The Number of the Beast [Mass Market Paperback]

Robert A. Heinlein (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 12, 1986

When two male and two female supremely sensual, unspeakably cerebral humans find themselves under attack from aliens who want their awesome quantum breakthrough, they take to the skies -- and zoom into the cosmos on a rocket roller coaster ride of adventure and danger, ecstasy and peril.

Editorial Reviews

Review

''[A story] about two men and two women in a time-machine safari through this and other universes. But describing The Number of the Beast thus is like saying Moby-Dick is about a one-legged guy trying to catch a fish.'' --National Review

Praise for Robert A. Heinlein:

''One of the grand masters of science fiction.'' --Wall Street Journal

''The most influential science fiction writer of all time!'' --Locus --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

Like many people, I go way, way back with Heinlein. My very favorite book (and one that stands out in my mind--and with much affection--to this day) is Tunnel in the Sky. I really, really wanted to go off to explore new worlds with a covered wagon and horses, like the hero does at the very end of the book. But one of the nice things about Robert Heinlein is that he's got something for everyone. One of my best friends has a different favorite: Podkayne of Mars. Go figure.
                        --Shelly Shapiro, Executive Editor

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (September 12, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449130703
• ISBN-13: 978-0449130704
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.1 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (140 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 93 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Do. Not. Start. Here. March 24, 2004

By John S. Ryan

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Do not, under any circumstances, make this your first Robert Heinlein book. Don't make it your second or third, either. (And don't make it your _last_.)

Heinlein wrote this book right after recovering from a carotid bypass. Those of us who had been reading his stuff for a while were thrilled to see it (I remember lapping it up when it was serialized in _Omni_ magazine), largely because it meant he hadn't been permanently rendered unable to write.

And there's certainly stuff here for Heinlein readers to appreciate. Some readers don't like Heinlein's dialogue, but I like it just fine and I enjoy the interplay among the four main characters in this one. (Nor do I have any trouble telling which of the characters is narrating at which point.)

This is also the novel in which Heinlein sets up the concept of the World-As-Myth. Apparently tired of listening to his characters invite one another to 'have a go at solipsism', he finally has a go at it himself -- and comes up with a 'multiperson' version of it, in which various 'real' universes are 'fictional' relative to one another, yet accessible via six-dimensional rotation using a nifty device invented by protagonist Jake Burroughs. (At the very least, this clever trick allows Heinlein to bring together lots of his characters from his various fictional worlds and let them all have free-love open relationships with each other.)

The downside is that it's somewhat self-indulgent. First we visit some of the fictional worlds created by several of Heinlein's own favorite writers. On top of that, the name of every one of the 'bad guys' is an anagram of some variant of Heinlein's own name, or Virginia's, or one of his several early noms de plume.... Then, in a very confusing ending, we're sort of given to understand, more or less, that all of them are Heinlein himself, somehow, maybe. My, what a powerful fabulist he must therefore be.

Back to the plus side. Readers of _Time Enough For Love_ -- those who liked it, anyway -- will cheer the return of Lazarus Long, as this novel not only brings him back (together with some new members of the Long family) but sets up two further novels in which he appears (_The Cat Who Walks Through Walls_ and _To Sail Beyond the Sunset_; don't start with _those_ either). Of course this is a plus only for those of us who _did_ like _TEFL_; those who didn't won't care for this book either.

Interesting late-period Heinlein, then, filled with what Heinlein fans will regard as great characters and great character interaction -- but somewhat bloated with some stuff that doesn't make very good sense and shot through with some extremely trivial intellectual puzzles. (Most of the anagrams aren't very hard; even the one or two comparatively difficult ones won't pose major problems for anyone who knows anything about Heinlein's [and Ginny's] naval service.) The casual Heinlein reader probably won't like it and won't grok it.

