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Glory Road
E. C. "Scar" Gordon was on the French Riviera recovering from a tour of combat in Southeast Asia , but he hadn't given up his habit of scanning the Personals in the newspaper. One ad in particular leapt out at him:
"ARE YOU A COWARD? This is not for you. We badly need a brave man. He must be 23 to 25 years old, in perfect health, at least six feet tall, weigh about 190 pounds, fluent English, with some French, proficient in all weapons, some knowledge of engineering and mathematics essential, willing to travel, no family or emotional ties, indomitably courageous and handsome of face and figure. Permanent employment, very high pay, glorious adventure, great danger. You must apply in person, rue Dante, Nice, 2me étage, apt. D."
How could you not answer an ad like that, especially when it seemed to describe you perfectly? Well, except maybe for the "handsome" part, but that was in the eye of the beholder anyway. So he went to that apartment and was greeted by the most beautiful woman he'd ever met. She seemed to have many names, but agreed he could call her "Star." A pretty appropriate name, as it turned out, for the empress of twenty universes.
Robert A. Heinlein's one true fantasy novel, Glory Road is as much fun today as when he wrote it after Stranger in a Strange Land. Heinlein proves himself as adept with sword and sorcery as with rockets and slide rules and the result is exciting, satirical, fast-paced, funny and tremendously readable -- a favorite of all who have read it. Glory Road is a masterpiece of escapist entertainment with a typically Heinleinian sting in its tail.
"ARE YOU A COWARD? This is not for you. We badly need a brave man. He must be 23 to 25 years old, in perfect health, at least six feet tall, weigh about 190 pounds, fluent English, with some French, proficient in all weapons, some knowledge of engineering and mathematics essential, willing to travel, no family or emotional ties, indomitably courageous and handsome of face and figure. Permanent employment, very high pay, glorious adventure, great danger. You must apply in person, rue Dante, Nice, 2me étage, apt. D."
How could you not answer an ad like that, especially when it seemed to describe you perfectly? Well, except maybe for the "handsome" part, but that was in the eye of the beholder anyway. So he went to that apartment and was greeted by the most beautiful woman he'd ever met. She seemed to have many names, but agreed he could call her "Star." A pretty appropriate name, as it turned out, for the empress of twenty universes.
Robert A. Heinlein's one true fantasy novel, Glory Road is as much fun today as when he wrote it after Stranger in a Strange Land. Heinlein proves himself as adept with sword and sorcery as with rockets and slide rules and the result is exciting, satirical, fast-paced, funny and tremendously readable -- a favorite of all who have read it. Glory Road is a masterpiece of escapist entertainment with a typically Heinleinian sting in its tail.
320 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1963
About the author
Robert A. Heinlein
957 books9,881 followersRobert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accuracy in his fiction, and was thus a pioneer of the subgenre of hard science fiction. His published works, both fiction and non-fiction, express admiration for competence and emphasize the value of critical thinking. His plots often posed provocative situations which challenged conventional social mores. His work continues to have an influence on the science-fiction genre, and on modern culture more generally.
Heinlein became one of the first American science-fiction writers to break into mainstream magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post in the late 1940s. He was one of the best-selling science-fiction novelists for many decades, and he, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke are often considered the "Big Three" of English-language science fiction authors. Notable Heinlein works include Stranger in a Strange Land, Starship Troopers (which helped mold the space marine and mecha archetypes) and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. His work sometimes had controversial aspects, such as plural marriage in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, militarism in Starship Troopers and technologically competent women characters who were formidable, yet often stereotypically feminine—such as Friday.
Heinlein used his science fiction as a way to explore provocative social and political ideas and to speculate how progress in science and engineering might shape the future of politics, race, religion, and sex. Within the framework of his science-fiction stories, Heinlein repeatedly addressed certain social themes: the importance of individual liberty and self-reliance, the nature of sexual relationships, the obligation individuals owe to their societies, the influence of organized religion on culture and government, and the tendency of society to repress nonconformist thought. He also speculated on the influence of space travel on human cultural practices.
Heinlein was named the first Science Fiction Writers Grand Master in 1974. Four of his novels won Hugo Awards. In addition, fifty years after publication, seven of his works were awarded "Retro Hugos"—awards given retrospectively for works that were published before the Hugo Awards came into existence. In his fiction, Heinlein coined terms that have become part of the English language, including grok, waldo and speculative fiction, as well as popularizing existing terms like "TANSTAAFL", "pay it forward", and "space marine". He also anticipated mechanical computer-aided design with "Drafting Dan" and described a modern version of a waterbed in his novel Beyond This Horizon.
Also wrote under Pen names: Anson McDonald, Lyle Monroe, Caleb Saunders, John Riverside and Simon York.
Heinlein became one of the first American science-fiction writers to break into mainstream magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post in the late 1940s. He was one of the best-selling science-fiction novelists for many decades, and he, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke are often considered the "Big Three" of English-language science fiction authors. Notable Heinlein works include Stranger in a Strange Land, Starship Troopers (which helped mold the space marine and mecha archetypes) and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. His work sometimes had controversial aspects, such as plural marriage in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, militarism in Starship Troopers and technologically competent women characters who were formidable, yet often stereotypically feminine—such as Friday.
Heinlein used his science fiction as a way to explore provocative social and political ideas and to speculate how progress in science and engineering might shape the future of politics, race, religion, and sex. Within the framework of his science-fiction stories, Heinlein repeatedly addressed certain social themes: the importance of individual liberty and self-reliance, the nature of sexual relationships, the obligation individuals owe to their societies, the influence of organized religion on culture and government, and the tendency of society to repress nonconformist thought. He also speculated on the influence of space travel on human cultural practices.
Heinlein was named the first Science Fiction Writers Grand Master in 1974. Four of his novels won Hugo Awards. In addition, fifty years after publication, seven of his works were awarded "Retro Hugos"—awards given retrospectively for works that were published before the Hugo Awards came into existence. In his fiction, Heinlein coined terms that have become part of the English language, including grok, waldo and speculative fiction, as well as popularizing existing terms like "TANSTAAFL", "pay it forward", and "space marine". He also anticipated mechanical computer-aided design with "Drafting Dan" and described a modern version of a waterbed in his novel Beyond This Horizon.
Also wrote under Pen names: Anson McDonald, Lyle Monroe, Caleb Saunders, John Riverside and Simon York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 731 reviews
July 27, 2019
Piers Anthony should be glad that Glory Road was Robert A. Heinlein’s only fantasy work since it gives the fantasy writer a run for his money, especially the Xanth series. Actually, since Heinlein published Glory Road in 1964 and Anthony did not publish A Spell for Chameleon until 1977, the question may be: How much was Anthony influenced by Heinlein?
I grew up reading RAH and so reading him now feels a little like coming home. His frank libertarianism and anachronistic sexism, even his corny barbs, make me smile and turn the page. Published in 1964 and only losing the Hugo Award to Clifford Simak’s brilliant Way Station, Glory Road is a rambunctious barnstormer of a fantastic adventure. Maybe the coolest element of this book is Heinlein’s exploration of what happens after “and they lived happily ever after.”
I have long said that the 60s were his zenith period, where he was at his masterful best, after the juvenile publication years and before his aging experiments with weirdness. Glory Road is a fair representative of this middle chapter in his work, a fitting companion to The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Starship Troopers and Stranger in a Strange Land; but it is also a pre-cursor of his wildly imaginative later works like The Cat Who Walks Through Walls. A very good read.
I grew up reading RAH and so reading him now feels a little like coming home. His frank libertarianism and anachronistic sexism, even his corny barbs, make me smile and turn the page. Published in 1964 and only losing the Hugo Award to Clifford Simak’s brilliant Way Station, Glory Road is a rambunctious barnstormer of a fantastic adventure. Maybe the coolest element of this book is Heinlein’s exploration of what happens after “and they lived happily ever after.”
I have long said that the 60s were his zenith period, where he was at his masterful best, after the juvenile publication years and before his aging experiments with weirdness. Glory Road is a fair representative of this middle chapter in his work, a fitting companion to The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Starship Troopers and Stranger in a Strange Land; but it is also a pre-cursor of his wildly imaginative later works like The Cat Who Walks Through Walls. A very good read.
February 9, 2017
Re-reading my least favorite of Heinlein's works, because who knows? Maybe an older eye can shed some light upon this most shameful of tales rife with sexism, unabashed fantastical thinking (that works because this is a fantasy), or the fact that there *might* be a good reason why Heinlein only wrote one fantasy novel.
Results of my analysis are pretty much the same as when I was a kid. Odd, that. I mean, sure, there's the fighting of dragons and lots of really cool swordplay, geometrical magical symbols and magic flying everywhere, and adventure, adventure, adventure, and while none of that is particularly noteworthy in a world literally overwhelmed with such things, there is a certain odd quirk to this novel that at once feels way out of place for a fantasy novel and later how it becomes almost the entire focus.
It's a book about relationships.
Not heroism, guts, luck, or doing one's manly duty.
It's about getting in the girl's pants, discovering that she's playing him for the same reason, marrying her because of a sense of "that's what men do", learning she's a galactic empress in a high-tech interstellar kingdom, learning he's filthy rich, and then, even though he's "wildly in love" with her, gets bored within months and drops her to go back to earth and act like a screwed-up war vet, all the while obsessing over her, the fact that he'd just given up high-tech immortality and endless wealth, and he dropped her all because she's freaking old, too, and it doesn't even matter if she looks like she's in her early 20's and she's an empress that has been ruling for a long time. He's upset because she went out to sow her wild oats, and he was the result.
Wild sexism is rampant throughout this novel. Absolutely. All on his part. He's pretty much the perfect example of "do as I say not as I do" idiocy that men tell each other about the women in their lives, and because this is a poor fantasy because it is just as fantastical to see this dipshit as a lady's man that all the chicks flock to, it IS a condemnation of such thinking, too.
I mean, I think I'd have preferred to have read the book from Star's PoV, not Scar's. After all, she's out there playing the game and even offering this dipshit not just the world but her wonderful self, endless wealth, immortality, and the respect of a whole empire for the heroic deeds that he (and she) accomplished. She played the game as only a smart and sexy woman of 1964 could play it, hamming it up for the benefit of the idiot male and giving him what he expected at every turn. All she really wanted was fun and companionship and a bit of love. She'd already had three children and 50 born ex-vitro. She has experience, she's smart, and she's bored.
It's just a shame that we had to follow along with this asshole, instead. If the novel had been written the way that Heinlein had written Maureen from Sail Beyond the Sunset, this novel would probably be a long-enduring classic. But it wasn't.
I did like the full synthesis of other-universal conditions that changed the laws where certain tech isn't feasible but magic is. This makes the novel Science-Fantasy rather than standard SF, but I have no problems with it. It was nominated for the Hugo in '64 and Way Station won instead. That was a smart move. Way Station was awesome. :)
I knocked off a star from my original review for all the reasons listed. It may be unfair to judge a work that is of its times this way, kind of like judging the men in Mad Men in the early 60's for their behavior by our standards, but it is what it is. *shrug*
Let's see how some of my better-beloved Heinleins will hold up! :)
Results of my analysis are pretty much the same as when I was a kid. Odd, that. I mean, sure, there's the fighting of dragons and lots of really cool swordplay, geometrical magical symbols and magic flying everywhere, and adventure, adventure, adventure, and while none of that is particularly noteworthy in a world literally overwhelmed with such things, there is a certain odd quirk to this novel that at once feels way out of place for a fantasy novel and later how it becomes almost the entire focus.
