I was a big fan of RAH but this book cured me of it. His juveniles were terrific, but I found SIASL juvenile in style while adult in substance, a bad combination. Citizen of the Galaxy and Starship Troopers were about how I had envisioned the future, but this book was preachy and to a certain extent, embarassing; inherently prudish but trying desperately to be shocking. Jubal Harshaw was, at best, somewhat disreputable. At worst, he was a dirty old man, and I found his bevy of buxom bouncing babes creepy. I tried several other of his later books, but couldn't get through them, I don't even remember the titles.

You're right. The man could certainly write cracking good prose. It flowed out of him effortlessly. But his wise-cracking, supernaturally self-reliant and always spot-on heroes just weren't very realistic. I never could understand what the hippies saw in that book (they loved it). It just saddened me.