Variable Star

Variable Star
by Robert A. Heinlein and Spider Robinson

Variable Star
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Book Summary Information

Author: Robert A. Heinlein and Spider Robinson
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-04-16
ISBN: 0786158840
Number of pages: 200
Publisher: Blackstone Audio Inc.

Book Reviews of Variable Star

Book Review: Cool book with an interesting conclusion
Summary: 5 Stars

Over all this was a great book to read, and just flow along with the story line. It has all the classic RH features post the second American revolution, but where the book falls apart is within the continuity of post Methuselah's children, with the return of the new frontiers. The only way this makes sense as a book, and within the continuity of RH's universe, if if we are in an alternative time line (read number of the beast, time enough for love) that does not conform to the events that happened at the return of the space ship new frontiers with the development of the Libby Sheffield drive.

Rather in this book, some one else invents supra luminal drive, the sun explodes (although leaves a tie in via "unknown enemy" for Time enough for Love"). There is no supra luminal drive developed by Libby and Sheffield. Rather it is someone else, and why the sun exploding leaving humanity a shattered wreak of minimal colonies, that have to be notified that there is going to be a "gamma ray burst" happening because the sun exploded.

Good story, but hard to tie into the RH universe unless this book takes place in a pocket universe or an alternative time line. That idea is up for grabs, the book does not state that it takes place in an alternative time line, one has to guess at that.

Besides being able to poke holes in how this fits into the RH universe, overall the book was awesome to read. One of those stay up and read all night kind of books that will keep you riveted to the place you are reading. It is well worth getting, and enjoying just as a story itself, if you do not worry about how the book fits into the context of the RH universe.

Summary of Variable Star

At his death in 1988, Robert A. Heinlein left a legacy of novels and short stories that almost single-handedly defined modern science fiction. But one of Heinlein's masterpieces was never finished. In 1955, he began work on Variable Star, a powerful and passionate tale of two young lovers driven apart by pride, power, and the vastness of interstellar time and space. Then he set it aside to focus on other novellas. The detailed outline and notes he created for this project lay forgotten for decades, only to be rediscovered almost a half century later. Now the Heinlein estate has authorized award-winning author Spider Robinson to expand that outline into a full-length novel. The result is vintage Heinlein, faithful in style and spirit to the Grand Master's original vision.

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