Customer Reviews

To Sail Beyond the Sunset

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Robert Heinlein spiked this one into the end zone as he dropped. What an ending to his career.

(The title is a reference to a line in Tennyson's 'Ulysses', having to do with accomplishments in old age, and it's undoubtedly intended to describe what Heinlein himself was up to here. He succeeded.)

A word of warning, though -- if you didn't like _Time Enough for Love_, stay away from this one. Even (if possible) more than its predecessor, this one just oozes s-e-x, including wife-swapping, incest, and other stuff probably not in conformity to the mores of your tribe. In my view, it's all very tastefully and responsibly handled, but then my own opinions on such matters (including my devout antigrundyism) were in large measure informed by massive reading of RAH during my formative years. Just be aware that the usual suspects have dismissed this novel as pornographic trash.

At any rate, this novel was clearly a labor of love for Heinlein. In it, he gets to revisit the world of his childhood (or close to it; he actually has to start a bit earlier than his own birth).

You see, it's the story of one of Heinlein's most compelling heroines: Maureen Johnson Long, of the Howard Families, mother (and co-wife) of Woodrow Wilson Smith (a.k.a. Bill Smith a.k.a. Ernest Gibbons a.k.a. Lafe Hubert a.k.a. Aaron Sheffield a.k.a. Lazarus Long). And she lived just down the road a piece from Heinlein (and Sam Clemens, who makes a nice cameo appearance in her memoirs).

There's a thin shell of story around it, but most of the novel consists of Maureen narrating her life to herself (and us). We learn a lot about her unconventional childhood and her interesting relationship with her father (Lazarus's Gramp, Ira Johnson). We watch her grow up, get married (to fellow Howard Family member Brian Smith), make a home, bear children, and do all sorts of other things.

Of course since the stuff that happened in Heinlein's 'Future History' stories didn't actually come to pass in _our_ world (no rolling roads, for example, and our moon shot was a government affair), Lazarus and his kin must hail from an alternative timeline. And sure enough -- right around the beginning of the Second World War, we start to see events that diverge from our own history. But boy, it turns out Maureen was there behind the scenes for quite a bit of that 'Future History'; she knew Delos Harriman, was sleeping with George Strong, and provided some crucial assistance to what in her world was the first lunar landing.

Great stuff, filled with the wonderful narrative, dialogue, and characterization that Heinlein's longtime readers had learned to expect -- not to mention the Old Man's usual range of soapboxery and iconoclasm, in spades. And it's always good to see Lazarus again.

As I've said elsewhere, I credit Heinlein with three absolutely magisterial SF novels: _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_, _Double Star_, and _The Door Into Summer_. This is one of his near-magisterial second-tier novels; it falls just ever so slightly short because I think there's a wee bit too much 'fitting Maureen into the cracks' of his previous novels.

Speaking of which: Be sure to read _Time Enough for Love_, _The Number of the Beast_, and _The Cat Who Walks Through Walls_ before you read this one; they form a series. At some point you'll also want to read _Methusaleh's Children_ and Heinlein's 'Future History' stories (collected in _The Past Through Tomorrow_; find a used copy). But though helpful, it's not absolutely necessary to have read them first.

Anyway -- this one's a keeper. I can't tell you how many times I've reread it (along with _TEFL_ and the rest). These are some of the _realest_ characters to be found in SF, or for that matter in any fiction. I won't speak for you, cobber, but my own life is much better for having met these people.

I started reading Heinlen when I was eight, and didn't know that some of the books he wrote were written for kids while others for adults until AFTER I had read both Time Enough for Love and Friday at the age of eleven. Due to this, a large chunk of my social and political views were molded in a slightly different cast as my peers as Heinlen is,as my father put it, "the only man who could ever start a cult I would join" (which would have proably horrified him). Having said that, take my review with a grain of salt.

