History Creator / RobertAHeinlein

* MissingTime: In "The Unpleasant Profession Of Jonathan Hoag", the title character experiences this every time he goes to work -- everything between leaving home in the morning and returning in the evening is a blank. He hires a private detective to find out what it is he actually does.

Widely considered one of the most influential and iconic writers of SciFi and SpeculativeFiction of the Twentieth Century. He is counted as one of the "Big Three" of ScienceFiction along with Creator/ArthurCClarke and Creator/IsaacAsimov. Often the standard to which other {{science fiction}} writers are compared, although he caught considerable flak for some of his [[WriterOnBoard recurring philosophical and political themes.]] His works range from space adventure Young Adult novels to political manifestos, and generally score towards the "hard" side of MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness.

[[caption-width-right:300:Robert Heinlein and his wife on the set of ''DestinationMoon'' (1950)]]

* ''Literature/{{Gulf}}''

* CapturedOnPurpose: "Gulf". When FBS agent Joseph Briggs is captured by Mrs. Keithley's men, "Kettle Belly" Baldwin (the leader of a secret society of geniuses) tricks them into thinking he's also an FBS agent so they'll capture him too. His plan is that Mrs. Keithley's operatives will put him and Briggs together so he can trick Briggs into telling him where the "Nova Effect" document has been sent. Later he and Briggs break out together.

* CounterEarth: "Gulf" has a downplayed variation. In the BackStory, an asteroid called "Earth-Anti" that is always on the other side of the Sun from Earth is destroyed by the "nova effect", a type of hydrogen bomb that can turn a planet into a nova.

* DoomsdayDevice: The Nova Bomb in "Gulf", capable of destroying entire planets.

* EarthShatteringKaboom: In "Gulf", the nova bomb is a theoretical bomb that could destroy the entire Earth.

* GiveMeBackMyWallet: Happens near the beginning of the novella "Gulf". FBS (Federal Bureau of Security) agent Joe Briggs grabs the hand of a pickpocket as he's picking Joe's pocket. Subverted when the pickpocket turns out to be a secret agent who had ''already'' switched the wallet for a duplicate.

* LanguageEqualsThought: "Gulf" features a one-phoneme-per-concept "Speedtalk."

* NeckSnap: In "Gulf", "Kettle Belly" Baldwin killed a guard this way when he and "Captain Gilead" escaped from the New Age Hotel.
* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup: In "Gulf", there were plans and prototypes for the "nova effect", but they were destroyed as a security measure, along with everyone involved in creating it receiving hypnotic instructions to forget about it. Two sets of microfilms were made: one was to be taken to Earth for safe keeping, and a backup version was to be destroyed once the first set was safe. After a secret agent arrived on Earth with the first set the order was given to destroy the backups. Unfortunately the agent was pursued by the enemy and had to get rid of the first set before he could deliver them, and they were lost.

* RedPillBluePill: "Gulf". When former FBS agent Joseph Briggs goes to "Kettle Belly" Baldwin to try to find out what's going on, Kettle Belly offers to set him up anywhere in the world with an air-tight secret identity and enough cash for a new start. Kettle Belly warns him that this offer is his only chance for a normal, happy life and that if he doesn't take it and gets the answers he's looking for, his life expectancy will significantly decrease. Briggs insists on the truth and ends up joining Kettle Belly's secret society of geniuses.

* SecretTest:
** In the short story "Space Jockey", spaceship pilots are monitored to make sure they are psychologically stable. A space pilot is bothered by a "stupid tourist" who is secretly a psychiatrist to determine his state of mind before a flight.
** In the novella "Gulf", Joseph Briggs is being trained so he can join a secret society of geniuses. His teacher tests his personality in several ways, including not letting him eat or sleep, inflicting intense pain and subtly trying to goad him into irrational actions. He passes with flying colors, continuing to act rationally and reliably.

* StaticStunGun: "Gulf" features a static stun gun called a "Markheim".

* SuperBreedingProgram: "Gulf" features a secret group of superintelligent humans who are engaged in a number of long term plans, including a breeding program to increase their own numbers as well as become a physically distinct species no longer capable of interbreeding with homo sapiens.
* TalkingThroughTechnique: In "Gulf", two supergenius spies locked in a monitored cell communicate through a game of cards.