It's a book about relationships.
Not heroism, guts, luck, or doing one's manly duty.
It's about getting in the girl's pants, discovering that she's playing him for the same reason, marrying her because of a sense of "that's what men do", learning she's a galactic empress in a high-tech interstellar kingdom, learning he's filthy rich, and then, even though he's "wildly in love" with her, gets bored within months and drops her to go back to earth and act like a screwed-up war vet, all the while obsessing over her, the fact that he'd just given up high-tech immortality and endless wealth, and he dropped her all because she's freaking old, too, and it doesn't even matter if she looks like she's in her early 20's and she's an empress that has been ruling for a long time. He's upset because she went out to sow her wild oats, and he was the result.
Wild sexism is rampant throughout this novel. Absolutely. All on his part. He's pretty much the perfect example of "do as I say not as I do" idiocy that men tell each other about the women in their lives, and because this is a poor fantasy because it is just as fantastical to see this dipshit as a lady's man that all the chicks flock to, it IS a condemnation of such thinking, too.
I mean, I think I'd have preferred to have read the book from Star's PoV, not Scar's. After all, she's out there playing the game and even offering this dipshit not just the world but her wonderful self, endless wealth, immortality, and the respect of a whole empire for the heroic deeds that he (and she) accomplished. She played the game as only a smart and sexy woman of 1964 could play it, hamming it up for the benefit of the idiot male and giving him what he expected at every turn. All she really wanted was fun and companionship and a bit of love. She'd already had three children and 50 born ex-vitro. She has experience, she's smart, and she's bored.
It's just a shame that we had to follow along with this asshole, instead. If the novel had been written the way that Heinlein had written Maureen from Sail Beyond the Sunset, this novel would probably be a long-enduring classic. But it wasn't.
I did like the full synthesis of other-universal conditions that changed the laws where certain tech isn't feasible but magic is. This makes the novel Science-Fantasy rather than standard SF, but I have no problems with it. It was nominated for the Hugo in '64 and Way Station won instead. That was a smart move. Way Station was awesome. :)
I knocked off a star from my original review for all the reasons listed. It may be unfair to judge a work that is of its times this way, kind of like judging the men in Mad Men in the early 60's for their behavior by our standards, but it is what it is. *shrug*
Let's see how some of my better-beloved Heinleins will hold up! :)
September 14, 2019
September 2019
This was a September Group Read for the group Hoyts Huns, and as I voted for it in the poll, I felt obliged to re-read. That said this was an enjoyable read. I won't get bogged down in any of Heinlein's politics or his (later shall we say interesting (read weird) ) views on feminism and sexuality, suffice to say read at the level of an interesting story, this is , well, an interesting story. (Personally I have never bothered to read too deeply into any book, just enjoyed the tale for what it is).
This book does however hit home with certain truths about marriage and Heinlein's increasing "out there" views. That said it is a tale that fair hacks along at a pace and ultimately is well written and enjoyable, very enjoyable. I am almost close to bumping this up to 5 stars, but 4 it remains. (4.4 ish ha ha).
Maybe I am just reminiscing because of what day it is 😉
March 2017
An enjoyable book, that I've read before and in my opinion probably the last good book by Heinlein before he started getting too "weird" and focussed on human relationships.
Stressing it is purely my opinion, he has written some fantastic books, with wide ranging ideas and great perception of human nature, I was therefore disappointed when back in the 80s the wonderful balance he brought to his books began to be disjointed and uneven.
All of that said he wrote some wonderful Sci-Fi books and those I still continue to read and enjoy.
This was a September Group Read for the group Hoyts Huns, and as I voted for it in the poll, I felt obliged to re-read. That said this was an enjoyable read. I won't get bogged down in any of Heinlein's politics or his (later shall we say interesting (read weird) ) views on feminism and sexuality, suffice to say read at the level of an interesting story, this is , well, an interesting story. (Personally I have never bothered to read too deeply into any book, just enjoyed the tale for what it is).
This book does however hit home with certain truths about marriage and Heinlein's increasing "out there" views. That said it is a tale that fair hacks along at a pace and ultimately is well written and enjoyable, very enjoyable. I am almost close to bumping this up to 5 stars, but 4 it remains. (4.4 ish ha ha).
Maybe I am just reminiscing because of what day it is 😉
March 2017
An enjoyable book, that I've read before and in my opinion probably the last good book by Heinlein before he started getting too "weird" and focussed on human relationships.
Stressing it is purely my opinion, he has written some fantastic books, with wide ranging ideas and great perception of human nature, I was therefore disappointed when back in the 80s the wonderful balance he brought to his books began to be disjointed and uneven.
All of that said he wrote some wonderful Sci-Fi books and those I still continue to read and enjoy.
July 24, 2019
"ARE YOU A COWARD?
This is not for you. We badly need a brave man.
He must be 23 to 25 years old, in perfect health, at least six feet tall, weigh about 190 pounds, fluent English, with some French, proficient in all weapons, some knowledge of engineering and mathematics essential, willing to travel, no family or emotional ties, indomitably courageous and handsome of face and figure. Permanent employment, very high pay, glorious adventure, great danger. You must apply in person, rue Dante, Nice, 2me étage, appt. D."
E. C. “Scar” Gordon answers this advertisement and suddenly he is on other worlds/places fighting weird monsters and coping with strange alien cultures.
Oscar, Star and Rufo find a unique way to defeat a "constructed" enemy golem
I had started with my arms around his knees and I stayed that way, of necessity, as long as I could, while Star tried to weigh down one of his arms and Rufo the other. But the situation was fluid; Igli thrashed like a rattler with its back broken and was forever getting one limb or another free and trying to gouge and bite. It got us into odd positions and I found myself hanging onto one callused foot, trying to twist it off, while I stared into his open mouth, wide as a bear trap and less appetizing. His teeth needed cleaning.
So I shoved the toe of his foot into his mouth.
Igli screamed, so I kept on shoving, and pretty soon he didn’t have room to scream. I kept on pushing.
When he had swallowed his own left leg up to the knee, be managed to wrench his right arm loose from Star and grabbed at his disappearing leg—and I grabbed his wrist.
“Help me!” I yelped to Star. “Push!”
She got the idea and shoved with me. That arm went into his mouth to the elbow and the leg went farther in, quite a bit of the thigh. By, then Rufo was working with us and forced Igli’s left hand in past his cheek and into the jaws. Igli wasn’t struggling so hard by then, short on air probably, so getting the toe of his right foot started into his mouth simply required determination, with Rufo hauling back on his hairy nostrils while I bore down with a knee on his chin and Star pushed.
We kept on feeding him into his mouth, gaining an inch at a time and never letting up. He was still quivering and trying to get loose when we had him rolled up clear to his hips, and his rank armpits about to disappear.
It was like rolling a snowball in reverse; the more we pushed, the smaller he got and the more his mouth stretched—ugliest sight I ever have seen. Soon he was down to the size of a medicine ball…and then a soccer ball…then a baseball and I rolled him between my palms and kept pushing, hard.
—A golf ball, a marble, a pea…and finally there was nothing but some dirty grease on my hands.
Rufo took a deep breath. “I guess that’ll teach him not to put his foot in his mouth.”
The dinner party and what didn't happen afterwards
Doral Letva (his hostess), flanked by two girls, led me to my chambers and put me to bed. They dimmed the lights and withdrew while I was still trying to phrase a gallant good night in their language.
They came back, having shucked all jewelry and other encumbrances and posed at my bedside, the Three Graces. I had decided that the younger ones were mama’s daughters. The older girl was maybe eighteen, full ripe, and a picture of what mama must have been at that age; the younger one seemed five years younger, barely nubile, as pretty for her own age and quite self-conscious. She blushed and dropped her eyes when I looked at her. But her sister stared back with sultry eyes, boldly provocative.
Their mother, an arm around each waist, explained simply but in rhyme that I had honored their roof and their table—and now their bed. What was a Hero’s pleasure? One? Or two? Or all three?
I struggled to put my decision in poetic language.
I didn’t manage it but I put over the idea of negative.
The little girl started to bawl and fled. Her sister looked daggers, snorted. “Hero!” and went after her. Mama just looked at me and left.
She came back in about two minutes. She spoke very formally, obviously exercising great control, and prayed to know if any woman in this house had met with the Hero’s favor? Her name, please? Or could I describe her? Or would I have them paraded so that I might point her out?
I did my best to explain that, were a choice to be made, she herself would be my choice—but that I was tired and wished to sleep alone.
Letva blinked back tears, wished me a hero’s rest, and left a second time, even faster.
Oscar must deal with even stranger customs and fight even more horrible monsters to reach his goal.
Waiting for you at the end of the glory road Oscar reminisces
I know a place where there is no smog and no parking problem and no population explosion…no Cold War and no H-bombs and no television commercials…no Summit Conferences, no Foreign Aid, no hidden taxes—no income tax. The climate is the sort that Florida and California claim (and neither has), the land is lovely, the people are friendly and hospitable to strangers, the women are beautiful and amazingly anxious to please—
I could go back. I could—
This is an early Robert Heinlein story full of action, adventure and comparisons with our modern life. Take delight in the author's energy and excitement.
Enjoy!
This is not for you. We badly need a brave man.
He must be 23 to 25 years old, in perfect health, at least six feet tall, weigh about 190 pounds, fluent English, with some French, proficient in all weapons, some knowledge of engineering and mathematics essential, willing to travel, no family or emotional ties, indomitably courageous and handsome of face and figure. Permanent employment, very high pay, glorious adventure, great danger. You must apply in person, rue Dante, Nice, 2me étage, appt. D."
E. C. “Scar” Gordon answers this advertisement and suddenly he is on other worlds/places fighting weird monsters and coping with strange alien cultures.
Oscar, Star and Rufo find a unique way to defeat a "constructed" enemy golem
I had started with my arms around his knees and I stayed that way, of necessity, as long as I could, while Star tried to weigh down one of his arms and Rufo the other. But the situation was fluid; Igli thrashed like a rattler with its back broken and was forever getting one limb or another free and trying to gouge and bite. It got us into odd positions and I found myself hanging onto one callused foot, trying to twist it off, while I stared into his open mouth, wide as a bear trap and less appetizing. His teeth needed cleaning.
So I shoved the toe of his foot into his mouth.
Igli screamed, so I kept on shoving, and pretty soon he didn’t have room to scream. I kept on pushing.
When he had swallowed his own left leg up to the knee, be managed to wrench his right arm loose from Star and grabbed at his disappearing leg—and I grabbed his wrist.
“Help me!” I yelped to Star. “Push!”
She got the idea and shoved with me. That arm went into his mouth to the elbow and the leg went farther in, quite a bit of the thigh. By, then Rufo was working with us and forced Igli’s left hand in past his cheek and into the jaws. Igli wasn’t struggling so hard by then, short on air probably, so getting the toe of his right foot started into his mouth simply required determination, with Rufo hauling back on his hairy nostrils while I bore down with a knee on his chin and Star pushed.
We kept on feeding him into his mouth, gaining an inch at a time and never letting up. He was still quivering and trying to get loose when we had him rolled up clear to his hips, and his rank armpits about to disappear.
