Just Finished Reading Glory Road by Robert Heinlein

Robert Heinlein was considered one of the greatest American science fiction writers of the past century, penning such works as Stranger in a Strange Land, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, and Starship Troopers.  He's also written many renowned short stories in the genre, which I've reviewed on this blog.  I just finished reading his 1964 novel Glory Road, which I didn't like as much as the others although it was acclaimed at the time.  In it a young man, Gordon, has just left the army after a stint in Vietnam in which he was classified as a "military advisor" but engaged in actual combat...he is something of an adventurer and is uncertain about what he wants to do with his future.  He meets a beautiful young woman, Star, and eventually gets drawn with her on a quest as he progressively discovers her importance, not only on Earth but throughout the multiverse.  Although on the surface Glory Road presented itself as a fantasy adventure with a lot of action sections, I got the distinct impression that Heinlein used the story primarily as a framework in which to insert his personal views of military valor and toughness and a libertarian perspective on society...especially concerning relationships and sex.  His protagonist Gordon, later named "Oscar", tells the narrative from the first-person viewpoint, complete with his own assumptions about people along with a liberal use of colloquial, idiomatic and slang language...that part I kind of liked and thought funny.  As I said, I didn't think that Glory Road was his best novel, but I'm glad I read it and think that it captures a certain mindset that prevailed among many living back then and even now...