Author: Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy / Source: WIRED
Robert Heinlein is the legendary author of such classic works as Starship Troopers, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, and Stranger in a Strange Land. His books have influenced generations of artists and scientists, including physicist and science fiction writer Gregory Benford.
“He was one of the people who propelled me forward to go into the sciences,” Benford says in Episode 348 of the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast. “Because his depiction of the prospect of the future of science, engineering—everything—was so enticing.
He was my favorite science fiction writer.”
Heinlein appears as a character in Benford’s new novel, a time travel thriller called Rewrite. The novel depicts Heinlein as a MacGyver-esque man of action who dispatches his enemies with the aid of improvised traps. Benford, who met Heinlein in the late 1960s and knew him throughout his life, says this is an extremely accurate portrayal.
“He had a degree in engineering from Annapolis, and he liked doing things himself,” Benford says. “You can certainly see it in his novels, which are full of people rigging stuff up and making it work. He loved that kind of thing.”
Heinlein’s DIY attitude even extended to his houses, which he designed himself and which also displayed his technical flair. “He over-pressured this circular house he built in Santa Cruz so that when you open the doors, dust doesn’t blow in, it blows out,” Benford says. “Plus the fact that over-pressuring your house gives you a little more oxygen to run on.”
The novel’s depiction of Heinlein as calmly proficient with firearms is also very true to life.
“I saw him fire guns outside his house, and he was a good shot,” Benford says. “He tended to be good at something if he took it up. He would learn everything from scratch and make it work.”
Listen to the complete interview with Gregory Benford in Episode 348 of Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy (above). And check out some highlights from the discussion below.
Gregory Benford on Timescape:
“I realized in writing the…
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