Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) is widely acknowledged to have been the single most important and influential author of science fiction in the twentieth century. Four Hugo Awards for Best Novels and three of his novels were given Retrospective Hugos fifty years after publication. He won Science Fiction Writers of America's first Grand Master Award for his lifetime achievement. His many influential novels include Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, and Glory Road.
"The lively story of a group of boys--Matt and Tex, from Terra; Oscar, from Venus; Pierre, from one of Jupiter's moons; and others--who train to uphold the peace of the solar system. This account of their training and their subsequent adventures is good, colorful fiction by an author who can write it ably and entertainingly." --Chicago Tribune on Space Cadet "Throughout the story there is a constant stream of Heinlein's noted wit and satire, superbly told . . . The Hugo Award committee need look no further." --San Francisco Chronicle on Glory Road "Heinlein...wrote adventure stories grounded in credible scientific speculation. Even the wonderful stories collected here feature his trademark cool reasoning. . . .Superb stories - old friends, really - that are well worth the book's price." --Booklist on The Fantasies of Robert A. Heinlein
Gr 6-10-Fans of Suzanne Collins's "The Hunger Games" series may be intrigued by Robert A. Heinlein's science-fiction tale that was first published more than 60 years ago. The story of adolescent boys hoping to be part of a solar peacekeeping force gets a new retelling by David Baker and a cast of nearly 30 other actors. Today, the 2075 setting may not seem as far-flung into the future as it did to earlier generations, and listeners could easily imagine their sons or grandsons taking part in the types of training and boot camp environments Heinlein describes. Matt Dodson starts as a fish out of water character, but soon meets new friends from diverse planetary backgrounds. Many of his cohorts do not successfully make it through training, but Dodson proves he has what it takes to succeed. Unlike "The Hunger Games," girls and boys in this coming-of-age tale do not compete side by side and, in fact, girls are barely mentioned at all. Insightful teachers and librarians might encourage students to debate whether this book's lack of female role models is simply a product of its late 1940s era or represents intentional sexism by the author, and have them compare this title with more recent books in the genre.-Bernie Morrissey, The Harker School, San Jose CA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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