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3.5 

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

By Robert A. Heinlein
The Pursuit of the Pankera: A Parallel Novel About Parallel Universes by Robert A. Heinlein digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

"An absolutely essential and 'must read' novel for the legions of Robert Heinlein fans, The Pursuit of the Pankera: A Parallel Novel About Parallel Universes is an extraordinary work of science fiction"—Midwest Book Review

 

"Heinlein still offers a rollicking ride even after all these years."—The Oklahoman

 

The Pursuit of the Pankera is one of the most audacious experiments ever done in science fiction by the legendary author of the classic bestseller Starship Troopers.

 

Robert A. Heinlein wrote The Number of the Beast, which was published in 1980. In the book Zeb, Deety, Hilda and Jake are ambushed by the alien "Black Hats" and barely escape with their lives on a specially configured vehicle (the Gay Deceiver) which can travel along various planes of existence, allowing them to visit parallel universes.
 

However, unknown to most fans, Heinlein had already written a "parallel" novel about the four characters and parallel universes in 1977. He effectively wrote two parallel novels about parallel universes. The novels share the same start, but as soon as the Gay Deceiver is used to transport them to a parallel universe, each book transports them to a totally different parallel world. 

 

From that point on the plot lines diverge completely. While The Number of the Beast morphs into something very different, more representative of later Heinlein works, The Pursuit of the Pankera remains on target with a much more traditional Heinleinesque storyline and ending, reminiscent of his earlier works.

 

The Pursuit of the Pankera was never published and there have been many competing theories as to why (including significant copyright issues in 1977). Over time the manuscript was largely forgotten but survived in fragments. A recent re-examination of these fragments, however, made it clear that put together in the right order they constituted the complete novel.
 

And here it finally is: Robert A. Heinlein's audacious experiment. A fitting farewell from one of the most inventive science fiction writers to have ever lived: a parallel novel about parallel universes as well as a great adventure pitting the forces of good versus evil only the way Heinlein could do.
 

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4 Reviews

3.5
“<strong>Does What It Says </strong> The Pursuit of the Pankera lives up to the promises laid down in the first 15ish chapters of The Number of the Beast. It's not necessarily *better*... but it does what it says on the tin. Like the earlier published version of the novel, the characters are ludicrous, the dialogue laughable, and the pacing dodgy. Pankera does maintain its narrative throughline better than Beast, but at the cost of making its lead characters all pretty cringe in the final act. It's easy to see why Heinlein changed it, but Beast's final act is incoherent and unsatisfying.”
“This is a very good book, and in many ways better then the Number of the Beast. So why wasn’t it published before? I don’t know it certainly deserved to be and I wish it had. Maybe these stories would have continued. I love the premise of the first third of each novel being identical and then breaking off at that point. I would have loved to see a number of variations in the story. I actually recommend this one stronger than Number of the Beast.”

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