* ''Literature/PodkayneOfMars''

* AdvertOverloadedFuture: ''Podkayne of Mars''. While on Venus people are constantly barraged by ads. Podkayne and Gertie even have a hologram of a devil appear inside their taxi and try to get them to buy an addictive drink called Hi-Ho. The company that makes it pays the taxi company to force the ads on their captive customers, though the passengers can bribe the cabbie to at least lower the volume.

* BrattyHalfPint: Podkayne in ''Podkayne of Mars''.

* ColonizedSolarSystem: In ''Podkayne of Mars'', Earth has colonies on Luna, Venus and Mars.

* CosmeticCatastrophe: ''Podkayne of Mars'' has Podkayne try to imitate garish makeup from a magazine cover. Fortunately an older woman shows her how it should be done.

* {{Diary}}: ''Podkayne of Mars'' is presented as the diary of the heroine.

* EnfantTerrible: Clark Fries in ''Podkayne of Mars''.

* FantasticFightingStyle: ''Podkayne of Mars'' mentions a martial art called "Kill-Quick", which Podkayne's mother is skilled in.

* HandsOffParenting: Podkayne's parents, Professor and Dr. Fries, in ''Podkayne of Mars''.
* InfractionDistraction: In ''Podkayne of Mars'', the main character's brother makes a crack about smuggling drugs onto the space ship, thereby preventing the guards from discoving the bomb he hid in her luggage.

* KilledMidSentence: In the original version of ''Podkayne of Mars'', teenage heroine Podkayne says "Do listen please, because this is important. I love--" before she is killed by a bomb blast. However, Heinlein's publisher hated such a downbeat ending to a novel aimed at teens and insisted Heinlein revise the ending to allow Podkayne to live. The most recent editions have included both endings.

* LostAesop: In ''Podkayne of Mars'', Heinlein was trying for an Aesop about the dangers of HandsOffParenting. However, until the CharacterFilibuster at the end, there's really nothing in the novel that suggests that the characters' parents' lack of involvement was to blame for their problems -- or even that, by today's standards, the parents were uninvolved to begin with.

* OneNationUnderCopyright: In ''Podkayne of Mars'', the Venus Corporation controls the entire planet Venus, and runs it like Las Vegas IN SPACE.

* PenalColony:
** In "Coventry", the United States has used AppliedPhlebotinum to put a force field wall around an area of the country. Because of the respect for human rights, it is the law that anyone may choose to go to Coventry rather than have to agree to psychological therapy for criminal or antisocial behavior.
** The "Marsmen" of ''Podkayne of Mars'' are descended from prison colonists.

* PopulationControl: In ''Podkayne of Mars'', Marsmen apply to the 'Population, Ecology and Genetics' Board to be 'pegged' at a preset number of children, probably because of the necessity of not exceeding the support potential of the semi-terraformed colony. However none of the mentioned families seem to have any trouble getting the number they want; Podkayne's parents are in fact offered seven children but her mother prefers five as 'all she has time for'.
* PrecociousCrush: In ''Podkayne of Mars'', Podkayne's younger brother develops a crush on a lady traveling with them on the space voyage to Venus.

* RevisedEnding: ''Podkayne of Mars'' had an original ending where Podkayne dies, intending it to be AnAesop about a working mother not properly taking care of her children. The publisher made him use a revised ending where she is injured but survives. It was eventually published with both endings, which differ only on the last page.
* RipTailoring: ''Podkayne of Mars''. The eponymous teenage heroine, free from the eye of her parents and determined to seem more cosmopolitan than her Martian upbringing, mentions altering her only party dress in the privacy of her cruise liner cabin to look a bit more grown-up.

* VenusIsWet: Venus is depicted as a swamp planet in ''Podkayne of Mars'', and the short stories "Logic of Empire" and "Tenderfoot on Venus".

* Revolution and its aftermath (''Literature/TheMoonIsAHarshMistress'' and the first part of its [[NonLinearSequel sorta-sequel]] ''The Cat Who Walks Through Walls'', "If This Goes On...", later packaged in the collection ''Revolt in 2100'')

* "Literature/IfThisGoesOn..."

