The Pursuit of the Pankera: A Parallel Novel About Parallel Universes

Yes, this is a new Robert Heinlein novel. The first one hundred fifty-nine pages are identical to those in Number of the Beast. That was a visitation and embracing of other writers and mythos, a sort of farewell. Herein, we are gifted with the opportunity to visit familiar and widely beloved worlds of imagination. Of course, Mr. Heinlein puts his own unique stamp on all of them, with touches of hilarity and over-the-top extrapolation. After that lead-in, the crew of the Gay Deceiver (I hasten to point out that at time of writing, “gay” had not acquired its current meaning) embark on a roaming of otherworldly dimensions, venturing into realms defined by literary expositions.

The voice is heartbreakingly Heinleinian, and it ranges from whimsy to the chest-out strutting of Lazarus Long revisiting his own past. By the by, Lazarus is mentioned and involved with our heroes’ lives, though under an alias.

Interpersonal relations, sexual tensions, and pleasurable titillations abound. Familial hierarchies, or the societal kowtowing to them, are reminiscent of fifties morality, but not to the point of being stifling. If anything, they are employed masterfully to maintain loving conflict.

I will reveal no more; all Heinlein fans deserve to experience this wondrous revisiting for themselves.