Nostalgia

[threemonkeys]

The so called juvenile novels of Robert Heinlein and Andre Norton were very important to me when I was a kid. What we call the YA market was a pretty thin offering in the SF field back then. Harry Turtledove's Gunpowder Empire reminds me of those books in terms of the way it is written. Way to much so for it to be a coincidence. I didn't finish it. That style of writing holds nothing for me now. I'm not sure how I'd go re-reading those Heinlein & Norton books now. I suspect Heinlein would hold up better, but I'm not sure. I am half tempted to grab, say, Tunnel in the Sky* and see if it still works for me. But then again perhaps it might be better not to and just live with the memories.

*Tunnel in the Sky may not be the best or best known of Heinlein's youth oriented work, but for some reason it has always held a particular place in my affections.

Comments

[cat-i-th-adage.livejournal.com]

I'm still fond of Podkayne of Mars, and Farmer in the Sky holds up well for rereading, with its descriptions of terraforming and such.

I just can't get through Andre Norton's work anymore. The prose feels heavy and the plotlines repetitive.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

That helps confirm my suspicion re Heinlein vs Norton. Hmmm - I think I've got a copy of Farmer in the Sky lying around somewhere ...

[lobelet.livejournal.com]

I re-read all the Heinlein juveniles recently as preparation for the Heinlein talk I gave at the Wellington con. With the exception of "Rocketship Galileo" (which I never liked anyway) they all held up well and they enthralled me just as much this time round as they did when I first read them.

But I gave my Andre Norton books away many years ago because a re-read of those that I started turned into a chore and I abandoned it.

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

"Chore" describes reading the Turtledove book. Yet, if anything it leans more to the Heinlein than the Norton in the way it is executed - it is pretty obviously an attempt to write somewhere in the middle of these styles and isn't like his usual stuff. I guess ol' Harry just doesn't have the writing chops that Heinlein did - especially when attempting imitation.