This is proabably my LEAST favorite Future History series of books, if only because it seemed to have the least point. The rampant incest, free love, pokes at organized religion, and general snubbing of societal rules bothers me not even a little. However, unlike most of Heinlen's books, I didn't finish this one feeling like I had figured out a little more about the world I live in, or the world I want to live in. There are aspects of Mama Maureen I take to heart in my own life, but unlike TEFL which I quote at my friends ad naueseum and attempt to work into the way I live my day to day life, I finished To Sail Beyond the Sunset feeling oddly empty. While I greatly enjoy the later Heinlen's, I don't enjoy when there is an Us/Them mentalitly to them. The thing I like most about TEFL, I Will Fear No Evil, and Friday is that I can get wrapped up in the story without worrying about who wins and who loses. To Sail Beyond the Sunset attempts the same feeling without being quite as succesful.

Having said that, I would kill to have Ira Johnson in my life, be one of Mama Maureen's children, and I'm still a hoping deep down inside to get to go travelng with Dora and Laz and Lor, and of course Lazarus. I live by the Eleventh Commandment and try to emulate Maureen's definition of a lady at every chance, and parts of this book have stuck with me between readings as with every Heinlen novel I've ever read (and as of last week I have read every piece of fiction he ever put into a book). I've read this book easly twenty-five times, I'm just saying it is ABSOLUTELY NOT the first or even fifth Heinlen to read, if you didn't like TEFL stop now, and be prepared to put the pre-imprinted notions of society to the side while reading this one, and expect to be a little uncomfortable if you can't.

Robert Heinlein fans tend to fall into two categories: Those who prefer his earlier fiction, and those who prefer his later work; the division line is GENERALLY around "Stranger in a Strange Land", though a couple works straddle this period since Stranger took an inordinate amount of time to publication.

I, fortunately or unfortunately, fall into the first category. Heinlein suffered a definite decline in writing style as he aged, both in technical prose style (no longer as "lean and mean" as his writing used to be, his books tended to bloat and wander more) and in subject matter (he focused on sex, immortality, and on more and more "tie-ins" between his other stories).

It is a tribute to the power of Heinlein's writing that despite the fact that I often disliked his later work I still found myself drawn into the material and reading it anyway. This was true until _To Sail Beyond the Sunset_.

TSBtS is yet another in the far-too-long saga of Lazarus Long and His Time-Travelling Sex Maniacs. Lazarus and his friends were very interesting characters when we first encountered them (Methuselah's Children) and still had some interesting tidbits to be found when reading about them in _Time Enough For Love_. However, subsequent works (_Number of the Beast_, _The Cat Who Walks Through Walls_) changed their essential appeal and turned them into rather quirky _Deus Ex Machina_(Machinae? What's the term for more than one Deus Ex Machina?). The fact that it follows Lazarus' mother for most of her life while alternating with a rather tired mystery plotline simply adds to this sad degeneration. The Heinlein magic finally failed. This proved to be the first, and only, Heinlein book I had to force myself to finish. It escapes being a "1" rated book only by the lingering traces of competence that only death could eradicate from Heinlein's prose. A tragic end to an illustrious and in fact legendary career. If you do read this one, go back and read some of his earlier material to get the taste out of your mouth.

In reading this book, Heinlein's last, I was absolutely blown away. It is arguably the broadest work Heinlein produced, but in many ways it is also the quietest and most subtle.

Part sci-fi, part autobiography, part social history, _To Sail Beyond The Sunset_ offers in great detail what _Time Enough For Love_ and _"The Number of the Beast ..."_ only hinted at: Maureen.

We first met Maureen Johnson Smith when Lazarus Long, assuming the name "Theodore Bronson," visited his childhood home and subsequently fell in love with his mother. Our next visit with Mama Maureen came in _"The Number of the Beast..."_ when Hilda, Zebbie, Deety, and Jake all joined forces to rescue her from an oncoming 18-wheeler. It was almost too much, getting only this brief glimpse of her, because the next book she was featured in, _The Cat Who Walks Through Walls_, badly underused her character.

This is exactly what I had been waiting for. It was a chance for me not only to meet up with some of my favorite characters (including Lazarus Long, Pixel the cat, and the Boondock gang) but also to gain new perspective on one of Heinlein's most interesting, and most human, characters.

Much of the narrative here concerning Maureen's autobiography is reputed to be an autobiographical account of Heinlein's own childhood and life experiences. Whether based on actual events or not, Maureen's life seems almost frighteningly real. It is a strength, and not a weakness, that most of this book does not intend to be science fiction: the narrative is based mostly on the life of a very unusual woman.

