The Number of the Beast (novel)
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| The Number of the Beast | |
 First paperback edition cover |
|
| Author | Robert A. Heinlein |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Richard M. Powers |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Fawcett |
| Publication date | July 12, 1980 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-449-13070-3 |
| Followed by | The Cat Who Walks Through Walls |
The Number of the Beast is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1980. The first (paperback) edition featured a cover and interior illustrations by Richard M. Powers. Excerpts from the novel were serialised in Omni (October, November 1979).
Contents |
[edit] Plot introduction
The book is a series of diary entries by each of the four main characters, Zebadiah Carter, programmer Dejah Thoris "Deety" Burroughs Carter and her mathematics professor father Jacob Burroughs, and an off-campus socialite Hilda Corners. Zeb and Deety's names are overt homages to John Carter and Dejah Thoris, the main protagonists of the Barsoom or Martian novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs.
The odd foursome dash off in Gay Deceiver, Zeb's sports car spaceship, outfitted with the professor's continua device and armed by Australian Defence Force, into various fictional universes. There is sex, rivalry, and even a trip to Oz. An attempt to visit Barsoom, curiously, takes the quartet to a different version of Mars, seemingly under the colonial rule of the British Empire. However, near the end of the novel, it is obliquely hinted by Lazarus Long that they had in fact been to Barsoom, the "colonial Mars" being an illusion imposed on them by the telepathically adept Barsoomians:
... E.R.B.'s universe is no harder to reach than any other and Mars is in its usual orbit. But that does not mean that you will find Jolly Green Giants and gorgeous red princesses dressed only in jewels. Unless invited, you are likely to find a Potemkin Village illusion tailored to your subconscious....
[edit] Explanation of the novel's title
In the novel, the Biblical number of the beast turns out to be, not 666, but 
, or 2.6591197721532267796824894043879e+36305, which is the number of parallel universes accessible through the continua device to the protagonists.
[edit] Plot summary
The plot of the story revolves around Jacob's "Continua Device," a strange machine that can move the characters anywhere and anywhen without electricity. The continua device was built by Professor Burrough while he was formulating his theories on n-dimensional non-euclidean geometry. Burrough believes, and has proved during the story, that there are six dimensions; these are the three spacial dimensions familiar to everyone in addition to three time dimensions - t, our axis of time, τ (tau), and м (teh). The continua device can move the characters on all six axes.
The novel lies somewhere between parody and homage in its deliberate use of the style of the 1930s' pulp novels. Many of the plot lines and characters are derived directly from the pulps, as referenced by the first line of the novel:
"He's a Mad Scientist and I'm his Beautiful Daughter." —Deety
The Number of the Beast contains many in-jokes and references. For instance, the name of every villain is an anagram of a name or pen name of Robert or Virginia Heinlein.
In this book Heinlein introduced the concept called "pantheistic solipsism" or "world-as-myth" — the theory that universes are created by the act of imagining them, so that somewhere even fictional worlds (Oz is one of the examples Heinlein uses) are real.
[edit] Literary significance and reception
Jack Kirwan wrote in the National Review that the novel is "about two men and two women in a time machine safari through this and other universes. But describing The Number of the Beast thus is like saying Moby Dick is about a one-legged guy trying to catch a fish". He goes on to say the Heinlein celebrates the "competent person". [1]
Sue K. Hurwitz said in her review for the School Library Journal that it is "a catalog of Heinlein's sins as an author; it is sophomoric, sexist, militantly right wing, and excessively verbose". Her comment about the books ending was that it was a "devastating parody of SF conventions-will have genre addicts rolling on the floor. It's garbage, but right from the top of the heap."[2]
[edit] Allusions and references
[edit] Allusions to other works
Near the end, this book is connected to Time Enough for Love, and through it to several others of Heinlein's later works. Many characters from earlier Heinlein works make an appearance, and a few notable real-world authors, including Heinlein himself, are mentioned as being present in the final chapter.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- The Number of the Beast publication history at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
