Star Beast

Star Beast (1987) by Robert A. Heinlein
Publisher: New English Library
ISBN: 9780450008290
Condition: Good
Sold by: Crappy Old Books

Every family has its peculiarities. Some keep tropical fish, others collect porcelain figurines, and a few have relatives who insist on discussing conspiracy theories over Christmas dinner. The Stuart family, however, has something rather more interesting: a gigantic extraterrestrial creature called Lummox, inherited through several generations and regarded as a perfectly respectable household pet. Unfortunately, Lummox is growing, the neighbours are complaining, and the authorities are beginning to suspect that keeping a large, apparently indestructible alien in the garden might contravene one or two local regulations.

Welcome to Star Beast, Robert A. Heinlein’s gloriously entertaining science fiction adventure in which humanity discovers that the universe is considerably stranger than its bureaucrats, politicians and self-important officials would prefer to acknowledge.

John Thomas Stuart XI has inherited Lummox from his ancestors, along with the traditional responsibility of keeping the creature fed, reasonably entertained and, ideally, out of trouble. Unfortunately, Lummox possesses the curiosity of a toddler, the appetite of a rubbish disposal facility and the physical capabilities of something that really ought to require planning permission. When the enormous beast embarks on an ill-advised excursion, chaos follows, property suffers and the machinery of government begins grinding into action with its customary mixture of pomposity and spectacular misunderstanding.

What initially appears to be a straightforward tale of a boy and his oversized alien pet gradually develops into something much more interesting. Interplanetary diplomacy, extraterrestrial politics and humanity’s questionable assumptions about its own importance all become entangled in an increasingly absurd situation. It turns out that Lummox may not be quite the harmless domestic curiosity everyone imagines, and that treating an alien creature as a household animal without first establishing its actual identity might constitute a diplomatic mistake of truly astronomical proportions.

Heinlein, one of science fiction’s most influential and occasionally argumentative grandmasters, was particularly good at using apparently simple adventures to explore considerably larger questions. Here he takes aim at bureaucracy, human arrogance, political incompetence and the dangerous conviction that intelligence must necessarily resemble ourselves. His humour is sharp, his characters resourceful and his aliens refreshingly uninterested in conforming to human expectations.

There is also a splendid underlying joke about perspective. Humanity imagines itself to be the centre of civilisation, only to discover that other species might regard us as rather primitive, troublesome creatures requiring careful supervision. Anyone who has watched politicians debating matters they barely understand may find this arrangement depressingly familiar.

Originally published in 1954, Star Beast remains a wonderfully inventive mixture of youthful adventure, cosmic comedy and sharp social satire. It is science fiction from an era when the future involved spaceships, interstellar diplomacy and the optimistic assumption that humans might eventually learn something.

This 1987 New English Library edition is in Good condition and is offered by Crappy Old Books, where we firmly believe that every home deserves a decent science fiction collection, although we would strongly advise against acquiring an actual Lummox. The feeding bills alone could bankrupt a small nation.

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