A never-before-published masterpiece from science fiction’s greatest writer, rediscovered after more than half a century.When Joel Johnston first met Jinny Hamilton, it seemed like a dream come true. And when she finally agreed to marry him, he felt like the luckiest man in the universe.There was just one small problem. He was broke. His only goal in life was to become a composer, and he knew it … composer, and he knew it would take years before he was earning enough to support a family.
But Jinny wasn’t willing to wait. And when Joel asked her what they were going to do for money, she gave him a most unexpected answer. She told him that her name wasn’t really Jinny Hamilton—it was Jinny Conrad, and she was the granddaughter of Richard Conrad, the wealthiest man in the solar system.
And now that she was sure that Joel loved her for herself, not for her wealth, she revealed her family’s plans for him—he would be groomed for a place in the vast Conrad empire and sire a dynasty to carry on the family business.
Most men would have jumped at the opportunity. But Joel Johnston wasn’t most men. To Jinny’s surprise, and even his own, he turned down her generous offer and then set off on the mother of all benders. And woke up on a colony ship heading out into space, torn between regret over his rash decision and his determination to forget Jinny and make a life for himself among the stars.
He was on his way to succeeding when his plans–and the plans of billions of others–were shattered by a cosmic cataclysm so devastating it would take all of humanity’s strength and ingenuity just to survive.
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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This is a great book, based on notes left by Robert Heinlein, one of my favorite authors. It is the only Heinlein novel with a coauthor, who was brought in to complete the book years after his death. What a great choice that was! The reader is kept guessing all along the way about what will happen next. The end seems to be a complete disaster, …
Admiral Bob and the Spider man – what more could you want?
Takes Heinlein’s ideas and flashes it out well. Makes it his own story but you feel the roots of the master.
Good fusion of Robinson and Heinlein’s styles with a great plot line and character set to boot.
Heinlein almost came alive; working from notes, the Spider does an incredible job, there are times when one can one-more-time live in a world created by Heinlein.
I didn’t think it would be possible, but if anyone could channel vintage Heinlein, it would be none other than Spider Robinson.
Like Quinn Sullivan jamming with Buddy Guy, you might start at “wow, a kid jumped on stage” and get to “wow, this kid is good” and end up at “um, this kid made that song *better*!”
But of course this is no neophyte. …
Heinlein, what else do I need to say!!
Another must read for Heinlein fans.
Two of my favorite writers — what’s not to love? Half the fun was recognizing which bits were pure Heinlein and which were Robinson.
Well written. Hard to put down. Loved the fantasy of future space travel with unusual and interesting characters. Great story with an unexpected twist at the end.
2 favorite authors but a book not worth my time. Only 2nd book of Heinlein’s that I will never read again. Main character unloveable. Storyline unbelievable. Wasted verbage that failed to add to the story. Supposedly Heinlein wrote the outlines in 1930’s but never wrote the book. Spider Robinson took the job and I quickly learned why Heinlein …
Amazingly like a “real” Heinlein juvenile. The climax is so well done you want to read it two or three times.
Characters develop over the long voyage in surprising ways.
The original outline of this book was for Heinlein’s “juvenile” series. I cut my SF teeth on those stories. This treatment still felt a bit juvenile. If it was the author’s intent to remain true to the original concept, I’d say he succeeded, but that left, now grown up me, feeling a bit underserved.
A disappointment. Not up to what I expected from Spider Robinson, and way below what I would expect from Heinlein. Slow and boring.
Spider Robinson does an excellent job fleshing out Heinlein’s original draft.
Although the book is built on an unfinished RH draft, I got completely bored and quit reading it before I was halfway through it. Don’t waste your time.
Always enjoy his books.
Definitely not Heinlein!
I enjoyed the lively writing style.