Reviews for Pulp Science Fiction: Book One: Timed Out, Vol. 1

The average rating for Pulp Science Fiction: Book One: Timed Out, Vol. 1 based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-08-19 00:00:00 James Newsom If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review. Drastic Irrelevancy Synergism: "Variable Star" by Robert A. Heinlein, Spider Robinson " 'What is marriage for?' The car told her she was heading the wrong way; she reversed direction and came back past me toward its voice and pulsing beacon. "Babies, obviously." I followed her. 'Bingo. Marriage is for making jolly babies, raising them up into successful predators, and then admiring them until they're old enough to reward you with grandchildren to spoil.'"   In "Variable Star" by Robert A. Heinlein, Spider Robinson   Ghastly, isn't it?   There is an urban myth about a police sergeant who is assigned to scouring confiscated hard drives for pornographic content. After frequent exposure to lewd acts that are best left unsaid he becomes an addict, and descends into the grubby world of vice he is supposed to be policing. It is a slippery slope downwards to SF addiction. I have never taken heroin, thank God, because I am sure I am an addictive personality and would never get off it, but "Variable Star" is like the Harry Harrison Rat books. It is shit. But just because it is shit, doesn't mean I don't love it. It's like that scene from Stalker by the Strugatsky brothers where the tortured and religious guide takes a cynical journalist and an academic into "the zone" to find a fabled room where all wishes come true. They are scared to enter, because Tarkovsky, like Poe, knows that if we got what we really wanted we might not like what that said about us.     If you're into SF, read on.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-02-23 00:00:00 Lester Zimmerman, Jr Variable Star was an outline found in the papers of Robert A. Heinlein by his family. Spider Robinson was commissioned by RAH's literary executor to finish the work and he did, publishing the book almost 20 years after the grand master's death. My first thought about this is that Robinson did a wonderful job recreating the syntax and style of Heinlein, down to the wisecracking technicality and the human centered hard science fiction storyline. Also endearing was the ubiquitous references to Heinlein's future history timeline and the multiple allusions to RAH books. Robinson seemed to lean heavily on Revolt in 2100 and the Scudderite theocracy. This book also read alot like The Cat Who Walks Through Walls. There is also some elements representative of The Door Into Summer and Time Enough for Love. What was very much un-Heinleinesque was the prevalent profanity. I have developed a Goodreads rating meter that fluctuates its evaluation as I read. This one hovered between 3 and 4, had some 5 spikes, waned down to 2 a few times and ended with a solid 3, I liked it but was not thrilled with it. Another general Goodreads observation I have is that many books that end up rated as a 3 could have been made better with some ruthless editing, shaving 50 pages off this one may have tightened it up nicely.