Variable Star (Audiobook)

A mere glimpse at the legendary byline and Heinleinesque astronomical title may make at least older sf fans salivate. Alas, the source material is neither a lost or unfinished masterpiece but only a fifties-era outline made whole by journeyman sf scribe Robinson. No slouch at space opera himself, Robinson weaves Heinlein's guidelines into a serviceably entertaining tale of a young space explorer colonizing a new world. After discovering his fiancee and supposed fellow orphan is really a wealthy mogul's granddaughter, struggling musician Joel Johnston gets cold feet and grabs the next outbound starship. With his formative agricultural training on Ganymede, Joel has skills that come in handy tending goats and crops in preparation for landfall on Brasil Novo. Yet his vow to abandon love in favor of farming meets some surprising–and romantically intriguing–challenges. The trademark Heinlein quips, space-travel motifs, and obligatory schmaltzy romance are all here in a faithful, if technologically updated, pastiche of the late master's style and storytelling genius.