With Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke I think their short stories are more impressive than their novels, and if I were to list my favorite short science fiction stories, Asimov and Clarke would crowd out almost everyone else in the top ten. With Heinlein I tend to think it's the reverse--that it's his long fiction that is the most memorable--stronger than that of Asimov and Clarke just as their short fiction is much more memorable than that of Heinlein. I just don't think any Heinlein short is of the same caliber as Asimov's "Nightfall" or "The Dead Past" or Clarke's "The Star" or "The Billion Names of God." But--it surprised me just how enjoyable these were. This is a reread, although I last read this ages ago in my teens. The story I remembered best--and still like the best, is the title story, "The Menace from Earth." It's quite light-hearted and there's a lot here to like. JK Rowling, eat your heart out, Quidditch has nothing on the winged flyers of the Moon! And I quite liked fifteen-year-old Holly Jones--she has quite a lot in common with Heinlein's Podkayne of Mars, only more level-headed and the ending of this novelette doesn't make me want to bounce the book against the wall. "By His Bootstraps," a time-loop story, is another one I found very memorable--although I don't think on first read decades ago I hated Bob Wilson oh so much. With "Goldfish Bowl" I definitely remembered the odd form of the water and the food--and the story does creepy well. "The Year of the Jackpot" is quite unsettling and like many of Heinlein's stories, features a nice little twist. The other four stories aren't as strong--but none is less than entertaining.
***1/2This collection features seven stories from Robert A. Heinlein, written between 1941 and 1957. A couple are excellent, and none are boring."The Year of the Jackpot"--An actuary scientists discovers, through his various calculations and graphs, that all of the craziness going on in the world is leading up to its demise. "By His Bootstraps"--A confusing tale about time travel, in which a man comes across three different versions of himself, all of whom travel through time, from the 1950's through thirty thousand years in the future, bumping heads and occasionally attempting to work together in order to get out."Columbus Was a Dope"--A couple guys discuss the possibility futility or usefulness of traveling to distant planets."The Menace from Earth"--The "menace" of the title is a hotshot society girl from Earth competing with a lunar tourist guide for the heart of her co-worker. Probably the best story in the book."Sky Lift"--A man takes a dangerous journey on a "torch" designed to send him to a distant planet, to bring urgent medical attention to some colonists."Goldfish Bowl"--Some poor individuals find out what happens when they throw themselves into the middle of a phenomenon in the water that may or may not be supernatural in occurrence."Project Nightmare"--The government uses telekinetic people to find bombs the Soviets have planted throughout the country. Great story."Water Is for Washing"--Two men and two children attempt to outrun an enormous tidal wave brought on by a sudden earthquake.
What do You think about The Menace From Earth (1999)?
This is one of Heinlein's few story story collections. There are 8 short stories from the late 1940's and early 1950's.The stories vary in quality--the title story "The Meance From Earth" is actually not bad--the descrition above does not do it justice.It also contants two really good Heinlein short stories that are not well known, but are favorites of mine. One is "The Year of the Jackpot" and the other is "Goldfish Bowl".I like Heinlein's early work much better than his later work. If you have never read any of his short stories, this collection would be a good start--all the stories---though a bit dated in spots--are still quitte readable.
—Mary JL
There are two stories in this collection that have stuck with me since I was about ten: The Year of the Jackpot and The Menace from Earth. I still reread them on occasion. Jackpot is the scariest story I've ever read since it starts off as a tale about oddball happenings that seem statistically impossible, moves onto nuclear war and then to the sun going supernova. 'Menace' I always loved because as a geeky awkward girl that there it a future of being smart and striving for achievement would not preclude finding someone to love. Classic YA before there was YA.
—Anmiryam
I had previously read the title story in the collection The Past through Tomorrow and it stuck with me more than 20 years later: geeky girl who wants to be a spaceship designer and isn't spending all her time looking for a boyfriend. I still really like it. Although the relationship issue does become part of the story, it doesn't have the focus on sexuality that Heinlein's later female characters have, but neither does it relegate girls/women to second place. If I were just rating that story, it would be five stars.Unfortunately the other stories in the book (which I am reading for the first time) don't hold up as well."The Year of the Jackpot" feels much more dated. Studies of the "Silly Season" include an increase in transvestites, starting with Marlene Dietrich wearing trousers. The end of the story comes out of nowhere, as if an editor gave a maximum word count and Heinlein tried to come up with a climax that wasn't due for at least another chapter. (view spoiler)[ The atom bombs and survivalism fit. The end of the sun did not. (hide spoiler)]
—Julia
