I know the man's limitations.With all this said, I still think that *Time Enough for Love* qualifies as a curmudgeonly masterpiece, and it banged my head against a wall again and again a...

People either seem to love or hate Robert A. Heinlein's *Time Enough for Love*. And I've gotta say, I'm firmly on the 'love it' side. Sure, I get why some folks are getting their knickers in a twist (okay, maybe the incest thing goes a *little* far), but Heinlein's particular brand of weirdness just doesn't bother me. Plus, I think some critics are missing the point by focusing on the wrong stuff. Which is totally their right, of course, and an opinion is just an opinion. Blah blah blah. Here's ...

*** 2024 reread - One of the greatest joys of my reading career has been the rediscovery of Heinlein’s later works. For years, decades even, I have had a tepid reception for the later third of the Grandmaster’s work, from I Will Fear No Evil in 1970 to his passing in 1988, comprising seven novels.It wasn't so much that I disliked the novels entirely; they just weren't my favorites (though I will need to reread I Will Fear No Evil since I *did* dislike that one).The change was a progression. I li...

This is one of those books I desperately wanted to quit, but I stubbornly hoped it would redeem itself by the end. Sadly, no redemption came – only a lingering sense of disappointment and a curse word bubbling on my tongue. In a book teeming with over 20 characters, the only one I genuinely liked was a talking mule. And out of nearly 600 pages, a mere 30 held a story that actually engaged me. Robert A. Heinlein's command of English was decent enough, but some spelling errors tripped me up, not ...

I love Lazarus Long. That is all.I think Robert A. Heinlein transcends mere sexuality (or he's a horny old goat, one) and winds a tale in his 'future history' series that is unlike anything else I've ever read. IOW, I don't think he could have quite told the tale without sorta 'getting rid' of standard morals about sex and love.This IS one of my favorites of the series, but I've got to re-read it to remember why I was left with such strong sentiment about this particular book, *Time Enough for L...

What would you do if you could live 4,000 years? Try out every profession at least once? Make enough babies to populate a planet? Travel as far as the galaxy goes? Lazarus Long has done all that and more. He’s about to die peacefully when he’s kidnapped and rejuvenated and coerced to tell his memoirs. I could read stories about Lazarus’ life for months, but unfortunately this book only contains two. The rest is action in the ‘present’ (4272 Gregorian), and at the end, an account of Lazarus’ trip...

- Well now, Mr. Lazarus Long, seeing as you're popping by the early twenty-first century, reckon you could toss us some of your homespun wisdom for the Goodreads folks to gawk at?- Shucks, when I see all the pretty ladies on this site, how can I refuse? Just hand me those... cuneiform tablets? Papyrus scrolls? Parchment? Oh, right, laptop. Sorry, gets hard to keep things straight. So...1. If you're a worn-out sci-fi writer who's plum run out of ideas, don't sweat it. Just dust off the old ones a...

I have a love-hate relationship with Heinlein. Some of his stuff is great. Some of it, like Farnham's Freehold, which I reviewed here, I simply hate. However, I like enough of his work that I seek more. *Time Enough for Love* by Robert A. Heinlein was a book that took me a long time to get through, but when I got done, it was well worth it. I read it back in 2002. From my journal back then: >>I found it to be a book that makes you think. I thought the opening was a bit slow, but once the n...

This is one of Robert A. Heinlein's most pivotal books. Until the 60s, he was quite constrained by what he could write due to contracts (e.g., Scribner Juveniles) and editors. After his big hit with Stranger in a Strange Land and several others, his popularity grew, and the reins slipped off. In 1970, he had a close brush with death, was desperate to publish what he wanted without restraint, and did so. The result was I Will Fear No Evil, his descent into wordiness and weird sex. **Time Enough f...