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Job: A Comedy of Justice

3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 · rating details · 9,672 ratings · 258 reviews

After he firewalked in Polynesia, the world wasn't the same for Alexander Hergensheimer, now called Alec Graham. As natural accidents occurred without cease, Alex knew Armageddon and the Day of Judgement were near. Somehow he had to bring his beloved heathen, Margrethe, to a state of grace, and, while he was at it, save the rest of the world ....

Paperback, 448 pages

Published October 12th 1985 by Del Rey (first published 1984)

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Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Books

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The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

Time Enough for Love by Robert A. Heinlein

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Jun 26, 2007 Patty rated it 2 of 5 stars

I really tried to like this book, but I just didn't get it. The characters were flat and the scenarios they found themselves in seemed so episodic and inconsequential that, by about halfway through the book, I grew bored and apathetic. It was recommended to me by someone whose taste I admire, but the book wasn't for me.

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Jun 14, 2011 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars

A modern-day (well, set in 1994, written in 1984) retelling of the story of Job from the Biblical Old Testament, with quite the sci-fi twist. Alexander Hergensheimer is a pious church fundraiser who is experiencing something very weird. He participated in a native fire walking during a cruise ship vacation and regains consciousness in a world not his own. It looks very much like Earth, but everything is different: culture, values, technology, even his name! He falls for his stewardess and therea...more

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Jul 24, 2008 Zachary rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Heinlein's take on the biblical story of Job is a little less biblically based and a lot more fantastically oriented. That said, it is quite an interesting story, with a double share of twists and turns, and throughout it all you're rather unsure exactly where Heinlein is going.

The more religious minded might be rather offended at Heinlein's theological inversion of good and bad. I think this would be a tragedy, because the wide range of religions interwoven here it seems quite obvious this is n...more

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Dec 30, 2012 Liam Proven rated it 4 of 5 stars

An odd novel; Heinlein, the doyen of doyens of golden-age SF, writes what is essentially a theological novel, although buried in there is a many-worlds, universe-hopping SFnal tale. If it's not all just a hallucination anyway.

It's very odd to read a new-to-me Heinlein now, in the C21, some thirty to thirty-five years after I devoured all the Heinlein I could get. This contains some vintage themes and in some ways feels like it was a dry run for /Stranger in a Strange Land/ - it is, essentially,...more

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Apr 02, 2012 Timo rated it 3 of 5 stars

The key to understanding this book lies in the subtitle, "A Comedy of Justice." It exactly mirrors the subtitle of James Branch Cabell's breakthrough best seller, "Jurgen." And the plot is similar. Dig deeper, and you will discover that Cabell was Heinlein's favorite author, and that all of Heinlein's later works, from "Stranger in a Strange Land" onward, were attempts to mimic Cabell"s 18-volume "Biography of the Life of Manuel," of which "Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice" was not the best, merely t...more

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Mar 02, 2012 Amanda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-in-2012

In someways I think my journey to this book will always outlast the book itself.

When I was seventeen I told my boss I would read this book, that had been so influential to his young catholic school life. It was one of only two gallon sized bags worth of objects prized from my worst car wreck in my early twenties. It has been the lasting joke of a decade. Whether I had finally read it.

And this late winter, in the year I will turn 29, he sent me a second copy. It is pristine, and not as tender w...more

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Dec 15, 2011 Laura added it

Shelves: sci-fi, satire

Usually classified as sci-fi due to the frequent moves from one alternate world to another. But is a terribly sharp satire on the fundamentalist religionists. Main character Alec is a preacher/fundraiser for a fundamentalist church called the Churches United for Decency (C.U.D.). Along the way his moral standards are tried mightily by earths where scanty clothing is the norm, not to mention the fact that his alter ego is carrying on an affair with his lovely female steward. Any money he accumula...more

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Nov 18, 2011 Michele Brenton rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: open minded people with a sense of wonder and imagination.

Shelves: science-fiction-and-fantasy

Yet another of my perennial favourites. I regularly pick this one up and re-read it.
Each time I find something new to enjoy.
One of the things I'm enjoying this time is the character of Margarethe as I have got to know some people of her nationality and now the dialogue involving her has suddenly become more amusing.

