e-smith@utah-cs.ARPA (11/05/85)
From: e-smith@utah-cs.ARPA (Eric L. Smith) My general feeling on this is that you will like this iff you liked _The Number of The Beast_. Personally, I am getting incredibly disgusted with the Lazarus Long & Company Mutual Admiration Society. I don't really understand why Heinlein (and Asimov) see a need to link all of their works together. It seems only to detract from them. For instance, this book brings in Star and Rufo from _Glory Road_, but only for very very minor parts. If I hadn't just reread _Glory Road_ a week ago, I probably wouldn't have even recognized them. Also, I have finally reached the point where I do not want to try to keep track of a mole of decendants of Lazarus. Perhaps someone with a better memory (or more patience) than I would care to write a "Who's Who of Future History". The other thing that bugs me is that I always used to like Lazarus Long, but he seems to have become an a**hole! Perhaps this is intended to suggest that people shouldn't be allowed to live multiple millenia. Also, throughout the first half of the book the protagonists (whatever their real names are) have many discussions about persons with poor manners having given up their right to life, so why is Lazarus not gunned down immediately? The multiverse has turned into a real crock anyhow. Why don't all the characters, who now realize that they probably *ARE* just characters in bad S.F., just commit suicide? I guess it's because their writers (RAH) haven't written it in. In conclusion, this is definitely the last RAH book I will ever buy. Anybody want a used copy in perfect condition real cheap?