mclure%sri-prism@sri-unix.UUCP (09/21/84)
I have done my fair share of Heinlein reading over the years.
Yes, he was an innovator. Yes, he brought SF to a new level of quality
compared with the old "pulp" SF. Yes, his plots were more complex and
interwoven, but...
I think Heinlein's dialogue and characterizations
are flimsy and thin compared to some of the better
writers of the 50's, 60's, and 70's. I don't enjoy
a majority of his characters.
Blasphemy? ... Perhaps.
Compared to the characterizations of an Ellison, or Varley, or Silverberg,
Mr. Heinlein, in my opinion, pales in comparison.
And of course, next to some of the better writers outside of the SF
genre, he becomes a ghost of an author.
Stuart