- Publisher: Science Fiction Book Club;
- Publication Date: 1st edition (October 1, 2005)
- Length: 738 pages
- ISBN-10: 1582881847
- ISBN-13: 978-158288184
- Author: Robert A. Heinlein
Off The Main Sequence:The Other Science Fiction Stories of Robert A. Heinlein by Robert A. Heinlein includes 27 stories that were originally printed in various science fiction magazines in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Several of these were originally printed under one of Heinlein’s pen names: Lyle Monroe, Anson McDonald, and Caleb Saunders. One was co-authored by Elma Wentz. Three of them were not previously published in any other Heinlein story collections. All of the stories in this collection are stand alone stories and are not part of his famous ‘future history‘ series, though a few of these are peripheral to that timeline.
I thought I had read most everything that Heinlein had written, but several of these stories seemed new to me. There were the three that had never been published before in other collections, and I did not remember most of the other stories that were originally published under pseudonyms either. It may be these slipped past me before or it may be they just slipped from my memory. Most all of those originally credited with Robert A. Heinlein as author, I know I have read before in one or another collection over the years.
The three previously uncollected ‘new’ stories are:
- “Beyond Doubt” credited to Lyle Monroe & Elma Wentz, where they try to do some light-hearted fantasy that is mildly amusing.
- “My Object All Sublime” by Lyle Monroe is another humorous story about an invisible man.
- “Pied Piper” also by Lyle Monroe, tells about the search for a new ultimate weapon to end an ongoing war.
If you are Heinlein fanatic, like me, then it is worth your time to get this book and read it. There are a lot of classic Heinlein stories that are a delight to read again, and the alternate author name stories are generally worth the time to read. The new stories are OK, but they are not Heinlein’s best. In fact, most of the stories that were written under one of the other pen names are not Heinlein’s best. Apparently, Heinlein himself describes some of them as ‘stinkeroos’. I wouldn’t go that far, but if you are unfamiliar with Heinlein, I would start with other works.
For a couple of other suggestions, here are my recent reviews for:
- The ‘juvenile’ novel Citizen of the Galaxy
- and the collection of stories The Green Hills of Earth
Either of these is a better introduction to Heinlein. Off the Main Sequence does include many excellent stories, but it also includes some less than stellar material. Read everything else he’s written then work your way back here.
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If you are introducing yourself to new Science Fiction:
try Plastivore by Matt Truxaw
