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49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heinlein's most inspirational juvenile novel, November 26, 2002
Citizen of the Galaxy is probably Heinlein's most mature juvenile novel and is certainly one of his most inspirational. It contains a sweeping indictment of slavery and provides a stirring message about citizenship and civic responsibility. Thorby is a slave; the only memories he has are a tangled morass of mistreatment spread among faceless men on nameless worlds; all he brings with him to Sargon are a filthy piece of clothing and an ugly assortment of scars and sores. On the block, no one values him enough to even bid on him, all except for the beggar Baslim. He takes him home (a hole beneath the abandoned amphitheatre) and raises him as a son rather than a slave. Thorby learns the art of begging from his new Pop and enjoys the happiest years of his life with him. Then Baslim, whom Thorby eventually learned was much more than a simple beggar, is arrested as a spy. Thorby satisfies his Pop's wishes by evading capture himself and taking a message to a certain ship's captain. Captain Krausa adopts Thorby as his own son and makes him a member of the Free Trader family on the ship Sisu. Here Thorby learns the complexities of Free Trader family life, makes real friends, and assumes a pivotal job protecting the huge spacecraft from raiders. Then Thorby is displaced once again, as Krausa takes him to the first ship of the Hegemonic Empire he comes in contact with. While Thorby hates to leave his new family, he does it to satisfy Baslim's ultimate wish for him to find his true family. Thorby soon learns that wealth does not make you rich as he strives to fight slavery in the galaxy and become the son his birth parents wanted him to be Heinlein gives us three strikingly different looks at family life. While Thorby is happy as a part of the immensely complicated Free Trader family on Sisu, he looks back at his days with the beggar Baslim as the happiest of his life. On the ship, one is barely acknowledged as existing if he/she is not a part of the family. The only person who talks to Thorby at first is an anthropologist, and she gives a poignant explanation of this type of society. The family is free, yet each individual in that family is in some way a slave; Thorby is told what to do and when and where to do it. The ultimate lesson is learned on Terra, where the prescripts of Baslim continue to guide Thorby's actions. He is determined to fight against the slave trade, which is something most Terrans don't even believe exists because it is taking place far, far away. For Thorby, it is personal and he devotes his life to fighting against it. The ultimate responsibility he learns is to fully devote himself to the noble cause, to be willing to give us his own freedom, even to become a beggar as Baslim did, in order to work for the freedom of others. The story is as much fantasy as science fiction, but the message it contains and the moral lessons it teaches make it one of Heinlein's most important and enjoyable novels.
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heinlein writes his story of freedom..., August 31, 2004
This review is from: Citizen of the Galaxy (Mass Market Paperback)
I've only read a few books by Heinlein, but the more of his stories I read the more I see two trends. First, he likes to take an idea, and then run with it through every possible effect and ramification it could have. Secondly, he seems to (unless I miss my guess) be writing his adventure stories from the dual perspective of himself as a youth, and himself as an older world-weary traveler (in his own eyes anyway). Reading this book I got the same feeling from Starship Troopers and Tunnel in the sky, that our protagonist is struggling to learn the essential life lessons that he will one day be in a position to hand down. But that's just Heinlein...
In this story, our master of sci-fi take the idea of freedom to it's absolute philosophical limits. First, he shows us the world of a person who is an actual slave and has no rights whatsoever. Then, he takes that individual, and shoves them into situation after situation that leave us wondering what exactly freedom is. When Thorby is taught by his adoptive father how to think, he is freed mentally. When he is adopted by space-traders he is almost totally free in a physical sense (the traders travel all of space), but he finds himself enslaved to a way of life, a series of traditions, and many many rules. As part of the intergalactic space police force (or its equivalent), he finds himself fighting for freedom, yet again a slave to the ideals and way of life (and organization) behind it. The real kicker though, is when Thorby finds himself in a position of super-powerful financial might, with literally the world at his fingertips, yet enslaved to that power and all the responsibilities that it implies.
Perhaps the real message of the story though, (to me anyway), is that freedom really is in the mind of the beholder, and helping others to overcome enslavements of a hateful, evil sort (like literal slavery) is a very good thing indeed. And no matter where you go, you will always be enslaved to something. So you'd better learn to survive, to be happy, and to make the most of what you have. And forget about the limits others try to impose upon you. A person with a mind that is free...is a Citizen of the Galaxy.
Besides all the great philosophy and ideas that Heinlein is famous for is of course a great adventure that really captures the imagination. I love every Heinlein story I've read so far, for the characters, the slick dialog (especially for it's time
), and the amazing universes he always manages to have up his sleeve. This book is DEFINITELY an enjoyable read for sci-fi fans.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
fascinating, creative concepts about society,makes you think, September 20, 1999
This review is from: Citizen of the Galaxy (Mass Market Paperback)
Personally, I believe this is the type of book we should have on the required reading lists at our schools - a book that is fun and fascinating to read, that introduces creative concepts about society, technology, and people...and a book that makes you think. It makes you think about the importance of freedom, about the slipperiness of the concept of freedom...about the choices that we make, and the choices that are made for us...about how people may have more to them than we suspect based on first impressions or based on their chosen profession. The first time I read the book, I was disappointed in the ending. In rereading it, I realized that Heinlein was showing one more aspect of freedom - and, in having his character give up what many people would consider an almost ideal life, in being rich with no responsibilities --- and choosing to take on the burden of those responsibilities...Heinlein was showing even more about the importance of values, of character, over superficial fun.
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