Double Star (Mass Market Paperback)

by Robert A. Heinlein (Author) "IF A MAN WALKS IN DRESSED LIKE A HICK AND acting as if he owned the place, he's a spaceman..." (more)
Key Phrases: pseudo limbs, life wand, two gravities, New Batavia, Humanity Party, Captain Broadbent (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
One minute, down and out actor Lorenzo Smythe was -- as usual -- in a bar, drinking away his troubles as he watched his career go down the tubes. Then a space pilot bought him a drink, and the next thing Smythe knew, he was shanghaied to Mars.

Suddenly he found himself agreeing to the most difficult role of his career: impersonating an important politician who had been kidnapped. Peace with the Martians was at stake -- failure to pull off the act could result in interplanetary war. And Smythe's own life was on the line -- for if he wasn't assassinated, there was always the possibility that he might be trapped in his new role forever!

From the Publisher
Like many people, I go way, way back with Heinlein. My very favorite book (and one that stands out in my mind--and with much affection--to this day) is Tunnel in the Sky. I really, really wanted to go off to explore new worlds with a covered wagon and horses, like the hero does at the very end of the book. But one of the nice things about Robert Heinlein is that he's got something for everyone. One of my best friends has a different favorite: Podkayne of Mars. Go figure.
                        --Shelly Shapiro, Executive Editor

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (October 12, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345330137
• ISBN-13: 978-0345330130
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #64,714 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Blueprint of Things to Come, May 10, 1999

By A Customer

When compared to the body of Heinlein's later work (i.e. the mid-sixties to the late 1980s) _ Double Star_ hardly holds up. However, given the period in which this book was written it is truely a marvel worthy of its Hugo award winning status. I admire Heinlein for the way his hard sci-fi usually fools you to believe the events that are occuring. But in _Double Star_ Heinlein does less than he can to make the stroy believable. My understanding is that Heinlein kept the novel short to attract both adult and juvenille audiences. Maybe that's why he kept one aspect of the story very simple as well. The aspect I speak of is Lorenzo's transformation from pompous actor to a high ranking political official. What I mean by simple is that even in a science fiction story set far in the future, this transformation, which fools the public at large as well as many who are close to the senator, is accompshed with makeup! What I do like about the novel is the fact that Heinlein inserts a socially important message regarding prejudice. In the future realtionships between humans and martians parallel the race relations between whites and blacks during the time the novel was written. Heinlein is able to skillfully use the art of speculative fiction to draw this comparision, thereby creating an effective vision for social reform. In this regard the novel works well, and I would have liked to have seen more of it. It does, however, provide a blueprint for things to come from Heinlein, as he would elaborate more on issues of this nature at a later date. The novel could have been better even by 1956 standards. I believe it was lessened by Heinlein's conservative nature apon entering the world of adult sci-fi. Thankfully he loosened up as he entered the 60's. For fans of Heinlein _Double Star_ is a must read despite flaws.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What Price, To Play the Boards?, December 2, 2002

By	Patrick Shepherd "hyperpat" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The year is 1956. Eisenhower is in the White House, following a long line of military men to reach that post. And this slim book appears, presenting the wild idea of an actor, perhaps not even a very good actor, who manages to reach the position of head of state. Obviously an idea like this could only appear within the realm of science fiction! What a difference in perspective an additional twenty five years will make, as once more science fiction becomes fact.

The route Lorenzo Smythe takes to reach this post is, however, just a little different from that of the real-world actor. The Great Lorenzo, as he styles himself, is conceited, arrogant, out of work, and down to his last half-Imperial when he is offered the job of doubling for a well-known political figure. The job is so obviously beneath his dignity that he is ready to turn down the offer when the Martians take a hand, and Lorenzo finds himself involved in murder, kidnapping, and slicing both humans and Martians into small pieces to flush down the disposal.

Forced by these circumstances to take the job, Lorenzo is even more disturbed when he finds out the identity of the person he is supposed to double for, none other that the leader of the opposition party, Joseph Bonforte, whose politics, what little he knows of them, he despises. But his own inflated idea of his abilities allows him to steady down and start studying for the role, a role he will play for much longer than he could ever anticipate.

This book is a character study, carefully and artfully detailing how Lorenzo changes under the influence of having to pretend to be someone he is not, aided by the immediate staff of the man he impersonates. It is fascinating to watch him change from someone you probably wouldn't invite into your home, to confused and beginning to search for some moral basis to his life beyond 'the show must go on', and finally to a man doing his best not just for himself, but for all intelligent beings, truly becoming the man he is portraying.

The other characters here are pretty sketchy, mainly props to help move the plot and aid Lorenzo. This is most noticeable with Penny, Bonforte's personal secretary, who suffers from the typical Heinlein failing (at that point in his writing career) of portraying women as one-dimensional beings. However, this limited portrayal of these secondary characters does not detract from, but rather enhances by contrast the masterful portrayal of Lorenzo.

Heinlein makes good use of his own experience in running for the California State legislature, as he describes the mechanics of running a political campaign, just how decisions are reached, how dependent a politician is upon the quality of the staff he selects, so that these items ring with real-world ambience. This is also probably the first book that clearly showed his leaning towards what would now be called Libertarianism, but this exposition is fairly muted, unlike some of his later works. And it wouldn't be a Heinlein book without his side commentaries: here he covers monarchies, civil servants, patronage, media management, taxes, unions, truth and lies, prejudice and xenophobia.

Published at a time when a novel of character was practically unheard of in the science fiction world, this work, like so many others by Heinlein, expanded the boundaries of the field, another step in lifting it out of its self-imposed pulp ghetto and back to the world of literature. This is probably part of the reason this book earned Heinlein his first of five Hugo awards for best novel of the year, a record matched by no other author. The rest of the reason? It's a fun, fast, great read; a story that hasn't lost its power to engross, entertain, and expand your view of the world.

--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, light but leaves an impression, May 11, 2000

By	Tim Lieder "Founder of Dybbuk Press" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I read this book over 10 years ago. I still remember it and I'm still fascinated by the whole theme of pretending to be someone makes you into that person that you were pretending to be. Less heavy handed than Vonnegut's Mother Night with the same theme, this Heinlein book is a delight on many levels. First the main character's smart aleck tone is highly entertaining. "If a guy walks into a bar dressed like a hick acting like he knows the place, you can tell that he's a space man". Heinlein's use of character voices is one of his strengths (like in Podkayne of Mars). Second, the role that this actor is playing becomes him and makes him into a responsible human being which is a nice idea in that a person can change and become a good person despite their best efforts to the contrary.

There are problems of course. The Martians aren't that fleshed out. The shift from jerk to statesman seems way too abrupt. Some may find the main character grating. But Heinlein's strength rest in that his storytelling doesn't allow you to dwell too much on his weaknesses.