This is a work that leads to a great deal of pondering on the part of the reader as Heinlein's main character Alex Hergensheimer is a philosopher extraordinaire and a Christian minist...more

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Nov 09, 2011 Jam rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, science-fiction

To start, it is the year 1994, and in Alexander Hergensheimer's world, there are no airplanes, television, computers or traffic lights. Their only form of aeronautic transportation comes in the form of dirigibles. The world is incredibly moralistic, with abortion now termed a capital offense. A "federal law making the manufacture, sale, possession, importation, transportation, and/or use of any contraceptive drug or device a felony carrying a mandatory prison sentence of not less than a year and...more To start, it is the year 1994, and in Alexander Hergensheimer's world, there are no airplanes, television, computers or traffic lights. Their only form of aeronautic transportation comes in the form of dirigibles. The world is incredibly moralistic, with abortion now termed a capital offense. A "federal law making the manufacture, sale, possession, importation, transportation, and/or use of any contraceptive drug or device a felony carrying a mandatory prison sentence of not less than a year and a day". Swearing is a crime liable with punishment in the stocks in the form of public nudity and ends with wrongdoer voluntarily leaving the community. Dresses cover all the skin and Women Do Not Have The Vote.

However, on a cruise ship trip, he finds it all gone awry as one unfortuznate tourist tour to the Polynesian islands finds him walking through fire...and into another universe. He is no longer Alexander Hergensheimer. He is now Alec L. Graham, a man with questionable associates, who has an affair with his stewardess, Margrethre, and one million dollars in his safety deposit box on the ship. Amazingly enough, he learns to cope pretty well with everything. That is, until, for some ridiculous reason, the ship hits an iceberg, in the middle of the Southern seas at that, and he ends up in another universe...again, but this time, with Margrethe at his side.

And from there, Alex and Margrethe experience one world change after another, until they grow faster and faster in frequency. In the midst of all this, Alex is convinced the End of Days has come, and that God is showing the beginning signs of His Apocalypse. As Alex struggles to try to save Margrethe from her heathen ways, their time runs out, and the problem is taken out of his hands.
In Heaven, Alex finds that it's not all it's cracked up to be. And that, horribly, Margrethe is nowhere to be found. From Heaven to Hell, he struggles to find her. And as he begins to realize that maybe all is lost, Satan comes to his rescue, with insights that his mind yearns to disbelieve. As they go to a Higher Power, higher even than God, Alex struggle to make sense of it all, and to put into context what is really important to him, his faith...or Margrethe.
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The title of this book is apt, and ironic. It parallels the tale of Job in the Bible, wherein he suffers many trials, before finally finding happiness. I always found it, extremely offensive in the end, that it was nothing but a game between God and Satan. God trying to prove the loyalty of Job, and Satan saying otherwise. In short, Job was a tale of how God plays with our lives. And in this book, God plays with Everything. He plays with a man's reality, his beliefs, and even his faith. And Satan becomes the sympathetic one, a trickster who possesses something God does not have, the ability to understand human emotion. Because at some point, the trickster knows when to stop, but the deity does not. This book encourages questions. Such as, how can people worship a God who is so far apart from the human experience, that he does not understand their pain, pleasure, or love? God is the Alien. And Satan, though he may be evil, but through his countless centuries of human interaction, has in some small part of him, the knowing of a Human.

It was amusing to read through all the different versions of Earth, and see how many ways people span the spectrum from extreme fanaticism, to extreme liberalism, and how machines range from antique technology, to the advanced. It was also interesting to see how a man, Alex, from a very religious background, would react to such changes. Would he waver in his faith, or be true to it? And would Margrethe, the woman in this tale, be able to cope with the changes brought on by her relationship with this man?

They are both very different people. Alex was at times, a bigot, a chauvinist, and no doubt if he had had the opportunity, he would have denounced homosexuals and feminists as well. However, even he could not escape the changes these constant peeks into a different dimension, have wrought on his character.

The title of this book is truly apt, as it really is a fun ride through the different versions of Earth, and eventually, Heaven and Hell. In the midst of it all, Alex is a believable character truly epitomizing the behavior of his original worlds. Alex, with his supremely moralistic upbringing, sometimes borders on bigotry and chauvinism in his thinking. The only fact which saves him from being a revolting character, is his minds ability to adapt and keep his mouth closed. I guess what saves him from behaving abominably, was that no parts were written were he was ablt to meet homosexuals and feminists. If he did, I'd be interested to see what behavior he'd show. Both he and Margrethe were blessed with hardworking and pleasing characters which enabled them to survive in the many different worlds they dwelt in for a time. Alex would preach, but it was inoffensive. His, somewhat bumbling behavior endeared him to people. Margrethe was beautiful, as well as a good soul. As Lazarus Long would say, "she was innocent in her lechery."

