Don't know if this has been posted on the site ... so apologies in advance.

If you have a few bucks to spare - you might want to pick up this.
http://www.albion-swords.com/swords/alb ... ivamus.htm

Can't help but drool.

Oooh! Want! I joined the fencing team at Rice when I was an undergraduate there, exclusively because of Glory Road. I was never much good, and I *hated* the "froggy jumps across the gym" exercise our fencing master had us do (where is Sonny Mercado now?), but I loved learning enough to understand all the fencing descriptions in the book ("He used prime and octave as easily as sixte and quatre.").

Ha! I love the sword, and would buy it if money were no object. However, still to this day Glory Road remains the one Heinlein novel I've never read all the way through (and I've read all the crappy ones several times). I need to somehow overcome this blockage. Someone inspire me.

Hi Jack, I doubt this will inspire you, but the reason I've enjoyed reading, and rereading GR are the math references. Lots of good beer and pretzel discussions from the book relating to math, and the issues of cultural norms have been good to chew on.

Glory Road certainly was a departure of sorts for RAH- one with magic/sorcery ! so if the fantasy genre is not your schtick i can seeing being put off by the initial chaptors. RAH explains "magic" as what a caveman thinks when he sees advanced science (heavily paraphrased)

OK need a reason to pick it up and retry it ? Maybe seeing this book as a statement of it's times- the seeds of dissent of the late 50's and early 60's became the fruit of the cultural revolution of the later 60's- by 63-64 many americans had grown disillusioned with the status quo of society- they began to question and critique not only the government but also society's social mores- There was no escape from the pressures of conforming and "fitting in". Sameness, faceless little cogs in the social machine- to lead safe bland uneventful lives- to be stifled

Glory Road offered a way out of this world by playing the "what if game"- what if you discovered an ad searching for a "hero" what would you do ? would you show up ? would you measure up (we all kinda think we would), to not only survive but "be" a hero of epic proportion ? what if............. ? the tale goes from there-Scar slips the bounds of a morally fraudulent world with it's war, smog, and phony social constraints for something more noble- the Glory Road - A place where civilization can only be rescued by someone special-a hero

If i can offer one small aid to enjoying this story, i would ask you to picture Rufo, erstwhile valet/manservant, as Danny Devito- to me Devito is a perfect fit as the know it all, wise cracking, story telling sidekick- a colorful charactor

Grab this book Jack, wade through it- you'll see, like all of RAH's writings, it will be an interesting read- LOL trust Heinlein- has he failed you yet ?

Enjoy !

Nick

Heinlein never wrote a crappy novel, however all after Time Enough For Love were much less enjoyable than those written before 1970.

Chuck

I have read on other forums that the Albion Lady Vivamus is no longer available. It was intended as a limited edition. That is, unless you win the Heinlein Prize. An Albion Lady Vivamus is included in the award.

It is, rarely, available from collectors, sometimes at prices considerably less than that listed at the Albion site but I have not see it offered for less than $1,500. That is still too expensive for me so I have explored other options for adding a Lady Vivamus to my collection.

My first attempt is described here: http://picasaweb.google.com/sfscalemodels/GloryRoad#

I finished that version except for the engraving. Engraving is expensive so I have postponed that until I see the outcome of my second alternative.

I contacted Windlass Steelcrafts, one of the largest sword manufacturers in the world. They make military dress swords for many nations, including the US. They make modern Navy dress swords, similar but not identical to the one Heinlein stated was his model for Lady Vivamus. I suggested that they should make a Lady Vivamus reproduction and offered information about the literary source for the sword. Since they also make licensed swords from movies, video games and even books (they make the Heron mark sword from the Wheel of Time series) it seemed a logical thing for them to do. I got a reply from Mr. Windlass himself who said he agreed it was a good idea. He handed the project off to his director of licensing. That was at the beginning of January. I haven't heard back from them and haven't contacted them yet. I didn't want to seem like a fan boy nag, but I do plan to ask how the process of getting a license is going, soon.

I planned to post this here in the near future but I was waiting till I'd contacted Windlass, again. Since a thread about Lady Vivamus has been started I figured I'd go ahead and add this. I'll post more as soon as I have news.

I emailed the licensing director at Windlass and asked how the Lady Vivamus project was coming along. I got a prompt reply that said that they had been busy with military contracts and had not yet pursued licensing for the Lady Vivamus, but they were still interested in doing it. Late summer was suggested as the earliest to expect it.

I was wondering if anyone here knows who handles licensing for the Heinlein estate for something like this? Perhaps if I could provide a point of contact to Windlass, or the name and email address of the Windlass contact to the Heinlein licensor, it would speed the process.

I think you would need permission from the trustees of the Heinlein Prize Trust, but others would know better than I. Good luck! I admire your talents.

Thanks, Jack.

As for the Heinlein Prize Trust, I wondered if they might be the holders of the licensing rights since it was the Trust that "endorsed" the Albion sword. So I just checked the Trust website and it does list a POC for copyright requests. I will send that to Windlass and see if it accelerates the process.