40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of Heinlein's More Serious Juveniles, April 2, 2007
Heinlein wrote a series of twelve books for Scribner's that are collectively called Heinlein's Juveniles. Some Heinlein historians include "Podkayne of Mars" as one of the juveniles, but Heinlein himself did not. This 1956 novel was Heinlein's tenth juvenile.
Tom and Pat Bartlett were twins; very close twins. In fact, they were so close that they possessed a special ability shared by very few twins. When the Long Range Foundation contacted the twins for an interview, they milked the Foundation for every penny they could get. However, the Foundation was indulgent with the twins because they needed them for a very special project.
The twins soon find themselves herded along with numerous other twins through a series of tests. At the other end of the series of tests is a contract for the twins that will guarantee that they and their families will be well taken care of for the rest of their lives. The only problem with the contract is that one of the twins will have to leave earth on a torchship, the Lewis and Clark, also called L.C. or Elsie, for distant planets.
Tom Bartlett ends up being the lucky twin to leave crowded Earth for the stars. Heinlein's books tend to be accurate in their engineering, physics and astronomy, and this book certainly is. Heinlein has all his stars in the right places and he appropriately described the relativistic effects of traveling near the speed of light. Heinlein also did an excellent job of envisioning life aboard a ship that would spend years in deep space, including the interplay of personalities and ship politics.
Heinlein also included the mandatory element of every space exploration book, aliens. Heinlein's aliens are inscrutable, but still behave in a way that we can somewhat understand, but we will not forgive. Comparing Heinlein's crew with the crew of the starship Enterprise and other, later explorers, Heinlein's crew was distressingly naïve. I think Heinlein made his crew naïve intentionally to help contrast the relative innocence of his space explorers with veteran space explorers who had won their lessons in the hardest ways possible.
Heinlein does a wonderful job of wrapping up this book with an unpredictable ending, which comes all too soon. The ending is bittersweet and as happens with many Heinlein endings, somehow makes me wonder whether the tragedy and the sacrifice was worth it (define "it" however you like when you reach the end of the book). Heinlein's answer was always "yes."
Heinlein remains one of science fiction's greatest authors. His science is excellent, his stories are generally well-plotted and written, and he nearly always leaves you wanting more. I recommend this book for every person who thinks of themselves as a fan of "hard" science fiction. This book is a winner from an author who won four Hugo awards during his life and the first Nebula Grand Master Award.
Personal Note: I am not very objective about this novel. This book was the very first science fiction book I ever read, and was the reason that I read thousands more after it. I sometimes wonder whether this book and others like it inspired me and many others like me to become engineers and scientists. I hope that others read this book and see the same thing in it that I did and start down the same path.
Enjoy!
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Finally available in book form, April 2, 2007
This was a classic Heinlein story that had been out of print in book form for quite some time. It follows Heinlein's tradition of superb story telling about a young boys' travel through the stars. Already familiar to most Heinlein fans, Time for the Stars is about the use of telepathic twins to breach the vast emptiness of space in a bid to further explore the galaxy and allow mankind to expand beyond its home planet. Although it lacks the soul-delving depth of Heinlein's masterpieces (Stranger in a Strange Land, the Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Time Enough for love), it's a grand adventure story that will inspire young teens to look up to the stars and always wonder. And that, is what Heinlein's stories are all about.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazingly undated and profoundly inspiring, January 26, 2011
This was one of the first SF books I ever read, and it's the best starting point for any young person wanting to read the 'Juveniles'. I recently re-read it (out loud) to my 10 year old son. Now granted I needed to explain a bit about Einstein (well, just the time-dilation idea, which a 10 year old can understand). The story is such a rollicking adventure that he would plead for another page every night! As we finished the final page (which is a great and mind expanding twist), the young fellows review was: "that's got to be one of the best books ever, Dad!"
This book has hardly dated, which is amazing for a novel from the 50's, and it explores lots of interesting issues - sibling rivalry, ageing, cultural change (I love RH's joke about girls wearing hats in the final pages). The science is sound. The level and content are appropriate for a 10-14 reader (with the proviso about science). Some of the other Juveniles are a bit more 'mature' in themes.
And yes, to the reviewer above, RH was a large part in my desire to be a geologist. But I never got to Mars...
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