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

[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.