If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

[The Larch]

Would this version of time control include time travel as well? That would make it much more powerful than I initially considered.

[PJL]

The USSR.

[Agelastus]

I think the ability to give people emotions would be better than mind control. Most of the herd makes their decisions that way and they'll tend to be more affected long after you left.

Maybe telepathic nanomanufacturing. Or simple omniscience.


If you were immortal, you'd have to "come out" and tell everyone so you don't have the problem of inheriting your own stuff. Fame would be the last thing I'd want. Time Enough for Love touched on the problems of really long life.

What's this time enough for love?

An extremely tedious Heinlein novel.

An extremely tedious "in parts" Heinlein novel (it's divided into sections, some in the current timeframe, some with stories from the main characters 2000 years of life; the "present day in the future" sections are quite good but the historical stories are universally tedious.)

[Brazen]

All else being equal, time control would have the biggest positive influence on my life. And not just to hold back deadlines.

[Caliga]

An extremely tedious "in parts" Heinlein novel (it's divided into sections, some in the current timeframe, some with stories from the main characters 2000 years of life; the "present day in the future" sections are quite good but the historical stories are universally tedious.)

Have you ever read The Cat Who Walks Through Walls?  That may be the most disjointed book I've ever read.  It started off strong enough that I remember thinking "Why isn't this book more well known?" and by the end I was like "WTF did I just read?"

[Caliga]

All else being equal, time control would have the biggest positive influence on my life. And not just to hold back deadlines.

I would go back in time and help my dad learn how to be cool.

[Agelastus]

An extremely tedious "in parts" Heinlein novel (it's divided into sections, some in the current timeframe, some with stories from the main characters 2000 years of life; the "present day in the future" sections are quite good but the historical stories are universally tedious.)

Have you ever read The Cat Who Walks Through Walls?  That may be the most disjointed book I've ever read.  It started off strong enough that I remember thinking "Why isn't this book more well known?" and by the end I was like "WTF did I just read?"

My mother's more of a Heinlein fan than I am; I know she's read it.

I have, however, read the two books that you probably need to read before reading it ("The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and "The Number of the Beast"; they're both on the bookshelf a few feet from me.)

A lot of Heinlein's later work is interrelated; they can work as stand alone novels but they work better if you've read the other books that connect to them.

[Archy]

Other

I would have the Soviet Union thanks Comerade 

[grumbler]

A lot of Heinlein's later work is interrelated; they can work as stand alone novels but they work better if you've read the other books that connect to them.

And they work best if you don't read the novels and don't read the books that connect to them! 

[jimmy olsen]

Mystery solved, apparently there's a popular tv show (they said soap opera, but I'm skeptical since their understanding of genres is poor) where a main character can teleport and that's why so many girls want that power. 

[Viking]

Other, Immortality.

[Agelastus]

A lot of Heinlein's later work is interrelated; they can work as stand alone novels but they work better if you've read the other books that connect to them.

And they work best if you don't read the novels and don't read the books that connect to them! 

His continued popularity and perceived importance to the genre would suggest that your opinion lacks a degree of substance in this instance.

All anyone can do with Heinlein is try one or more of his books and see if you like him; as introductory novels "Space Family Stone" or "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" would seem to be the best choices. Grumbler is right about one thing, anyway; there seems to be no "maybe" about his work - either you like his books or you don't, there's no middle ground.

[Ideologue]

I liked Stranger In a Strange Land, even though it has a shitty, too-long ending.

[Eddie Teach]

I found middle ground for Stranger in a Strange Land.

[grumbler]

His continued popularity and perceived importance to the genre would suggest that your opinion lacks a degree of substance in this instance.

Has he had continued popularity?  I don't know of any teenage SF fan in my school who has read him, and none has ever brought him up in a conversation about the genre. 

Is he still perceived to be of major importance to the genre?  I can't recall seeing anything that suggests that in several decades.  Gibson, Brin and Lem of the last generation, yes.  Of the Golden Agers, Clarke and Asimov, for sure.  Heinlein?  No.  His work just doesn't seem to have withstood the test of time.

All anyone can do with Heinlein is try one or more of his books and see if you like him; as introductory novels "Space Family Stone" or "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" would seem to be the best choices. Grumbler is right about one thing, anyway; there seems to be no "maybe" about his work - either you like his books or you don't, there's no middle ground.

I'd certainly avoid The Rolling Stones (as that book was called in the US) and all his other juvies, unless you are aged fourteen or less.  MiaHM is pretty good, if badly, badly dated.  Stranger in a Strange Land is probably his best, and an amusing yet serious work in its own right.  That's it, though.  I never said, nor do i believe, that there is no 'maybe' about his work.  I'd argue that one's impression of Heinlein will depend largely on one's age:  his juvie stuff works very well and you will enjoy it until you get to be about fifteen or so, and then you start to see the purple prose and plot holes.  After age 15, all his books save MiaHM and SiaSL (which have other redeeming qualities) will probably seem highly contrived, absurd, bizarre, or all three.