In 2019, Lisa Duggan described Rand's fiction as popular and influential on many readers, despite being easy to criticize for "her cartoonish characters and melodramatic plots, her rigid moralizing, her middle- to lowbrow aesthetic preferences ... and philosophical strivings".
ɪn tˈuː θˈaʊzənd nˈaɪntiːn, lˈiːsə dˈʌɡən dᵻskɹˈaɪbd ɹˈændz fˈɪkʃən æz pˈɑːpjʊlɚ ænd ˌɪnfluːˈɛnʃəl ˌɔn mˈɛni ɹˈiːdɚz, dᵻspˈaɪt bˌiːɪŋ ˈiːzi tə kɹˈɪɾɪsˌaɪz fɔːɹ "hɜː kɑːɹtˈuːnɪʃ kˈæɹɪktɚz ænd mˌɛlədɹɐmˈæɾɪk plˈɑːts, hɜː ɹˈɪdʒɪd mˈɔːɹəlˌaɪzɪŋ, hɜː mˈɪdəl tə lˈoʊbɹaʊ ɛsθˈɛɾɪk pɹˈɛfɹənsᵻz ... ænd fˌɪləsˈɑːfɪkəl stɹˈaɪvɪŋz".