When I get a bit blue, I go through and re-read books. In the last week, I've re-read two David Eddings series: The Belgariad and The Malloreon. Yesterday and today I've been re-reading Robert Heinlein's The Cat Who Walks Through Walls. If you've read any Heinlein, you've probably got an opinion -- it seems that people either love or hate his work.
I'm one of those who loves it.
I recently bought The Moon is a Harsh Mistress on audio tape for my boyfriend, who liked it very much. Since The Cat Who Walks Through Walls is, in some ways, a continuation of that story, I thought it would make fun reading for me. I had forgotten that this is one of those later works of Heinlein's that connects so much of his Future History stories. The characters will be familiar to anyone who has read Number of the Beast or Time Enough for Love or To Sail Beyond the Sunset; people such as Jake and Hilda, Zeb and Deety, Laz and Lor, and of course, Dr. Lafe Hubert himself, arrive to save the day and complicate the life of Dr Richard Ames, formerly known as Colonel Colin Campbell.
Richard thinks he's on a simple date with a lovely woman (Gwendolyn Novak, later revealed to also be Hazel Stone, adopted daughter of Mannie... who was, yes, you guessed it, the "repair tech" who told the tale of Lunar revolution in the Moon is a Harsh Mistress). When an interloper gets killed at their table, they get married before breakfast the next morning, and both become hunted by their "government" by lunchtime, however, it's pretty clear that a simple date it's not.
We follow Richard Colin and Gwen-Hazel through their trials and tribulations on the Moon (if you've read the story of Job, either in the Bible or in Heinlein, you'll start to get the idea of the kinds of persecution they faced). All the while, Richard is trying to digest some fairly improbably stories told to him by his new bride: she was not only one of the signatories of the declaration of lunar independence, making her over two hundred, but she's on a mission from far in the future to save "Adam Selene,"also known as Mike, the computer who staged the Lunar revolution.
When things go even further wrong, however, and the team from the future is forced to rescue them, Richard has to start believing in multiperson solipsism, spaceships with much more space inside than outside, and rejuvenations that make 200 and 2000 year old people feel, look, and act younger than him. Gwen-Hazel and the rest of the Time Corps and the Circle of Ouroboros is fighting to get Richard on their side and signed up as a Time Corps operative. They might even succeed, if Dr. Lafe (aka Lazarus Long) can keep his big, hairy foot out of the mix long enough.
If you've read most of Heinlein's Future History stories, this book is a treat, as it ties them all together with his usual imaginitive story, clean prose, and mind-stretching ideas. It feels like a reward for being "in the know." If you've not read other Heinlein, I'd at least recommend the Moon is a Harsh Mistress first, as it gives you the most important of the backstory. Without the other Future History stories, especially the Lazarus Long books, you'll feel the story coming at you in much the same way Richard does - quickly - but you'll still enjoy it!
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