All You Zombies-

I find reading Heinlein to be an exercise similar to speaking with a child. You have to weave your way through a lot of silliness to get to the insight hidden within. This was no different. He goes a long way for a predictable joke. But a nice short read when you are waiting for a train.

Great short story. I may end up having whiplash from all the redirections. Final twist took me by surprise.
I'm not sure where I read this original but am very happy to have rediscovered this story.

Just not a very gripping story [personally I don't think Heinlein was that great a stylist and this is as close to subtle as he gets (which is important to me, I admit), but he had a wonderful imagination - I think his (generally young adult) novels are better than his short stories. This is a time-travel tale where many iterations of time-loops appear and effect each other [I think it would make an interesting movie so am looking forward to seeing 'Predestination'].

Heinlein is one of my favorite authors, but i wasn't very fond of this story. Also, this purchase is packaged as a book, while it is a short story with additions from people other than Heinlein. Left me completely unsatisfied as an avid reader of this author.

Heinlein is and always will be one of my favorite authors, but I had a little trouble with this one - particularly the ending. I simply got confused. Maybe it's the whole time travel thing. In the immortal words of Capt. Kathryn Janeway, "The future is the past; the past is the futre - it all gives me a headache." LOL.

I just paid over $1 for one very short story. The story is one of RAH's best,IMO. It is also in his collections which are not yet on Kindle. So you can ask yourself - do I want to spend less than the price of a cup of coffee to enjoy one of the Grand Master's best short stories, or wait who knows how long for a collection that could be a long time coming?

I didn't wait.

This is a really cool science fiction short story that explores the time travel genre. It doesn't get bogged down with the dangers of time travel modifying the time line. It just creates a causation loop that will make your head spin.

I watched the movie, "Presestination" and sadly, I did not get it. I watched it FOUR times because I really wanted to understand it. Alas, in the movie version of "Presestination", I just felt like a moron.

So, I ordered the 1950s version of the short story by Robert a Heinlein. It's very well written but I still didn't get it.

The good thing I will say is that the concept fascinated me and I REALLY wanted to understand it. I would solidly recommend both the movie and the book for those readers/viewers who like to resolve puzzles.

S OBrien

I saw the movie circa 2015 before I read the short story. I think that is the best order. The movie explains a lot of nuance which you can easily miss in the short story. Besides which, despite being a Heinlein fan, I had no interest in reading the short story prior to the m

ovie because I despise stories about zombies. Fortunately, the story has nothing to do with zombies and, personally, I think Heinlein's choice of a title was a mistake. But, the movie revealed to me the brilliant depth of Heinlein's plot which, sadly, as I said, is easy to miss unless you watch the movie first.

I didn't do my research. I saw what looked like a Heinlein book at a low price, so I bought it. Turns out it's a story, not a book. Not a bad story, just a bit weird, but since I was expecting a book I was disappointed.

I wanted to read the book after watching "Predestination" but I was very disappointed by how short and empty the story was in comparison. I guess really this is just a tribute to how well the screenplay for the movie was done.

I just didn't get it. I'm going to wait and read it again some day to see what I missed. It was a bit confusing, and a little too disjointed for my tastes. Mainly, it wasn't about Zombies at all, it was about time travel.

Bug World: The Short Story

I read it after watching the movie, "Predestination" so it was easier to understand. The story is much briefer than the movie and concise. I've read some Issac Asimov's novels and along with his fame, I've heard of Robert A. Reinhein and Arthur C. Clarke but hadn't had a chance to read the others' book till this one. I got to like this story and will read more of his book.
For the people who already read this story, I'd recommend its movie as well.'predestination' so it was easier to understand than othereise. The story is much briefer than the movie and very concise. I've read some Issac Asimov's novels and along with his fame, I've heard of Robert A. Reinhein and Arthur C. Clarke. However, I hadn't had a chance to read the others' book till reading this one. I got to like this story and will read more of Reinhein's book.
For the people who already read this story, I'd recommend the movie, "Predestination".

No zombies. But MAN this is weird. There's frequent references to being your own grandfather in this tale, but it's a bit more complicated than that. Abandoned children, unwed mothers, sex changes, time travel. The paradoxes just keep piling up.

This is worth a listen just so you can try to wrap your head around the ending. It's presented very reasonably, but you'll still be more than a little unsure.

Available as a free audio production from Escape Pod.

Not about general population being "zombies" or "sheeple". Totally different plot about one individual who does time travel and meets himself/herself at different points of life, gets herself pregnant by himself, and is their child. A bad acid trip from the days before acid was available.

I have loved Heinlein since my post college days. I am surprised I had neve read this short story, but my son, who is a science fiction writer ( New Alcatraz by Grant Pies) suggested I read this. It is short but thoroughly thought provoking

First of all, I wish it had said the thing was only 19 pages long on my android phone.
Second, the subject matter is not something I would ever choose to read about. It's not even hinted at in the description, there is an allusion to it in one of my fellow reviewer's comments, sadly they were wayy down the line and I didn't read it til after I bought it.

The only good thing was that I was able to have my money refunded, but I prefer not to have this type of thing floating around in my head.

This short story was written in one day by Robert A. Heinlein and published in 1958.
I love these " get your mind thinking" stories. Read it, read it and read it again. After all, it could be possible ?
It is now being made into a movie and if it is as good as the book !!!

The book approached a lot of issues in SF. There would have been a better story if Heinlein had decided to put more time into this story. He was a prolific and iconic SF writer. Maybe he or his estate should have burned this one.