Yeah I got the Middle East energy symbolism - allegory

It seemed like he was trying really hard to develop the characters but it just wasn’t hitting the spot with me

Stranger in a Strange Land was published four years earlier and imo holds far more interest to a modern reader (at least if that reader is me)

I'm jealous! Where did you get that?

And I'm curious as to what you think of Richard Stallman as a person (other than his massive contributions to the FSF, GNU and computing in general [I believe he wrote emacs, but I'm a vim guy])? He's said some pretty strange things.

I'd agree. Even back when I read Dune it didn't really live up to the hype even though I did like it, whereas Stranger in a Strange Land blew my mind. I remember you saying you either didn't like or didn't like and didn't finish Starship Troopers. I'd say that as another book with problematic politics that Starship Troopers is a much more engaging narrative that explores its ideas in a way that even while being worrying is still vastly interesting and challenging. And it's even more interesting considering that it was written by the same guy who wrote Stranger in a Strange Land. Like it's kinda hard to reconcile the views Heinlein espoused in both and that's amazing. You should give Starship Troopers another shot.

Love the original series of six books. When I started reading it in 1969, I really
jumped into writing my own science fiction in a big way. In the mid-80s, I sat
with Herbert at a restaurant and we talked mostly about Zen and how much of
it appeared in the books.

His son and Kevin Anderson have left me with a sour taste with their handling
of the series of prequels, interquels, and sequels of their own, but I've tried to
ignore those whenever I reach for the original worlds. My sweetheart's a big fan
as well (and feels the same way about the books outside the original six).

Oh I definitely finished it. I liked it just not 100% balls to the wall. I probably needed to concentrate on it more than I did to get as much as you did out of it.

That’s cool you enjoyed those books and got to meet the author Ros. I think it probably fans across better back then but what you got out of the book and I failed to is on me.

Thanks! Whenever I decide to invest in a title, I research all existing editions on WorldCat and identify the exact edition I'd prefer to own, then I run the ISBN and other properties through one of a few preferred aggregate book marketplace search engines to search 150 million-plus listings for the best condition copy at the best price. I also have a few regional contacts for rare and antiquarian lit, but that wasn't necessary in this case.

This particular score came from a used bookseller on Alibris.

As for Stallman, I'm an avid free software user as I said but this book was my first introduction to the man, himself. I'm considering reading related titles focusing on Linus Torvalds next.

Cheers!

It's funny actually. The first time I read it in middle school I was someone who today would be totally at risk of becoming a gamergate MAGA fascist. I totally dug it as a schematic for building a better society and I was all about giving the vote only to veterans cause it sounded cool. Then after high school when I dropped that **** and having mostly the movie in my mind I decided that I'd misread the book and was a fool to mistake what the book was actually trying to say.

Then I reread the book recently and realized I'd read it kinda right the first time. It was expressing more nuanced ideas than I was capable of understanding back in the day but ultimately was still praising the experience of military service even if it wasn't explicitly praising fascism. And honestly I still haven't quite wrapped my head around exactly what it's saying cause I suspect that Heinlein is a weird ****ing guy who has anti-authoritarian ideas but still values his experience in the military and is possibly too wild in the head to parse it all himself.

I will say that it's potentially as dangerous a book as Atlas Shrugged though. If I ever have a kid I won't be comfortable with them reading it without talking to them about their ideas about it.

Heinlein made art. Rand is propaganda.

Mother****ing agreed. Even at the height of my Randian period I had to stop reading Atlas Shrugged halfway through cause god damn is it boring and incompetent as art. But even at the height of my leftism Starship Troopers is highly problematic, vastly interesting, and just a good ****ing yarn.

TBH I'd rather watch the movie though. I love them both but the movie is singularly entertaining as a blockbuster masterpiece.

****in' hell I'm bout to get wasted and watch Starship Troopers!!!