The most delightful surprise in this book, was the Rapture. I admit, I was expecting something more along the lines of wormhole opening in space. I guess, I really should have clued in on all the hints dropped (especially the title). I was irritated at first, the way a little kid expects a basketball for X-mas, but he gets a football instead. Well, I guess I'll just have to admit to myself that I can't always predict the twists in a story. Sometimes, we just get things wrong.

In the aftermath of the Rapture, I was treated to a picture of Heaven and Hell, that I never expected to see. Heaven, is as place of strict rules, and a permanent hierarchy. It's revolt to any liberal thinker and burgeoning activist, because I'm sure, in this type of place, you can't instigate a revolt and change the status-quo. I, myself, believe that democracy is a myth, however, I do enjoy the illusion of it. However, the Heaven being shown, strips you of all your illusions. The rule in Heaven is RHIP, "Rank Hath It's Privileges." There is no Golden Rule. Instead, there's a three-level ranking system. Angels on top, Saints in the middle, and Humans at the bottom. Again, I doubt God would stand for a reenactment of the French Revolution in his stratospheric territory.

Hell, is as bureaucratic as any Earthian government. You increase or decrease in rank according to your wits, cunning, and manipulative talent. People compete for their place. Of course, you've got those who suffer, and those who enjoy. It's no different from Earth, except you in this place, you can actually see the demons when they talk to you.

This book reminds me a lot of Heinlein's Time Enough for Love, in the way that he incorporates several settings and plots into one story. I also like the irreverence he has for religion, although my own Catholic upbringing hardwired into my head, has made me uneasy at some parts in the story. It's social conditioning though, so I can't quite help it. In the end, again, the story of Job is paralleled. After the many trials and tribulations, Alex and Margrethe are given new beginnings, not to mention new memories. The lives they lost as they journeyed, were replace with new ones. Just as Job's daughters and sons were replaced with new children. However, of these two parallel stories, I prefer Heinlein's. Alex came out of the experience, dispelling his naivety and blind faith, and was reborn, a more discerning and open-minded man. Job, on the other hand, came out of his experience, minus twelve children.

(It doesn't matter to me that they were replaced. They're not goldfish you can flush down the toilet, then go to the pet store to buy new ones.)(less)

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Jun 08, 2010 Charles Spitzig rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-and-gone

REALLY disappointing. I'd heard good reviews of this book and I like religious ideas in fiction. So, I was hopeful.

The SF content wasn't impressive. Alternate universe hopping-only not very interesting hops. The visits to heaven and hell were a little interesting.

The religious content was REALLY weak. Basically, yeah, Job was treated like crap by God(indirectly, by having the Devil do the work). The original story was FAR better done. One interesting thing, because of the perspective. I don't kn...more

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Dec 15, 2012 Sara rated it 2 of 5 stars

This was... a weird book. It starts off strong with lots of comedic value and crazy shenanigans, so it managed to capture me right away and I thought it was fantastic. I also liked the style of writing, e.g. you never quite knew if everything was in the character's imagination or if the Rapture was real, until the last few chapters. I also liked the fact that the main character was questioning a lot of things throughout the book.

That being said, Heinlein's sexism comes through pretty strong, whi...more

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Nov 20, 2012 Richard Palmer rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 14, 2012 Misha Lipatov rated it 5 of 5 stars

Warning!!! The following review contains some spoilers.

In 1967, a military doctor in Soviet Union wrote a story about a man and the love of his life. The story was not about just those two, but also about Jesus, Satan, and all kinds of mystical events and fantastical characters. I am talking about The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. Seventeen years later, a retired naval officer, physicist and mathematician in the United States of America wrote a book that is the mirror image of Bulgak...more Warning!!! The following review contains some spoilers.

In 1967, a military doctor in Soviet Union wrote a story about a man and the love of his life. The story was not about just those two, but also about Jesus, Satan, and all kinds of mystical events and fantastical characters. I am talking about The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. Seventeen years later, a retired naval officer, physicist and mathematician in the United States of America wrote a book that is the mirror image of Bulgakov’s novel, reflected in the icy mirror of the Cold War. This is Robert Heinlein’s “JOB: a Comedy of Justice.” It is fascinating to note the similarities and differences between the two books. My first clue to the connection between them was the fact that the name of the main heroine of the latter book is Margrethe – the Danish version of the Russian Margarita. Jesus and Satan play an important role in this book as well, and the author’s attitude towards all the main characters has a remarkably similar feel to that of Bulgakov in his novel.

