Time Enough for Love
 

Who has read and what did you think?

I enjoyed and yet felt disappointed by this book. Someparts were great (notably the touching Tale of An Adopted Daughter), while others got so stuck into scientific mumbo-jumbo that I felt like throwing the book on the ground (The Tale of Twins That Weren't). Something just was missing from it. Something I can't quite put my finger on.

Also have you noticed how some reviews or descriptions of this book seem to be off the mark? I often see the quote "A man who loved Time so much that he became his own ancestor". Yet, this never occurs during the story.

[This message has been edited by Valeyard (edited December 10, 2001).]

[This message has been edited by Valeyard (edited December 10, 2001).]

Like, what was the POINT of this book?

It explores many themes and ideas, including meaning of life, what it means to be human, and the difference between sex and love.

I think it could have explored these issues in even more depth. For example, we find out all the good the lead character does, and the goodness within humanity, but it would have been interesting to see more of the complete opposite. To have Woodrow Smith experiencing the very lows of humanity, which he claims to have done.

I read it and quite enjoyed it; it's basically a well-written moral message.

What annoyed me were the next set written; 'Number of the Beast' and 'Sail Beyond The Sunset', which provide absolutely nothing: Same morals, style, even the characters act in the same way; they just have different names.

Time Enough is definitely worth a look, though.

I read and re-read Number of the Beast and loved it until I read other books in that series. Time Enough was very good. That's the one where he gets transplanted into a woman's body, right?

Methuselah's Children was my favorite with Lazarus Long.

Susan

No he doesn't get transplated into a woman's body. But don't worry I thought the same thing. From many of the descriptions of this book and the blurb on the back I thought this was the story of the man who becomes a woman and then becomes his own mother, father and grandfather (through time travel obviously). Thereby becomeing "his own ancestor", as it says on the back of the book. But nothing of that sort happens! Actually those events are a completly different story by Heinlien.

[This message has been edited by Valeyard (edited December 12, 2001).]

SusF - the one you are referring to is titled I Will Fear No Evil and is not a Lazarus Long book. It's one of my fav Heinlein novels. I also really enjoyed Stranger in a Strange Land. The Lazarus Long novels are pretty good too, with Time Enough for Love being probably the best. Heinlein is the master of scifi in my opinion.

Ahh my beautiful memory, I miss it so...

You are right. I did read Time Enough, though, and the others. Number of the Beast kind of mixed them all together, so that's where I got confused.

Susan