All You Zombies by Robert Heinlein
Typically, I steer clear of anything with "zombies" in the title. Zombies really aren't my thing. But, last weekend while I was visiting my parents for my mom's birthday, my parents encouraged me to watch a movie called Predestination. The movie was a trip to say the least...it involves time travel, sex changes, and plenty of intrigue. I even noted one huge plot hole that will probably continue to drive me crazy for a while (I guess really it is a difference in opinions about the theories behind time travel). Naturally, when I discovered the movie was based off a short story written in the 1950s, I had to get my hands on it.
It took me approximately 20 minutes to read this short story and it followed the movie VERY closely, down to the language. The movie was "enhanced" but had the main elements of the plot and characters. I really think the movie is a good representation of this story.
I loved this short story! One of my 2015 goals has been to read more short stories; it is a genre I love but I often overlook for novels. Thanks to Back to the Future I have been increasingly interested in time travel in my reading choices so far this year, and this fit nicely into that category. I felt a great deal of sympathy for the characters as the story is fairly grim. Because of the time traveling aspect, so many characters are intertwined. I liked seeing how their stories are connected.
My greatest appreciation for this story is that it was written in the 1950s, far before time travel and sex changes were commonplace talk. I'm amazed that the author could conceive a plot so intricate without being influenced by modern television and science fiction. Definitely a quick, fun read that left me thinking....and thinking....and thinking. This story will stay with me for a while!
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