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March 26th 2002
I just finished reading The Cat Who Walked Through Walls by Robert Heinlein. The first 2/3ds is a very cool standard sci-fi adventure with well created characters spouting very snappy dialouge. I was thoroughly enjoying it. Then suddenly Heinlein goes apeshit, introduces a time travel plot twist out of nowhere, and brings in about two dozen significant new characters. Then puts the hero up as The Chosen One to undergo a heretofore unmentioned vital mission to bring down an uber-villain from another dimension where dreams/myths/fiction are reality. Wha...? The hero understandably is just as confused as the reader and protests for several reasons, but then 5 pages from the end, he agrees to the mission, despite none of his concerns being answered, and still zero explanation of why he is so important to the grand plans of the time travelers. The ending was terrible, the later middle was barely coherent. Its a shame Heinlein completely derailed what was otherwise a cool novel. This is the first RAH book I've read, and he comes highly recommended in general, so hopefully there is better evidence in his favor out there. Slu had an informal Chess tournament a few days ago. I came in 3rd out of 14, finishing 3 and 1. I am pretty damn rusty, as evidenced by the fact that I hung a knight in my second game, eventually leading to a close endgame loss. Dammit. Free donuts though. Oh and it fucking snowed again. Cripes, its only LATE MARCH, plenty of time left for winter storms. |