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Posted 2015-03-05 10:27 AM (#9826 - in reply to #9824)
Subject: Re: The Definitive 1950s Reading Challenge		Quote Reply


Emil - 2015-03-05 9:48 AM

I've read Fury for 1950 and The Puppet Masters for 1951. I'm reading Vonnegut's Player Piano as the 1952 choice. Both Fury and The Puppet Masters were a tad disappointing. The "Heinlein Voice" was a bit much for me, and his depiction of female characters were ... well ... 1950-ish. I struggled with the theme of Fury and could not accept the protagonist's character, of what he was, even considering the basic premise of the story that made Sam utterly ruthless. I just couldn't identify with him. Maybe Kuttner went a little over the top in his characterizations here. The last line of the book, in the context of everything, is brilliant. That, at least, filled me with a sense of wonder(ing) ....


The Puppet Masters is not one of my favorite Heinlein books. It's a great idea for a story, but I don't like the Heinlein handles it. Heinlein had a number of pet ideas he liked to push, and when an editor would allow him, he'd go overboard. Usually you don't see this until after 1960. Heinlein complained bitterly about his editor at Charles Scribner's, but I think she improved his books.

I haven't read Fury, but it's interesting that's its another book about Venus. Between Planets and The Space Merchants are about Venus. I haven't read much Kuttner, but his books have been reprinted lately as ebooks. Fury does okay at Goodreads, so I might give it a try someday, but you don't make it sound good though.

We should study how many 1950s SF books are about the Moon, Mars and Venus. When did science fiction become more focused on interstellar travel?

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