Type of bind: Hardcover
EAN num: 9780739453452
ISBN number: 0739453459
Label: Science Fiction Book Club
Manufacturer: Science Fiction Book Club
Page Count: 709
Printing Date: 2005
Publishing house: Science Fiction Book Club
Sale Popularity Level: 131680
Studio: Science Fiction Book Club
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
4 in one book. Includes Rocket Ship Galileo, Space Cadet, Red Planet, Farmer in the Sky
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
_Four Frontiers_ (2005) is an omnibus of the very first four juvenile science fiction novels by Robert A. Heinlein: _Rocket Ship Galileo_ (1947), _Space Cadet_ (1948), _Red Planet_ (1949), and _Farmer in the Sky_ (1950). All were originally published by Scribner's. The very first novel is clearly Heinlein's weakest juvenile, but some allowances should be made. It was a pioneering work of juvenile sf, and it opened the door for a lot of quality science fiction for young readers that followed. One should not expect perfection from a work breaking new ground. The other three novels are all excellent in quality.
All four novels are unabashedly boy's books. The roles of women are few, and they tend to be kindly mothers, bratty little sisters, and bossy dowagers. You can also find teenaged boys making comments like "the idea that [the Company] is a nonprofit organization is the biggest joke since women were invented" (_Red Planet_, Chapter Four). But I think that it is probably an oversimplification to label Heinlein a misogynist. He was writing a particular type of book (boy's sf adventure) at a particular time (the late 1940s). Of course he did not have 1970s sensibility. A quick look at later Heinlein novels reveals more women characters in juicier roles.
Heinlein's style is crisp and confident, his dialogue has snap and carries the story along, he usually follows the dictum of "show, don't tell," and his mastery of detail is consistently impressive. How will a Patrol training ship be structured? How will Cadets be trained how to move about in spacesuits? What will the Martian ecosystem be like? Why will students need to learn calculus and astrogation in grade school? How does one farm the surface of Ganymede? Why are bees and worms so important? What does a multiple eclipse look like on Jupiter? Why are table manners important when dealing with Venusians? Heinlein knows, and it gives his stories a kind of realism and authenticity.
Heinlein was fond of throwing a few mild "shockers" into his juveniles that gave them a bit of life: mild profanity from a space officer or a father, the loudmouthed bully who thrashes the hero, the son who addresses his parents by their very first names, the notion that frontier teenagers should tote handguns, and the idea that teenagers can exercise political power (at least, before the grownups step in). It is that sense of realism again-- a hint that the future will hold customs a bit different from our own and that some cliches do not work out in real life.
But perhaps what gives these books their real value is the sense you get that Heinlein is having fun. There are a lot of talented and creative writers who give you the feeling that they are a bit world-weary. Not Heinlein. The future may be difficult and trying at times. But it will be interesting and exciting for those who are willing to seize it. A global rating for an omnibus is always going to be somewhat misleading. Here are my ratings for the individual books. _Rocket Ship Galileo_: Three Stars. _Space Cadet_: Four Stars. _Red Planet_ and _Farmer in the Sky_: Five Stars apiece.
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