On the other hand, there are differences, caused by the different environments in which the authors grew and wrote their books. For example, Bulgakov’s book is written as a third person narrative, in which the main character (the Master) is not an obvious focus of the book in the least. On the other hand, The Master’s equivalent in Heinlein’s story, Alexander Hergensheimer, tells the whole story from his point of view and is, without question, the obvious focus of the entire novel.

The two authors both do an excellent job expressing a beautiful attitude towards religion, relationships between men and women, societal ideologies, political structures and life in general – an attitude that reflects a deep and simple compassion of men who traveled and worked in the service of humanity, men whose views were educated but simple and who didn’t let the superficialities of their respective societies hide the basic goodness and simplicity of human nature.(less)

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Nov 18, 2011 Mark Schlatter rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: own

An odd duck.

I loved this book back when I bought it (the early 80's), but this reread has me pondering. At the time, I think I enjoyed the transgressive nature of the book (a Heinlein take on fundamentalist Christianity), but this reading left me wanting a deeper examination.

While the plot lifts loosely from the plot of the book of Job, the book as a whole does not refer to the dialogues of Job. And really, the bulk of Job is the discussion between Job, his friends, and (finally) God. The plot...more

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Jul 13, 2010 Jude Malta rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The first 200 pages were tedious to read as Heinlen's throws the main character and his mistress into an adventure through parallel universes. Throughout these adventures, religion is continually addressed which later surprisingly serves a purpose to the story. It's somewhat refreshing, yet tiresome, to see Heinlen's female roles reappear in Margrathe and Katie Farnsworth. Heinlen obviously has a clear view of women; he favors women and desires his women to have strong sex appeal, be intelligent...more The first 200 pages were tedious to read as Heinlen's throws the main character and his mistress into an adventure through parallel universes. Throughout these adventures, religion is continually addressed which later surprisingly serves a purpose to the story. It's somewhat refreshing, yet tiresome, to see Heinlen's female roles reappear in Margrathe and Katie Farnsworth. Heinlen obviously has a clear view of women; he favors women and desires his women to have strong sex appeal, be intelligent, be caring, be independent and strong, have patience, and not have a jealous bone in their bodies and still bow down to the male dominant figure of his books. He clearly shows his disapproval of "nagging" women by Alex/Alec's close-minded legally wedded wife of Abigail. Surprisingly, I inferred a possible racially prejudiced viewpoint in this book by his references to the "crooked" Mexicans and "blackamoors" serving as subservient roles in the kitchen. I will admit these references were slight and not pronounced.

After the "Rapture", the story is finally captivating. Alexander/Alec travels to Heaven, Hell, and back literally for the woman he loves, Margrathe.

Heinlen creatively portrays heaven as a bureaucratic caste system of angels, saints and "creatures" which I found refreshing/unique/hilarious. He clearly shows this R.H.I.P. (Rank Hath Its Privileges) by setting a scene on a bus with the Angels up front, saints in the middle, and "creatures" in the rear; similar to the pre-Civil Rights era. Heinlen adds humor to Saint Peter by having him comfort our protagonist by saying "I could talk with any One of the Trinity [Father, Son and Holy Ghost:].. but reminded me that, in consulting the Holy Ghost we had consulted all of Them." Obviously Alexander wasn't getting any answers from this bureaucratic system.

After a literal fall from Grace, Alex finds himself in Hell in search for Margrathe. Might I add that Heinlen's view of Hell has BEER and alcohol!! Awesome! And hilariously enough, it is run by a City Manager. "Hell isn't very organized. It's an anarchy except for a touch of absolute monarchy on some points." (Readers: I would like to add that I worked in a municipal government for 5 years, and I compared it to Hell most of the time. Apparently, I wasn't too far off the marker.) Satan is a Texan, that has Wagner-like compositions as his own background music (which I have always disliked, so it's quite appropriate).

I found the book witty towards the end. If only the first half of the book was as interesting and different as the latter part.
(less)

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Oct 22, 2011 ***Dave Hill rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: text

Most recent re-read, and, each time, I enjoy this book more. Yeah, it's full of standard Heinleinian philosophizing, yeah it suffers from a multitude of (literal) deus ex machina ... but Alec Graham is a fun character, a diamond in the rough, culturally prejudiced while remaining pure at heart and fiercely dedicated to love: an appropriate saint.

