Stranger in a Strange Land

A must read for any fan of sci fi and a book that may very well change and fine some areas of your life with its views on humanity and our behaviour towards others and ourselves. Still as important a book as it was when it was originally released.

I enjoyed the book, but the way the story takes such a dramatic shift after part 2 was a little jolting at first. In the end, the way I feel about Stranger is similar to my feelings on Starship Troopers. The overall message of the book contains some excellent points about religion, faith and morality, but I can't say I buy into the entire message.

tl;dr: Heinlein wrote a great book about a powerful alien coming to Earth and learning about humanity as an outsider, but unfortunately he only had one hand on the typewriter while he wrote it.

I really ‘groked' this book when I read it in my late teens. Today looking back on it I am not quite so enthralled, especially with Heinlein's socio-political views. It probably deserves a 3 but I do remember it fondly so have given it a 4.