It was like rolling a snowball in reverse; the more we pushed, the smaller he got and the more his mouth stretched—ugliest sight I ever have seen. Soon he was down to the size of a medicine ball…and then a soccer ball…then a baseball and I rolled him between my palms and kept pushing, hard.
—A golf ball, a marble, a pea…and finally there was nothing but some dirty grease on my hands.
Rufo took a deep breath. “I guess that’ll teach him not to put his foot in his mouth.”
The dinner party and what didn't happen afterwards
Doral Letva (his hostess), flanked by two girls, led me to my chambers and put me to bed. They dimmed the lights and withdrew while I was still trying to phrase a gallant good night in their language.
They came back, having shucked all jewelry and other encumbrances and posed at my bedside, the Three Graces. I had decided that the younger ones were mama’s daughters. The older girl was maybe eighteen, full ripe, and a picture of what mama must have been at that age; the younger one seemed five years younger, barely nubile, as pretty for her own age and quite self-conscious. She blushed and dropped her eyes when I looked at her. But her sister stared back with sultry eyes, boldly provocative.
Their mother, an arm around each waist, explained simply but in rhyme that I had honored their roof and their table—and now their bed. What was a Hero’s pleasure? One? Or two? Or all three?
I struggled to put my decision in poetic language.
I didn’t manage it but I put over the idea of negative.
The little girl started to bawl and fled. Her sister looked daggers, snorted. “Hero!” and went after her. Mama just looked at me and left.
She came back in about two minutes. She spoke very formally, obviously exercising great control, and prayed to know if any woman in this house had met with the Hero’s favor? Her name, please? Or could I describe her? Or would I have them paraded so that I might point her out?
I did my best to explain that, were a choice to be made, she herself would be my choice—but that I was tired and wished to sleep alone.
Letva blinked back tears, wished me a hero’s rest, and left a second time, even faster.
Oscar must deal with even stranger customs and fight even more horrible monsters to reach his goal.
Waiting for you at the end of the glory road Oscar reminisces
I know a place where there is no smog and no parking problem and no population explosion…no Cold War and no H-bombs and no television commercials…no Summit Conferences, no Foreign Aid, no hidden taxes—no income tax. The climate is the sort that Florida and California claim (and neither has), the land is lovely, the people are friendly and hospitable to strangers, the women are beautiful and amazingly anxious to please—
I could go back. I could—
This is an early Robert Heinlein story full of action, adventure and comparisons with our modern life. Take delight in the author's energy and excitement.
Enjoy!
October 14, 2017
So American service man gets wounded and badly scarred in a heroic act no one sees....he leaves the service intent on "bumming around" a while and meets, "HER". And "SHE" is frankly a WOMAN, she also turns out to be an/the Empress of the multiverse.
Good read, not typical Heinlein fare. I read it the first time in the late sixties and it's still on my shelf (well a new edition, but the same novel :-) ). I list this as one of my favorites.
Heinlein runs (in my opinion of course) a little hot and cold, but this one is good. Glory Road is not only good, for Heinlein it's unique, his only foray into what I'd term "overt fantasy". While a lot of his novels may push or cross the line between Science Fiction and Fantasy, this one makes no pretense at being anything but. From a cosmic Empress who makes Dejah Thoris look plain to a warrior who can handle whatever comes with sword, gun.....or whatever, this is a fantasy.
I recommend this one, fun, fast, exciting...why not saddle up, or pull on your SWASH top boots, BUCKLE on your sword, and come along on THE Glory Road.
Update after (another) reread:
I had forgotten a lot of the philosophical content in this one. Heinlein puts a lot of his beliefs and so on into the conversations and situations here.
That aside (and I agree with him some as well as disagreeing with him some) this book is still a good action packed fantasy with humor thrown in along the way.
"We'll be getting to a brick road farther ahead."
"Are the bricks yellow?"
"Yes the mud here is yellow, does it make a difference?"
"Just don't make a Hobbit of it."
Good book, still highly recommended.
Good read, not typical Heinlein fare. I read it the first time in the late sixties and it's still on my shelf (well a new edition, but the same novel :-) ). I list this as one of my favorites.
Heinlein runs (in my opinion of course) a little hot and cold, but this one is good. Glory Road is not only good, for Heinlein it's unique, his only foray into what I'd term "overt fantasy". While a lot of his novels may push or cross the line between Science Fiction and Fantasy, this one makes no pretense at being anything but. From a cosmic Empress who makes Dejah Thoris look plain to a warrior who can handle whatever comes with sword, gun.....or whatever, this is a fantasy.
I recommend this one, fun, fast, exciting...why not saddle up, or pull on your SWASH top boots, BUCKLE on your sword, and come along on THE Glory Road.
Update after (another) reread:
I had forgotten a lot of the philosophical content in this one. Heinlein puts a lot of his beliefs and so on into the conversations and situations here.
That aside (and I agree with him some as well as disagreeing with him some) this book is still a good action packed fantasy with humor thrown in along the way.
"We'll be getting to a brick road farther ahead."
"Are the bricks yellow?"
"Yes the mud here is yellow, does it make a difference?"
"Just don't make a Hobbit of it."
Good book, still highly recommended.
July 12, 2024
4.5 ⭐
„Пътят на славата“ е много хубаво фентъзи! Робърт Хайнлайн е написал любопитна приключенска история с приятна приказна атмосфера, в която е вплел своите житейски възгледи и ирония към човечеството. Главният герой е бивш американски войник, който временно живее във Франция. Към даден момент той силно се влюбва в загадъчна жена, а тя го повежда на изключително странно и опасно пътешествие в други светове...
„Надявах се, че никога повече няма да ми се наложи да стрелям с лък. Един комарджия добре знае, че не може при всяко раздаване да разчита на добра карта. Следващият ми изстрел може да се окаже бумеранг, който да заличи досегашните ми постижения.“
„Ти не познаваш обичаите. Тук човек приема само онова, което доброволно му се предлага… тук дори едно дете има достатъчна гордост, за да не приеме нещо, ако не му се дава от сърце.“
„Излязох от сауната и си подсвирквах „Най-хубавите неща в живота са безплатни“… после млъкнах натъжен заради моите бедни, нещастни съотечественици, измамени още от рождението си с най-голямата лъжа в историята на човечеството.“
„Милорд, Руфо има много недостатъци. Но не и да казва истината.“
„Обидата е като питието; действа само, когато се приеме.“
„Ако за едно нещо никога не е имало спор, не се налага то да се забулва в мистерии.“
„Пси“ е по-добра дума от „магия“; едносричните думи са по-силни от многосричните… виж речите на Уинстън Чърчил. Не разбирам нищо, така както не мога да обясня защо никога не мога да се изгубя. Просто си мисля, че е абсурдно други хора да го могат.“
„Но демократичната форма на правителство е добра, стига да се прилага успешно. Всяка организация на дадено общество дава добри резултати, ако не е прекалено догматична.“
„Ти ми изясни всичко. Или отново ме измами, не зная кое е по-вярно от двете.“
„Пътят на славата“ е много хубаво фентъзи! Робърт Хайнлайн е написал любопитна приключенска история с приятна приказна атмосфера, в която е вплел своите житейски възгледи и ирония към човечеството. Главният герой е бивш американски войник, който временно живее във Франция. Към даден момент той силно се влюбва в загадъчна жена, а тя го повежда на изключително странно и опасно пътешествие в други светове...
„Надявах се, че никога повече няма да ми се наложи да стрелям с лък. Един комарджия добре знае, че не може при всяко раздаване да разчита на добра карта. Следващият ми изстрел може да се окаже бумеранг, който да заличи досегашните ми постижения.“
„Ти не познаваш обичаите. Тук човек приема само онова, което доброволно му се предлага… тук дори едно дете има достатъчна гордост, за да не приеме нещо, ако не му се дава от сърце.“
„Излязох от сауната и си подсвирквах „Най-хубавите неща в живота са безплатни“… после млъкнах натъжен заради моите бедни, нещастни съотечественици, измамени още от рождението си с най-голямата лъжа в историята на човечеството.“
„Милорд, Руфо има много недостатъци. Но не и да казва истината.“
„Обидата е като питието; действа само, когато се приеме.“
„Ако за едно нещо никога не е имало спор, не се налага то да се забулва в мистерии.“
„Пси“ е по-добра дума от „магия“; едносричните думи са по-силни от многосричните… виж речите на Уинстън Чърчил. Не разбирам нищо, така както не мога да обясня защо никога не мога да се изгубя. Просто си мисля, че е абсурдно други хора да го могат.“
„Но демократичната форма на правителство е добра, стига да се прилага успешно. Всяка организация на дадено общество дава добри резултати, ако не е прекалено догматична.“
„Ти ми изясни всичко. Или отново ме измами, не зная кое е по-вярно от двете.“
May 2, 2024
Glory Road has long been one of my two favorite Robert A. Heinlein novels. I cheerfully volunteered to review this [then] new (2004) edition. Well, there's always a risk in revisiting an old favorite, especially for a critical reading....
I did enjoy Samuel R. Delany's graceful and affectionate afterword:
"Young Galahad (aka EC Gordon) is pricking o'er the plain of life when, on the Ile du Levant, he runs into She Who Must Be Obeyed and her grandson, Alberich cum Sancho Panza, all three of whom then journey down the Yellow Brick Road until, after a bit of hedonistic horseplay and a variety of dragon slaying, they are to the Dark Tower come..."
Delany even figures out that the Mystery Swordsman was none other than Cyrano de Bergerac! Cool.
And Heinlein is careful to give sfnal explanations for all these magical shenanigans. What's more, he continues the story after the Quest is Won, to see what happens to a Hero whose dreams have all come true.... Hint: it ain't pretty. Heinlein's prose in Glory Road is as clear as crystal, a joy to read. So there's still a lot to like here.
What I didn't like, this time, were the dumb, outdated sex-role attitudes of the characters -- I mean, here's Her Wisdom, Empress of the Twenty Universes, endlessly simpering over 'Scar' Gordon, hick from the sticks. He is a Hero, and a hunk, but give me a break. And the constant condescension of the Galactics for us poor old Earth humans is both silly and wearing.
So I just didn't have that much fun rereading Glory Road this time, guys. The book felt dated, and silly, and tired. There's a lot more windy pontificating on Heinlein's hobbyhorses than I remembered, and the whole novel has a makeshift, ramshackle feel to it. Sigh.
Anyway, I'm kinda sorry I signed up to do this review. Another hazy golden memory of youth, slain by critical rereading.
So -- should you read Glory Road, if you never have? I may not be the best one to ask. The problem is, I've read the book at least a half-dozen times since it was published in 1963. I used to love this book. It's been a reliable comfort-read for decades, but I'd never read it in analytical, review-writer mode. And it just didn't hold up to that.
Glory Road has been accumulating praise -- and brickbats -- since it was first published, fifty-some years ago. And it can still stir up controversy. I posted an early draft of this (mildly negative) review to an online Heinlein newsgroup and was furiously attacked to the point that the then-President of the Heinlein Society emailed my editor at SF Site demanding that he not publish this review: "It is puerile, shows evident lack of critical analysis and knowledge of a classic work," yadda, yadda. That's right, folks -- Banned by the Heinlein Society!
