Following on with my constant sci-fi obsession, this is the latest in random books I have lately discovered in the second hand book shops of Porto Alegre.
Heinlein was, along with Arthur C.Clarke and Issac Asimov, one of the leaders in scientific sci-fi novels. With a distinctive outlook on future and possible future events and a very accessible writing style, Heinlein takes his readers step by step through his stories, never once assuming anything of them but an avid interest in the genre. This is not to say that his approach is to "dumb-down" his stories, merely to clarify them.
Plot: Following decades of non-interaction with the powerful PanAsian block, the U.S.A is on its knees. Suffering mass defeat and invasion by their conquerors, due to a serious lack of intelligence regarding their enemies. The civilian population is either in camps or pressed into servitude and the only chance for the country lies with the 6 men left in a secret military research facility. As a last act, the military command sends Major Ardmore to take control and mount a unilateral, last ditch attempt to free the US from their new Masters.
Upon reaching the base, Ardmore must decide how to make use of a new, extreme- almost Godly power, manage a skeleton staff and gain intelligence from his mountain fortress as to the movements of the PanAsian lords of the U.S.A.
This story is one of those books that you detest putting down. The ending is all too soon and you find yourself wishing that this novella (not for lack of information but for the sheer joy of the read) was much, much longer.
Highly recommended, as are all the Heinlein novels I've had the pleasure to read so far.
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