It's not my favorite either, but I don't think Heinlein wrote any _bad_ fiction. (His nonfiction is another story.) He _was_ a powerful fabulist, and I don't mind indulging him while he celebrates the return of his power in this novel. Read more ›

79 of 97 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars 3/4's of a Good Novel, but what happened to the ending? March 27, 2001

By Elderbear VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I've read most everything Heinlein ever wrote. I have read many of the books he refers to in this novel. I have tried this novel on for size three times. Each time I bog down between 60% & 80% of the way through. Each time I finish it anyways. I find this his most disappointing novel.

He begins to develop a great story line, valiant intellectual warriors running from an unknown menace. They demonstrate their ingenuity and adaptivity to rapidly changing situations. As the pages turn, the story departs further and further from it's beginnings and mutates into a reality hopping, story jumping house-that-Jack-built of a book. The characters become less interesting as we realize that little new about them will unfold as Heinlein indulges his fascination with hopping through the space-time axes into alternate fictons. I also find him a bit preachier than he is in most of his novels, especially about gender roles. Sigh.

This book is only for the die-hard Heinlein fan. There are plenty of other great reality tweaking books out there. Robert Anton Wilson's Schroedinger's Cat comes immediately to mind. Jack Chalker has written a number of them.

(If you enjoyed this review, please leave positive feedback. If you feel it besmirches the Master of SF, then email me. Click the "about me" link above for more of my reviews & my email address. Thanks!)

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure genius, thought provoking and fun October 27, 2001

By Michael Bird

Format:Mass Market Paperback

This is one of Heinliens greatest books and thus de facto one of the best sci fi books ever written. BUT, if you haven't read a good amount of Heinlien, don't start with this one as you'll be missing out on a lot of nuances. He brings in characters from other books, and not just his own either.
I recommend reading several early works and include at a minimum 'Stranger...', 'Time...', 'The Moon' and a couple of the shorter novellas.
Heinlien plays with time, multi universes, history, politics and religion and of course does it with "real" heros, characters that love and live, fight and play and in general have adventures that stimulate the mind of the reader.
Like almost all of his books, it's a better read the second time around because there is just so much there, but even if read just for the adventure without thinking about all the between the lines stuff this book is just plain fun.

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favourite Heinlein February 16, 2006

By M. Bielenberg

Format:Mass Market Paperback

While I agree with most reviewers that this is not his best work, it is my personal favourite. The characters are likeable, and I love that Heinlein uses this to pay homage to some of his favourite writers, from Lewis Carroll to his contemporaries. This book introduced me to Edgar Rice Burroughs, convinced me to read the Oz books by L. Frank Baum, and sent me on a mission to discover the identities of the other authors into whose worlds Heinlein's characters jump.

True, this book is not for everyone, but I found it delightfully funny with wonderful dialogue between the four main characters. I also thoroughly enjoyed the interplay with characters from other eras and novels. If you are leary of spending the money to buy a copy, run down to your local library and check it out. It's worth the time, and you may find you really like it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Six to the sixth power and then take that to the sixth power. October 27, 2008

By Norman Strojny

Format:Mass Market Paperback

"The Number of the Beast" is for adults who read a lot and have intelligence and have read a large bunch of Heinlein's earlier fiction. Heinlein was getting old and wanted to knit all of his work into a coherent whole and go in a somewhat new direction. He chose this story as the basis of doing just that. Meanwhile, I think that he had some enjoyment and fun while writing this book.

I gave this book five stars because I had read every Heinlein book that I could before this book appeared. So, I did not get lost and I did have some idea of what was going on at all times. My own reaction to this book was: "Wow! The old man still has much of his ability!" Now that I am a retired old grump, I can better appreciate how insightful and wonderful that reaction was.

This is not Heinlein at his best. However, I think that it is very good Heinlein. I think Heinlein did not take himself terribly seriously at this point in his life and put some of that attitude into this book. Taking the book as entertainment rather than taking it more seriously will help the reader considerably. Heinlein gives us good 'hard' science fiction mixed with a strong addition of fantasy.

If you are new to Heinlein or if you are not a confirmed fan, this book is not for you, yet.