Posted by Leon J. Janzen on February 11, 1999 at 21:01:58:
In Reply to: Why I Think Farnham's Freehold Is Racist posted by Terry on February 08, 1999 at 14:32:09:
The tales of Vance are way out in front, for me, but the pre-1965 Heinlein stories are my second most favorite fiction. I consider "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" to be the last truly readable Heinlein novel. After that, the power of his position as the "Dean of Science Fiction" apparently convinced him that anything he set down (no matter how boring...)was instantly classic. By then it seemed that Heinlein sought the shock value of racism, sexism, chauvinism, and most of the other "isms" you could name as a kind of "social spice" to insure his book would be on the "A" list. The older the author became, the more fascinated he seemed to be with the human body's sexual functions, for instance, endlessly described in page after page of character dialogue. I don't believe Heinlein was any more racist than others of his generation, but I do believe that the pop success of "Stranger In A Strange Land" sent him seeking other controversial social angles for his stories.
The main comparison I would make between Heinlein and Jack Vance is this: While the elder Heinlein kept writing but stopped providing the compelling stories his audience had come to love ... Jack Vance continues to spin his different but familiar magic, embellishing the wealth that his books from the 1960's through the 1990's have furnished us. Thanks Jack.