Having read more Twain since my original review, I also see far more parallels to Twain's works ("Letters from Earth" in particular).

The book is, in sh...more Most recent re-read, and, each time, I enjoy this book more. Yeah, it's full of standard Heinleinian philosophizing, yeah it suffers from a multitude of (literal) deus ex machina ... but Alec Graham is a fun character, a diamond in the rough, culturally prejudiced while remaining pure at heart and fiercely dedicated to love: an appropriate saint.

Having read more Twain since my original review, I also see far more parallels to Twain's works ("Letters from Earth" in particular).

The book is, in short, a philosophical romp, using parallel Earths as a framework, and Mid-western Christianity as a backdrop. And it's fun.

----
(Original review, 4/2003, with ratings scale 1-3)

Summary [2]: This 1984 novel is one of Heinlein’s lesser-known works, and one of his few non-sf fantasies, but it remains delightful for all of that. Alex, the protagonist, finds himself being shifted maliciously between different parallel Earths, accompanied by his paramour Margrethe, all the time worried that the signs point to the Judgment Day — an event that minister Alex longs for, but which he fears will mean Margrethe’s damnation.

And then Judgment Day actually arrives …

There’s little “science” in this Heinlein work; it’s much more a religious fantasy, which could as easily have been penned by Mark Twain. Like Twain, Heinlein enjoys tweaking his characters for their vanity and self-righteousness, though Heinlein seems willing to pick here on bigger targets than Twain would have dared. There’s a bit too much meandering of the plot at times; Heinlein gets a bit lost at the struggle by Alex and Margrethe to keep anything of worth with them as they are shifted from world to world. He also seems to be both nostalgically fond of revivalist Christianity while scornful of the theology behind it

Entertainment [3]: Like most Heinlein works, it’s good fun and occasionally thought-provoking. Who could ask for much more?

Profundity [2]: Thinking you have all the answers is hubris that’s waiting to be taken down a peg. Roll with life’s punches. Don’t sweat the little things. Hard work won’t kill you. Love without respect isn’t love. The universe is run with a lot less justice than one would like to think. Piety does not imply horse sense. Love is more important than material things; it’s more important than a lot of immaterial things, too.

Re-readability [3]: I pull this one off the shelf every few years.(less)

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Dec 30, 2011 Eliza Hirsch rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is like distilled Heinlein. Women who are generally intelligent sex objects and the men who love them, slightly awkward but nonetheless charming dialogue, and a healthy smattering of really thought provoking lines.

Not a spoiler: "On reflection I realized that I was in exactly the same predicament as every other human being alive. We don't know who we are, or where we came from, or why we are here. My dilemma was merely fresher, not different.
"One thing (possibly the only thing) I lear...more

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Jan 05, 2011 Brian rated it 4 of 5 stars

9/28/2003 - 8/10

Job touched on a lot of the same themes as Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land - free love, hypocrisy of religion and juvenile portrayals of women as smart and able yet extremely subservient. Job had some interesting (heretical, yet funny) views about God and Satan, and Heaven and Hell with some interesting religious questions to think about. 'Job', in this case, is a conservative evangelical who is tossed about between some interesting alternate realities. The story was kind o...more

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Jul 31, 2012 J. Allen Nelson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, science-fiction, re-read, favorites, not-in-collection

With all the Heinlein bashing going on over the past two decades, it is easy to forget how much I enjoyed and appreciated this novel as a college freshmen in 1988-- just a few months after Heinlein died I read this odd journey through various realities and 'religions' that was nevertheless a breath of fresh air for me at the time. I was surrounded by fundamentalists (in the heart of Michele Bachmann territory) and secretly gay which meant I was literally living in Hell at the time with only book...more

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Jun 07, 2007 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi

Heinlein was rather against organized religion, a stance quite similar to my own, and in no book is it more obvoius than Job.

Job mostly mocks organized religion and Christianity in general, but the story itself is pretty enjoyable, if not one of my favorite of Heinlein's.

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Jun 14, 2012 Anya rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: own

Posted on my blog:

Like many Heinlein novels, this one is pretty weird in spots. It also challenges a lot of religious beliefs, and also atheists…. I also think that this book was fairly run of the mill until the very very end and I’m sad that Heinlein waited until the end to make the book so awesome. However, if you are a person who liked the place His Dark Materials ended up, you will probably like the end of Job as well and I would recommend reading it just for the fun thought experiment.

