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Title: The Cat Who Walks Through Walls |
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Review of The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
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Comments for The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
- Posted on 2008-06-29
Very, very unsatisfying
It is undoubtedly true that earlier Heinlein works need to be read to fully appreciate this story, but, even so, it really doesn't work. The beginning of the book has a lot of promise: some clever dialogue, an intriguing first 50 or so pages. It's clear going to be a bit of an absurd tale, and humor and self-awareness at that point seem to indicate that the rest of the book will remain a fast-paced, silly adventure.
The pace remains fast, but the story simply falls apart and never recovers.
Heinlein has a lot of interesting ideas. About men and women, society, history, the future, technology. He often creates characters that are little more than mouth-pieces for him to express these ideas. This is all fine and dandy, as long as they serve the story as well. That's the case in Stranger in a Strange Land. That's the case in Starship Troopers. That's not the case here. After a few hundred pages and countless garbled mishandled plot-lines, it all just turns into a lot of bla bla bla. And the ending? It really seems like the author just decided to wrap things up and tossed off a brief chapter that could serve as a stopping point.
I'm sure there's a lot here for hard-core Heinlein fans to enjoy. I would consider myself a fan, but not hard-core, and I won't shy away from reading more of his books. But this is not one to which I'll ever return. Too bad, because it really seemed like this could have been a good one.
Score: 2
- Posted on 2008-03-01
If you like banter, the first 2/3 of the book is pretty good....
After surviving an assassination attempt, author and ex-military man Richard Ames escapes the fallout with a run through outer space with new bride Gwen and bonsai tree in tow. Life becomes more and more complicated as the hit men and conspiracies multiply, eventually culminating in a revolution that began before Richard was even born.
Initially, this book is full of intrigue and fast-paced action, with a dose of comic banter for contrast. As it goes on though, the intrigue is lost and the story becomes more of an old-time radio skit where the plot plays second fiddle to dialogue. As a fan of comic wit, I didn't mind this shift, but die hard Sci Fi fans might. The problem I had was with the final portion of the book: it tried to make the story do too many things, which was ultimately a turn off. A dozen or so new characters were introduced, all with complicated relationships, and then a completely new plot line came into play that involved much time shifting and quantum physics- I felt like I should have been taking notes to keep it all straight. To top it off, the ending was ambiguous and open-ended, which considering the amount of effort I invested, was a big letdown.
Though the ending was disappointing, I did enjoy the first part of the book enough to give Robert A. Heinlein another try.
Score: 3
- Posted on 2007-12-13
The Grand Masters create worlds where we may vacation for 15 minutes at a time
"The Cat Who Walks Through Walls" will not change the world the way "Stranger in a Strange Land" did. Nevertheless, you may find yourself reading it with a highlighter. There are dozens of one-liners suitable for sig lines. None are found in "The Notebooks of Lazarus Long" (1978) as this book was released in 1985.
Grand masters like RAH create worlds into which you can vacation for 15 minutes at a time and feel recharged. Alas, all such books all have a last page. Do you start reading it again? Do you start another in the same canon? In the case of RAH there is a lot from which to choose, so both options are open.
Fans of RAH will feel very much at home here. If you are new to his work, you will be tempted by references to prior work, on which you must then surely feast. That is no reason to skip this work or not make it your first RAH meal. It stands on it's own very nicely.
Score: 5
- Posted on 2007-11-06
Read this some time ago
It's been a while since I read this one. One thing that stands out for me is the disappointment at the ending. I felt like the author got tired of writing and took the easy way out.
Score: 3 - Posted on 2007-09-03
pretty bad
I read some of the reviews - wasn't sure about buying this book. I like Heinlein, have read his books over and over for years, but haven't read this one up to now. What tipped the scale was the hint that the book would continue the story of Adam Selene/Mike from the Moon is a Harsh Mistress which is one of the best Heinleins.
However, this book doesn't actually have a story. It's one long chase scene with lots of boring derring-do. Also pages and pages and pages of Nick and Nora Charles style conversations with no content, just quip quip quip. And they talk about sex and have sex constantly, but still it's boring. The guy can't write about love and sex with any conviction. Makes you wonder if he ever actually had sex himself.
And the final disappointment - almost no explanation of Mike the computer except to mention his name as the reason for all the derring-do.
Score: 1