Poll - Lazarus Long - Liking or Loathing?

[pyan]

Well - what do you think of Woody? Would you hang on his every word, or shoot him on sight?

Vote now - but please back it up with a comment about your choice!

[manephelien]

Hard to say. I think he's an engaging character, but I wouldn't want to know him IRL.

[chrispenycate]

I suspect I would get into "heated discussions" with him (I don't do "blazing row", but have quite well established opinions; and they are frequently not identical with his) Still, that doesn't nescessarily put me off - is this the place for an argument?

[Rothgar]

Sometimes he is really interesting such as his pioneer story in TEfL, but sometimes I think the stories about him are very long winded such as in TEfL. My favorite story was about the exodus of his people, don't remember the name at the moment.

[Urlik]

the poll options are a problem for me
I love LL because he is opinionated et al.
I think that the problem with LL is that the reader would hope that if he met LL, LL would like or respect them but there is the fear that LL may just find them to be a waste of oxygen and DNA.

Rothgar, are you thinking of Methusela's children?
the Howard Families' stealing a ship to escape from Earth

Chrispenycate, I think that LL would love to have a heated discussion as long as it was backed up by reasonable argument.
LL always respects someone who will stand up for his beliefs and wants and stated that he is always willing to do business with someone who is acting in their own self interest

[TTBRAHWTMG]

I agree with Urlik on this one...the poll options posed a problem...ended up with the 2nd option though. Part of the problem is the different POVs Heinlein presents him in. When he is first person like in TEFL or Methusalah, etc...I love him...even when I disagree with him...when he is viewed externally like in TNotB he is quite an annoying character, as he is supposed to be...demonstrating the complexity of individuality.

Oh, and to agree with Urlik again...I fear Lazarus would consider me in the waste of oxygen and DNA category. I think that is part of the reason why, even though I really like Lazarus, I prefer Heinlein's somewhat more realistic characters to his "Superhumans".

[Razorback]

I read most of my Heinlein a long time ago. Time Enough was the second I read and I really liked Lazarus at the time. I’m interested to see if I like him as much when we reread his stuff for the reading group.

[loco.cerveza]

I think that Lazarus Long a a person if he was real to get to know.

[Liz Pf]

I also had trouble with the options ... I think LL would be a very interesting person, definitely worth listening to ...

... but first I'd have to give him a good stiff kick in the you-know-what.

LL was a crochety old fart, who thought he was G-d's gift to women. In every book, he has women falling for him right, left, and center. Even Hilda, who was not his type, ended up joining his harem. [I don't think he lost a single pursuit since Mary Sperling.]

Well, I don't find him attractive, and would not want to go to bed with him. And I think, once he got that through his thick skull, he would be interesting to talk to.

One woman's perspective

--Liz
http://www.printfection.com/cartesianbear

[j. d. worthington]

Well, yes, I like Woody... but I do think he should've been turned over someone's knee a lot more frequently....

Honestly, as a character, I enjoy Lazarus a lot. Were he a real person, I'd probably enjoy his company now and again, but too much of it, and we'd probably be trying to bury an axe in each other's skull... or I'd have to learn to be a mighty quick draw....

[AKeiA]

I'll have to disagree with Liz...I'd be one of the first to crawl up on his lap...hehe.

[manephelien]

It would have been nice to see him question his attraction a bit more. He did sometimes do so, when it was obvious a woman wanted only his long-lifer genes, not him as a man. However, I find his arrogance quite understandable in a culture where a long (youthful & healthy) life counted above anything else.

However, I hate the implication that you have to be pioneer material to be a worthy person. I'm not, and I never will be, but I don't consider myself a waste of space because of that.

[The Ace]

Longwinded ? Long, certainly, but seldom winded.

His long rants drive me up the wall and, quite often, I don't really want to live in his world. He's a reactionary old twonk and a vehicle for Heinlein's less-savoury opinions.

[Giovanna Clairval]

Originally Posted by Urlik

I think that LL would love to have a heated discussion as long as it was backed up by reasonable argument.

Lasarus would love to have a heated discussion as long as it was backed up by lots of any twelve-century-old rotgut.

Terrible, flawed person. I do have a soft spot for him.

Hey guys, remember his going back to the past and hating himself as a child but flirting with his mother... Shut up, Sigmund!

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by The Ace

Longwinded ? Long, certainly, but seldom winded.

His long rants drive me up the wall and, quite often, I don't really want to live in his world. He's a reactionary old twonk and a vehicle for Heinlein's less-savoury opinions.

Let's not forget that various Heinlein characters also had more than a little trouble keeping from shooting Woody... Col. Colin Campbell, for instance, in The Cat Who Walks Through Walls.... Perhaps he was playing devil's advocate, but this may also be a case of it being a very chancy thing identifying a character's strongly-held opinions and those of his author.....