It might have been a utopia like Stapledon's work but unlike Stapledon, he went the full "good story" option with interesting characters, exciting plots, cool snags, romance, and a big blowout. However, it should be noted that he got all the salient points and sentiments RIGHT. I'll assume for a moment that Pearl Harbor had not happened yet, or if it did, there was no way Heinlein could have fixed his novel to reflect America's sudden inclusion in the war. It was war and knowing the publishing field, there's a long stretch between when a writer finishes a text and when it actually gets put on the shelves. Maybe no one really understood the impact or scope or even the reality of the death camps, but everyone could see the implications and the stated goals. The hero is the ultimate perfect superman and I kept thinking about the Howard families in his later fiction, the prototype that gets so fully explored later.ĭoes this kind of story sound familiar? In Heinlein's case, it feels like a mirror to a huge segment of the American population that already agreed with the Eugenics movement and what was happening in Europe at the time. In this case, we're treated to science lessons on genetics and a superior-gene race of humanity planning on overthrowing the current Utopia.
It's Heinlein! He's a very opinionated man. And fortunately, his writing is always polished and clear and sometimes funny and always full of light agendas. He was generally known for his Juveniles by this point, so an early adult novel is something of a treat. On the other hand, I really enjoyed Olaf Stapledon's anti-novel and worldbuilding masterpiece The Darkness and the Light that came out this year and please imagine how thrilled I was to learn that Heinlein also published a bona fide adult-oriented novel, too! There's nothing much SF about the religious satire. Lewis's Screwtape Letters are technically eligible but really shouldn't be. In this case, novels published in 1942 are eligible. It's time to prepare for the 1943 retro Hugo awards that will be presented in 2018! (Why? Why not? Some books deserve love even if they're before the Hugos even began!)
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