That's a lot of heat for a 60 year old pulp-adventure novel, written (to paraphrase its author) to compete for Joe's beer money. For better or worse, Heinlein's influence on SF has been massive. For pure escapist reading, you could do a whole lot worse than Glory Road. Especially if you are a horny young male.... Older readers, however, may want to hold on to the illusions of youth, and pass up the reread.
I found three substantial critical reviews of Glory Road online -- which is three more than you'd find for 98% of the bestselling novels of 40 years ago. The most recent is an interesting review-essay by Jonathan Strahan, a sharp [then] young Australian editor, which is spoiler-free:
"Honestly, as much as I loved it when I was young, and as much as I've admired Heinlein all these years, it's hard to see Glory Road as being anything other than one for the history books." [note 1]
Novelist and critic Alexei Panshin has an interesting, near-contemporaneous review [no longer online]. He didn't much care for it (which was a pretty common reaction among fans at the time):
"[Glory Road] spends the bulk of its energy on conversation about the relativity of customs, the second-rate nature of sex as practiced on this planet (Earthmen are Lousy Lovers) [etc.]... The sword-and-sorcery fantasy merely comes as an interlude in the conversation, as though clowns were to pummel each other with bladders as an entr'acte on Meet the Press."
Delany's 1979 afterword [no longer online] is the most sympathetic:
"The ease and energy about Glory Road suggest an author in a pleasant state vis-a-vis his own creative power... It is a voice that carries a high degree of joyous abandon... "Look!" it seems to say, if not sing. "This is no more serious than a feather, nor will it ever be!" Wonderfully written and insightful stuff.
-------
Note 1. The late President of the Heinlein Society summarily rejected Mr. Strahan's opinions, because "he's barely forty years old, and wasn't even born when Glory Road was written. His undergraduate degree was in economics and history, not literature..." That's right, folks: He's not qualified to review Glory Road because he's not old enough! And he doesn't have a degree in literature!! [Strahan's review is no longer online.]
Review commissioned by SF Site, 2005:
https://www.sfsite.com/03a/gr195.htm
Lightly revised, 2017
I did enjoy Samuel R. Delany's graceful and affectionate afterword:
"Young Galahad (aka EC Gordon) is pricking o'er the plain of life when, on the Ile du Levant, he runs into She Who Must Be Obeyed and her grandson, Alberich cum Sancho Panza, all three of whom then journey down the Yellow Brick Road until, after a bit of hedonistic horseplay and a variety of dragon slaying, they are to the Dark Tower come..."
Delany even figures out that the Mystery Swordsman was none other than Cyrano de Bergerac! Cool.
And Heinlein is careful to give sfnal explanations for all these magical shenanigans. What's more, he continues the story after the Quest is Won, to see what happens to a Hero whose dreams have all come true.... Hint: it ain't pretty. Heinlein's prose in Glory Road is as clear as crystal, a joy to read. So there's still a lot to like here.
What I didn't like, this time, were the dumb, outdated sex-role attitudes of the characters -- I mean, here's Her Wisdom, Empress of the Twenty Universes, endlessly simpering over 'Scar' Gordon, hick from the sticks. He is a Hero, and a hunk, but give me a break. And the constant condescension of the Galactics for us poor old Earth humans is both silly and wearing.
So I just didn't have that much fun rereading Glory Road this time, guys. The book felt dated, and silly, and tired. There's a lot more windy pontificating on Heinlein's hobbyhorses than I remembered, and the whole novel has a makeshift, ramshackle feel to it. Sigh.
Anyway, I'm kinda sorry I signed up to do this review. Another hazy golden memory of youth, slain by critical rereading.
So -- should you read Glory Road, if you never have? I may not be the best one to ask. The problem is, I've read the book at least a half-dozen times since it was published in 1963. I used to love this book. It's been a reliable comfort-read for decades, but I'd never read it in analytical, review-writer mode. And it just didn't hold up to that.
Glory Road has been accumulating praise -- and brickbats -- since it was first published, fifty-some years ago. And it can still stir up controversy. I posted an early draft of this (mildly negative) review to an online Heinlein newsgroup and was furiously attacked to the point that the then-President of the Heinlein Society emailed my editor at SF Site demanding that he not publish this review: "It is puerile, shows evident lack of critical analysis and knowledge of a classic work," yadda, yadda. That's right, folks -- Banned by the Heinlein Society!
That's a lot of heat for a 60 year old pulp-adventure novel, written (to paraphrase its author) to compete for Joe's beer money. For better or worse, Heinlein's influence on SF has been massive. For pure escapist reading, you could do a whole lot worse than Glory Road. Especially if you are a horny young male.... Older readers, however, may want to hold on to the illusions of youth, and pass up the reread.
I found three substantial critical reviews of Glory Road online -- which is three more than you'd find for 98% of the bestselling novels of 40 years ago. The most recent is an interesting review-essay by Jonathan Strahan, a sharp [then] young Australian editor, which is spoiler-free:
"Honestly, as much as I loved it when I was young, and as much as I've admired Heinlein all these years, it's hard to see Glory Road as being anything other than one for the history books." [note 1]
Novelist and critic Alexei Panshin has an interesting, near-contemporaneous review [no longer online]. He didn't much care for it (which was a pretty common reaction among fans at the time):
"[Glory Road] spends the bulk of its energy on conversation about the relativity of customs, the second-rate nature of sex as practiced on this planet (Earthmen are Lousy Lovers) [etc.]... The sword-and-sorcery fantasy merely comes as an interlude in the conversation, as though clowns were to pummel each other with bladders as an entr'acte on Meet the Press."
Delany's 1979 afterword [no longer online] is the most sympathetic:
"The ease and energy about Glory Road suggest an author in a pleasant state vis-a-vis his own creative power... It is a voice that carries a high degree of joyous abandon... "Look!" it seems to say, if not sing. "This is no more serious than a feather, nor will it ever be!" Wonderfully written and insightful stuff.
-------
Note 1. The late President of the Heinlein Society summarily rejected Mr. Strahan's opinions, because "he's barely forty years old, and wasn't even born when Glory Road was written. His undergraduate degree was in economics and history, not literature..." That's right, folks: He's not qualified to review Glory Road because he's not old enough! And he doesn't have a degree in literature!! [Strahan's review is no longer online.]
Review commissioned by SF Site, 2005:
https://www.sfsite.com/03a/gr195.htm
Lightly revised, 2017
August 23, 2024
Неизбежно бе да се случи - да не харесам толкова книга, както когато съм я чел преди 25+ години…
Началото е обещаващо, приключението се развива прилично добре и ми достави удоволствие. Но втората част от книгата, с всичките философски и мачо напъни на автора, маскирани като лежерна вселенска притча ми дойде в повече…
И все пак, надали има мъж, който би се отказал да тръгне по Пътят на славата! ⚔️
Определено не е сред най-добрите книги на Хайнлайн.
А преводът е по деветдесетарски ужасен. 🙁
Началото е обещаващо, приключението се развива прилично добре и ми достави удоволствие. Но втората част от книгата, с всичките философски и мачо напъни на автора, маскирани като лежерна вселенска притча ми дойде в повече…
И все пак, надали има мъж, който би се отказал да тръгне по Пътят на славата! ⚔️
Определено не е сред най-добрите книги на Хайнлайн.
А преводът е по деветдесетарски ужасен. 🙁
January 8, 2009
When I picked up my copy of "Glory Road," I was met with a cover depicting a buxom woman in tights, a dwarf and a guy dressed like Robin Hood battling what appears to be a fire-breathing dinosaur and a blurb proclaiming this one of the "best SF novels of all-time." And I thought to myself--this is precisely why some people don't take science-fiction as a literary genre seriously. Covers like this that depict such absurd scenes really can put off the serious intellectuals who look down their nose at sci-fi and can't see the forest for the trees.
Then I read the book and the scene on the cover actually happens within the pages of "Glory Road."
Whoops....
I guess that whole "don't judge a book by its cover thing" thing really does apply here.
And here we come to my yearly reading of Heinlein. I participate in a science-fiction and fantasy discussion group and each year our January selection is by Robert Heinlein. Having read "Starship Troopers" last year and missed a discussion on "Stranger in a Strange Land," that leaves a lot of the other "lesser" Heinlein novels on the table for reading and discussion. I tried suggesting a collection of short stories but after hearing this one advertised as young man answers classified ad for hero and has adventures, I have to admit I was kind of intrigued by it. Looking at when it was written by Heinlein, I was hopeful it might be from the period before he became old, pervy and pretty much insane.
Alas, "Glory Road" is a preview of the old, pervy and insane Heinlein to come.
E.C. "Scar" Gordon is your typical, later period Heinlein hero. By that, I mean he's this fantasized version of himself that Heinlein puts into just about all of his later books. Gordon is a man's man, virile, red-blooded, full of opinions and completely attractive to every woman he encounters. Women can't resist him becuase...umm....well, if you figure that one out you let me know. Gordon is the veteran of an unnamed war in Asia (clearly the Vietnam war, though at the time Heinlein wrote, that name hadn't stuck yet) who decides to finish his education on the G.I. Bill. That is until he finds out that Congress hasn't approved the funding, leaving him stuck in Europe. He decides to spend some time in France in a town where going around in the buff is common and fully accepted by everyone. On the beach one day, he sees a stunningly beautiful woman who he falls instantly in love with though he fails to do something silly like catch her name or introduce himself. The next day he is torn between trying to find this beautiful woman or taking advantage of his ticket in the Irish Sweepstakes.
Upon finding his ticket is a fake, he returns to town and tries to find the girl. But to no luck. He sees an ad various papers he reads, looking for a hero and since it applies to him--all except the part about being handsome, he says--he decides to follow up on it before returning to the United States.
And lo and behold, the naked girl from the beach is the one who placed the ad. To find him. I'm not joking on that one. Gordon calls her Star and she says she needs a hero to accompany her and a dwarf on a dangerous journey, full of peril to retrieve some object becuase...well, she doesn't actually tell him at this point.
It's at this point (and this is only the first third at best of the novel) that the book begins to quickly derail. As I said before, Oscar is clearly a Heinlein stand-in and it's only moments before Star is desparately in love with him. Why I'm not sure, since the guy is a manipulative, controlling man who threatens to keep her in line by spanking her if the need arises. Star, who apparently hasn't been around any men lately, finds this incredibly sexy and falls deeper and deeper in love. Eventually, the two get married but not before Star offers to let Oscar sample her first sexually. In fact, upon his proposal, Star offers to jump his bones right there on the Glory Road.
Meanwhile, the trio are on some kind of quest, journeying up the road. At several points, Oscar asks Star what the nature of their quest is, only to have her deflect the question. This gets frustrating because it's clearly Heinlein trying to keep the coming twist a secret as long as possible. But given that Gordon is such a man's man and in complete control over Star, it's hard to believe that he'll just accept the secret and not pursue it further. It's a contradiction in character that is alarmingly apparent and really ruins the middle third of this novel.
And believe me, there's a lot working against the middle third of this book. A journey up the Glory Road should be, well, exciting. Or at least interesting. Instead, it's just...well, there. There is the battle with fire-breathing dinosaurs and the way that Oscar deals with a couple of threats requires such a huge suspension of disbelief that it completely took me out of the story. And that doesn't even begin to cover the long sections of characters sitting around discussing Heinlein's views on women and sexual relationships. If you think the whole Star offering herself right there to Oscar is a bit out there, wait until you get to the part of where the ruler offers his three daughters to Oscar. In many ways, it's a preview of the later Heinlein obsession with the idea that monogomy goes against the basic urges and insticts of mankind. And that men, if the right kind of man mind you, should be able to have sex with whoever and whenever possible in order to sow the wild oats and produce more men like him.
