Harriman Square

[Citizen Keen]

Has anybody played in Heinlein's future history? I'm reading the complete set right now, and it seems like a wonderful Pulp Star Hero campaign.

[Dr Rotwang!]

All I remember is trying to read The Cat who Walked through Walls, being hideously confused, and stopping.

*sigh* Oh, my. How embarassing.

[Dr. Anomaly]

That's not surprising. Heinlein drew together MANY of his characters / worlds / timelines with the universe-crossing book "Number of the Beast." Lots of the characters in Beast wouldn't have meant anything to you unless you'd read his other novels/series.

"Cat" is a sequal to "Beast", though that's not obvious at first, even if you're read "Beast."

Taking all that into account, it's no wonder you were confused.

[Killer Shrike]

Heinleins later material got pretty outre, preachy, and IMO campy in many places.

I would stick to his earlier material if I were to approach this to convert it into a game setting.

[Syberdwarf2]

Originally posted by Killer Shrike
Heinleins later material got pretty outre, preachy, and IMO campy in many places.

I would stick to his earlier material if I were to approach this to convert it into a game setting.

What about Farnham's Freehold? The characters aren't all that high tech, but The Chosen and Happiness make me cringe even now. Mainly because of the menu selection.....

[projecktzero]

Originally posted by Dr Rotwang!
All I remember is trying to read The Cat who Walked through Walls, being hideously confused, and stopping.

*sigh* Oh, my. How embarassing.

I got a ways into Number of the Beast, got bored, and stopped. Not my cup of tea.

[Chris Goodwin]

The Cat Who Walks Through Walls and Number of the Beast are two of the absolute worst books to start reading Heinlein on. If you're interested in gears and what the future looked like 75 years ago, pick up his collection The Past Through Tomorrow. That one has a lot of his classic short stories, including "The Man Who Sold The Moon" and "Methuselah's Children", where Lazarus Long first appeared. From there pick up Starship Troopers and forget there was ever a movie with the same name. From there you can proceed to Friday and from then on look at reviews of his other stuff to see if anything grabs you.

There's an alternate track that begins with Stranger in a Strange Land, leads to Time Enough For Love and I Will Fear No Evil, then To Sail Beyond the Sunset, and goes to some of the others people on this thread have dropped. I only suggest that track if you have a strong stomach or aren't squicked by way out sexual themes (including transgendered, adult incest, and underage sex).

If you're politically minded, start with The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, hit Starship Troopers next, and pick up Expanded Universe (mostly non-fiction). From there proceed to The Past Through Tomorrow, Friday, and on to whatever you want after that.

Ummm.... have I read that much Heinlein?