A delight to revisit a science fiction classic

I first read Methuselah's Children as a young woman and, although I was already hooked on Robert Heinlein, I fell in love with the characters of the Howard Families. I especially loved the amazing and swashbuckling free spirit, Lazarus Long (Woodrow Wilson Smith.) The story is sheer fun, although the message about the value of life and the importance of knowing it will end and facing that without fear, along with other thought-provoking themes elevated it above just "fluff."

The original story was serialized in a Science Fiction magazine in 1941 (very common in those days.) It was expanded into a novel and published in 1958. It is part of what Heinlein called his "Future History" series. For me, having been alive - albeit very young - in 1958, the anachronisms seem both shocking and hilarious. As wise and "forward thinking" as Heinlein was for his time, there was much he didn't foresee. Two aspects most stand out as products of the time. The first is the ubiquitous smoking everyone was doing, which was hilarious. The second was the role of women, which was less hilarious. Admittedly, they weren't pictured quite as fully second-class citizens as they really were in the first half of the 20th century, but the firm hold of power that the men hold in this story is a stark reminder of what life was like then.

Nevertheless, if you bring your imagination and remember when this was written, you'll enjoy it.

Now I shall begin "Time Enough for Love," the sequel to "Methuselah's Children," and my absolute favorite Heinlein novel (well... along with "Stranger in a Strange Land," my other absolute favorite Heinlein.)

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Another brilliant work by RAH

Methuselah's Children is a great example of the brilliance of RAH. I am a fan of all his work, beginning with "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and ending with the latest on I've read, "Farhnam's Freehold". RAH is a master of social commentary wrapped in amazing narrative and interesting characters. He did have an "ahead of his time" view on societal norms and taboos, specially sex, so be forewarned that no subject is taboo in his writings.

Methuselah's Children is the first on the series. Read, "Time enough for love" for the next installment. For the complete story line, you should read:

Methuselah's Children
Time Enough for Love
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Unrelated story line that is returned to later.
Stranger in a Strange Land. Unrelated but needed later.
The Number of the Beast. There are rumors that this one was not written by RAH but by his wife. Style is very different although story and characters are brought together from "time enough for love" , "Moon is a harsh mistress" and "Stranger in a strange land".
To Sail Beyond the Sunset. The final chapter of the series

32 people found this helpful

I'T CAN'T ALWAYS BE TIME FOR TEA

SERVICE
From start to finish this is an ever changing book. We start on Earth, travel interstellar space, visit two planets and come back to Earth. I have read a lot of Heinlein, but this book seems different in his use of words. Since the rest of his books don't sound like this I think he spent a lot of time studying a dictionary. I am not complaining, it seems to add to the story and it is not over anybody's head. Her is a small example: ANY MINORITY DURING THAT PERIOD OF SEMANTIC DISORIENTATION AND MASS HYSTERIA WAS A PROBABLE TARGET FOR PERSECUTION, DISCRIMINATORY LEGISLATION AND EVEN MOB VIOLENCE. Throughout the book he uses words that seem a little heavier than needed. When he starts talking about science it almost sounds like pseudo science. Fans of Alan Greenspan should love this.

I WOULDN'T BE YOUNG AGAIN FOR OVERTIME WAGES
The story is told in different parts and several issues are in play, so to pin down a feeling on the book is difficult. At the beginning Immortality is the main issue and Heinlein's vision of society is an interesting one. Cars are controlled by traffic towers, men wear kilts, privacy is highly valued, etc..., it is a Heinlein envisioned future. Then we get into conspiracies and politics. We then have space travel and lots of talk about the mechanics of it, lots of talk about time and space and other science. Did you know that carp and amoeba's never die? At the first planet I thought Heinlein was going to copy H.G. Wells. The second planet is even more interesting with lots of philosophy on living in paradise.

YOU CAN DEPEND ON A WOMAN TO BLOW HER TOP AT THE WRONG TIME
As far as character development, there is basically Lazarus Long. He is the Archie Bunker of the book and all other characters are their to support him. To be honest I did not care for him. He is a pushy have it his way type of guy and when someone disagrees with him he is put down soundly. He will ask for discussion, let those who agree with him speak and those who disagree with him are made fun of.

