Book Reviews

[Psychotic_Carp]

I changed the name of this topic, im hoping it will help with google finding your reviews, if you want me to ill change it back

[Rusty]

That's fine. If it draws anyone else here, that would be cool.

[Psychotic_Carp]

Im hoping thats the effect but it will be a while before google figures it out i think

[Rusty]

The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne Duprau - This is the fourth and probably final book in the City of Ember series. The people of Sparks are trying to make it through the winter, but supplies are starting to run low. Doon and Lina decide to make a trip back to the underground city of Ember to scavenge for food and other items that may have been left behind during the evacuation. Before they leave, they find a clue that there might be something else waiting for them which could be very helpful. This book was pretty entertaining and a satisfying conclusion to the series. I'm looking forward to the movie adaptation for The City of Ember.

[Rusty]

Have Space Suit - Will Travel by Robert Heinlein - Kip Russell is a high school student who wants to travel into space so he enters a contest to try and win a trip to the moon. Instead, he wins an old spacesuit. Not exactly what he wanted, but something that will lead him into an adventure that will take him much further away than the moon. I had forgotten most of the plot of this book in the 15-20 years since last I read it, but I loved it. It is one of Heinlein's more polished juveniles, which makes sense since it is one of his later ones as well. Kip seems like an average youth - not quite decided on what he wants to do in life, but full of intelligence and initiative. I really liked the character of Peewee, though. She is one of Heinlein's better female characters and holds her own in the story, displaying plenty of intelligence and initiative herself.

[Rusty]

Citizen of the Galaxy by Robert Heinlein - The main character of the book is Thorby, a young boy who was captured by pirates and forced into slavery. He is purchased by a one legged beggar in Jubbulpore on the distant planet Jubbul. This turns out to be the best thing that ever happened to Thorby as the beggar is much more than he appears. Thorby's adventures take him to many other planets and finally to Terra.

I found the book hard to put down and enjoyed it very much. It is part of Heinlein's juvenile series, but seems to be written for adults. It serves to denounce slavery, but also examines other aspects of various cultures and is a very well written science fiction novel.

[Psychotic_Carp]

How mmany Heinlein books have you read lately?

[Rusty]

I've been working on rereading his juveniles. So far this year, I've reread:

Citizen of the Galaxy
Double Star
Have Space Suit, Will Travel
Red Planet
Rocket Ship Galileo
Space Cadet

There are 12 juveniles in all, so I'm halfway through them. Starman Jones will probably be the next one that I read from Heinlein.

[Psychotic_Carp]

Is there an order to them?

[Rusty]

This is the order they were published:

The Scribner's juveniles

1. Rocket Ship Galileo, 1947
2. Space Cadet, 1948
3. Red Planet, 1949
4. Farmer in the Sky, 1950
5. Between Planets, 1951
6. The Rolling Stones 1952
7. Starman Jones, 1953
8. The Star Beast, 1954
9. Tunnel in the Sky, 1955
10. Time for the Stars, 1956
11. Citizen of the Galaxy, 1957
12. Have Space Suit—Will Travel, 1958


However, they don't really interconnect at all, so the order they are read doesn't matter. Starship Troopers was meant to be the 13th book in the series, but it was rejected so Heinlein took it elsewhere.

[Psychotic_Carp]

That must have bugged him....

[Rusty]

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - This book owes a lot to The Jungle Book and Gaiman says as much in the afterword. A toddler wanders into a graveyard after his family is killed and is adopted by the denizens of the graveyard. They raise him to adulthood with each chapter skipping ahead about two years and chronicling another of his adventures. I thought the book was very entertaining and does an excellent job showing the boy's development over the years. The supporting cast is equally as interesting. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a sequel some day, but the book stands very well on its own.

[Rusty]

Between Planets by Robert Heinlein - Don Harvey was born in freefall and holds dual citizenship on Venus and Terra. When the two planets are on the brink of war, Don finds himself caught between planets. Don tries to join his parents in neutral territory on Mars, but finds himself hijacked by Venusian rebels and transported to Venus. This is a pretty straightforward adventure story - not quite as polished as Heinlein's later works, but still very entertaining.

[Rusty]

Starman Jones by Robert Heinlein - Max Jones lives on a farm with his stepmother. When she remarries, he decides to leave and pursue the dream of becoming an astrogator like his uncle. He finds the road a lot rockier than he expected. he ends up in space, but not the way he imagined it. However, this does lead to a grand adventure and lots of growing up in the process in a very entertaining novel from one of the grandmasters of sf.

[Rusty]

The Rolling Stones by Robert Heinlein - Teenage twins Castor and Pollux decide they want to buy a spaceship and become traders. The idea gets vetoed by their father, who decides to purchase a space yacht and take the family on a vacation to Mars. Heinlein has a pretty diverse cast in this book with the twins, their parents, older sister, younger brother and grandmother. All are highly intelligent and interact with lots of humor and affection. The journey involves a long trip from Luna to Mars and then later onward to the asteroid belt. It is a fun trip, but I like Heinlein's more direct adventures a bit more.