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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A worthy read, but don't make it your first Heinlein, August 4, 2000
This review is from: Starman Jones (Mass Market Paperback)
Starman Jones isn't one that I'd recommend for the sci-fi primer; if you're new to the genre there are just too many good books to read, and a lot of them are other Heinlein novels. But for a person who's past that point and is just looking for more good books, this one's worth it. I guess I'd call Starman Jones a "formula" Heinlein novel. Its main character is a boy who dreams of becoming an astrogator, who gets his chance the hard way. It's full of a lot of the same types of characters, including father/mentor types like the ship's captain, and has those same hard life lessons and idealism that exemplify his other books. Still like every book Heinlein wrote, there is a uniqueness to the story of this one that makes it worth reading. Like other Heinleins, there are a few dated elements. In Starman Jones, his habit of consistently writing computers as big, clunky things incapable of more than simple calculations pops up in force because it becomes an important element of the story. Still that dating gives it some charm and adds a little sense of what-if to the tale. As a Heinlein fan I find it easy to forgive his few misses at foresight and squint past the rougher spots to read the story for what it is. But that's why I say this shouldn't be a first Heinlein for anyone; it's not a good introduction to his work and won't be as fully appreciated by someone who hasn't read and enjoyed his more classic books. This book will satisfy younger readers (and older ones) well, but I'd still recommend "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress", "Have Space Suit--Will Travel", "The Rolling Stones", and "Tunnel In The Sky" (all by Heinlein) before this one to anyone who hasn't read them yet. People who have read and appreciate those books will find this one more enjoyable for it.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fun book about growing up, August 1, 2002
This review is from: Starman Jones (Mass Market Paperback)
Young Jones is a farmer, who hates being a farmer and can think of nothing better than to head out into space. His uncle was an astrogator, and left his books to Jones when he died. After an upheval of his home life(which he wasn't really attached to anyway) he decides it's time to head out on his own, hopefully to become an astrogator. Being young and nieve, he makes some bad calls in charachters of someone he meets on the way, and finds out the hard way that you can't trust everyone who seems nice. I'd write more, but don't want to give away the storyline. Being one of heinlein's early 'juvies' this book isn't as involved as his later and better known works, and at times I felt it was too predictable. But, Heinlein was a master of portraying people, thier dreams and desires and fears. This is a fun young adult book about growing up.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Caught between a Rock and a Hard Place, July 11, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Starman Jones (Mass Market Paperback)
Max Jones is blessed with an eidetic memory and dreams of becoming an "astrogator" (Heinlein's neologism for "starship navigator"). Every evening he watches the ballistic train streak by his property, bound for Earthport, the launching facility for the big ships, and wishes that he could go there. But Max is committed to supporting his father's widow by working their Ozark farm, and the requirements for getting into the Astrogators' Guild are strict; most slots are inherited from previous guild members. One evening, Max's stepmother comes home with a new husband, a shiftless, drunken lout who announces that he has sold the farm and threatens to beat Max up when he protests. Max has no recourse but to gather up his reference books on astrogation (left to him by his deceased uncle Chet, an astrogator), and flee for Earthport. But when he presents himself at the Astrogators' Guild hall, he is told that his uncle Chet never nominated Max to the guild before he died, and the reference books are confiscated to "protect trade secrets." Max is in a pickle. Written in 1953, Starman Jones is a solid work of craftsmanship, of interest both to adults and children. It outlines a crowded Earth in which satisfying, interesting work is truly scarce, locked into a strict system of guilds. Faced with that barrier, what is an ambitious, talented boy like Max to do? The book deals in large part with the ethical dilemmas created by this situation, and by Max's subsequent forgery of documents enabling him to land a position aboard the starship Asgard. In the mysterious, wily old starship crewman, Sam, Heinlein creates a memorable, complex character, much in keeping with the Swope Park hobo/hero Heinlein mentions several times in speeches and writing (A good account of this story can be found in Expanded Universe). All in all, Starman Jones is a fast-moving, yet weighty read.
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