A richly woven novel full of beautiful and poetic vignettes, _To Sail Beyond The Sunset_ is a novel to be read and cherished. Not only does it flesh out Maureen, but it also brings together his "Future History" short stories and other favorite characters.

_To Sail Beyond The Sunset_ is an absolute must read for all lovers of science fiction, and a special treat for Heinlein's fans. His last work is indeed a fitting epitaph for a long and distinguished career.

If you are a female Heinlein-fan who haven't read TSBtS yet, I suggest you run to the nearest book-store to buy it. If you have read it, read it again. This is a woman's odyssey through time, with a main character that is infinitely better than Ulysses. Maureen Johnson Long gives us sage advice, funny tales, and poignant stories on how it is to be a woman in the Twentieth Century.Her history is the history of a free, uninhibited, loving person, who has realized that the more you love, the more you can love. It is amazing that RAH has been accused of senile droodeling in this book, for when you read it, you can see that he is one of the best social commentators in the science fiction-genre.As I said; Read it and love it!!

This book embraces all of the best aspects of Heinlein's writing: plausible science fiction, an epic narrative, keen insights on modern society, and interesting (albeit two demensional) characters. In this book, Heinlein attempts to bring all of his adult fiction, from his future history, through "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress," to "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls," together in one epic masterpiece.

He succeeds in this goal through an autobigraphy of Maureen Johnson, the mother of Lazerous Long. Like her son, Maureen is an adventurous person who bucks society and popular culture and truly manages to catch a readers imagination. In a somewhat cynical narrative, Maureen tells the events of her life, from her birth in the late eighteen hundreds to slightly beyond the events portrayed in "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls." Woven throughout
are refrences to Heinlein's future history, and the idea of the world (worlds?) as myth.

Interspersed sporadically through the novel are places where Heinlein, through the guise of Maureen, delivers a speech on his morals, ethics and worldview. Even if you do not agree with his conclusions, it is very interesting reading. However, it does interupt the story and may be distracting to the casual reader.

The reason that the book recieved only four stars is that, like many of Heinlein's later books, the novel has enough sex in it that it could easily be considered erotica instead of science fiction. I can understand an author using sex to advance a plot but Heinlein goes to the extreem. Incest and adultury are almost treated as the main focus of the book which is something that I find personally distasteful.

However, in spite of it's faults, this book is truly a wonderfull narrative of not just Maureen Johnson's life, but the entirety of Heinlein's work. Like many of Heinlein's other works, you will either love it or hate it. Personally, I loved it.

Maureen Long is a wonderful character, and this a wonderful story. The outrageous notion of incest, eugenics, the strange topic of spouse swapping, the clash of conforming to gender roles while challenging every single accepted norm in society..... somehow this man made it all fly in this book. How did he do it? The same way he made us love characters like Lazarus and Jubal Harshaw even as we shook our heads at what old poops they were. Heinlein manages to make us feel that these issues are par for the course, we become lost in his world(s) so easily. Be warned, you are about to undergo a Vulcan Mind Meld and you will be forever changed.

To Sail Beyond The Sunset was the last book Robert Heinlein wrote during his life, and it is a fitting capstone to his career. It is the autobiography of a fictional character, Maureen Johnson, mother of Lazarus Long. It is a bit like Time Enough For Love in the sense that it is about one central character, however, unlike that book, this one is actually written in an autobiographical format-it reads like a serious, real autobiography-and is (mostly) chronological to boot (unlike Time Enough For Love.) Throughout the long book, Heinlein ties together many of the characters and storylines from his major works and even some of his lesser-known early pulp stories, and thus places a definitive capstone on one of the richest universes in all of science fiction. It is nothing short of amazing how he draws together literally dozens of characters from a multitude of books (some over 40 years old), and manages to make their storylines fit logically into this book. There are many interesting things about To Sail Beyond The Sunset. It is literally the great tie-together; it seeks to unite Heinlein's future history, his early pulp stories, and some of his other novels, and it succeeds. This must have been an astonishingly complex book to write. (There is a large appendix in the back of the book that lists some of the dozens of characters included, as well as a list of related books and other information, but even it is not complete.) It ties up a lot of loose threads that a lot of other books left dangling. It is also interesting to see, in this book, events that took place in Time Enough For Love or The Number of The Beast, say, from Maureen's point of view.

