Space Cadets and Starship Troopers: The Eagle Has Landed

By Stacy Hague-Hill, Wishing You Good Journey

Regular readers of Tor’s newsletter and our blog know that Tor has recently published an all-new biography of Robert A. Heinlein. Written with the blessing of Heinlein’s late widow, Virginia, the work was many years in the making and contains a wealth of interesting information, including never-before-published excerpts from Heinlein’s correspondence. Even if you thought you knew everything there was to know about the man, I can promise you there are surprises to be found within these pages.

So, in celebration of the man and his works, we asked a number of sf writers to tell us which Heinlein novel is their favorite, and why. We were lucky enough to get a host of great authors, including:

David Brin
David Drake
David G. Hartwell
L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
Rudy Rucker
Joan Slonczewski
Charles Stross
Michael Swanwick
and
Vernor Vinge

Adding to the Heinlein festivities was a thoughtful and wide-ranging discussion over at Tor.com in the Tor.com Heinlein Blog Symposium.

Many thanks to the authors for their contributions, and thanks to all of the readers who have jumped into the discussion. We’re glad Heinlein’s works have made such an impression on so many of you, too, and to hear about your favorites. I’m going to get all commercial and point out that a number of the Heinlein novels you’ve all been discussing are currently available from Tor: Glory Road, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Space Cadet, and Time for the Stars can all be picked up directly from our website or from any number of fine retailers with discerning taste and a first-rate collection of sf.

Also available online and in excellent bookstores everywhere is Robert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue with His Century: Volume 1 (1907-1948): Learning Curve (978-0-7653-1960-9 / $29.99).

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