Customer Reviews

Waldo & Magic, Inc.

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Heinlein was in many ways ahead of his time. This book, actually two novels have finally come into their own in the first part of the 21st century. Frankly, I'm a bit surprised at some of the reader's comments as to the tepid nature of the Waldo story, and the "Fantasy" aspect of the latter Magic, Inc.

To begin it must be pointed out that one thing nobody mentioned is the term "Waldo", used to refer to those mechanical arms so prevalent in 50/60's science fiction. Today we see endless mechanical devices used in games, in television & movies, especially the Japanese Manga. On a serious note congress recently authorized millions in appropriations to fund development of remote manipulator robots for the modern battlefield... and lets not forget those little robots busily wandering the surface of mars, if they do find Life, you can bet that the entire effort at exploration will remain out of possible harms way, with the 21st century version of a Waldo.
Now as to magic? Two words, Nano & Femto technology.
These areas are currently cutting edge, and both will provide just such a "magical" backdrop for the commerce conducted in the 21st century. Doors that talk, devices that morph into other things, spoken commands, and the NECESSITY of a well trained group of "wizards" to control them, (when was the last time you really knew how that talking watch worked, did you really care? NO! It just worked) and to repair them when they stop working.
Heinlein was correct when he penned stories with people (or Person with Disability, in Waldo's case) confronting, and overcoming difficulties. Real life is now catching up to him... and the situations, and personalities of the people involved are very much true to life. (The founder of the Independent Living Movement, Ed Roberts, was very much like Waldo)
Good books... worth a read in these modern times.

Both of the stories in this book are a departure from Heinlein's usual work, and neither are entirely successful. Heinlein was never one for truly "hard" science fiction, but the two stories here are distinctly fantasy. The first, Waldo, is the better and far more imaginative of the two. The plot and premise is highly original, and the character of Waldo is an interesting one. However, this is one of Heinlein's earliest stories and the writing style present in it pales in comparison to later efforts, and may be disappointing to those who have read a significant portion of his later work. The same goes also for Magic Inc., although here the premise is less interesting. Not a bad book by any means, but Heinlein has better. Only hard-core fans need apply here, for the newcomer to RAH he has much better to offer.

Two of Heinlein's early foray's into fantasy are packaged together in this book. Of the two, "Waldo", with its unique blending of science fiction and fantasy, is much the stronger. The title character, Waldo Farthingwaite-Jones, is a misanthropic young genius who lives in an isolated, gravity-free environment, which he has specially designed to help him overcome his physical challenges. Heinlein makes Waldo's residence and the myriad gadgets in it both believable and fascinating. Almost as interesting is the development of Waldo's personality, as he changes from a rude, temperamental victim, to a strong, self-confident performer. All this by itself might have made for a first-rate science fiction story, but Heinlein has other ideas. His main plot device is a very typical science fiction ploy: Waldo has to fix a problem with some recalcitrant machinery. But the solution Waldo finds is supernatural rather than mechanical, and so the story strays into the realm of fantasy. Of course Heinlein has a very good reason for this; the whole point of his story is to dramatize one of his favorite themes, to wit, that when one's deepest-held convictions don't agree with the facts, one must have the courage to change those convictions. This might be referred to as the Engineer's Creed, and it shows up frequently in Heinlein's work, but this is one of few stories based on it specifically. In this instance, Waldo manages to accept that the impossible is true, and not only solve the technical problem, but solve his personal problems, too. Unfortunately, his answers are so easy that they counteract any emotional impact that the story might have had. From a conceptual standpoint, Heinlein's meld of science fiction and fantasy may have a valid purpose, but in practice, the average reader may find the story's resolution disappointing, while fans of hard science fiction may feel cheated by a problem that has no reasonable solution. "Magic, Inc." is less ambitious, being nothing more than a total fantasy. Heinlein describes a world where magic is a commonly used commodity, although still the province of specialists, and the no-nonsense businessman who narrates the tale gives a breezy reality to magic's various economic, legal, and political ramifications. Other than that, however, the story seems to have little enough to recommend it. Characters come and go with no real development, and many of them are so close to being ethnic and/or racial stereotypes that some of today's reader might take offense. Overall, both stories are pleasant little diversions, but fans of fantasy should not expect any great revelations, while science fiction fans will find relatively little substance. Fans of Heinlein's fantasy may like this one, but other readers aren't really missing much.

These two early Heinlein tales have been sold as a package almost forever. And while they're not really awful, they are showing their age badly. There's nothing quite as tedious as lengthy descriptions of "future" technologies that never materialized! If you are a Heinlein completist, and feel you must read everything the man ever wrote, then go for it. Otherwise, you can easily skip this dated duo of stories and not worry that you've missed much.

