Book Review: Glory Road by Robert Heinlein

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I'd been introduced to Robert Heinlein through his military epic 'Starship Troopers.' That book was fun and delved into the psyche of a soldier. It had its preachy moments, but the commentary felt relevant, and the points made were thought evoking.

Since 'Starship Troopers', I'd been eager to read more Heinlein. This opportunity came in the form of 'Glory Road'. Which grabbed my attention with good reviews and awards behind it. It's a story that falls in both fantasy and sci-fi, and was written during Heinlein's heyday (50s/6
0s).

The protagonist is a recently discharged soldier, named E.C, who meets a beautiful woman named Star. The woman, whose beauty is regularly expressed, is looking for a hero to retrieve the Egg of a Phoenix. Star and E.C, who gets renamed Scar, are joined by an ageing assistant called Rufo. They come across different trials, which are all resolved neatly (Scar should have been named Mary Sue). After pages of analysis on space and time, through strange and drawn out character conversations, the story ends anticlimactically.

My thoughts are below, there will be spoilers (you aren't missing out).

WHAT I LIKED:

The initial set up of the story, was fun. Oscar doesn't enjoy the army and attempts to leave. This was a very different scene to the type of frenzied idolising of the army that Heinlein depicted in 'Starship Trooper.'

Before meeting Star, Oscar's character was interesting and appeared to have some depth to him.

The premise of Star needing to find the egg of phoenix promised a lot. The outline of events was clear, and what happened to the characters en- route to their goal was a page turning thought.

WHAT I DISLIKED:

After the initial promise, the characters were forgettable. Star was peculiar and unlikeable. Everything that came out of her mouth was fake and cold. Once Oscar met Star and became fascinated with her beauty he became a dull vessel for Heinlein to vomit his ideas on space and time. Rufo, the third wheel, was the comic relief that fails at his job.

The relationship between the forgettable characters was also strange. Oscar and Star loved each other so much they regularly expressed themselves through contrived dialogue and cringe declarations. Star ultimately used Oscar, which made the constant shouts of 'darling' and 'my love' even more frustrating. Over the top soppiness is one thing, but fake over the top soppiness is its own type of hell.

The narrative was slow. There were occasional pieces of excitement but pages of strange interactions and nothingness, hindered any enjoyment.

With 'Starship Troopers', humour was a strong part of Heinlein's voice. Sadly, this was not the case with 'Glory Road'. There were moments with witty descriptions and funny exchanges, but they were minimal.

The premise of needing a hero to retrieve the Phoenix's egg developed to be an odd scenario. Star came across as fiercely independent, stronger, smarter and more suited to the hero role. The question "Why does she need Oscar?" remained throughout reading and still as I write this.

WOULD I RECOMMEND?:

Well received in 1963, this book has won awards and appears on many lists of Heinlein's best work. It mixed two of my favourite genres and was written by an author who I've previously enjoyed. Maybe I was comparing it with Heinlein's other work or with the fun of my previous read Ready Player One, who knows. Ultimately, I found this book a struggle and would advise readers to find something else, even the most ardent Heinlein fans.

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allthingsm4tt

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