Where To Start Reading Robert A. Heinlein, The Dean Of Science Fiction

By Joshua Tyler
| Published 20 seconds ago

Sci-fi master Robert A. Heinlein’s most famous book, Stranger in a Strange Land, is now more than fifty years old.  It is so impactful that it inspired Elon Musk’s AI, Grok, named after a word invented for Heinlein’s book. And yet, despite its fame and high quality, Stranger in a Strange Land isn’t his best book, and it’s not his easiest read.

Unfortunately, because Stranger in a Strange Land had such an impact on culture, now anyone looking to explore Heinlein’s work usually starts by reading it. After finishing, those same readers often never pick up anything else he’s done.

Stranger in a Strange Land is a great book, but also narratively unsound, filled with wild ideas that may scare people away, and less of a story than most readers may be used to. For people new to Heinlein, having them start by reading Stranger in a Strange Land is a great way to make sure they’ll never read anything else he’s written.

I’ve been reading Heinlein books since I was far too young to actually be reading Heinlein, and he is, without question, my favorite author. I’m going to fix this problem by recommending other Heinlein books that are not only completely different but infinitely better as a way for new readers to gain entry into Heinlein’s world. Most of these come from earlier in his writing career, before he wrote Stranger. After it, Heinlein kept writing more books like, well, Stranger.

If you really want to read, enjoy, and understand the man once called The Dean of Science Fiction, start reading Robert A. Heinlein with these 5 books instead.

The Star Beast | written by Heinlein in 1954

The Star Best was written by Heinlein as a novel for young adults, but it works well enough that older adults can enjoy it too. This was my first introduction to Robert A. Heinlein at an early age, and if you’re looking for an easy window into his worlds, this might be the book for you.

The Star Beast is the story of a boy named John Thomas who has a pet alien, brought into his family by a spacefaring ancestor. The pet, on the other hand, thinks it’s the one keeping humans. As it grows to adulthood (and reaches a prodigious size), John learns his pet is not just some puppy but an intelligent creature from a powerful race of spacefaring aliens, who want him back.

Tunnel in the Sky | written by Heinlein in 1955

Tunnel in the Sky is much like Heinlein’s Lord of the Flies. A group of students is sent to an alien planet to practice their survival skills. They’re only supposed to be there for ten days, but no one ever comes to pick them up.

They band together to form a community, and the book follows one student who eventually becomes their leader, helping them all survive in a harsh and deadly environment. Years pass as things go from bad to worse when they discover a species of viciously deadly aliens threatening to wipe them all out.

Starship Troopers | written by Heinlein in 1959

This 1959 Hugo Award winner is the book that the Paul Verhoeven movie from the 1990s is based on, in theory. In practice, Starship Troopers, the book, has so very little in common with the film they made out of it, it’s almost a completely different thing.

Starship Troopers is hard-edged, military science fiction about a young soldier named Johnny Rico, thrust into the midst of a war with an alien race of bugs. He’s a member of the mobile infantry, ground troopers who fight in power armor.

In addition to telling a great war story, Starship Troopers contains many relevant political and military themes. Using Rico, Heinlein examines a range of social ills while still telling a great science fiction tale.

The Door into Summer | written by Heinlein in 1957

The Door into Summer is the story of an independent-thinking engineer and inventor (Heinlein’s favorite type of character) named Dan Boone, who builds a robotics company, only to be betrayed by his partners and stuck in cold sleep. He wakes up decades later and tries to rebuild his life in a strange future. Along the way, Dan rises and falls again, ends up at a nudist colony, before eventually giving up and going back into cold sleep again.

It’s a complex story about innovation, invention, and corporate intrigue. The Door into Summer handles some of Heinlein’s pet topics, tackling issues of sexual freedom with lots of time travel. It does all of that while still telling a great story. For me, this is Heinlein at his best, but you may not want to tackle this one until you’ve fortified yourself with some of his simpler works first.

Farnham’s Freehold | written by Heinlein in 1965

Farnham is the Cold War era tale of a family hiding inside a bomb shelter when nuclear war breaks out. It’s brilliant, particularly early on, as Heinlein describes his little group of people, huddled inside their shelter while the world shakes around them.

Eventually, they leave the bomb shelter to discover they’ve somehow been transported somewhere else. Alone in a hostile environment without any of the technology they’re used to, the group tries to form a community and survive, only to discover a place where white men are slaves, and the world they knew is buried and gone forever.

Some groups view this book as controversial, claiming they see racist themes hidden within it. Whether that’s the case, I’ll leave for you to judge. Just keep in mind, while you read Farnham’s Freehold, the time period in which it was written. Context is king.

The Great Robert A. Heinlein Books You Should Read Next

• Have Space Suit Will Travel
• The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
• Red Planet
• The Puppet Masters
• Starman Jones