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Quiz about Heinlein First Lines
Quiz about Heinlein First Lines

Heinlein First Lines Trivia Quiz

Can you say which of Heinlein's books they are, given the first line? (Where the book was retitled for the UK market, both titles are given)

A multiple-choice quiz by Rowena8482. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
Rowena8482
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
277,631
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
700
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Question 1 of 10
1. Which Heinlein novel opens with this line? - "I know a place where there is no smog and no parking problem and no population explosion... no Cold War and no H-bombs and no television commercials... no Summit Conferences, no Foreign Aid, no hidden taxes - no income tax."? Hint


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Question 2 of 10
2. "If a man walks in dressed like a hick and acting as if he owned the place, he's a spaceman."
Which Heinlein novel is this the opening line to? Hint


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Question 3 of 10
3. Which of Robert Heinlein's novels opens with the line "The fire pit was about twenty five feet long by ten feet wide, and perhaps two feet deep."? Hint


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Question 4 of 10
4. "The two brothers stood looking the old wreck over. 'Junk', decided Castor." This is the first line of which Heinlein novel? Hint


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Question 5 of 10
5. Which Heinlein novel begins with the line "According to their biographies, Destiny's favoured children usually had their lives planned out from scratch."? Hint


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Question 6 of 10
6. "'Look Out!' The cry broke involuntarily from Perry Nelson's lips as he twisted the steering wheel."
Which of Heinlein's novels is this the first line to? Hint


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Question 7 of 10
7. "'Lot ninety-seven,' the auctioneer announced. 'A boy.'"
This line begins which novel by Robert Heinlein? Hint


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Question 8 of 10
8. Which of Heinlein's novels begins "'Everybody all set?' Young Ross Jenkins glanced nervously at his two chums."? Hint


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Question 9 of 10
9. "The bulletin board outside lecture hall 1712-A of Patrick Henry High School showed a flashing red light." Which novel by Robert Heinlein begins thus? Hint


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Question 10 of 10
10. Which novel by Heinlein begins with the following line? - "One winter shortly before the Six Weeks War, my tomcat, Petronius the Arbiter and I lived in an old farmhouse in Connecticut." Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Which Heinlein novel opens with this line? - "I know a place where there is no smog and no parking problem and no population explosion... no Cold War and no H-bombs and no television commercials... no Summit Conferences, no Foreign Aid, no hidden taxes - no income tax."?

Answer: Glory Road

 "Glory Road" tells the story of 'Oscar' the Vietnam veteran who answers a job vacancy ad and ends up killing the dragon, getting the girl and saving the world.
The book was first published as a serial from July to September 1963, in "Fantasy & Science Fiction" magazine, and was nominated for a Hugo Award.
2. "If a man walks in dressed like a hick and acting as if he owned the place, he's a spaceman." Which Heinlein novel is this the opening line to?

Answer: Double Star

 When the politician Bonforte is kidnapped just hours before the most important interplanetary treaty in history must be signed, an obscure actor is hired to step in and cover for him. The day, and the treaty with Mars, are saved, but when Bonforte is assassinated, the one week job becomes a lifetimes commitment for the Great Lorenzo.
"Double Star" was serialised in "Astounding Science Fiction" in February, March and April 1956, and won a Hugo Award.
3. Which of Robert Heinlein's novels opens with the line "The fire pit was about twenty five feet long by ten feet wide, and perhaps two feet deep."?

Answer: Job: A Comedy of Justice

 "Job: A Comedy of Justice" was published in 1984, and was the third to last novel to be published in Heinlein's lifetime.
4. "The two brothers stood looking the old wreck over. 'Junk', decided Castor." This is the first line of which Heinlein novel?

Answer: Space Family Stone/The Rolling Stones

 First published in "Boy's Life" as "The Rolling Stones" in 1952, the story was also titled "Space Family Stone" when published as a novel in the UK.
Castor and Pollux, and Hazel Stone also "pop up" in some of the Future History novels too.
5. Which Heinlein novel begins with the line "According to their biographies, Destiny's favoured children usually had their lives planned out from scratch."?

Answer: Time for the Stars

 "Time for the Stars" tells of the first 'torch ships' trying to make colonisation of distant planets possible, and using telepathy between pairs of twins to keep communication with Earth.
It was first published in 1956.
6. "'Look Out!' The cry broke involuntarily from Perry Nelson's lips as he twisted the steering wheel." Which of Heinlein's novels is this the first line to?

Answer: For Us, the Living

 "For us, the Living" was actually written in 1938, but was only published, posthumously, in 2004.
Back in 1938 the subject matter was deemed "unsuitable" by every publisher Heinlein approached, as it dealt with sex outside marriage, mental aberration and similarly 'disturbing' stuff...
7. "'Lot ninety-seven,' the auctioneer announced. 'A boy.'" This line begins which novel by Robert Heinlein?

Answer: Citizen of the Galaxy

 "Citizen of the Galaxy" was first published as a serial in "Astounding Science Fiction" magazine from September to December 1957.
It tells the story of slave boy Thorby, who turns out to be the long lost heir to a multi-billion credit business empire, and how he uses his new found fortune to take on the enormous task of eradicating slavery throughout the galaxy.
8. Which of Heinlein's novels begins "'Everybody all set?' Young Ross Jenkins glanced nervously at his two chums."?

Answer: Rocket Ship Galileo

 "Rocket Ship Galileo" was the first of Heinlein's 'junior novels' to be published, in 1947.
It tells the story of three pals who build a rocket and actually make it to the Moon, only to find sinister goings on already taking place...
9. "The bulletin board outside lecture hall 1712-A of Patrick Henry High School showed a flashing red light." Which novel by Robert Heinlein begins thus?

Answer: Tunnel in the Sky

 "Tunnel in the Sky" tells the story of Rod Walker and his classmates, and their solo survival test for school, which becomes all too realistic when the recall signal goes wrong and they are abandoned on a far off planet for years with no hope of rescue; their only advice "Watch out for stobor"...
It was first published in 1955.
10. Which novel by Heinlein begins with the following line? - "One winter shortly before the Six Weeks War, my tomcat, Petronius the Arbiter and I lived in an old farmhouse in Connecticut."

Answer: The Door Into Summer

 "The Door Into Summer" was first published as a serial in "Fantasy & Science Fiction" in 1956, and published as a novel in 1957.
I first read it a good twenty years ago, and am STILL trying to work out how many guinea pigs there actually were!
Source: Author Rowena8482

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Related Quizzes
This quiz is part of series Rowena's Heinlein Trivia:

These are the quizzes I have written about Robert A. Heinlein's writings, and one about his life.

  1. The Dean of Science Fiction Average
  2. "Farmer in the Sky" by Robert A Heinlein Tough
  3. Heinlein First Lines Average
  4. Weddings in Heinlein Average
  5. Orphans of the Sky Tough
  6. Double Star Average
  7. Tunnel In The Sky Tough
  8. Heinlein Short Stories - First Lines Tough

Referenced Topics
Television   Literature   History   World   Science   Science Fiction   Fantasy   Moons   Robert A. Heinlein   Vietnam   Connecticut   Pigs   Mars   Guinea  

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