Methuselah's Children - Rogue Wave Observer

No cover — Robert Anson Heinlein: Methuselah's Children (1986)

English language

Published Jan. 3, 1986

ISBN:: 978-0-671-65597-6

(1 review)

Methuselah's Children is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. Originally serialized in Astounding Science Fiction in the July, August, and September 1941 issues, it was expanded into a full-length novel in 1958. The novel is part of Heinlein's Future History series of stories. It introduces the Howard families, a fictional group of people who achieved long lifespans through selective breeding. According to John W. Campbell, the novel was originally to be called While the Evil Days Come Not, a quotation from Ecclesiastes used as a password on the second page of the story. The novel was the origin of the term "masquerade", now used to refer to a fictional trope of a hidden society within the real world.

3 editions

Tim reviewed Methuselah's Children by Robert Anson Heinlein

No place like home

4 stars

Rating this 4 stars partly due to fond feeling for something I initially read 50ish years ago.
Originally published in 1958 its a story of a group of people that were different. And you can guess what happens at least in general. It's a fairly short story that's part of The Future Histories stories and introduces Lazarus Long. Certainly this writing and dialog is 1950's and there is a fair amount of hand waving to move the story along. But I liked it.