* BetterAsFriends: Zeb and Maggie from ''Revolt in 2100''. He sort of wants to pursue a relationship with her but doesn't want to get in the way, at which point he's told laughingly that by now they're great friends but that their personalities are far too aggressive to ever be stable together.
* BigBrotherIsEmployingYou: The protagonist of "If This Goes On..." is one of the guards at the HQ of the CorruptChurch that rules a dystopian future America.

* BrainwashingForTheGreaterGood: In the first published version of "If This Goes On--", the [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeVillified revolutionaries]], after overthrowing the CorruptChurch, decide to use SubliminalSeduction to "condition" the people to accept the restoration of democracy. Heinlein later thought better of it, and revised the story to have them reject the psych experts' proposal after an old man who "looked like Mark Twain" makes an impassioned speech on how "free men aren't 'conditioned'."

* CallingMeALogarithm: In ''If This Goes On'', Zeb does this deliberately, demonstrating that language can be weaponized. Unfortunately, the exact words aren't given, but John's reaction is:
-->''"You leave my mother out of this!"''\\
[after John calms down]\\
''"But what did I say? All I said, in fact, was that you were the legitimate offspring of a legal marriage. Right? What is insulting about that?"\\
"But--" I stopped and ran over in my mind the infuriating, insulting, and degrading things he had said -- and, do you know, that is absolutely all they added up to. I grinned sheepishly. "It was the ''way'' you said it."''

* ColdBloodedTorture: In "If This Goes On...", Johnny is captured and tortured by the authorities of the CorruptChurch. Later, when he is offered a position as assassin (to ensure he knows how serious his commitment must be), they point out that he has at least one useful qualification for it -- they know that if the enemy catches him and puts him to the Question, he won't crack. Later in the novella, we learn that LaResistance has a ready source of suicide agents: men whose wives have been tortured by the secret police.

* DearJohnLetter: In "If This Goes On--", John Lyle gets one. It's briefly depressing before he realizes that he can't remember her that well anyway.

* DividedStatesOfAmerica: "If This Goes On..." had an oppressive theocracy as one part of a divided U.S. The theocracy ruled pretty much the whole U.S., with the exception of Hawaii (mentioned as an independent republic).
* TheDogBitesBack: In "If This Goes On...", the Prophet dies in the gap between when the women at his headquarters realize he will lose and the actual arrival of enemy forces.

* TheDulcineaEffect: "If This Goes On--". John Lyle gets involved in the revolution against the Theocracy for the sake of a girl he barely knows.

* EmbarrassingCoverUp: In "If This Goes On", Lyle is advised to conceal resistance secrets by using a code that makes them look like notes for an illicit gambling system. Thus, if the notes are discovered, there will be a credible explanation for why they were hidden and he will draw only minor punishment.

* GiveMeLibertyOrGiveMeDeath: "If This Goes On--".
-->''You can't conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him.''

* InfractionDistraction:
** In "If This Goes On....", Zach covers up Johnny's obviously guilty reaction to receiving a note from the Resistance by replacing it with one about gambling, because they won't believe innocence but will believe this.
** In ''Podkayne of Mars'', the main character's brother makes a crack about smuggling drugs onto the space ship, thereby preventing the guards from discoving the bomb he hid in her luggage.

* MilitaryMashupMachine: In "If This Goes On...", the major land force of the USA is Land Battleships.

* NeuroVault: In "If This Goes On...", Lyle is told he has been given critical information that he has to get to LaResistance. When he gets there he is put under anesthesia to extract the information. He later asks one of the Resistance scientists what was the nature of the "really important" message. He is disappointed when he is told that it was just lots of routine information. The scientist realizes he made a mistake, the man did have very important information. He also had his resistance credentials: "If they hadn't checked out, you would never have woken up."

* OppressiveStatesOfAmerica: In "If This Goes On--", the U.S. has become a theocratic police state.

* PresidentEvil: In "If This Goes On--", President Nehemiah Scudder proclaimed himself "First Prophet" and imposed a Christian theocratic dictatorship at some point between 2013 and 2016.
* PunchClockVillain: In "If This Goes On--", the hero is captured by the evil government. He notices that the several torturers for the government show no pleasure in their job, they are strictly business. It is implied that anyone who likes to inflict pain is not permitted in that job, as they are supposed to get information, not necessarily hurt people (although that is always an option if they think it will help).

