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The Cat Who Walks Through Walls is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1985. Like several of his novels, it features Lazarus Long as a character, though Long is confined to a supporting role.
Plot
A writer seated at the best restaurant on a space station is approached by a man who desperately but cryptically urges him that "Tolliver must die" — and is then himself shot before the writer's eyes. The writer — Colonel Colin Campbell, living under the alias (and nom de plume) "Richard Ames" — is joined by a beautiful and sophisticated lady, Gwen Novak, who helps him flee with a bonsai and a would-be murdering bum to Luna.
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls is regarded by many to be the Heinlein novel for Heinlein fans. It is hardly disputed that Richard Ames can be considered Heinlein's alter-ego (note that like the protagonist, Heinlein was a writer retired from the military with the initials R.A. and the initials G.N. remind us of his wife Virginia who was sometimes known as Ginny.) Critics have given the book mixed reviews and many consider the plot to be thinner than many of his other works, many of which are considered to be "hard" science-fiction. However, many consider the book to be the philosophical synopsis of his career. Dr. Ames is by far the most free-spirited character ever created by Heinlein. And when coerced into action by several of the writer's most prominent characters, such as Lazarus Long and Jubal Harshaw, he declines on grounds of "impoliteness." This rings true to what can be considered the central theme of most of Heinlein's stories, namely being true to personal values and individuality. The overall plot of the story is considered by many to be secondary to that message, though that notion is disputed.
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls may be regarded as part of Heinlein's multiverse series, or as a sequel to both The Number of the Beast and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.
The title of the book refers to a cat by the name of Pixel, who has an inexplicable tendency to be wherever the narrator happens to be (see Schrödinger's cat). Although, Pixel is only a supporting character who doesn't appear in the story until the final third of the book.
Gwen Novak is eventually revealed to be Hazel Stone, a character previously featured in Heinlein's The Rolling Stones and who had played a small but important role in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. Col. Campbell is also eventually revealed to be a son of Lazarus Long, a Heinlein character originally introduced in Methuselah's Children and who reappeared in Time Enough for Love, The Number of the Beast, and To Sail Beyond the Sunset. Also appearing is Jubal Harshaw, a major character in Stranger in a Strange Land.
"The Cat Who Walks Through Walls"