"....The Luna family is pleasantly daft along with being terribly intelligent: Mother is an M.D.; Father an engineer who doubles as a television script writer for Earth; the twin boys are mathematical whizzes; Sister is not far behind them; the four-year old brother is a chess expert; and Granny is an engineer! The elements which make this an extraordinary book are the fascinating characterizations, the terrific dialogue, and an abundance of humor. The famous science-fiction writer hits a new high with this one...." --New York World-Telegram
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Heinlein Keeps On Rolling,
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This review is from: The Rolling Stones (Ace SF #73440) (Mass Market Paperback)
In 1952, another of Robert Heinlein's juvenile novels was published under three names. In the U.S., the title was "The Rolling Stones", in the U.K. it was called "Space Family Stone", and when it was published in "Boy's Life" magazine in the September - December issues, it was called "Tramp Space Ship".
As with most, if not all of his novels aimed at a younger audience, there are characters which the younger reader can identify. In this case there are the twin boys Castor and Pollux Stone, two teenage math whizzes who think they are ready to head into space and make their fortune in trade. Unlike many of these novels though, this time Heinlein brings in a host of characters of all ages. We have the father, Robert Stone, who is a retired engineer, a former mayor of Lunar City, and who is now writing scripts for a serial program. There is the mother, Edith Stone, who is a doctor. There is the grandmother, Hazel Stone, who is also an engineer. They also have a younger sister, Meade, and their four-year-old brother, Lowell, who is a chess genius, and may be telepathic. This book is an entertaining adventure story, somewhat light on the science part of science fiction. Also, one scientific theory which Heinlein does talk about a bit, that the asteroid belt is the remains of a planet, is no longer considered viable. That shouldn't stop you from enjoying the story though, as the best thing about this book is the interaction between the characters. Each of the family members are geniuses, at least in some way, and perhaps each is more than a little crazy. The story starts with the twins looking to buy a space ship to start their enterprise, but when they go to talk to their father about their money which he keeps in trust, he refuses to allow them to start their business, and instead insists on their education. Things change though when their grandmother lends her voice, and ultimately when their mother chimes in as well, but things don't go exactly the way they want. Instead of their getting a ship, their father buys one and the entire family is going to come along as the Stones head for Mars. That doesn't stop the boys scheming though, as they come up with a plan to make money by bringing a cargo of broken-down bicycles which they intend to fix along the way to sell. That plan doesn't exactly go off as planned either. You will enjoy reading about their and the rest of the family's adventures. The Flat Cats of Mars is an enjoyable subplot, which will remind Star Trek fans of the Tribbles on Star Trek. David Gerrold has denied that he was aware of the Flat Cats and actually based the Tribbles episode off of the situation with rabbits in Australia. There is some connection between this book and some of Heinlein's other works, but it isn't completely clear how strong that link really is. Hazel, Castor and Pollux Stone all make a brief appearance in "The Number of the Beast". There is also a character called Hazel Stone who appears in "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress", "The Cat Who Walks Through Walls", and "To Sail Beyond the Sunset", but the characters don't really act the same so one cannot be sure if they are intended to be the same person or not. This book has not won any awards, and yet I found it to be very enjoyable and while not at the top level of Heinlein's work, it fits in fairly well with his second tier works. This is definitely a good choice for younger readers who want to find out about Heinlein.
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