Methuselah's Children (book)

Methuselah's Children is about Earth a couple centuries from now where there is this secret society/family of humans who have very long lifespans because they married other people with long lifespans, so now some people live to be 200+. And, unrelated, Earth at this point has mostly figured out how to be peaceable as a whole civilization. But the fact that this clan has revealed themselves to the public starts to spark social and political unrest and threatens to disrupt enlightened peace. So the book is less about the individual protagonist (though it does focus on characters) and more about this social situation is going to resolve itself at a high level. Kind of like other sociopolitical sci-fi. 

I'm enjoying this as a page turner. Miller recommended this book to me because she read it as part of a book club. I'm also used to Heinlein's writing style from having read The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. And I might have raved before on this blog what a good, heartwarming book TMIAHM is. Part of what makes Methuselah's Children a page turner is just that I am compatible with Heinlein's prose, where for me it's the right level of stimulation. And the story (I'm 40% through) keeps moving at a reasonable pace without anything boring.

I do like that the protagonists' competence is largely attributed to just having lived on Earth for a long time. E.g. they can negotiate their way around tricky situations simply because they have a lot of life experience. To me, that's interesting in terms of framing or imagining what it'd mean to live 200-300 years as a human in a world where everyone still lives to 70-90.

I also like that, on the politics side of the book, you kind of have the President of the mortals as an intelligent, reasonable person who's just trying to do their best given the situation of mass politics. Heinlein depicts Earth as having reached a fairly advanced state as far as people being intelligent and reasonable; it's kind of utopia-like in the level of peaceful order they've achieved. That premise sometimes makes some sci-fi books enjoyable because the author can't just write a story where bad things happen as a mere consequence of people being stupid or shortsighted in a violent way (aka like Putin invading Ukraine is kind of pointless but it's because he's stupid not because he isn't cunning but because he lacks wisdom about... the meaning of life). 

It was great to pick this book up on my Kindle because lately I'd hit a rut where I found no forms of entertainment interesting. It just goes to show that you should keep trying all kinds of books because you never know which one is going to hit you at the right moment to spark some intrigue in you. 

At the 40% mark of reading the book, I'd give it 7.75 out of 10. Pretty good, easy to read; I've only gotten bored once but not enough to make me quit the book. I'm still reading it. It's easier to read than The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.