Life, Death, Sex and Money (I Will Fear No Evil - Robert A. Heinlein)

Member Name: JonnyM79

Product:	I Will Fear No Evil - Robert A. Heinlein
Date:	09/04/02 (63 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: New Idea, Vivid characters, Convincing future society

Disadvantages: Unedited writing style

Written by Robert A Heinlein at the height of his success, following Stranger in a Strange Land, I Will Fear No Evil could certainly never be accused of unoriginality with the storyline. The central plot is as follows (hang on to your hats): a rich old millionaire (imagine Mr Burns with a heart) comes up with an amazing possibility to cheat death. He gets a group of younger volounteers to sign up that if they should be involved in a fatal accident they agree that his living brain can be transplanted into their body to attempt to allow him to go on living. The twist is that when this happens the body used is actually that of a woman. Obviously the operation succeeds (it wouldn't be much of a story otherwise) and the wealthy duffer has to come to terms with starting life again as a woman, and learning to interact with his previous social contacts as one. There's also the question of how much influence his new body will have over his (her) mind and whether the previous occupant still has any presence.

This is certainly one of the most thought-provoking novels you will ever read. Issues such as life, death, identity, sexuality, attitudes to people of different genders, and mind vs body are all dealt with (I can't go into too much detail without spoiling the plot), and the exploration of a new sexuality can at times be really quite erotic. One of Heinlein's strengths has always been his creation of detailed and convincing societies and this is no exception. Set in the near future the world of this book is remarkably grim with the rich financing their own protection in enclaves and some areas (known as "unrestricted" zones) left beyond the rule of law. Now I think about it, it reminds me of Apartheid South Africa, and may well have been a comment on it (it was written in 1970).

As a style of writing this book is written a lot more loosely and meanders a bit more than other works by Heinlein. This is becau
se while in the process of editing the final manuscript Heinlein was taken seriously ill, and it actually looked as though he might die. Too ill to complete the editing he agreed with his wife Virginia that the manuscript should be published in its semi-edited form. Happily he actually made a full recovery and went on to live for another 18 years, but the illness gave us a book much different than what would have otherwise been published. True to his own famous writing advice, Heinlein refused to alter his work in any way once published. I have to say I actually like the rather disjointed stream of consciousness style: it suits very well someone who is a bit confused and isn't thinking clearly (you wouldn't either if your brain was ripped out and plonked into someone else's body).

If you're normally put off by books with a science-fiction tag, that are set in the future then don't be in this case. As with so many of Heinlein's works he uses the novel idea (cross-gender brain transplantation) to examine the consequences for the individual and those around him, rather than a childish future of spaceships and ray-guns (although as far as I can remember both are actually present deep within the backgfround). This unique idea and people-focused approach makes for an enthralling read, and you get caught up trying to understand the characters and just what is happenning to them right to the last page. Unmissable.

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