* SuddenlySignificantCity: In "If This Goes On...", the theocratic dictatorship that now controls America rules from Kansas City, which is renamed New Jerusalem.

* TankGoodness: ''If This Goes On --'' has these. They are sort of "landships". To get an idea of the "landships", think of a WW2 battleship that goes overland like a tank.

* TortureTechnician: In ''If This Goes On--'', our hero is captured by the evil government. He notices that the several Torture Technician workers for the government show no pleasure in their job, they are strictly business. It is implied that anyone who likes to inflict pain is not permitted in that job, as they are supposed to get information, not necessarily hurt people (although that is always an option if they think it will help).

* {{Vibroweapon}}: Vibroblades appear in ''If This Goes On--''.

* YouAreInCommandNow: In ''If This Goes On--'', John Lyle, a junior officer in the rebel forces attacking the Prophet's capital of New Jerusalem, is thrust into the position of commanding the whole force, when his commanding officer is wounded and his tank-analogue seems to be the only one in effective communication with all the others. Lyle isn't technically next in the chain of command (he's a staff officer/aide de camp for the commander, doubling up as tank commander). However, he doesn't trust the next in line to handle the situation (too cautious) so he continues to issue orders in the commander's name, even though the commander is out of contact. Once things reach a "safe" state, he tells the real next-in-line "you are in command now".

** The setting of "Coventry".

* MegaCorp: ''Podkayne of Mars''. The Venus Corporation, which controls the entire planet.

* ConfessToALesserCrime: In "If This Goes On...", Lyle is advised to pretend to commit a lesser offense to help cover up his involvement in LaResistance. He's further told that faithfully adhering to all of the regime's many laws is unusual enough to get the regime's attention, so he should "never try to pretend lily-white innocence". Lyle leaves evidence of gambling, gets "caught" and lectured on it, and then is let go.

* ArtificalGravity: In "--We Also Walk Dogs", a company that advertises that it can with any problem is called on to bring about the invention of antigravity, to enable an interstellar peace conference whose delegates mostly come from planets with lower gravity than Earth.

* ColonizedSolarSystem: In ''Podkayne of Mars'', Earth has colonies on Luna and Mars. The former is only mentioned in passing, but the latter, as the protagonist's home, is described in some detail.

----
!!Heinlein has probably written -- and in some cases [[TropeMaker created]] -- every major form of story in {{science fiction}}, including:

* Revolution and its aftermath (''Literature/TheMoonIsAHarshMistress'' and the first part of its [[NonLinearSequel sorta-sequel]] ''The Cat Who Walks Through Walls'', "If This Goes On...", later packaged in the collection ''Revolt in 2100'')
* Organized crime invading an industry (''Literature/MagicInc'', "Let There Be Light")
* Space travel (''Literature/TheRollingStones'' along with most of his short stories)
* TimeTravel and Paradoxes ("Literature/ByHisBootstraps", "Literature/AllYouZombies", ''Literature/TimeEnoughForLove'', ''The Door Into Summer'')
* TheMultiverse and cross-universe travel (''Literature/TheNumberOfTheBeast'', ''Literature/GloryRoad'')
* Age extension and immortality (''Literature/MethuselahsChildren'', ''Literature/TimeEnoughForLove'', ''Literature/TheMoonIsAHarshMistress'')
* Labor strikes by people critical to the economy ("The Roads Must Roll")
* Crabby old man has brain transplanted [[GenderBender into gorgeous woman]] (''Literature/IWillFearNoEvil'')
* {{Generation ship|s}}; Society on a self-contained spaceship forming its own religious mythos (''Orphans of the Sky/Universe'')
* Problems of precognition and knowing the future ("Life-Line")
* War and the government it creates (''Literature/StarshipTroopers'', frequently considered one of the best military novels ever written.)
* Slavery, freedom, and the forms each can take (''Citizen of the Galaxy'')
* [[SettlingTheFrontier Settling on and civilizing new and unfamiliar worlds]] (''Farmer in the Sky'', ''Tunnel in the Sky'')
* Human-alien relations (''Literature/RedPlanet'', ''Literature/HaveSpaceSuitWillTravel'', ''Literature/SpaceCadet'', ''Literature/DoubleStar'', ''Literature/StarmanJones'', ''Literature/TheStarBeast'', ''Literature/StrangerInAStrangeLand'').
* The transformative power of innocence plus observations of humanity from an Outsider (''Literature/StrangerInAStrangeLand'')
* The idea of [[MutuallyFictional fiction creating worlds]] (''Literature/TheNumberOfTheBeast'' and its sequels)
* The idea of [[HellOfAHeaven heaven not being heaven without your loved ones]]. (''Literature/JobAComedyOfJustice'')
* ArtificialIntelligence (''Literature/TheMoonIsAHarshMistress'', ''Literature/TimeEnoughForLove'', and their sequels)

