欧宝娱乐

This book stands out among Heinlein's juveniles - arguably the best of the batch.

But it's more than just a great book. It's also a defining moment in an entire movement in SF towards realistic science. This doesn't mean that the characterization or plot needs to take on secondary or incidental importance. It just means that all efforts must be taken to ensure that the science works.

So, it's the exact opposite type of novel from what A.E. van Vogt was writing. In his works (somewhat common for the early years), the science was gibberish. Often just scientific-sounding vocabulary was enough, and no more explanation or emphasis on the science was provided. The character, then, had to be some type of superman: larger-than-life in some kind of unique manner. Perhaps they had ESP, or perhaps they had the superstrength, or could read minds...

And this was needed, because if the technology in a novel is completely made up, then you can always solve any situation by just creating some weird new device, which will frustrate readers (somewhat like deus ex machina perhaps). So you need to give the character some special powers and then use that to build suspense.

But... Heinlein did it differently in his juveniles.

He basically transitioned from super-character to super-smart character, asking "what if it were cool to be really smart", and thus his characters had no special powers at all - other than that they obviously listened during science class. They had the scientific background to understand (and explain) basic principles, and also to find ways to use ingenuity to apply this knowledge. And this means that the science has to be correct, or the book won't work.

And thus began a revolution in science fiction. "Hard science fiction" was born, and slowly began to gain prominence. I submit that if not for Heinlein's juveniles there would be no Larry Niven.

So thanks Heinlein, for making it cool to be smart. For making the science studied in high school become the tools needed to resolve a novel's conflict. For making a generation of budding engineers think in creative ways if there's yet another way to apply scientific knowledge.

Now, of course, hard SF has moved away from juvenile novels, and usually involves much higher degrees of scientific innovation. Perhaps it's a bit intimidating to a non-SF reader to try to understand what a ramscoop ship is, and perhaps that's at least one supporting basis for the current steampunk surge.

Heinlein's juveniles represent a zeitgeist in science fiction. He was the right guy at the right time, and these books were widely accessible to young readers who didn't have television or internet.

And they changed the world. In the real world (over the next few decades following Heinlein's juveniles), science changed the everyday life of all citizens more dramatically than even Heinlein could have realized or anticipated. Certainly the biggest push for new scientific developments would have been the World Wars, but Heinlein's books planted seeds in the minds of young readers, and many of them would grow up to be the researchers working on new advances that improved our way of life.

No, we're not living on the moon yet, but it is a completely different world than Heinlein lived in when he sat down to begin a revolution in the hearts and minds of young readers, giving them a love of learning and an aptitude for not only understanding science but exploring ways to use its findings.

HIGHEST POSSIBLE RATING. (But read it in its historical context, and don't pretend it's a book published as a contemporary to any of the Harry Potter or Percy Jackson books that are all the rage today...)