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  • Re: "Glory Road" by Robert A. Heinlein

    From Ted Nolan @21:1/5 to lynnmcguire5@gmail.com on Tue Dec 3 23:30:25 2024
    In article <vinu78$brd6$4@dont-email.me>,
    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:
    "Glory Road" by Robert A. Heinlein
    https://www.amazon.com/Glory-Road-Robert-Heinlein/dp/0765312220/

    A standalone science fiction book, no prequel or sequel that I know of.
    I read the well printed and well bound POD (print on demand) trade
    paperback published by Orb (Tom Doherty Associates) in 1963 that I
    bought new on Amazon in 2023. There is an afterward by Samuel R.
    Delaney apparently in 1974. I am sure that I read this book fifty+
    years ago but it was not familiar to me at all.

    From the book marketing blurb: "E. C. "Scar" Gordon was on the French
    Riviera recovering from a tour of combat in Southeast Asia , but he
    hadn't given up his habit of scanning the Personals in the newspaper.
    One ad in particular leapt out at him:"

    "ARE YOU A COWARD? This is not for you. We badly need a brave man. He
    must be 23 to 25 years old, in perfect health, at least six feet tall,
    weigh about 190 pounds, fluent English, with some French, proficient in
    all weapons, some knowledge of engineering and mathematics essential,
    willing to travel, no family or emotional ties, indomitably courageous
    and handsome of face and figure. Permanent employment, very high pay, >glorious adventure, great danger. You must apply in person, rue Dante,
    Nice, 2me étage, apt. D."

    So what do you do when you have slain the dragon and won the princess ?
    You marry her of course and then settle down and have babies. But what
    if you want to slay more dragons and she already has babies and a really
    big baby that she takes care of ?

    Most people call this Heinlein's first fantasy book but I do not.
    Arthur C. Clarke said it best, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is >indistinguishable from magic." There is much magic in this book that is >really technology. So, the book is science fiction for me.

    My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    Amazon rating: 4.5 out of 4 stars (1,902 reviews)

    Lynn


    "We can't do a thing," Rufo said moodily, "until we deal with Igli."
    --
    columbiaclosings.com
    What's not in Columbia anymore..

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  • From a425couple@21:1/5 to Lynn McGuire on Mon Dec 9 11:22:30 2024
    XPost: alt.fan.heinlein, soc.support.depression.family

    On 12/3/24 13:46, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    On 12/3/24 13:46, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    "Glory Road" by Robert A. Heinlein
    https://www.amazon.com/Glory-Road-Robert-Heinlein/dp/0765312220/

    A standalone science fiction book, no prequel or sequel that I know of. I read the well printed and well bound POD (print on demand) trade paperback published by Orb (Tom Doherty Associates) in 1963 that I bought new on Amazon in 2023. There is an
    afterward by Samuel R. Delaney apparently in 1974. I am sure that I read this book fifty+ years ago but it was not familiar to me at all.

    From the book marketing blurb: "E. C. "Scar" Gordon was on the French Riviera recovering from a tour of combat in Southeast Asia ,

    I might have read it earlier, but certainly read this book around
    2005 several years after I retired.

    The story very much resonated with me, with the first person hero a
    'poor boy' who had reasonable goals and ambitions, but kept getting
    blocked and forced to come up with alternative plans by adverse
    circumstances. He just kept on optimistically coming up with new
    ways to get to his goal. He just kept on overcomming obstacles
    in this rollicking good tale of adventure.

    Then came the question I was really looking for advice on:

    So what do you do when you have slain the dragon and won the princess ? You marry her of course and then settle down and have babies. But what if you want to ---

    Ehhh, I did not think the book offered a real good answer on that,
    but, I set about enjoying auto racing, winning sports car championships
    over a 3 state area until it got to be too much work,,,,,

    Most people call this Heinlein's first fantasy book but I do not. Arthur C. Clarke said it best, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." There is much magic in this book that is really technology. So, the book is
    science fiction for me.

    Yeah, yeah, I've heard that theory.
    I will just say it was a fun tale.



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