To Sail Beyond the Sunset
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To Sail Beyond the Sunset is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1987. It was the last novel published before he died in 1988; several books by the author were released posthumously, including a full novel; a collaborative novel is currently (Nov-04) being written by Spider Robinson as noted in more detail at that author page.
It is the last of the 'Lazarus Long' cycle of stories, involving time travel, parallel dimensions, free love, voluntary incest, and a concept that Heinlein named pantheistic solipsism - the theory that universes are created by the act of imagining them so that somewhere (for example) the Land of Oz is real. It can easily be considered the capstone to the series, as it ends on a note very suggestive of an epic's finale.
Its title is taken from the poem Ulysses, by Alfred Lord Tennyson. The stanza of which it is a part, quoted by a character in the novel, is as follows:
- ... my purpose holds
- To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
- Of all the western stars, until I die.
Opinion is divided among science fiction fans as to whether this and other late Heinlein novels are brilliant, creative and original, or simply the wish-fulfillment of a man in his second childhood. At least one assertion has been made, in some detail and with references, that the book is intended as Heinlein's intentional grand joke poking fun at the entire genre of speculative fiction.
Other books in this cycle include Methuselah's Children, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, The Number of the Beast, and Time Enough For Love.