Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein

By the time Double Star was first serialized in Astounding Science Fiction in February 1956, its author was already overdue a Hugo, despite the fact that only two such awards had been made.

Heinlein had been made Guest of Honour at only the 3rd ever World Science Fiction convention, only two years after making his debut with 'Lifeline.' It is arguable that had any of his major novels such as The Puppet Masters been published in eligible years, he would have already won an award. As it was, only two juveniles, Space Family Stone (also published as 'The Rolling Stones') and the minor work The Star Beast were eligible, and these were not enough to carry off either award.

So it was with some excitement that Heinlein published Double Star, his first adult novel in five years.

Lawrence Smith, known professionally as Lorenzo Smythe or The great Lorenzo, is an out of work actor struggling to make a living, when he is handed the greatest role of his life. He isn't sure that he wants to take it:

"I was no fool; I was aware that when another man is too anxious to force money on one, it is time to examine the cards, for there is almost certainly something illegal, or dangerous, or both, involved in the matter."

When he is asked to impersonate a public figure, Lorenzo refuses without even knowing who it is -- his professional pride forbids him taking the role, desperate or not. His view of mimics is that of authors toward ghost writers (which is perhaps less scathing nowadays when so many jobbing authors are paid fortunes for writing celebrity memoirs) or artists toward forgers.

When Lorenzo lip-reads their desperation -- that they are prepared to hypnotize, even brainwash him -- his interest is piqued, and he agrees to take the job, still unaware of who it is that he is being asked to impersonate. In this way Heinlein establishes Smythe's essential nobility. He may be down on his luck, he may be hugely vain, but he is no scoundrel.

Lorenzo learns that whether the job is legal or illegal, it is certainly dangerous -- before he can even learn who it is, his employers are attacked and two men and an alien lie dead.

Lorenzo is to impersonate a high-ranking politician, and can receive no credit for it, for the fate of millions and millions of lives are at stake.

What dates Double Star more than any other novel is in its depiction of the Martians, but for many SF fans, the most interesting futures are those that cannot be, and Lorenzo is an engaging and personable hero, if a trifle bombastic. Double Star probably won its Hugo as much for Heinlein's earlier greater novels, but its well worth a look to see how our views of the future have changed in a little over fifty years.

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