Heinlein's success with characterization has always been mixed. As critics have long noted, most of his protagonists conform to a basic pattern; they are highly competent individuals (men, women, or aliens) who have mastered the skills to survive and flourish in a hostile universe. Profoundly individualistic and skeptical of all authority, they are yet willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of their community.

Cynical and cantankerous, they retain a deep, if selective, sentimentality.

Heinlein is generally quite successful with his protagonists, who, gifted with something of his own voice, are witty, allusive, and prone to folksy, even corny humor. They generally share his remarkable gift for explaining how things work, of making what could be dry lectures into fascinating discourses.

And he skillfully depicts a mentor relationship — the wise old man (or woman) explaining things to a gifted, but as yet naive, individual.

Those who dismiss...