Thankfully, the novel finally ends this third and we find out the twist. Star is the Queen of the Multiverses. And Gordon is her husband/consort. The final third of the novel has some more interesting moments, though Heinlein's political idea that the best way to deal with any issue is to leave it alone seems a bit naive at best. It may stem from feelings at the time of writing about the conflict in Vietnam.
The final third tries to look at how Oscar reacts to his new life and what really gives life meaning and purpose. When it gets there, it is interesting and almost enough to redeem the novel. But not quite.
I've read several places that many consider this one of Heinlein's top novels. I can't say I agree. I will admit I've read only a limited amount of Heinlein, but "Glory Road" is precisely one of those novels that exemplifies why I just can't get excited about reading more of his works.
Then I read the book and the scene on the cover actually happens within the pages of "Glory Road."
Whoops....
I guess that whole "don't judge a book by its cover thing" thing really does apply here.
And here we come to my yearly reading of Heinlein. I participate in a science-fiction and fantasy discussion group and each year our January selection is by Robert Heinlein. Having read "Starship Troopers" last year and missed a discussion on "Stranger in a Strange Land," that leaves a lot of the other "lesser" Heinlein novels on the table for reading and discussion. I tried suggesting a collection of short stories but after hearing this one advertised as young man answers classified ad for hero and has adventures, I have to admit I was kind of intrigued by it. Looking at when it was written by Heinlein, I was hopeful it might be from the period before he became old, pervy and pretty much insane.
Alas, "Glory Road" is a preview of the old, pervy and insane Heinlein to come.
E.C. "Scar" Gordon is your typical, later period Heinlein hero. By that, I mean he's this fantasized version of himself that Heinlein puts into just about all of his later books. Gordon is a man's man, virile, red-blooded, full of opinions and completely attractive to every woman he encounters. Women can't resist him becuase...umm....well, if you figure that one out you let me know. Gordon is the veteran of an unnamed war in Asia (clearly the Vietnam war, though at the time Heinlein wrote, that name hadn't stuck yet) who decides to finish his education on the G.I. Bill. That is until he finds out that Congress hasn't approved the funding, leaving him stuck in Europe. He decides to spend some time in France in a town where going around in the buff is common and fully accepted by everyone. On the beach one day, he sees a stunningly beautiful woman who he falls instantly in love with though he fails to do something silly like catch her name or introduce himself. The next day he is torn between trying to find this beautiful woman or taking advantage of his ticket in the Irish Sweepstakes.
Upon finding his ticket is a fake, he returns to town and tries to find the girl. But to no luck. He sees an ad various papers he reads, looking for a hero and since it applies to him--all except the part about being handsome, he says--he decides to follow up on it before returning to the United States.
And lo and behold, the naked girl from the beach is the one who placed the ad. To find him. I'm not joking on that one. Gordon calls her Star and she says she needs a hero to accompany her and a dwarf on a dangerous journey, full of peril to retrieve some object becuase...well, she doesn't actually tell him at this point.
It's at this point (and this is only the first third at best of the novel) that the book begins to quickly derail. As I said before, Oscar is clearly a Heinlein stand-in and it's only moments before Star is desparately in love with him. Why I'm not sure, since the guy is a manipulative, controlling man who threatens to keep her in line by spanking her if the need arises. Star, who apparently hasn't been around any men lately, finds this incredibly sexy and falls deeper and deeper in love. Eventually, the two get married but not before Star offers to let Oscar sample her first sexually. In fact, upon his proposal, Star offers to jump his bones right there on the Glory Road.
Meanwhile, the trio are on some kind of quest, journeying up the road. At several points, Oscar asks Star what the nature of their quest is, only to have her deflect the question. This gets frustrating because it's clearly Heinlein trying to keep the coming twist a secret as long as possible. But given that Gordon is such a man's man and in complete control over Star, it's hard to believe that he'll just accept the secret and not pursue it further. It's a contradiction in character that is alarmingly apparent and really ruins the middle third of this novel.
And believe me, there's a lot working against the middle third of this book. A journey up the Glory Road should be, well, exciting. Or at least interesting. Instead, it's just...well, there. There is the battle with fire-breathing dinosaurs and the way that Oscar deals with a couple of threats requires such a huge suspension of disbelief that it completely took me out of the story. And that doesn't even begin to cover the long sections of characters sitting around discussing Heinlein's views on women and sexual relationships. If you think the whole Star offering herself right there to Oscar is a bit out there, wait until you get to the part of where the ruler offers his three daughters to Oscar. In many ways, it's a preview of the later Heinlein obsession with the idea that monogomy goes against the basic urges and insticts of mankind. And that men, if the right kind of man mind you, should be able to have sex with whoever and whenever possible in order to sow the wild oats and produce more men like him.
Thankfully, the novel finally ends this third and we find out the twist. Star is the Queen of the Multiverses. And Gordon is her husband/consort. The final third of the novel has some more interesting moments, though Heinlein's political idea that the best way to deal with any issue is to leave it alone seems a bit naive at best. It may stem from feelings at the time of writing about the conflict in Vietnam.
The final third tries to look at how Oscar reacts to his new life and what really gives life meaning and purpose. When it gets there, it is interesting and almost enough to redeem the novel. But not quite.
I've read several places that many consider this one of Heinlein's top novels. I can't say I agree. I will admit I've read only a limited amount of Heinlein, but "Glory Road" is precisely one of those novels that exemplifies why I just can't get excited about reading more of his works.
September 10, 2023
Glory Road was nominated for a Hugo Award as best novel of the year when it appeared in 1963 but lost to Clifford D. Simak's Way Station. It's been called Heinlein's only fantasy novel, though I'd say it's quite similar to his later novel The Number of the Beast (and the alternate version, The Pursuit of the Pankera), both thematically and plot-wise. On the surface it's an adventure novel that examines the question of what's a hero good for once the goal has been reached and the battle has been won?, but he indulges himself along the way in presenting his rules of manners for a happy marriage as both comedy and tragedy. It all seems quite terribly dated to me now, and there are a few true truly cringe-worthy bits that I remember finding suspect the first time I read the novel, many years ago. For example, Oscar (the hero), has an argument with Star (his wife), who appears to be a beautiful young teenager though she's actually much, much older than him, a grandmother and witch and empress of the twenty realms and an accomplished swashbuckling sword slinger in her own right. His reaction is that he tells her that if she ever yells at him like that again he'll haul her out into the middle of the road and pull off her pants and spank her; she meekly submits and calls him "milord" as she apologizes. There are several unlikely similar scenes that just kill the flow of his story, no need to go into details, but a couple of his ideas seemed like the spark for a John Norman Gor chapter. I believe that books from the past have to be compared with novels from their own time, but sometimes events are just overtaken by the march of time, just as the important element of The Irish Sweepstakes in the plot was. Aside from that, it is an entertaining story, and some of his political ideas are still thought provoking, even when you disagree with his conclusions. He foresaw the war in southeast Asia quite presciently. I still wouldn't rank it among his best, but I enjoyed revisiting it.
September 20, 2023
It's very good -- with major caveats.
The controversy
This book isn't sexist, though I understand why some people react to it as if it was. Short version: Star, the main love interest, acts very submissive towards the protagonist, and his reactions are sometimes... bad. Yes, it's cringey, and definitely not my kind of fantasy. But it's not sexist. At no point does Heinlein suggest this is how all women are, or how women should be, or that women (or Star herself) are somehow inferior. At the beginning, the protagonist is as annoyed by Star's submissiveness as much as I was as a reader, but most importantly, there's a big twist at the end which drastically changes everything we thought about Oscar and Star's dynamic, and it seems like the critics just chose to ignore it and take the earlier parts at face value.
The story
It's a very interesting book. It's a classic fantasy/fairy-tale story, with the addition of a multiverse (and a climax in a dark tower in another universe which shows the protagonist visions of his past...), touches of sci-fi, unique characters, and a very interesting hero's journey. I'll talk about the last part in its own section.
“I was promoted to corporal. I was promoted seven times. To corporal.”
“Look, Star, I’m not going to believe the impossible simply because I was there."
Oh, and it's funny too.
The adventures themselves were a bit of a mess: a string of random encounters, some for action or fun and some for Heinlein to preach his usual "free love is great" and "tradition is stupid".
My usual criticism is that none of Heinlein's preachings are well-explored. He just states an idea, claims it's evidently true, and mocks anyone who thinks differently. There's no attempt to explore why established tradition is the way it is, and if, maybe, there are satisfying historical and psychological reasons for it.
But the heart of the story is the characters and their interactions. There are only three characters of note: Oscar, Star, and Rufo. All three are unique, entertaining, and extremely flawed in interesting ways.
The story structure is itself interesting: it's a classic hero's journey -- then it ends, but the book goes on still. It explores what happens after the hero had won it all, and it's very interesting. It explores why the hero's journey is a cycle, and why the end must be the beginning of a new one.
Oscar and his hero's journey
At the beginning of the story, Oscar is thrust into a world he does not understand, and tries to rely on Star -- but she refuses to lead. She is stronger, smarter, and older than he is, but she refuses to make any decision whatsoever. At the beginning, Oscar is highly annoyed by it, and looking back on similar experiences I had myself, I can definitely relate. It's a confusing experience for a young man: talking to a woman who knows a lot and who has opinions about everything, and yet refuses to make decisions or take initiatives.
Part of Oscar's journey is learning responsibility: at some point he has had enough of Star's indecisiveness, and takes charge. He learns to ask for Star's opinion on things (as she knows more than he does and is smarter than him) and to use her abilities (she's a talented fighter and magic user), but he is the one who takes charge and makes decisions. He didn't choose this -- it was forced on him. The result is an interesting exploration of leadership and responsibility.
Another interesting part is Oscar's revelations about his own abilities: early on, he's not at all confident in his abilities. After being forced to take charge, he begins to rely on himself -- and discovers his own competence. That, too, is an interesting exploration of the real-life aspects of the hero's journey: being forced to test himself, Oscar discovers his own strength.
Oscar is a very flawed character, in one of the more interesting choices Heinlein took here. Oscar treats Star badly (especially after the journey is over), and while he's fully aware of it he can't stop himself. He accuses her of things he knows she didn't do or that weren't her fault, and all the while his inner monologue tells us he knows this, and knows how pathetic he is, but he does it anyway because he can't help himself. That's when he learns he must leave; that the life he earned for himself brings out the worst in him. After his hero's journey is over, his only choice is to go look for a new one, restarting the cycle. A hero is not meant to retire.
The controversy
This book isn't sexist, though I understand why some people react to it as if it was. Short version: Star, the main love interest, acts very submissive towards the protagonist, and his reactions are sometimes... bad. Yes, it's cringey, and definitely not my kind of fantasy. But it's not sexist. At no point does Heinlein suggest this is how all women are, or how women should be, or that women (or Star herself) are somehow inferior. At the beginning, the protagonist is as annoyed by Star's submissiveness as much as I was as a reader, but most importantly, there's a big twist at the end which drastically changes everything we thought about Oscar and Star's dynamic, and it seems like the critics just chose to ignore it and take the earlier parts at face value.
