Rating: 
Summary: Possibly Heinlein's Worst Ever
Review: Robert Heinlein is one of the acknowledged masters of thegenre. His juveniles are fun, exciting romps, and his adult novelsare imaginative and deeply thought provoking. On the down side, tight plotting is generally not his forte, and his characters, while exceptionally fresh and human by the standards of mid-twentieth century science fiction, may seem stiff and contrived today. These facets of his work are usually glossed over, however, because it was Heinlein who put the social sciences into science fiction. When most of the genre was interested in physics and astronomy, Heinlein was speculating about politics and sociology. When the typical science fiction hero was solely interested in advancing human knowledge, Heinlein's heroes were trying to make money, or impress the ladies. Heinlein's characters ate, drank, slept, went to the bathroom, and worked at their jobs, just as many of us do in the real world. Over time, other writers grasped that this kind of social realism made their characters easier to identify with, and gave their work a level of verisimilitude that had been lacking in science fiction from its beginnings. All this notwithstanding, it must be admitted that Beyond this Horizon is a very poor book - quite possibly the worst novel Heinlein ever wrote. The hero, Hamilton Felix, is a very common character in Heinlein's adult novels. Tough-minded, super-capable, wisecracking, irreverent, and ostensibly likable, these characters sometimes seem a little too perfect to care about. Here, Heinlein is not so much trying to describe a believable person as to show us his vision of the man of the future. Not all of us are impressed. In matters of science, Heinlein's explanations of the fundamentals of genetic inheritance are neither particularly interesting nor particularly enlightening. Most people learned this material in high school, and for that matter, the details aren't really that critical to the story anyway. The latter third of the book takes a stab at solving the basic philosophical questions facing humanity, and the ease with which Heinlein knocks them off is nothing short of silly. The most interesting idea the novel presents us with is the vision of an armed populace casually walking the streets with guns at their side, ready to use deadly force to redress anything from a punch in the nose to an invasion of privacy. Heinlein suggests that a more polite and respectful society would result, but later hedges his bet by questioning the practice. Absurd coincidences abound in this poorly plotted novel, many of them downright laughable. The characters are not only unsympathetic; they are flat almost to transparency. But the single most astonishing thing about this book is that it has so much in common with Heinlein's masterful Stranger in a Strange Land and yet still manages to be merely pathetic. Students who are studying Heinlein's fiction may wish to compare this novel with his more successful works in order to see what went wrong, but I would not recommend it to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Hard to put down
Review: Stranger in a Strange Land IS the funniest book ever written. It is also far more than that. To keep it short, if you've read all of Heinlein's works you can see him develop over time. This is a great book and I recommend it to anyone who wishes to read one of his top twenty, perhaps ten. Let's see there's Stranger, The Moon, Time Enough ....
Rating:
Summary: Chaotic Mess
Review: This is one of Robert A. Heinlein's earliest novels. It was originally published in Astounding Science Fiction in April and May of 1942, and then was published in book form in 1948. In the 1952 Astounding/Analog All-Time Poll it was rated 25th overall for science fiction books.
I found this book to be surprisingly poor. After reading it I was not sure what the purpose of this story was. The first part of the book is somewhat standard, it is the story of Hamilton Felix, who questions what the purpose of life is. He is genetically superior to most people, and thus there is a lot of pressure on him to procreate. The society he lives in is considered a "Utopia", but frankly it has a lot in common with the society presented in Huxley's "Brave New World". However, the mood of this book is much lighter than that of Huxley's. After an incident at a restaurant things change for Hamilton. A revolutionary group tries to recruit him to use in their attempt to seize control of the government and he meets a woman who changes his viewpoint on remaining single.
Once that story reaches a conclusion, the book continues on, touching on a variety of Science Fiction themes, but failing to deliver anything more than a chaotic mish-mash of a plot. There is a bit of a story about a man from the early 20th century being found in a stasis field. There is the start of a search for the meaning of life and the universe. There is the beginning of a story about a telepath. Finally, there is the start of a story about the transference of a dying person's consciousness into a fetus. Hamilton Felix is present throughout the book, and there are several other characters that are in most of the book as well, but there doesn't seem to be any conclusion to most of what happens in the book. Any and all of these themes could be used to make up a great science fiction novel, but this isn't it.
It is with extreme reluctance that I give one of Heinlein's books such a low rating. He is truly one of the greats of the genre. I suspect this must be his worst, as it isn't even near the same quality as any of his other novels or short fiction that I have read.
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling
Review: This was my first Heinlein book and i found it very readable. But Heinlein took a philosofical discourse at the end which i found somewhat incomplete.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best Science Fiction novels ever written
Review: Though many of the other comments on this book have been critical: that it goes way too fast, has little plot,is one of Heinlein's weaker books, I can assure potential readers that this is one of the best Science Fiction novels ever written. Heinlein manages to write a novel that not only has charming characters, but also manages to be bursting with really cool ideas (especially considering that this novel was written in the 40's). He takes on subjects which we just today are starting to discuss seriously, the most obvious one being genetic engineering, and gives his view of how society adapts to it. He also provides (as with all Heinlein books) some interesting social commentary (in this novel he seems to endorse a republic where the citizens police themselves). And though, as critics are quick to point out, this novel has many different plot lines (some of which do not begin until around half way through the book). Any experienced reader who has surpassed the Piers Anthony level should be able to follow what is going on as long as they take the time to read the book properly.
