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Summary: A BOOK THAT MAKES YOU WONDER!
Review: The Cat Who Walks Through Walls is certainly a book that makes you think.This book was tied together very well with Heinleins other books Time Enough for Love,and To Sail Beyound the Sunset. This book is about a unique man who gets caught in a unique situation that involes Lazarus Long, multiuniversal time travel, and saving a machine with a sense of humor named Mike from destuction. I definitily think you should read Time Enough for Love before you read The Cat Who Walks Through Walls,and then you should read To Sail Beyound the Sunset next in order to understand each book better and get more enjoyment from each one. I absolutely reccomend this book for any Heinlein lover to read and enjoy!
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Summary: Not Heinlein's best, bust good nonetheless.
Review: Although not my favorite Heinlein book, it is a must read to continue with his better sequel "To Sail Beyond The Sunset" as it introduces (and actually continues with) some of the characters from previous novels.But I liked "To Sail..." much better.
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Summary: A fascinating story.
Review: The Wall Street Journal refers to Heinlein as "one of the grand masters of science fiction." He is certainly a masterful writer. The plots of his novels are always surprising and entertaining. The following is the synopsis on the back of the book: "When a stranger attempting to deliver a cryptic message is shot dead at his dinner table, Dr. Richard Ames is thrown head first into danger, intrigue, and other dimensions where Lazarus Long still thrives, where Jubal Harshaw lives surrounded by beautiful women, and a daring plot to rescue the sentient computer called Mike can change the direction of all human history." The plot of this book is certainly fascinating, but what really keeps one reading are the wonderful characters in Heinlein's fiction.
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Summary: Meow!
Review: This is a marvellous book, and while it's good to read "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" first, "Cat..." can still be read as a stand alone. Heinlein creates the kind of characters I would love to know! The universe created is one I would die to live in. RAH was a master of the genre. It is hard to believe he is gone.
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Summary: One of Heinlein's Best
Review: I'm amazed by some of the negative reviews here--this is vintage Heinlein, a well written page turner that spent some time on the national bestseller lists. I suppose being a diehard RAH reader helps--unfamiliarity with RAH's characters from previous works could confuse a new reader. This book, like much of his later works, is light on plot, heavy on characterization--Heinlein really gets the reader inside the minds of his leading characters (and ultimately inside RAH's mindset), and explores every facet of their interaction with each other. If you are sympathetic with the survivalist, supersmart, anarchist characters that he peoples his books with, there's a lot of thought-material here for you to mull over. How they manuever against the heavy hand of government and turn it to their advantage in his novels is always a source of fascination. Heinlein hasn't been around for a few years, but he's still 'The Master'--if this is his worst, it's still far superior to any of the Sci Fi books on the shelf today. Read it! Enjoy it! ps--this book is not about the cat, exactly. Or is it? Think about it.
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Summary: Philosophy and Sociology in a Science Fiction universe
Review: Growing up as a kitten, nobody ever taught Pixel (aka Schroedinger's cat) that walls are solid and he should stop when he runs into them. Being a feline, and therefore both more capricious and more stubborn than a simple inanimate object, Pixel ran right on through whatever he wanted to go play wherever he wanted. Also starring in this story, tying together many storylines, but not tying them up, are various human members of the Long family, as well as the sentient computer named "Mike". Most of them would probably claim that Richard and Gwen, not Pixel, have the central roles in this story, but just try to explain THAT to a kitten! Many of the characters (especially in the latter sections of the book) were previously introduced in "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", "The Rolling Stones", "Time Enough For Love", and "The Number of The Beast". As usual for Heinlein, it is recommended that you read those books first, or this story is likely to make as much sense to you as it does to Pixel.
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Summary: Starts great, then commits suicide
Review: An engrossing and exciting adventure. I bought it hoping for interesting time travel paradoxes, such as I enjoyed in his short story "All You Zombies," and his novel "The Door to Summer." But "Door" is much simpler, and "Zombies" is short enough so you only go crazy a short time trying to make sense of impossibilities. Here Heinlein brings in dozens of new and unnecessary characters in the last third, and unfortunately, they all have the same personality, wisecracking egomaniacs. You can't tell them apart. Worth reading, but if you want a Heinlein book that satisfies to the very end, try The Door to Summer.
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Summary: If you don't like this, you don't know Heinlein!
Review: Are you kidding me? Who are these people who don't believe this is a good book? The last third may seem to let down the first two thirds, but if you knew anything about Heinlein, you'd know that the beginning is just a warmup. In order to understand "Cat" you have to have read "Time Enough for Love" and "The Number of the Beast" in that order. "Sail into the Sunset" is set at about the same time as "Cat" (not that time has much meaning to these people) and would also be helpful. If you haven't read at least one of these other novels, you don't have a hope of understanding any of the others. They all stand alone, but were written in a certain order, and so form a loose trilogy of sorts. And you don't read the last book in a series first! (unless you're George Lucas) Personally, I don't think "Cat" is one of his best, or even one of his middling, mainly because the first two thirds are a rehash of some other future history novels, like "Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and "Space Cadet" and obviously anything else with Hazel Stone in it. But it's cute, and I have a kitten who looks like Pixel so I'm biased. So please, before you go trashing a perfectly good novel - KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!
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Summary: Great for 2/3 of the book. The rest is a debacle.
Review: The first two thirds of The Cat Who Walks Through Walls is engrossing and interesting both in style and content with it's undertones of intrigue and things going on behind the scenes. Exciting chases and the search for answers are supreme highlights. Then in the last third or so, as is common with many Heinlein books over 200 pages, the story rapidly degenerates into an alzheimer-nightmare where it seems like his whole intention has become to completely destroy the previous magnificent two thirds. The last third is airy, false-feeling, and totally ungraspable, and seems to fully detach from the rest of the book and leaves you dazed and confused about exactly what he's trying to do. If Heinlein were still alive, I'd suggest he cut off the last third and write a shorter ending more true to the rest of the book. You'll have to read it to understand exactly what I mean.
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Summary: So close yet so far!
Review: This is a good but not great book. The beginning-fantastic. The ending-not so good. Im just an early teenager so forgive my spelling and other stuff. Heinlein makes interesting characters which keeps you reading untill the end when it fades a bit. You should read this book because it has interesting ideas, plots, characters, cute kittens and great dialogue. I have just read 2 books of Heinlein and this is the 3rd one. I have other of his books to read on my shelf (i think i have all of them). I read the other reviews before i made mine, i could see how you think it could be a 5 star book or a 1 star book. But the one star people have to give him some credit to the beginning because it is just plain good. The 5 star people need to recognize the ending and reunion as bad and draging along. Oh well... have to finnish my book report. :)
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