The story
It's a very interesting book. It's a classic fantasy/fairy-tale story, with the addition of a multiverse (and a climax in a dark tower in another universe which shows the protagonist visions of his past...), touches of sci-fi, unique characters, and a very interesting hero's journey. I'll talk about the last part in its own section.
“I was promoted to corporal. I was promoted seven times. To corporal.”
“Look, Star, I’m not going to believe the impossible simply because I was there."
Oh, and it's funny too.
The adventures themselves were a bit of a mess: a string of random encounters, some for action or fun and some for Heinlein to preach his usual "free love is great" and "tradition is stupid".
My usual criticism is that none of Heinlein's preachings are well-explored. He just states an idea, claims it's evidently true, and mocks anyone who thinks differently. There's no attempt to explore why established tradition is the way it is, and if, maybe, there are satisfying historical and psychological reasons for it.
But the heart of the story is the characters and their interactions. There are only three characters of note: Oscar, Star, and Rufo. All three are unique, entertaining, and extremely flawed in interesting ways.
The story structure is itself interesting: it's a classic hero's journey -- then it ends, but the book goes on still. It explores what happens after the hero had won it all, and it's very interesting. It explores why the hero's journey is a cycle, and why the end must be the beginning of a new one.
Oscar and his hero's journey
At the beginning of the story, Oscar is thrust into a world he does not understand, and tries to rely on Star -- but she refuses to lead. She is stronger, smarter, and older than he is, but she refuses to make any decision whatsoever. At the beginning, Oscar is highly annoyed by it, and looking back on similar experiences I had myself, I can definitely relate. It's a confusing experience for a young man: talking to a woman who knows a lot and who has opinions about everything, and yet refuses to make decisions or take initiatives.
Part of Oscar's journey is learning responsibility: at some point he has had enough of Star's indecisiveness, and takes charge. He learns to ask for Star's opinion on things (as she knows more than he does and is smarter than him) and to use her abilities (she's a talented fighter and magic user), but he is the one who takes charge and makes decisions. He didn't choose this -- it was forced on him. The result is an interesting exploration of leadership and responsibility.
Another interesting part is Oscar's revelations about his own abilities: early on, he's not at all confident in his abilities. After being forced to take charge, he begins to rely on himself -- and discovers his own competence. That, too, is an interesting exploration of the real-life aspects of the hero's journey: being forced to test himself, Oscar discovers his own strength.
Oscar is a very flawed character, in one of the more interesting choices Heinlein took here. Oscar treats Star badly (especially after the journey is over), and while he's fully aware of it he can't stop himself. He accuses her of things he knows she didn't do or that weren't her fault, and all the while his inner monologue tells us he knows this, and knows how pathetic he is, but he does it anyway because he can't help himself. That's when he learns he must leave; that the life he earned for himself brings out the worst in him. After his hero's journey is over, his only choice is to go look for a new one, restarting the cycle. A hero is not meant to retire.
March 9, 2020
Hmm. Not one of Heinlein's best, IMHO, but then, no author I've ever come across has not had at least one book in their collection that was 'meh'.
Don't get me wrong, this book did have some good parts and interesting concepts, but overall, and the ending, left something to be desired. The most I can give it is 3.25/5 stars.
For a more solid Heinlein read, I suggest 'The Past through Tomorrow', 'Stranger in a Strange Land', or 'Time Enough For Love'.
Don't get me wrong, this book did have some good parts and interesting concepts, but overall, and the ending, left something to be desired. The most I can give it is 3.25/5 stars.
For a more solid Heinlein read, I suggest 'The Past through Tomorrow', 'Stranger in a Strange Land', or 'Time Enough For Love'.
September 11, 2020
(2020 reread #1)
Ah, the glories of free audio books on demand... I needed a pick-me-up during some stressful tasks, and having this running in the background proved just the thing.
(2020 reread #1)
Sometimes Heinlein is just what I need. His characters are rich and plots neatly crafted. Glory Road has always been one of my favorites, with a least a nod to Heroes and Monsters among the satire and commentary and the fallacy of the All American Boy .
My library has again expanded electronic offerings and opportunities for borrowing them, and I recently found that Glory Road was in audio form and ready, so I let it lull me to sleep a few nights and sing with me in the shower for a few mornings.
The audio version... well. To the plus-plus-plus-plus-plus side, the voice artist is the ridiculously talented Bronson Pinchont, who manages distinct accents and voices over at least five characters. To the negative, though, they needed an equally talented editor familiar with the book to prep and filter the voices.
The trouble starts in the center of the book, when we find the Hero's nemesis, a seemingly throw-away swordsman guarding the treasure. He's dressed "more for the Paris of Richelieu" and sports "a merry grin and the biggest nose west of Durante", and astute readers will recognize him as the shade of Cyrano de Bergerac.
So Mr. Pinchot plays him with an accent somewhere between Star Trek's Riley and Pirates' Barbosa.
Well, the trouble actually backtracks to the early chapters. Since our Hero meets his travelling companions in France, even though they are from (way) out of town, they have French accents. So the French accents are already taken, and apparently Inigo Montoya filled the quota of Spanish world-class swordsmen, yep, we'll go Irish.
But wait, there's more! Near the end of the book, we are in civilization and find that Star has lost her accent. No big deal. But our Hero's buddy won't give up bad French, even after being described as speaking "Cockney like a costermonger, Bostonese like Beacon Hill, Aussie like a Kangaroo"...
So yeah, reasonably good in audio, but with that feeling that things just aren't right...
Ah, the glories of free audio books on demand... I needed a pick-me-up during some stressful tasks, and having this running in the background proved just the thing.
(2020 reread #1)
Sometimes Heinlein is just what I need. His characters are rich and plots neatly crafted. Glory Road has always been one of my favorites, with a least a nod to Heroes and Monsters among the satire and commentary and the fallacy of the All American Boy .
My library has again expanded electronic offerings and opportunities for borrowing them, and I recently found that Glory Road was in audio form and ready, so I let it lull me to sleep a few nights and sing with me in the shower for a few mornings.
The audio version... well. To the plus-plus-plus-plus-plus side, the voice artist is the ridiculously talented Bronson Pinchont, who manages distinct accents and voices over at least five characters. To the negative, though, they needed an equally talented editor familiar with the book to prep and filter the voices.
The trouble starts in the center of the book, when we find the Hero's nemesis, a seemingly throw-away swordsman guarding the treasure. He's dressed "more for the Paris of Richelieu" and sports "a merry grin and the biggest nose west of Durante", and astute readers will recognize him as the shade of Cyrano de Bergerac.
So Mr. Pinchot plays him with an accent somewhere between Star Trek's Riley and Pirates' Barbosa.
Well, the trouble actually backtracks to the early chapters. Since our Hero meets his travelling companions in France, even though they are from (way) out of town, they have French accents. So the French accents are already taken, and apparently Inigo Montoya filled the quota of Spanish world-class swordsmen, yep, we'll go Irish.
But wait, there's more! Near the end of the book, we are in civilization and find that Star has lost her accent. No big deal. But our Hero's buddy won't give up bad French, even after being described as speaking "Cockney like a costermonger, Bostonese like Beacon Hill, Aussie like a Kangaroo"...
So yeah, reasonably good in audio, but with that feeling that things just aren't right...
August 17, 2016
Glory Road is Heinlein’s homage to Edgar Rice Burroughs: a tale of an American solider seduced by a fair princess into taking on all manner of alien and fantastical foes. Included, of course, are many dissertations on what’s wrong with America, and Earth in general, not the least of which is/are taxes. Heinlein’s hero, like all Heinlein heroes is a fair decent guy who is brave, willing to learn, a staunch self-preservationist, and always threatening to beat his woman. The heroine this time is a lady who is strong, wise and independent in every way except that she becomes meek in the face of her hero’s preening, self-assured, ill-informed, confrontational attitude. The squire Rufo is the best, a bastion of common-sense, full of engaging anecdotes, and a generally pleasant take-it-as-it-comes demeanor.
I’m pretty sure I liked this book better the first time I read it. The best part is what comes after the adventure is won. What happens to an unemployed hero? What does he do to occupy his time? I know what I’d do, but then, I’m no hero.
I’m pretty sure I liked this book better the first time I read it. The best part is what comes after the adventure is won. What happens to an unemployed hero? What does he do to occupy his time? I know what I’d do, but then, I’m no hero.
November 27, 2018
Няма нищо по -хубаво във вторник от срещата с добрата стара класическа фантастика .
Да пътят към славата винаги е труден , особенно , ако трябва да се биеш дракони , да се местиш на различни планети , цената включва и женско сърце, но героите накрая винаги заплащат цената на своя успех.
Да пътят към славата винаги е труден , особенно , ако трябва да се биеш дракони , да се местиш на различни планети , цената включва и женско сърце, но героите накрая винаги заплащат цената на своя успех.
July 7, 2023
A quick read to celebrate Robert A. Heinlein's birthday today ( July 7). This Is RAH's fantasy story. Great fun--despite all the sexism. Read it as an elementary school kid and then, again, not long before I turned 30 ( during the Reagan Administration). Still enjoy it after all these years!
March 7, 2017
It was for sure my least favorite Heinlein's book, also one of my least favorite SCi-Fi of all time.
Not recommended at all.
Not recommended at all.
June 21, 2012
Fantasy from a Science Fiction Master
I really enjoy the work of Heinlein, especially his lead characters who always seem well drawn and quite realistic, they always have their own unique voice and in Glory Roads' Oscar he doesn't disappoint.
Beyond that however I really failed to connect with the book once it takes on the deliberate fantastical setting. I wondered at the concept of Science Fantasy as stated on the brilliant cover for this New English Library version (probably my favourite part of the entire book) and hoped that it might just help me get past my aversion to swords and sandals and epic quests for grails of one kind or another. It didn't.
I enjoyed the introduction to Oscar as he gets himself a discharge from the US Army and lives a peaceful life in a nudist area of France, perhaps this too is Heinlein fantasy, but then it quickly turned in to me skimming each page as my interest dwindled with each passing battle.
I'm sure if you like this sort of thing it's all good fun, as I said before Heinlein is a great writer so I can't imagine this is a badly written book. Just not for me and my reading pleasure.
I really enjoy the work of Heinlein, especially his lead characters who always seem well drawn and quite realistic, they always have their own unique voice and in Glory Roads' Oscar he doesn't disappoint.
Beyond that however I really failed to connect with the book once it takes on the deliberate fantastical setting. I wondered at the concept of Science Fantasy as stated on the brilliant cover for this New English Library version (probably my favourite part of the entire book) and hoped that it might just help me get past my aversion to swords and sandals and epic quests for grails of one kind or another. It didn't.
I enjoyed the introduction to Oscar as he gets himself a discharge from the US Army and lives a peaceful life in a nudist area of France, perhaps this too is Heinlein fantasy, but then it quickly turned in to me skimming each page as my interest dwindled with each passing battle.
I'm sure if you like this sort of thing it's all good fun, as I said before Heinlein is a great writer so I can't imagine this is a badly written book. Just not for me and my reading pleasure.
May 24, 2009
If you've read Glory Road, you may be amused by this Quiz question.
April 21, 2021
This is a fantasy novel wrote by the master of SF Robert A. Heinlein (RAH). I read is as a part of monthly reading for April 2021 at Hugo & Nebula Awards: Best Novels group. The novel was nominated for Hugo award in 1964, but lost to Way Station.