Plenty has been written about RAH's invention of the waldo (and the waterbed, and a lot of other things he imagined that became reality). But I haven't seen much about the lesson in practical politics in "Magic, Inc." Within the framework of fantasy, RAH lays out a very real scenario of what it takes to get things done in the typical state house. Hey, you libertarians, Read This Book!

'Waldo' and 'Magic, Inc' are two fairly forgettable stories. 'Waldo' is the more interesting of the two. Difficult to explain, but the story concerns a petulant young genius who is self-exiled in space. He returns to Earth when his services are needed, feeding his already sizable ego. But then he discovers something about himself in the process. 'Magic, Inc' is a rather haphazard story about a world where magical services are part of every day business life. Although whimsical in the beginning, the story turns dull when it gets all political ... yuck!

Bottom line: although not terrible, these stories are certainly not worth seeking out ... even by Heinlein fans. Not recommended.

This volume contains two very early (1940, 1942) stories that originally appeared in pulp magazines. They are interesting to fans of RAH only because they foreshadow some situations/characters/themes that will appear in later works in particular the origins of 'waldos' ie mechanical devices either remote controlled or independent, that take over various mundane or dangerous tasks for mankind. These appear repeatedly in RAH's later works and, like other of Heinlein's ideas, also have been adopted as a concept and term in the 'real' world.

The first story centers on Waldo, a genius born with a debilitating disease, who has managed to make his life bearable by his inventions. RAH outlines some of his philosophies on big business, life in low gravity, societal conventions and human adaptability here. He also deleves into the other dimensions/magic that resurface in his much later works.

The second work, Magic, Inc. uses the realm of magic as a means to expound on the mundane areas of business practices and politics, areas that RAH will revisit in later works. The basic premise is that magicians are employed by various businesses and are being formed into a union or a mafia depending on your point of view. This idea of 'magik in the mundane world' has also taken route and now, 50 plus years later, has several authors using this premise.

This is definitely NOT the place to begin reading RAH's works. It is significant that this book is currently out of print and that RAH wrote one of the stories under a pen name.

Meet the man, the myth, the legend behind science fiction's ubiquitous "waldoes", then wade in to an intricate spiritual and legal battle against a magical monopoly.

Most of Robert Anson Heinlein's stories are hard science fiction, with a wealth of technical details, but concentrating mainly on the social implications of such technical innovations. This book departs from the hard sciences and delves into the fantasy realm for a unique view of magical events. As usual, the story zeroes in on the social aspects of the situation, giving a fascinating glimpse into how magical events would affect the mundane world we live in. I believe that these two stories had a strong influence on Piers Anthony's XANTH series. A great read, and one I would recommend to anyone who has a yen for a good science fiction yarn

Here's something a little different from Heinlein, two extended stories from the early 1940s which incorporate significant helpings of fantasy. "Waldo" is by far the better of the two selections. Waldo F. Jones is a brilliant engineer and all-around genius, but he doesn't get along well with people. Born with essentially no muscle control, he began inventing gadgets to help him perform common tasks as a child, and his inventions soon translated into commercial products. He considers his fellow men to be rather ignorant "apes" who rely on him to continue living out their frivolous existences; only one man, Grimes, the doctor who delivered him, has direct contact with him in his free-floating home in space. Away from the curse of gravity, Waldo is able to move around comfortably and make use of all sorts of gizmos of his own design to help him carry out his work. He is a problem-solver of last resort; he always gets results, but his cold manner and contemptible attitude make him a hard man to deal with. Power plant engineer James Stevens has little choice but to come to Waldo--the whole power supply of the country could fail at any time, and no one can figure out why the infallible power sources are failing. Grimes talks him into working on another problem in conjunction with the project-getting rid of radiated energy that he deems harmful to mankind. With a little help from a mysterious old man, Waldo discovers not only a solution to both problems but an entirely new way to understand reality.

"Magic, Inc." is pure fantasy. Virtually all businesses rely on magic to some degree, but there is a mysterious effort afoot to form a magic regulatory council, one capable of monopolizing magic, running out of businesses any magicians who refuse to join and inflating the prices of magical services rendered. Archie finds his hardware store threatened and then trashed when he refuses to sign up for magical protection. Just as the citizens begin examining the danger posed by such regulation of magic, the government seeks to ratify the plan and make it the law of the land. Archie and his magically-inclined friend Jenson team up with an ancient, benign witch and an African witch doctor to put an end to the danger by exposing the reality behind its conception, even if it means going to hell to confront the very demon responsible for the trouble.

Both stories fall below Heinlein's normal standards, but "Waldo" proves fairly fascinating up until the closing pages when magic is turned loose in the world. "Magic, Inc." is just rather uninspired. Still, it is interesting to see another side of Heinlein's work. Since both stories fall short of wowing the reader, I would recommend reading this book only after becoming acquainted with Heinlein's more famous, visionary, and enjoyable science fiction. This is fairly atypical, unimpressive storytelling from science fiction's greatest writer.