Robert Heinlein’s The Cat Who Walks Through Walls: A Comedy of Manners – Virtual Discussion

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The Beamers will conduct a virtual discussion of Robert Heinlein‘s The Cat Who Walks Through Walls: A Comedy of Manners.

Please join us on August 11, 2023 at 7 pm New York time.

Dr. Richard Ames is an ex-military man, a sometime writer, and unfortunate victim of mistaken identity. When a stranger attempting to deliver a cryptic message is shot dead at his dinner table, Ames is thrown headfirst into danger, intrigue, and other dimensions where Lazarus Long still thrives, where Jubal Harshaw lives surrounded by beautiful women, and where a daring plot to rescue the sentient computer called Mike could change the direction of all human history.

A fast-paced, science fiction romp through multiple universes from the bestselling author of Starship Troopers and Stranger in a Strange Land.

[Heinlein] is, if possible, a greater genius than ever before…this time by giving us a thinking man’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.—San Francisco Chronicle

[Beamer Alan: really?!]

Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the “dean of science fiction writers”, he was among the first to emphasize scientific accuracy in his fiction, and was thus a pioneer of the subgenre of hard science fiction. His published works, both fiction and non-fiction, express admiration for competence and emphasize the value of critical thinking. His plots often posed provocative situations which challenged conventional social mores. His work continues to have an influence on the science-fiction genre, and on modern culture more generally.

Heinlein became one of the first American science-fiction writers to break into mainstream magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post in the late 1940s. He was one of the best-selling science-fiction novelists for many decades, and he, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke are often considered the “Big Three” of science fiction authors. Notable Heinlein works include Stranger in a Strange Land, Starship Troopers (which helped mold the space marine and mecha archetypes) and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. His work sometimes had controversial aspects, such as plural marriage in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, militarism in Starship Troopers and technologically competent women characters who were formidable, yet often stereotypically feminine.

If you’d like to participate in the discussion, please contact us through the About the Beamers page. We’ll send you all you need to connect to the virtual meeting.

We look forward to seeing you.

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