Rating:
Summary: Unnecessarily derided
Review: To be sure, this is far from being one of Robert A. Heinlein's best novels, but it is a good book, and nowhere near as bad as it is often made out to be - I found it to be an engrossing read. The book was written in the early 40's, but it tackles a subject that has only much more recently been seriously looked into on more than a mere esoteric level (due to books like Jurassic Park and such): genetic engineering. If you knew nothing of genetics, this book could teach you some (although certain "facts" in the book - 48 chromosomes - have been outmolded by subequent science, which Heinlein wisely decided to leave well enough alone), and it's speculation can be enlightening. This book explores the issue pretty thoroughly, almost on a remarkable level for the time, and it really should get more credit for that. This is surely one of the very earliest science fiction books to deal with the subject on such terms - perhaps not too surpisingly, as Heinlein is generally credited with introducing the social sciences into science fiction, and genetic engineering is a logical tangent from that springboard. Perhaps the reason it hasn't received such credit is the ease with which certain subjects are dispensed. Aside from the occasional absurd coincidences in the story (Phyllis showing up at Hamilton's house and Marion meeting Cliff at the park are never explained) which can be overlooked with a knowing wink towards artistic license, this book makes an issue of bringing up most of the major philosophical points in existence (including, but certainly not limited to, "What is the meaning of life?" itself), but never really attempting to answer them (Heinliein has done the same thing in subsequent writings, too - Gulf, for instance.) Of course, on the byline, such questions cannot be answered. Kudos to the book for at least dealing with them (also, the realization that Felix comes to about the meaning of life, though scientifically unsatisfying, is at least moreally reassuring.) Still, aside from all this, this is an entertaining book, and you will have fun reading it. It hooked me. It's fun, interesting, more than a little thought-provoking (as all good SF, and Heinlein, should be), and somewhat underrated in Heinlein's oeuvre, as it is often unnecessarily derided. Perphaps, as to emphasize the point that this book is better than is generally ackwnoledged (or maybe just looking to make a quick buck on the theory of "anything with Heinlein's name on it will sell"), this book has been recently re-published. I'm glad to see it back in publication. It's a worthy part of the Heinlein canon, and deserves to be read. Unfortunately, it is adorned with a horrendous cover, unshamedly derivative of 2001 - somebody's horrible lapse in judgment - that may give this already undeservedly notorious book an even worse reputation. At least it's back in print. Perhaps a better edition lies somewhere "beyond this horizon." Alas.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for fans, not his best work
Review: Weak on plot, characters with so little substance they're hard to tell apart, subplots that just evaporate without contributing anything, and lots of lecturing on science that everyone in the story already understands. ("Well, Bill, I know you and I both understand this, but let me launch into a three page digression about it.") It's very dated. Everyone acts like they were living in 1940s New York. Despite references to outlandish clothes, men wearing nail polish, and hovercars, you can't help but picture it being filmed in black and white with costumes borrowed from a Humphrey Bogart movie. The book tries to be hard science fiction, with justification for everything that happens, but times change, and intelligent life on Mars and telepathy just don't cut it anymore. What saves the book from being unreadable is that it's just so interesting. If you enjoy Heinlein's social commentary, and his "what if"s, you'll enjoy the book. The genetic engineering aspect is presented plausibly, and ties in (vaguely) to the fact that most people carry weapons wherever they go. It's the same sort of thing Heinlein did in Starship Troopers and in The Moon is a Harsh Misteress, but the plot that guides you through his hypothetical society isn't nearly as good as in either of those books.
Rating:
Summary: A sub-par Heinlein, but not bad overall
Review: When compared to Heinlein's later, Hugo-Award-winning novels, this book, one of his earlier works, easily pales in comparison. Unfortunately, that leads many to deride this book as inferior, since its author was so clearly capable of much, much better. However, Beyond This Horizon isn't a bad book, given the time period it was written in. In the early 40's when this book was written, genetic research was still in its infancy, and things like DNA, household words today, were still as yet unknown. The reader in 2004 may be forgiven for raising an eyebrow at Heinlein's assertion that a superior being could contain 96 chromosomes, or even 48.
The story revolves around Hamilton Felix (the names in the book are read in the surname-first order, opposite of what we're used to) a man who is the culmination of a "starline", yet uses his talents only in amusing diversions and invention of gaming machines. Hamilton is bored with life and sees no purpose in it. Eventually, Hamilton is caught up in a cabal of revolutionaries who wish to overthrow the government and install themselves as dictators, aiming to breed humans according to function, in an echo to "Brave New World." By the end of the book, Hamilton has thwarted the revolution as a double agent, gotten married and had kids, and is a contented family man, no longer interested in the great "Why?" of things, but simply enjoying what life has to offer.
Along the way, Heinlein explores his notions of society and politics. His oft-quoted "An armed society is a polite society.", a phrase so beloved of the gun-rights advocates, seems at odds with his rather bleak view of humankind in general. Heinlein, through his many works, understands that humans are motivated by greed, lust, jealousy, and selfishness. An "armed society" such as Heinlein envisions would probably be like Dodge City in the 1870's.
Overall, this book is a nice, fast, easy read. Certainly not at the level of his later masterpieces, such as Stranger in a Strange Land, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, and my own favorite, Starship Troopers, this book can stand alone on its own as a good book. Three stars.
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