Heinlein's protagonists are typically geniuses, often with perfect memory and a love for mathematics. They have held opinions covering most of the political spectrum, to the point where the oft-made argument "Heinlein's heroes all have his political opinions!" needs to account for the fact that the sum total of "political opinions held by Heinlein protagonists" includes many mutually contradictory ideas. For that matter, Heinlein himself expounded the merits of wildly different political opinions; several of his earliest books were essentially guided tours through a couple of (non-Marxist) anarcho-libertarian [[MarySueTopia future paradises]] -- though these paradises also valued sexual freedom and the right to bear arms. He would later write of a yet another such (alien) paradise in his famous AuthorTract ''Literature/StrangerInAStrangeLand'' -- and he would reference this paradise throughout much of his future work.

His protagonists can be expected to believe in [[EternalSexualFreedom sexual freedom]], the right to bear arms, the death penalty, and private ownership and private enterprise, and to [[AuthorFilibuster not be shy in expounding on those beliefs.]] Most believe in hard work and although they often suffer bad luck, in the end it pays off for them. HumansAreSpecial, a fact often expounded upon by his heroes, who are often, by birthright, training, or sheer openmindedness even "specialer" than regular humans. They also tend to be ''ridiculously'' smart. This has led to some (not always unwarranted) accusations of Sueism in Heinlein's writing. [[note]]And, well, his book introducing the "World as Myth" concept has every single villain be named with an anagram of Heinlein or his wife's names or pen names.[[/note]] Expect there to be at least [[StrawLoser one foolish and lazy person]] to [[{{Foil}} contrast to]] [[TheHero the heroes]]. However, ''[[BrilliantButLazy smart]]'' [[BrilliantButLazy lazy people]] are usually respected -- see "The Tale of The Man Who Was Too Lazy To Fail" in ''Time Enough For Love''. (Usually, but not always. In ''Literature/ThePuppetMasters'', the main characters praise engineers but disdain scientists, as the latter merely sit around making up theories without actually ''building'' anything.)

Mutual respect and personal autonomy are key themes, and {{Polyamory}} is presented as the most rational and reasonable form of partnership. It's also not uncommon for Heinlein's heroes to explore the idea of incest -- in any case, family bonds are always very strong. Education (particularly math and linguistics) is a vital (but personal and freely chosen) process, and on occasion there are allusions to naive forms of chaos magic (i.e. mankind's ability to manipulate nature simply by being clever).

In addition to that, [[ColonyDrop throwing rocks at people]] who don't agree with one's personal beliefs is quite okay when one's personal beliefs are enlightened enough -- although Heinlein's heroes tend to bluff rather than use lethal violence. Racism is also always rejected. Heinlein was indirect about it, but many (if not most) of his main characters are implied to be multiracial or at least not white.

His later books valued individual autonomy much more than the earlier ones, and his opinion of government, politics, and politicians changed accordingly. By the end, his opinion appeared to be that there are two types of politician: the WideEyedIdealist who can't be trusted because anyone who can convince him it's for the greater good will get him to abandon a promise, and the CorruptPolitician who can be trusted because he knows he has a reputation to maintain as someone worth buying.