Title...more

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Nov 13, 2010 Jim rated it 3 of 5 stars

Based loosely on the Job in the bible the protagonist suffers parallel world type tribulations. For some reason the parallel worlds all seemed to branch from the 1890s.

The "good" women are compliant sex goddesses; intelligent but not uppity. The sole evil woman was spoke her mind. Ladies, there's a lesson for you. The dialog with the good women was reminiscent of his "Time for Love" collection of stories about Lazarus Long. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Eno...

I enjoyed his extrapolations on...more

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Dec 19, 2008 Kevin Catarino rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book is awful. I never liked Heinlein, but I found this on Junk Day and decided to give it a try. My god, does it suck. The prose is around a third-grade level and the plot couldn't be any less interesting. The thing that totally ruined it for me was that, if he's supposed to be Job, why is he given the girl of his dreams to accompany him on his interdimensional jaunts? And if washing dishes in Mexico is your idea of Hell, you are an extremely sheltered human being. I didn't even finish thi...more

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Jan 23, 2012 Danny rated it 5 of 5 stars

I had been meaning to read this for years! As always RAH will make you think as you read. His take (or skewering )of fundamentalist religious dogma, and what happens to the main character Alec/Alexander as he progresses through Heinlein's version of the trials of Job is quite amazing.

Alec passes through various incarnations of Earth from his own 1994 with no jets, television or traffic lights, to the final incarnation where he is taken by the Rapture. Alas his beloved Marga is lost. At that poi...more

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Apr 08, 2009 Eric rated it 5 of 5 stars

A little bit like "Sliders." A man goes through a fire-walk only do discover he's been transported into a parallel universe. He meets the love of his life, and they end up being transported through multiple universes together. But he's afraid that, because she isn't a believer, that she won't be in heaven with him after they die. Eventually, they do die, and when he finds his love not in heaven with him, he doesn't hesitate to go to the edge of heaven's clouds and jump off, plummeting into the p...more

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Nov 14, 2012 Delicious Strawberry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, robert-a-heinlein, religion

If you're familiar with Heinlein, this book should be familiar territory. His writing style in later years is rather distinctive, especially his (or the character's) views of women, sex, and so on. Nonetheless, this is a good book which discusses religion and picks some of it apart. The ending of the book explains things quite nicely, and Hell is a rather lovely place. Satan is a pretty nice guy... not surprising given that this is a Heinlein book. Overall recommend if you're already experienced...more

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Dec 09, 2009 Steve Walker rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 25, 2012 Rodan added it

Fundamentalist Christian Soldier, Alexander Hergensheimer walks through fire and vanishes. He woke to find himself trapped in the past, facing mirror images that were not his own and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Margrethe, an adulterous woman from his own time, who appears in the form of a hologram that only Alec can see and hear. And so Mr. Hergensheimer finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once wen...more

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Feb 26, 2011 Steven Salaita rated it 2 of 5 stars

When I was ten or eleven, my best pal's mother, noticing my inclinations toward reading, gave me this book, though I doubt the stupid and subliterate battle-ax actually read it. Back then, I would have given it three stars had the internet and goodreads and all that existed. I still have the book, of course, and a nostalgic reread of the first fifteen pages moved it down to two stars. It probably would have taken less than ten additional pages to demote it even further. Some things are best left...more

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Jul 24, 2011 Ronald Wise rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a rather odd intertwining of old-time Christian religion and the science fiction of parallel universes. Based on Heinlein's reputation, I initially approached it as science fiction and found myself getting as frustrated as the main characters in trying to distinguish reality. But then, either because I recalled the subtitle and started reading it as comedy, or because it simply got funnier, I began to enjoy it more about halfway through for its comedic playfulness. And then I was surpri...more

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About Robert A. Heinlein

Robert Anson Heinlein was an American novelist and science fiction writer. Often called "the dean of science fiction writers", he is one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of "hard science fiction".

He set a high standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of literary quality. He was the first SF writer to break into mainstre...more

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Trivia About Job: A Comedy of ...

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Quotes from Job: A Comedy of Justice

“God created men to test the souls of women.” — 57 people liked it

“My only regret involved the sad knowledge that I could not handle the amount of alcohol I would have enjoyed. “Easy is the descent into Hell.” — 6 people liked it

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title link	preview: Job: A Comedy of Justice
avg rating	preview: Job: A Comedy of Justice Goodreads rating: 3.75 (9672 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/355.Job?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320424787l/355.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/355.Job?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Job: A Comedy of Justice by Robert A. Heinlein[/url]

Job: A Comedy of Justice

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