The story starts quite interesting: the protagonist, E. C. "Scar" Gordon, is a self-proclaimed coward, who decided to join the army in order not to be drafted (RAH was an anti-conscription advocate) and after getting wounded he end up in Europe, planning to use his GI money to enter university, and later, when funds haven’t arrived, visiting nudist beaches of French Riviera (RAH was a nudism supporter). There he meets a wonderful woman, who vanishes only to meet him again when he answered an ad about seeking for a hero and she hires him.
He, the woman and their assistant/servant/partner start a quest, the final goal of which is not clear for him, but his affection toward his employer is the only thing that matters for him. On their route they, as every fantasy team, meet strange enemies, who try to stop them and wine and dine with friendly locals. Unlike usual fantasy, the hero always thinks as an engineer, so he is interested exactly how dragon fire works and similar things.
The story has a strong start but notably dulls down in the middle with usual for RAH’s later works preaching of his ideas. His treatment of women on a surface is also quite old style, but in reality, it is partly an imitation of the 1940s movies, which most modern readers fail to see.
In Among Others, the protagonist of Jo Walton (I guess largely written from her young self) states that ‘Glory Road is deeply disappointing. I hate it. I stopped reading it and read Gill’s book of Asimov science essays in preference, that’s how much I hate it. I love Heinlein but he clearly doesn’t get fantasy. It’s just stupid. And nobody saying “Oh, Scar” would be heard as “Oscar,” it’s not even plausible. It’s almost as bad as its cover, and that’s saying something, as the cover is so bad that Miss Carroll raised her eyebrows at it from her librarian desk on the other side of the room. It’s funny how Triton, which is all about sex and sociology, has a cover of a spaceship exploding, while Glory Road, which does mention sex here and there but is actually a stupid adventure story, has a cover like that’. I disagree that RAH don’t get fantasy, but he wrote it is a peculiar own way, as SF and as a homage to Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose Mars is fantasy masquerading as SF by setting it on another planet.
This is one of RAH’s weakest works, which probably got a nomination on his name alone. It is still preferred by me to a lot of modern stuff.
The story starts quite interesting: the protagonist, E. C. "Scar" Gordon, is a self-proclaimed coward, who decided to join the army in order not to be drafted (RAH was an anti-conscription advocate) and after getting wounded he end up in Europe, planning to use his GI money to enter university, and later, when funds haven’t arrived, visiting nudist beaches of French Riviera (RAH was a nudism supporter). There he meets a wonderful woman, who vanishes only to meet him again when he answered an ad about seeking for a hero and she hires him.
He, the woman and their assistant/servant/partner start a quest, the final goal of which is not clear for him, but his affection toward his employer is the only thing that matters for him. On their route they, as every fantasy team, meet strange enemies, who try to stop them and wine and dine with friendly locals. Unlike usual fantasy, the hero always thinks as an engineer, so he is interested exactly how dragon fire works and similar things.
The story has a strong start but notably dulls down in the middle with usual for RAH’s later works preaching of his ideas. His treatment of women on a surface is also quite old style, but in reality, it is partly an imitation of the 1940s movies, which most modern readers fail to see.
In Among Others, the protagonist of Jo Walton (I guess largely written from her young self) states that ‘Glory Road is deeply disappointing. I hate it. I stopped reading it and read Gill’s book of Asimov science essays in preference, that’s how much I hate it. I love Heinlein but he clearly doesn’t get fantasy. It’s just stupid. And nobody saying “Oh, Scar” would be heard as “Oscar,” it’s not even plausible. It’s almost as bad as its cover, and that’s saying something, as the cover is so bad that Miss Carroll raised her eyebrows at it from her librarian desk on the other side of the room. It’s funny how Triton, which is all about sex and sociology, has a cover of a spaceship exploding, while Glory Road, which does mention sex here and there but is actually a stupid adventure story, has a cover like that’. I disagree that RAH don’t get fantasy, but he wrote it is a peculiar own way, as SF and as a homage to Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose Mars is fantasy masquerading as SF by setting it on another planet.
This is one of RAH’s weakest works, which probably got a nomination on his name alone. It is still preferred by me to a lot of modern stuff.
June 3, 2011
An incredibly tension free picnic in the woods with your creepy, nudist/free-love aunt and uncle (both in their sixties with lots of warts and liverspots).
In re-reading Heinlein, who was a favorite in my teens, I've enjoyed being provoked and entertained by a fellow who at his best was able to tell a good story while also holding forth on his pet hobby-horses. But Heinlein doing fantasy was extremely slack and seems to indulge his worst impulses to come to a dead stop and pontificate. There is no meaningful plot to get him to just shut up and tell a tale.
At the beginning I was impatient for him to get out of the real world and start the story. By the end I was grateful when he finally came out of silly picnic world with all those doting female gals and back to planet earth. The first Heinlein that ever bored me.
In re-reading Heinlein, who was a favorite in my teens, I've enjoyed being provoked and entertained by a fellow who at his best was able to tell a good story while also holding forth on his pet hobby-horses. But Heinlein doing fantasy was extremely slack and seems to indulge his worst impulses to come to a dead stop and pontificate. There is no meaningful plot to get him to just shut up and tell a tale.
At the beginning I was impatient for him to get out of the real world and start the story. By the end I was grateful when he finally came out of silly picnic world with all those doting female gals and back to planet earth. The first Heinlein that ever bored me.
November 2, 2007
Review of Glory Road -- This is science fiction from one of the early masters of the genre. I picked it up once when I had a coupon from Borders largely on the recommendation of a blogger I liked, who cites it as his favorite book of all time and, in fact, has taken many elements of his on-line persona from the book.
Our hero (literally) is E.C. "Scar" Gordon (aka "Easy," aka "Oscar"), an American unwinding on the French Riviera after his tour of duty in Vietnam. He's taken to reading the personals and comes across the following:
"ARE YOU A COWARD? This is not for you. We badly need a brave man. He must be 23 to 25 years old, in perfect health, at least six feet tall, weigh about 190 pounds, fluent English, with some French, proficient in all weapons, some knowledge of engineering and mathematics essential, willing to travel, no family or emotional ties, indomitably courageous and handsome of face and figure. Permanent employment, very high pay, glorious adventure, great danger. You must apply in person, rue Dante, Nice, 2me étage, apt. D."
Except for the "handsome of face and figure," he figures it's himself to a T. And, in fact, it ultimately is him, propelled to the life of a hero--almost straight out of the fairy tales--by this ad. It has a lot of elements of fantasy to it, but it's still very solidly science fiction. We're pulled along relentlessly by Heinlein's style as expressed through this character--he really has a way with words: moving along at a properly adventuresome pace while still being amazingly witty, clever, widely allusive, and even quite profound and thoughtful. Heinlein has a lot to say in here about cultural values, about government, and about living life well. It's not a terribly long read, and it's definitely worth the time.
Our hero (literally) is E.C. "Scar" Gordon (aka "Easy," aka "Oscar"), an American unwinding on the French Riviera after his tour of duty in Vietnam. He's taken to reading the personals and comes across the following:
"ARE YOU A COWARD? This is not for you. We badly need a brave man. He must be 23 to 25 years old, in perfect health, at least six feet tall, weigh about 190 pounds, fluent English, with some French, proficient in all weapons, some knowledge of engineering and mathematics essential, willing to travel, no family or emotional ties, indomitably courageous and handsome of face and figure. Permanent employment, very high pay, glorious adventure, great danger. You must apply in person, rue Dante, Nice, 2me étage, apt. D."
Except for the "handsome of face and figure," he figures it's himself to a T. And, in fact, it ultimately is him, propelled to the life of a hero--almost straight out of the fairy tales--by this ad. It has a lot of elements of fantasy to it, but it's still very solidly science fiction. We're pulled along relentlessly by Heinlein's style as expressed through this character--he really has a way with words: moving along at a properly adventuresome pace while still being amazingly witty, clever, widely allusive, and even quite profound and thoughtful. Heinlein has a lot to say in here about cultural values, about government, and about living life well. It's not a terribly long read, and it's definitely worth the time.
January 25, 2009
After I Will Fear No Evil I was hesitant to pick up another Heinlein book, but we have so many on our shelves. Heinlein spends too much time emphasizing Star’s inherent femininity, making her cloying and obnoxiously obsequious. However there’s never a point where she seems to need saving and she puts a great deal of energy into broadening her hero’s horizons, expanding his mind. The twist at the end is quite suitably pulled off and definitely worth sticking around for if only because it reveals a refreshingly intelligent reason for Star’s temperament. It’s also worth sticking around for because in the end this is not a story about men and women but a clever, cutting critique of accepted moral and social conventions.
January 13, 2018
This book was not my cup of tea. It is science fiction, but this read more like "man's fantasy". I wanted to like the MC, but he liked himself enough for both of us. He had all the answers, the woman, the importance of being so special....ugh.....help me.
I picked this one up because a friend at work really liked this one, and he actually wrote a review, which he rarely does. So I thought, "Sure. I'll pick this one up." This wasn't what I was expecting.
This was getting so far-fetched, it became comical. So 2 stars.
I picked this one up because a friend at work really liked this one, and he actually wrote a review, which he rarely does. So I thought, "Sure. I'll pick this one up." This wasn't what I was expecting.
This was getting so far-fetched, it became comical. So 2 stars.
September 25, 2013
So what does an author do, after writing one of the most beloved science fiction novels of all time and in the process picking up his third out of an eventual four Hugo awards? That was precisely the conundrum that future sci-fi Grand Master Robert Heinlein faced in 1962, after winning the award for "Stranger in a Strange Land," and he responded to the problem by switching gears a bit. His follow-up novel, "Glory Road," was not precisely Heinlein's first fantasy piece--his 1959 novella "The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag" had contained a large dollop of very strange fantasy mixed in with its central mystery--but, as far as I can tell, it was his earliest full-length creation in the fantasy vein; one that was itself nominated for a Hugo award, ultimately losing to Clifford D. Simak's charming "Way Station." Initially appearing as a serial in the July - September 1963 issues of "The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction" (which itself copped a Hugo for best magazine in 1963), it was released in hardcover later that year. A lighthearted blend of hard fantasy (the book features 20 different universes, fire-breathing dragons, assorted monsters, giant rats and boars, the use of magic and spells and so on) and rational science (much of the fantastic elements are given pseudoplausible explanations), the book is a pleasing creation that most readers deem a sort of dividing line in the author's work. After this novel, and beginning with 1964's "Farnham's Freehold," Heinlein's right-wing libertarian voice began to obtrude ever more shrilly, in a tone that most people seemingly cannot describe without using the word "hectoring." "Glory Road" does find its author grumbling about the state of the world, in what British sci-fi critic David Pringle has called a "grouchy but amusing auctorial tone," but more restrainedly than later on, and lightened with a good deal of mordant humor.
The novel is told in the first person by a virile young man in his early 20s with the decidedly unmacho handle of Evelyn Cyril Gordon (he understandably prefers the nicknames E.C. and Easy). After being struck in the face with a bolo during the early phases of what the reader presumes to be the Vietnam War, Gordon is discharged and decides to spend some time in Europe before returning to college in the States. On a nudist beach on the Ile du Levant (that's by the French Riviera), he espies a beautiful, naked blonde woman, whom he speaks to briefly. The next day, in Nice, Gordon responds to an ad in "The Herald Tribune" looking for "a brave man...indomitably courageous," for "very high pay, glorious adventure, great danger." He is surprised to learn that the ad had been placed by that very same blonde Amazon, whose name is Star, as it turns out. And before Gordon can even think twice, he and Star's assistant, the diminutive but able-bodied Rufo, are being whisked along with the sorceress to another world, in another universe, as they begin their valiant quest on the "glory road"....