!!Heinlein's stories are populated by certain stock characters:

* The Genius Child: A very common character both in Heinlein's Young Adult novels and in his political work. The genius child is often completely unaware that he or she is a prodigy, and simply dreams of going into space and having wild space adventures. Some of these characters, however, fully know how smart they are, and learn an important lesson about humility. Knowing next to nothing about interstellar politics, they tend to wise up by the end of the story and accept responsibility for their actions. Kip, Max, Peewee, and the twins Cas and Pol embody this, and Valentine Michael Smith is this character type taken to its logical extreme.
* The Competent Man (sometimes woman): Essentially your classic leading man character, he or she is competent in a reasonably wide range of fields (usually including several languages, sciences and/or technologies), and usually is also The Man (or Woman) Who Learns Better, having learned an important lesson and experienced considerable personal growth by the end of the story. The latter aspect is more prominent in Heinlein's juveniles. This can also be an adult version of the Genius Child who already knows how to deal with adult life, or simply the Genius Child's close friend.
* The Wise Old Mentor (usually, but not always, male): Professor Bernardo de la Paz, Hazel Meade Stone, Joseph Bonforte, Jubal Harshaw, and of course Lazarus Long, who also falls into the above category.
* The Gorgeous Woman: Spirited, beautiful and complex. Many of them have [[HeroesWantRedHeads red hair]], like Heinlein's [[AuthorAppeal wife]] Virginia. In fact, it is often tempting to assume the Gorgeous Woman is essentially Virginia in various guises. Star, in ''Literature/GloryRoad,'' is described as hundreds of women in one body, along with a number of men, and amply describes the more universal version of the character.

These characters are best seen in ''The Puppet Masters'', which is also his Alien Invasion plot.

!!His characters are often very intelligent, highly skilled (or they [[InstantExpert quickly learn any skills needed]]), good at math, and sometimes without major mental or physical defect. On this last qualification, there are notable exceptions:
* Waldo, a physical and emotional cripple in need of redemption.
* Oscar Gordon, a self-described grunt with a prominent facial scar, whose genius mainly lies in forms of violence and the practical application of personal ethics. After serving his time in the military, he gets recruited from an endless beach vacation by Star.
* Juan Rico, another grunt, who doesn't have the stuff to join one of the more glamorous organizations but proves to be an above-average officer and the right man at the right time. In film adaptations they tend to forget he's only ''called'' "Johnny," not named that.
* The protagonist of "Literature/AllYouZombies", a heartless cad with an intersexual condition (and a time machine).
* Manuel Garcia O'Kelly "Mannie" Davis, a one-armed computer engineer (lost the other arm in an accident), who is otherwise the archetype for a technically competent hero.
* While Roger Stone is a Competent Man, he freely admits that he's the least intelligent and adaptable person in his entire family, not to mention one of the least so among Heinlein's roster of Competent Men. He yet is the successful leader and moral conscience of the entire Stone family, and is perhaps the only being in the entire multiverse that Heinlein has written winning an argument with Hazel Stone.
* Hugh Farnham in ''Farnham's Freehold'' is ''not'' extensively educated or much more intelligent than the norm and his mathematical abilities are unknown, but he does have access to a long list of useful books, which come in handy when he becomes a freeholder.
* Podkayne Fries in ''Podkayne of Mars'' is a naive and optimistic 16-year-old girl who isn't really capable of understanding evil, and thus can't quite comprehend the villains or the seriousness of the political drama in the midst of which she finds herself.
* Podkayne's brother Clark, who in contrast is a sociopathic Pre{{teen Genius}} only barely kept in check by his affection for his older sister -- and who is only redeemed by [[spoiler:Poddy's (near)-death as a result of the plots in which they've become entangled]].
* Valentine Michael Smith from ''Literature/StrangerInAStrangeLand'' is a human raised on Mars who is intelligent but with NoSocialSkills (but later becomes a charismatic preacher). Apparently Heinlein had a bet going with L. Ron Hubbard to see which one could inspire a cult... Heinlein lost, nanu-nanu. (But many people grok that it was a close race for a while there).
* While not a main character, the Boss (the mentor/competent man archetype) of ''Friday'' is a one-eyed cripple, and apparently a former resident of Luna. Friday herself is neurotically insecure as a result of her upbringing.
* Andrew Jackson "Pinky" (later "Slipstick") Libby, a mathematical genius (and lost Howard Family member), who was clumsy and socially awkward in his youth, and turned out to have the genetic disorder [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klinefelter_syndrome Kleinfelter's Syndrome]].

