is the only thing that saves Earth from destruction. From her viewpoint, during her centuries on Earth, the young but extremely long-lived Lummox has been pursuing a hobby: the raising of John Thomases. She makes it clear to the other Hroshii that she intends to continue doing so. This gives Mr. Kiku, the chief negotiator, the leverage he needs to pressure the aliens into establishing diplomatic relations. At the insistence of Lummox, the newly married John and Betty accompany her back to the Hroshii homeworld as part of the human diplomatic mission. Reception Damon Knight wrote: Groff Conklin described the novel as "one of Heinlein's most enchanting tales." P. Schuyler Miller found The Star Beast to be "one of the best of 1954." Editions The F&SF serialization has a series of illustrations by Fred Kirberger (two covers plus black and white interior art). Although the secondary protagonist Mr. Kiku is clearly portrayed in the text as a black Kenyan, he is illustrated as a white man. None of Kirberger's art depicts Lummox or the other Hroshii except as vague shapes or textures at the edges of some scenes. The original Scribner's hardcover edition has cover art and a frontispiece by Clifford Geary that do depict Lummox. Some paperback editions and the Science Fiction Book Club hard cover edition omit page 148 of Chapter VIII, "The Sensible Thing to Do", which was in the Scribner's edition and the magazine serialization. In this chapter, John Thomas rereads the entries in his great-grandfather's diary of how Lummox was found. Of significance on the omitted page is that: The diary skipped a couple of days; the Trail Blazer had made an emergency raise-ship and Assistant Powerman J. T. Stuart had been too busy to write. John Thomas knew why ... the negotiations opened so hopefully with the dominant race had failed ... no one knew why. The rest of the page summarizes John Thomas' grandfather's family history, discussing the first John Thomas Stuart, who had retired as a sea captain. The history, as reprinted in the paperback and Science Fiction Book Club editions, then resumes with John Thomas Stuart, Junior. References External sources External links Star Lummox parts one, two, and three on the Internet Archive 1954 American novels 1954 science fiction novels Novels by Robert A. Heinlein American science fiction novels Novels first published in serial form Works originally published in The Magazine