Surprisingly, the actual quest that Gordon engages in is of secondary concern as the tale proceeds. Yes, Gordon must fight the Igli monster and the Horned Ghosts and those dragons and a master swordsman (Heinlein, who had been an accomplished fencer at Annapolis, describes this sword fight brilliantly) and an entity known as the Soul Eater en route to the attainment of his goal--and wisely, we are kept in the dark as the tale proceeds as to just what that goal is (I'll only say that it involves something called the Egg of the Phoenix), ratcheting up curiosity and suspense. But the book's initial section, in which Gordon gives us the mundane details of his history, and the book's entire final third, after the quest is finished and Gordon ponders the fate of the retired hero beside his lady love, might be even more compelling. Along the way, the young man takes the time to rail against modern Earth society as compared to some of the idyllic worlds that he visits. Heinlein, thus, is able to take some digs at the military, the selective service, the economy, taxes, sexual mores, prostitution, nudity, marriage (the book is probably not a good recommendation for the prudish, as the author does not seem to be overly fond of the concept of monogamy), alimony, cocktail parties, street traffic, and on and on. As previously mentioned, though, he leavens this grousing with a good deal of humor, bantering conversations and saucy badinage (I love it when he uses the word "fiddlewinking" instead of, uh, another F word), and the results are quite winning. How amusing it is when Heinlein reveals that he thinks the Irish are the most logical people, and when he tells us the sources of the incubus legend and the "Eye of newt and toe of frog..." recipe in "Macbeth." (There's also the occasional groaner, such as when Gordon puns "Just don't make a hobbit of it.") And speaking of "Macbeth," Heinlein's novel is filled with literary references, from Tennyson and Longfellow quotes to passing comments on Conan the Barbarian, L. Frank Baum, H. Rider Haggard's Umbopa, Sherlock Holmes, and Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom. Despite the fact that he tells us that books put him to sleep, Gordon seems to have consumed an awful lot of fantasy literature for such a young athlete (a possible boo-boo on the author's part). Still, the book is enormously entertaining, a genuine lark, with big laughs to be had amidst the numerous action set pieces. The three central characters are extremely likable, and it is fascinating to discover just who Star is, as we learn about her detailed background. Without giving away too much, let me just say that the woman, gorgeous and athletic blonde that she is, has yet absorbed the knowledge of over 190 deceased men...including, thus, the in-depth knowledge of what men like and desire sexually. Now that's what I call a REAL fantasy!
The novel is told in the first person by a virile young man in his early 20s with the decidedly unmacho handle of Evelyn Cyril Gordon (he understandably prefers the nicknames E.C. and Easy). After being struck in the face with a bolo during the early phases of what the reader presumes to be the Vietnam War, Gordon is discharged and decides to spend some time in Europe before returning to college in the States. On a nudist beach on the Ile du Levant (that's by the French Riviera), he espies a beautiful, naked blonde woman, whom he speaks to briefly. The next day, in Nice, Gordon responds to an ad in "The Herald Tribune" looking for "a brave man...indomitably courageous," for "very high pay, glorious adventure, great danger." He is surprised to learn that the ad had been placed by that very same blonde Amazon, whose name is Star, as it turns out. And before Gordon can even think twice, he and Star's assistant, the diminutive but able-bodied Rufo, are being whisked along with the sorceress to another world, in another universe, as they begin their valiant quest on the "glory road"....
Surprisingly, the actual quest that Gordon engages in is of secondary concern as the tale proceeds. Yes, Gordon must fight the Igli monster and the Horned Ghosts and those dragons and a master swordsman (Heinlein, who had been an accomplished fencer at Annapolis, describes this sword fight brilliantly) and an entity known as the Soul Eater en route to the attainment of his goal--and wisely, we are kept in the dark as the tale proceeds as to just what that goal is (I'll only say that it involves something called the Egg of the Phoenix), ratcheting up curiosity and suspense. But the book's initial section, in which Gordon gives us the mundane details of his history, and the book's entire final third, after the quest is finished and Gordon ponders the fate of the retired hero beside his lady love, might be even more compelling. Along the way, the young man takes the time to rail against modern Earth society as compared to some of the idyllic worlds that he visits. Heinlein, thus, is able to take some digs at the military, the selective service, the economy, taxes, sexual mores, prostitution, nudity, marriage (the book is probably not a good recommendation for the prudish, as the author does not seem to be overly fond of the concept of monogamy), alimony, cocktail parties, street traffic, and on and on. As previously mentioned, though, he leavens this grousing with a good deal of humor, bantering conversations and saucy badinage (I love it when he uses the word "fiddlewinking" instead of, uh, another F word), and the results are quite winning. How amusing it is when Heinlein reveals that he thinks the Irish are the most logical people, and when he tells us the sources of the incubus legend and the "Eye of newt and toe of frog..." recipe in "Macbeth." (There's also the occasional groaner, such as when Gordon puns "Just don't make a hobbit of it.") And speaking of "Macbeth," Heinlein's novel is filled with literary references, from Tennyson and Longfellow quotes to passing comments on Conan the Barbarian, L. Frank Baum, H. Rider Haggard's Umbopa, Sherlock Holmes, and Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom. Despite the fact that he tells us that books put him to sleep, Gordon seems to have consumed an awful lot of fantasy literature for such a young athlete (a possible boo-boo on the author's part). Still, the book is enormously entertaining, a genuine lark, with big laughs to be had amidst the numerous action set pieces. The three central characters are extremely likable, and it is fascinating to discover just who Star is, as we learn about her detailed background. Without giving away too much, let me just say that the woman, gorgeous and athletic blonde that she is, has yet absorbed the knowledge of over 190 deceased men...including, thus, the in-depth knowledge of what men like and desire sexually. Now that's what I call a REAL fantasy!
July 4, 2020
Notes:
Bronson Pinchot was great!
This was more funny than expected.
The story ended when I wanted more. Ha!
Bronson Pinchot was great!
This was more funny than expected.
The story ended when I wanted more. Ha!
September 8, 2013
Yes! This is the book to read on a lazy weekend, or right after finishing something long and harrowing. this book is one of those amazing timeless pieces of literature that read right at any time. It crosses so many genres that I can only say Heinlein has crossed the fantasy of a quest with the sci-fi of multiverses and laser ray guns, added a few pinches of swords and daggers vs strange magical animals or/and aliens from other dimensions. If that doesn't intrigue you, our dear friend has spiced it all with a dash of romance and irony. Then last but not least he has made sure to stir in his quota of pokes at the idiocy of human cultures and what we consider civilization. Just as any good sci-fi does,and leaves you feeling like you just had a vacation of sorts. Although as I mention there are subjects brought up to make you think about. but even this is done in a pleasant way.
His most interesting look at Earth culture from the offworlder/trans-dimensional-human was about prostitution. In the book there is no prostitution anywhere in any universe or dimension EXCEPT Earth. As well, stemming from this came alimony, bride prices, steady dating and many other stupid things. I wonder if this was something Heinlein himself agreed with or if it was just for fun. It's an interesting idea.
I would recommend this book to anyone really. Unless you dislike ether fantasy - which it isn't heavy on - or sci-fi this book is a great relaxing read and a great romp.
His most interesting look at Earth culture from the offworlder/trans-dimensional-human was about prostitution. In the book there is no prostitution anywhere in any universe or dimension EXCEPT Earth. As well, stemming from this came alimony, bride prices, steady dating and many other stupid things. I wonder if this was something Heinlein himself agreed with or if it was just for fun. It's an interesting idea.
I would recommend this book to anyone really. Unless you dislike ether fantasy - which it isn't heavy on - or sci-fi this book is a great relaxing read and a great romp.
April 10, 2020
198x grade B+
1991 grade A-
2011 grade A
2019 grade A-/B+
2011 Fun book.
Two copies, mass market size and oversize.
2019
It took a lot of life experience to figure it out, but this is just an adult SciFi coming of age story. The main character grows enough to understand himself and to realize how he has to live to be "happy." I don't know what he would have become without the other worlds and universes to do it in.
The story has an odd structure. The adventure and climax, which are usually at the end of a book (the "Glory Road"), are the middle third of the book. That part also discusses magic and metaphysics which slows down the adventure a bit. The first third sets everything up and discusses the problems of governments and war. In the last third the protagonist deals with the personality changes caused by the adventure and discusses the problems of the various human mating and marriage rituals, the idle rich, and democracy. The reason the grade went down is because there is to much discussion. It is not out of date, but it is a bit tedious and slow by modern standards. Society has changed since 1963, and we live a lot "faster."
Given the state of current politics, I must agree with Heinlein's comments on democracy. Zero added to zero is still zero.
Still, it is a recommended book.
1991 grade A-
2011 grade A
2019 grade A-/B+
2011 Fun book.
Two copies, mass market size and oversize.
2019
It took a lot of life experience to figure it out, but this is just an adult SciFi coming of age story. The main character grows enough to understand himself and to realize how he has to live to be "happy." I don't know what he would have become without the other worlds and universes to do it in.
The story has an odd structure. The adventure and climax, which are usually at the end of a book (the "Glory Road"), are the middle third of the book. That part also discusses magic and metaphysics which slows down the adventure a bit. The first third sets everything up and discusses the problems of governments and war. In the last third the protagonist deals with the personality changes caused by the adventure and discusses the problems of the various human mating and marriage rituals, the idle rich, and democracy. The reason the grade went down is because there is to much discussion. It is not out of date, but it is a bit tedious and slow by modern standards. Society has changed since 1963, and we live a lot "faster."
Given the state of current politics, I must agree with Heinlein's comments on democracy. Zero added to zero is still zero.
Still, it is a recommended book.
May 27, 2014
Heinlein always knows how to start a story, and here he does his best to lay out the foundation with flair. It’s interesting and a good read … er … up until the actual plot starts.
Once our hero begins his quest, the entire plot and dialogue degrade into sexist tripe.
Oh, I know this is a product of its time. I grew up during the 60-70s. Still, even making that allowance, this boils down to nothing more than some random guy having to “save” the girl. And threaten her with a spanking when she actually has an opinion. Ugh.
Once our hero begins his quest, the entire plot and dialogue degrade into sexist tripe.
Oh, I know this is a product of its time. I grew up during the 60-70s. Still, even making that allowance, this boils down to nothing more than some random guy having to “save” the girl. And threaten her with a spanking when she actually has an opinion. Ugh.
January 4, 2016
Wow, what a book, and this is coming from someone who has made a concerted effort to avoid both sci-fi and Fantasy over the years! The only negative thing I have to say about it is, I think it went on too long. I think it should have ended shortly after they found the egg, I didn't need 3-4 additional chapters on ahscar and Star's domestic problems. I realized early on that the tone and style of humor were very familiar, then I realized that Robert Asprin had ripped them off for his MYTH series!
The Audible narration by Bronsan Pinchot, really enhanced my reading experience.
The Audible narration by Bronsan Pinchot, really enhanced my reading experience.
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