by Robert A. Heinlein
Heinlein, 75, is a founding father of modern science fiction, having written such classics as The Puppet Masters and Stranger in a Strange Land. Just before World War II broke out in 1939, he wrote a story about a war ended by means of an atomic bomb. And his influence has been acknowledged by such younger writers as Ray Bradbury. This novel begins, "As I left the Kenya Beanstalk capsule he was right on my heels. He followed me through the door leading to Customs, Health and Immigration. As the door contracted behind him I killed him." That pace keeps up for 368 pages as Heinlein tries out a new protagonist—an artificially created woman agent for a kind of world police force in a future of segmented Earth societies. She battles multinational businesses, even a plague, in witty and sexy fashion. Science fiction adventure doesn't come any better. (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, $14.95)
Your Reaction
