Glory Road
Cover of the first edition of Glory Road
|
|
| Author | Robert A. Heinlein |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Irv Docktor |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy, science fiction |
| Publisher | G. P. Putnam's Sons |
|
Publication date
|
1963 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and paperback) |
Glory Road is a novel by Robert A. Heinlein, originally serialized in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (July – September 1963) and published in hardcover the same year. It was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1964. Like other works, such as the works of Roger Zelazny, it is difficult to categorize Glory Road as either fantasy or science fiction, somewhat in line with Arthur Clarke's observation that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic".
Evelyn Cyril "E.C." Gordon (also known as "Easy" and "Flash") had been recently discharged from an unnamed war in Southeast Asia. He is pondering what to do with his future and considers spending a year traveling in France. He is presented with a dilemma: follow up on a possible winning entry in the Irish Sweepstakes or respond to a newspaper ad which asks "Are you a coward?". He settles on the latter, discovering it has been placed by Star, a stunningly gorgeous woman he had previously met on Île du Levant. Star informs him that he is the one to embark on a perilous quest to retrieve the Egg of the Phoenix. When she asks what to call him, he wants to suggest Scarface, referring to the scar on his face, but she stops him as he is saying "Oh, Scar..." and repeats this as "Oscar", and thus gives him his new name. Along with Rufo, her assistant, who appears to be a man in his fifties, they tread the "Glory Road" in swashbuckling style, slaying dragons and other exotic creatures.
Shortly before the final Quest for the Egg itself, Oscar and Star marry. The team then proceeds to enter the tower in which the Egg has been hidden, navigating a maze of illusions and optical tricks. Oscar scouts ahead and encounters a fearsome foe who, though unnamed, is clearly the legendary 17th-century swordsman Cyrano de Bergerac, the final guardian of the Egg. After a long fight, the party escapes with the Egg. When they arrive in the home universe of Star and Rufo, Rufo informs Oscar that Star is actually the Empress of many worlds—and Rufo's grandmother.
...
Wikipedia