SANDWICH
The book has a whole was entertaining and thought provoking. I did not like it enough for five stars, but I am glad I listened.

18 people found this helpful

Enjoyed this one

I had read another of Heinlein's books about the same characters (Time Enough for Love) where he was writing about Lazerus Long as he looked back on a v-e-r-y long life. So when I found this one I had to have it. It was a delight as I listened to the beginning of the history of the Howard Family and their fight to survive against their short-lived kin and incidentally became the first people to voyage to the stars. There was some overlap in the two storylines but the details were more fleshed out in Children.
If I had this book in paperback it would probably be in a definitely worn condition because I would want to read it again and again.

10 people found this helpful

Classic RAH

Where does Methuselah's Children rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I bought this to add to my Robert A. Heinlein stash of audiobooks. This is the first unabridged recording I have come across, at least that was worth listening to. There was one done as a book for the blind years and years ago, but the woman reading was *horrible*. Is this a good book? Yes, absolutely. Is it a *great* book, no, but I didn't feel cheated listening to it. Much of the "eh" factor was the somewhat 2-dimensional characters, but knowing who Lazarus Long would become in later books helped. The only downside to the audio version is I THINK -- and this may be my faulty memory -- that there was a brief little intro in the printed version describing the beginnings of the Howard Familiies that isn't on the audiobook. I don't have a printed copy to check, so I may easily be wrong.If you're a Heinlein fan, by all means get this. If this is your first Heinlein book, I would recommend Have Space Suit Will Travel or The Rolling Stones above Methuselah's Children as a first read. If you're a fan of Lazarus Long, read Time Enough For Love.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Sadly, the most interesting part of the book was the depiction of how easily society in general -- so-called "normal people" -- can turn from being your friendly neighbors into a mindless mob when they don't get something they want, even if that something doesn't exist!

What about MacLeod Andrews’s performance did you like?

Mr. Andrews' performance was adequate if not inspired. I've heard better readers but I've certainly heard worse. I'd want to hear more examples of his work before I write him off completely.

7 people found this helpful

I've read 20 Heinlein's better than this

This isn't the worst Heinlein book. But its close.

I like some of the Lazarus Long books. Some of them are misses. This is a miss. The alien encounters feel like stale Star Trek episodes. Silly. The writing is typical stale Heinlein.

When Heinlein is good, its because of the ideas. The ideas are here. Just not explored with passion.

6 people found this helpful

The Beginning

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Always,,,,, If you have an open mind, not afraid of other opinions, and willing to listen to a story,,,,This could be for you,
If you are familiar with Heinlein and his future history stories, This novel is one of the bedrock stories---an introduction to Lazarus Long and the Howard families, who have the problem of living longer than regular humans. This is due to their parents and grandparents participating in an experiment which encouraged longer-lived people to marry and have children together by the simple inducement of being paid for each child produced.......Surprise!! It worked.

6 people found this helpful

Really Dated Book

I love the SciFi classics. This is not one of them. The book begins with the longest, most boring info-dump (a Well-You-Know-Bob) I have ever read or heard. It is simply un-get-byable. Sorry, had to make up that word.

5 people found this helpful

Classic Audiobook That Will Live A Very Long Time

Thoroughly enjoyable and well worth having in my library. Some events in the storyline have flavors of, "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel," and "Time For The Stars."

The performance was great--MacLeod Andrews does an excellent job. I've listened to this title several times in the last week and will keep in rotation with Time Enough For Love. I really enjoy having more back-story on Lazarus Long and the Howard foundation.

Again, this is sci-fi that does what sci-fi does best--hold a mirror to our current world. A great work by Heinlein!

4 people found this helpful

Unfocused, Arbitrary, and Not Very Entertaining

I've really enjoyed several Heinlein novel but this was not one. The character development was poor, the alien species hand wavey, and the ending a total nothing. I'd pass on this one.

3 people found this helpful