Heinlein's most notable protagonist is Lazarus Long, a [[TheOlderImmortal near-immortal]] rogue and AntiHero. Lazarus Long appears across much of Heinlein's work, often being both the Competent Man and the Wise Old Man. He is a strong proponent of the atheistic, libertarian, FreeLoveFuture worldview that became a trademark of Heinlein's work, and is a frequent target of criticism for being a MartyStu and AuthorAvatar.

Heinlein's approach to female characterization is [[ValuesDissonance sometimes controversial.]] While his female characters are a reasonably varied lot, they tend to have a few things in common: [[MenActWomenAre The men spend a lot of time explaining things to them.]] They [[NeverASelfMadeWoman rarely end the story un-paired with a man]], [[NeverASelfMadeWoman and they often see motherhood as their highest goal.]] Many stories feature underage (barely teenage) girls "bundling" with far older men. It should be considered, however, that [[FairForItsDay at the time he wrote most of his novels]] an actively dominant female character was an extreme rarity, not to mention that his female characters usually tend to be [[GuileHero guile]] [[ActionGirl action girls]].

Heinlein's adult years were during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, and he was ''extremely'' hawkish, believing that the Soviets were a serious threat to the US, and that a strong military with lots of nuclear missiles was the only sane response. (For example, one of his character regarded the difference between the Soviets and mind-controlling alien slugs as nearly irrelevant). Further, he apparently ''supported'' Joe [=McCarthy=]'s anti-communist witch hunts. His views were not uncommon at the time, but given that the Soviet Union folded shortly after Heinlein's death, understanding his Soviet-phobia can be difficult for modern readers, but is necessary to grokking his work. (Saying the genocidal hive-minded Bugs from ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'' are stand-ins for the Soviets is ''not'' a stretch.)

He also invented and explored the concept of Pantheistic Solipsism in his later works, also known as "TheWorldAsMyth" philosophy: where powerful writers create universes via the act of writing. He uses this for multiple {{Crossover}}s between world lines, including at least one [[CanonWelding meeting between every major hero he created in a single scene]]. It's also noted that later characters would [[RageAgainstTheAuthor call him (as the author) out for the horrible actions his characters suffer if this idea is true.]]

His impact can be best seen in Larry Niven's short story ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Return_of_William_Proxmire The Return of William Proxmire]]'' where a fictional version of the infamously Luddite U.S. Senator Proxmire -- who wishes to prevent the "waste" of the space program -- decides to use time travel to cure Heinlein's pulmonary tuberculosis because every scientist and engineer "fanatic" in the space program credits him as being their inspiration. (For the interested, curing Heinlein means he rises to prominence in the Navy and pays attention in 1940 when Goddard tries to warn the military about the potential and dangers of rockets. When Proxmire returns to the present, Admiral Heinlein's Navy-run program has set up lunar colonies, orbital solar power stations, and prevented the Russians from developing [=ICBMs=]).
----

-->-- [[Literature/TimeEnoughForLove Lazarus Long]]

->-- [[Literature/TimeEnoughForLove Lazarus Long]]

Given his status among the pantheon of science fiction authors, {{Shout Out}}s to his work are very widespread in modern science fiction. He tends to be popular among the military as well, particularly for ''Starship Troopers'', which has in the past been on the required reading lists for both the US Marine Corps and the US Navy.[[note]]Yes, [[ObligatoryJoke they require Marines to read]].[[/note]]

* The protagonist of "All You Zombies", a heartless cad with an intersexual condition (and a time machine).

* The protagonist of ''All You Zombies,'' a heartless cad with an intersexual condition (and a time machine).

* Organized crime invading an industry (''Literature/MagicInc'', ''Let There Be Light'')

* TimeTravel and Paradoxes (''Literature/ByHisBootstraps'', "Literature/AllYouZombies", ''Literature/TimeEnoughForLove'', ''The Door Into Summer'')

* Revolution and its aftermath (''Literature/TheMoonIsAHarshMistress'' and the first part of its [[NonLinearSequel sorta-sequel]] ''The Cat Who Walks Through Walls'', "If This Goes On...", later packaged in the collection ''Revolt in 2100'')

* TimeTravel and Paradoxes (''Literature/ByHisBootstraps'', "Literature/AllYouZombies", ''Literature/TimeEnoughForLove'', ''The Door Into Summer'')

* Labor strikes by people critical to the economy ("The Roads Must Roll")

* Problems of precognition and knowing the future ("Life-Line")