The Glory Road [Anglais] [Poche]

Glory Road followed closely on the heels of Stranger in a Strange Land, but it is a much different book. Written in 1962, this is Heinlein's only full-fledged fantasy novel, and that in itself makes it an interesting read. Heinlein was definitely writing for an adult audience by this point in his career, and he boasted that this novel had enough sex in it to cause heart failure among those who had complained about Stranger. By today's standards, the adult relationships included here are barely noticeable, implied certainly but never described at all.

E.C. Gordon is hanging around Europe, having received both a medical discharge and facial scar from fighting in a "non-war" in Southeast Asia, when he encounters a stunning young woman on the beaches of France. Thinking he has won a sweepstakes he reluctantly rushes out of town, fearing that in doing so he has blown his one and only chance with the girl of his dreams. His winning ticket proves a forgery, and he decides to answer a personal ad asking "Are you a coward?" To his surprise, he encounters his lady from the beach and soon finds himself transported to another universe. Dubbed "Oscar" by "the princess" Star, he assumes the role of hero, aiding the mysterious woman on an extremely urgent quest that promises lots of adventure and even more danger. With Star's assistant Rufo, the group journeys through the portals of several universes, killing dangerous beasts that get in their way, in a quest to claim the Egg of the Phoenix. Oscar settles in to his new role, and the adventure proves to be most interesting, especially when he finally learns what the whole thing is all about.

Somewhat to my surprise, the novel could almost be said to end two-thirds of the way through, but fortunately it does not (despite the request of at least one editor that it do so). The rest of the novel is much different but is no less satisfying. In these pages, Heinlein incorporates some of his normal philosophizing about life, society, politics, etc. More importantly, it is only here that the real story of what has gone on before is brought to light, and the depth added to the characters in these concluding chapters makes Glory Road much more satisfying than it would be had the story stopped at the end of the adventure itself. This is not the Heinlein most readers will expect, and some fans will doubtless count this novel among Heinlein's least enjoyable works. I personally found it stimulating and great fun. Heinlein sort of shows us another side of his personality in this atypical offering, and with it he offers even more proof, unnecessary as it is, that he is an amazingly gifted writer.

Glory Road is, in my never humble opinion, one of the finest books ever written. It has long been my own personal favorite and the older I get the more I find to love. However, you cannot judge a great author merely on the surface of his text. The power of Glory Road, like many great works before it, lies in the undercurrents running silently between the lines.

This book was originally written in the midst of the Vietnam War. America was in constant social turmoil with "youth power" attempting to overthrow the "wisdom" of the elderly. Russia had signed SALT 1, then turned around and deployed hundreds of SS-22 intercontinental ballistic missiles. Our world was a bloody mess. Although it is hard to believe now, in many ways things were far worse at the time this book was written.

The first time I read Glory Road, it was a swash-buckling high adventure with a surprising, almost depressing ending. Now I pick it up and begin turning the pages to find insightful social commentary, scathing criticism of both those in power and their critics, and an ironic chuckle at the total foolishness of the human animal.

Star, for example, is every man's dream woman. Blonde, buxom, and unreachable. When she finally falls, she reverts to a half-witted emotional dependent leaning on her hero's strong arm.

Then twenty pages later she turns out to be a galatic empress commanding more worlds that most people ever dream of.

The convoluted nature of her character is completely intentional. At first Star embodies all the traits of a fictional heroine in a genre that has a powerful inclination to objectify women. Then, when she is suddenly unveiled as a nearly omnipotent galatic ruler, the dichotomy tears aside the traditional depiction of women and reminds us that these "frail" creatures carry an inner strength and unshakable sense of self which humiliates and humbles anyone foolish enough to challenge them directly. Women, we are reminded, are just as human as the men. The strong hero is suddenly in the role of dependent and discovers he hasn't got what it takes to fulfill the role he'd been more than willing to assign to her.

Glory Road is, on the surface, a semi-serious story of high-adventure with a quirky ending. Underneath that shallow surface, however, lies an ironic coming of age story in the life of a man who suddenly finds himself outside the bounds of normal reality. "Scar" Gordon starts out a slave to fate, but winds up the master of his own destiny.

Glory Road is not about dragonslaying at all. Glory Road is about breaking free of the assumptions that chain each of us into predefined social templates that are so completely engrossing we cannot see how insane our society has become until we step outside it.

This isn't a book about adventure. This is a book about the limitations of your own assumptions.

Heinlein did not write very many fantasy works, but when he did, the result was usually a rather different and fun romp. Glory Road is probably his best work in this genre, and it makes most other sword-and-sorcery stories pale in comparison.

Oscar, our hero, is a Vietnam veteran idling away his time on the Isle du Levant, a small island off the coast of France known for its lack of haute couture (or clothing of any style), when his eye is caught by the most beautiful woman he has ever seen, sleekly muscled and with regal bearing. When she offers him a job with `great adventure and great risk' he blindly accepts, little realizing just what an incredible jaunt he has let himself in for. A journey that will travel through some of the 20 universes that Star is Empress of, on a quest to retrieve the stolen Great Egg. Along the way you will be treated to a sword/bow and arrow fight with a very real set of dragons (with a rather amusing fight strategy), a hand to hand fight with a very dirty (and smelly) giant, pentagrams and spells for magical flight. All of the incidents along this trip are treated with a fair dollop of humor and satire (and at least a partial parody of other sword & sorcery epics such as Conan the Barbarian), while at the same time Heinlein manages to present some pseudo-scientific explanations for the `magical' incidents, something he did in just about all of his fantasy works, so that it is somewhat problematic to call this a `fantasy'.

The climatic sword battle with the `Eater of Souls' is very different from the standard hack-and-slash portrayal of sword fights in all too many movies and novels. Heinlein was a member of the fencing team during his time at Annapolis (for some possible reasons for why he took up this sport, see the "Lazy Man" portion of Time Enough for Love), and this experience and knowledge is directly transposed to the battle descriptions of this book, making for a very fascinating and exciting read.

But there is more to this book than just a fun trip down the yellow brick road of swash-buckling heroes and dragons. Oscar is not your typical mighty-thewed simple-minded adventurer, but is rather a man who thinks about his actions, who has a strong sense of moral responsibility, who can (at least intellectually) comprehend that customs change with different cultures, a true hero who understands the need for noblesse oblige. Nor is Star a simpering damsel-in-distress, but rather a hard, practical, self-reliant, intelligent and rather commanding woman. The interaction between these two strong characters forms the starting point for Heinlein's exploration of how relations between the sexes is defined by cultural biases and expectations, the individual's own sense of self-worth, the ability to communicate and compromise, and the problems that married couples face. This philosophical type of discourse occupies a good portion of the last third of the novel, and may not seem at first glance to be well integrated with the first two-third's emphasis on action. But on reflection, the last third forms the completion of the thematic structure of the work, whose groundwork is well laid in the first portion, and provides a level of meaning that is not common in fantasy works.

Of course, this being a Heinlein novel, expect to find some sharp remarks about the IRS and taxes, how to fight (and not fight) a war, status symbols, horse racing and lotteries, laws about carrying greater than six inch blades in public, veteran's benefits, Congressional methods of making laws, the bizarre workings of military organizations, the relative strengths and weaknesses of democracy versus monarchies and feudal structures, and under-the-table tactics for motivating an individual. As always, Heinlein will make you think about and question your own opinions and assumptions on these things, even if you don't agree with his expressed viewpoint, as he always makes his viewpoint at least sound logical and correct.

Read this one for the fun and humor. Then let it soak in and expand your sense of the possible, the correct, the moral, and the reason for living.