This is a consumate Heinlein work. If you are at all into books like Time Enough For Love, The Number of the Beast, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, etc., then this is a must-read. Also if you'd like to see how the Futurer History series finally ends up. Also, if you are a woman, I reccommend that you read this book. You'll either love it ("That's the kind of woman I'd like to be!"), or hate it ("That why women have such a bad image!"), but I guarantee that it will provoke a reaction. That's why Heinlein continues to matter. He was one of the few mainstream writers who dared to challenge public mores, to smash conventions, and write the kinds of books that he really wanted to write, unafraid of public opinion or reaction. His books (his later ones, anyway) are heavily idealistic. You won't always agree with him, but he will at least get you thinking. This is one reason why "To Sail" is such a great book. A fitting end to the career of what many consider to be the greatest science fiction writer of them all.

to say, if you're not a Heinlein fan already, don't read this book yet. If you become a fan, you won't bother reading reviews, you'll just read it.
This book of course really isn't sci fi, not in the literal sense of what sci fi is usually thought to be. A lot of the story takes place in the past, and most of the story is about people and mainly one woman and her take on life.
If you're interested in Heinlien, start reading some of his earlier works, you'll have months and months of reading before you should consider picking up this one.
As to the themes of sex, incest, etc that Heinlein brashly includes in this (and all of his larger) works, they only make sense in the broader picture of all his works, trying to say this is not a good book because it has so much incest, sex, etc is a comment coming from someone that hasn't really read Heinlein at all unless they are claiming that they have read ten books by a guy that they give 1 star too... I doubt it...

"To Sail Beyond the Sunset" is a major departure in a way for Heinlein novels. It is a departure that sadly we didn't get to follow up on, as it was his last. Many Heinlein novels brush past a sci-fi 'set up event' and then become simple but strong character studies, and a good example of that is "Tunnel in the Sky". Subject matter in this book is not particularly new, as it has much the same tone in its views of false moralities as "Time Enough for Love", "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls", and even "I Will Fear no Evil". What this book lacks is very much in the way of science fiction whatsoever. It is a first person autobiography of a woman living an extraordinary life for the century covering the years 1882 to 1982. There is some alternate history present, but for the most part it is a strong dose of family life ... some quite unusual, and some very mundane.

Yet is it all completely compelling, as Robert A Heinlein could write a chapter about buttering a biscuit and you'd be fascinated ... trust me.

In "Sunset", we get a very strong dose of anti-establishment essays. Many Heinlein detractors criticize this aspect of his writing. I tend to think it is one of his strongest points and the very reason for his immense popularity. Heinlein did not suffer under the misconception that most of the people around us have much in the way of common sense, and he explains that plainly and convincingly in almost all of his books ... juvenile and adult. Many of Heinlein's most atrocious villains are not evil people, just wrong-headed, stubborn fools who get in the way of the "right thing to do". You'll find them all over this book.

At the very end we do get a tease of his far future "World as Myth" "Time Corps" society. It is more a way to tie up some loose ends than a necessary part of the story. Sadly, for those wishing to have a satisfying conclusion to the cliff hanger ending of "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls", it just isn't here. Heinlein spends about a paragraph in passing letting you know how that turned out, and the main characters of "Cat" are barely present here. I think for that reason more than any other I hold this to four stars. As much as I love RAH, I feel a bit cheated by the ending of "Cat", and sadly I now always will. This book really needed to wrap that up in some detail.

I would love to have had more stories of the Time Wars and a resolution to the battle between the Time Corp and the two factions they battled. I'll never know if RAH intended more books in that vein. Still, for RAH fans, you can't skip his last book, especially the story of the mother of Lazarus Long and ancestor of many other characters of our fond acquaintance. Even if it doesn't give us exactly what we were hoping for, it is a fascinating read.