Customer Reviews

Ordeal in Space

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This book collects some of the stories from Heinlein's "Future History" series. Most of them appear in the collection The Green Hills of Earth, so this book is not for Heinlein's fans (who have probably read these stories before), but for those who are just discovering his fiction. Unfortunately, this book is not really perfect for that purpose either, since many of these stories are not representative of his best work. "The Black Pits of Luna" and "It's Great to Be Back" are both swimming in misanthropy (if Heinlein likes you, you're a hero, but if he doesn't, you're no more than vermin). "Searchlight" features a painfully contrived scenario for a moon rescue (if you happen to be blind but have perfect pitch), while "We Also Walk Dogs" is plain silly ("We need a device that can control gravity - and oh, you only have ninety days to do it"). One could say that "Ordeal in Space" is about a man who survives terrible danger and is almost ruined by the experience, but one could also say it's the story of an acrophobe who rescues a kitten from a window ledge - as much ado about nothing as Heinlein ever wrote. All of which is not to say that these stories aren't enjoyable reading, and certainly the gradual development of new technology and social forms (usually taking place in the background) is fascinating to watch, but too often Heinlein's characters are so annoying that the reader is almost tempted to root against them. Only the anti-slavery "Logic of Empire" and the revolutionary "If This Goes On-" are really effective, perhaps because the social issues they speak to give a more meaningful context to the stories of otherwise unremarkable individuals. "If This Goes On-" is by far the longest and strongest story in this volume, but it's also the centerpiece of Revolt in 2100, which would be a far better selection for readers just getting to know Heinlein's work.

This is a rare collector's edition, limited to only 80 copies. Furthermore the publisher was mistaken in determining the material was in public domain, so was sued by the author's estate, which recovered their remaining stock.

The stories included are "The Black Pits of Luna," "It's Great To Be Back!," "We Also Walk Dogs," "Searchlight," "Ordeal In Space," and the novelettes "Logic of Empire," and "If This Goes On -- ." All good space storied from the period when Heinlein was just breaking into the "slick" magazines (Saturday Evening Post, Colliers, etc.). All are available elsewhere, but this is a must-have edition for the fanatic Heinlein collector, printed in the USA to American Library Association standards, on permanent, durable, acid-free paper.