Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
NEL (1974), Mass Market Paperback
Description
Fiction. Science Fiction. HTML: From the author of Friday and Rocketship Galileo comes this classic tale featuring the Grand Master of Science Fiction�s most remarkable heroine. Podkayne Fries, a smart and determined maid of Mars, has just one goal in life: to become the first female starship pilot and rise through the ranks to command deep-space explorations. So when she is offered a chance to join her diplomatic uncle on an interstellar journey to distant Earth via Venus, it�s a dream come true � even if her only experience with diplomacy is handling her brilliant but pesky younger brother, Clark. But she�s about to learn some things about war and peace, because Uncle Tom, the Ambassador Plenipotentiary from Mars to the Three Planets Conference, is traveling not quite incognito enough � and certain parties will stop at nothing to sabotage negotiations between the three worlds....… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
I have a love/hate relationship with this particular book--really do, making this a very hard one to rate and review. By and large I'm a fan of Robert Heinlein. I love The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Starship Troopers and many of his juveniles, and if it weren't for what seemed the lesson of this
But...
Spoiler? Arguably...
There are actually two endings to this story, one that Heinlein originally wrote, and the one that was published over his objections, and it's not the issue over which ending per se that bothers me. Above all it was that Heinlein, in the voice of their uncle, lays the problems of Podkayne and her brother on their parents, and particularly her mother. Podkayne's mother, we're told, had no business wanting a career of her own while her children needed her. I might have had sympathy for that tirade, had the father been equally implicated as too absorbed in his career to pay attention to his children (rather than being too absorbed and unassertive to make his wife raise them). And I might even have forgiven that--after all this was written in 1963. But for me the unforgivable is that, in this book at least, growing up for a girl means giving up her dreams--the mature thing is to live them through her husband! It's a great story in many ways, and with a great female character--but I'd certainly feel ambivalent about giving this book to an impressionable teen girl. I know when I reached the end of the novel I felt slapped.
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one, this might be my favorite of his young adult science fiction. I loved Podkayne, absolutely adored this girl who dreamed of growing up to be a starship captain--especially since I first read this when I was around Podkayne's age--fifteen. Heinlein created a wonderful voice, and after all his boy heroes I'd read I thought it about time a girl got to have an adventure. I even liked her self-centered (sociopathic?) genius brother Clark. Mars, the interplanetary voyage aboard a luxury space liner, the hedonistic Venus and their nasty little fairies are all a blast.But...
Spoiler? Arguably...
There are actually two endings to this story, one that Heinlein originally wrote, and the one that was published over his objections, and it's not the issue over which ending per se that bothers me. Above all it was that Heinlein, in the voice of their uncle, lays the problems of Podkayne and her brother on their parents, and particularly her mother. Podkayne's mother, we're told, had no business wanting a career of her own while her children needed her. I might have had sympathy for that tirade, had the father been equally implicated as too absorbed in his career to pay attention to his children (rather than being too absorbed and unassertive to make his wife raise them). And I might even have forgiven that--after all this was written in 1963. But for me the unforgivable is that, in this book at least, growing up for a girl means giving up her dreams--the mature thing is to live them through her husband! It's a great story in many ways, and with a great female character--but I'd certainly feel ambivalent about giving this book to an impressionable teen girl. I know when I reached the end of the novel I felt slapped.
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LibraryThing member FlanneryAC
So this was a bit ridiculous. I listened to all five discs rather quickly, as it started out as a fun space story. Then suddenly I was on disc four and thinking to myself, "Sooo, nothing much has happened yet." This book is about creating a world, setting the stage for what could be a cool story
This book hints at so many possible plotlines and they go nowhere. The actual plot/action doesn't even start to occur until at least halfway through, probably further. Heinlein hints at a possible romance; it goes nowhere. He describes a lot of planets and governmental structures; it's all irrelevant. He spends the first half of the book on a space journey; it has very little bearing on the overall plot. The book ends more abruptly than any I've ever read. Honestly, this felt like the first part in a serialized story. (Ha! I just looked it up on Wikipedia and the book itself started out as a serialized story.)
Emily Janice Card did a good job voicing the teenage protagonist and her 11-year old genius brother. The side characters, including one or two with southern accents, were distinguishable, which isn't always the case in audiobooks. I do enjoy her narrations but unfortunately, I always keep thinking about her father's politics and it takes me away from the story she's reading. I know this isn't the case for everyone but it IS the case for me, even if she doesn't share the same beliefs. (I don't know one way or the other)
Skip this one unless you're a writer who is looking for a world that was created and then just disregarded. There are lots of ideas to be had here!
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about a future female space pilot and then having the main character talk herself out of her ambitions because childbirth and mothering are the most important aspirations for women in the world and blahbitty blah blah blah. Thanks, Robert A. Heinlein, I definitely needed the reminder of how women should act. In case you're reading this review and wondering what kinds of awesome tidbits the main character shares in her journal, they are statements about hiding your intelligence from men, never letting a man see that you are better at anything than he is, and accepting that you should never have aspirations that will hinder your ability to find a man and reproduce for the good of the universe.This book hints at so many possible plotlines and they go nowhere. The actual plot/action doesn't even start to occur until at least halfway through, probably further. Heinlein hints at a possible romance; it goes nowhere. He describes a lot of planets and governmental structures; it's all irrelevant. He spends the first half of the book on a space journey; it has very little bearing on the overall plot. The book ends more abruptly than any I've ever read. Honestly, this felt like the first part in a serialized story. (Ha! I just looked it up on Wikipedia and the book itself started out as a serialized story.)
Emily Janice Card did a good job voicing the teenage protagonist and her 11-year old genius brother. The side characters, including one or two with southern accents, were distinguishable, which isn't always the case in audiobooks. I do enjoy her narrations but unfortunately, I always keep thinking about her father's politics and it takes me away from the story she's reading. I know this isn't the case for everyone but it IS the case for me, even if she doesn't share the same beliefs. (I don't know one way or the other)
Skip this one unless you're a writer who is looking for a world that was created and then just disregarded. There are lots of ideas to be had here!
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LibraryThing member fastfinge
Robert Heinlein, throughout his history of writing "boys books", struggled with editorship. Much of his books for young adults were modified by request
of prim publishers and scandalized librarians to ensure that they included nothing even in the least "damaging" to young minds. As a result, it's a
that these books turned out as well as they did. This particular book, however, suffered the most damaging change. Before publishing, Heinlein was told
that he would have to change the ending. That one stroke completely changed the vision of the work. I will avoid details of the change in order not to
include spoilers, and I won't say I agree with the vision of the book as it was originally written (I don't think I do), but if you want the point of the
book as Heinlein intended it, you need to track down the most recent baen edition. It includes both endings side by side, allowing you to contrast them
and pick one for yourself.
of prim publishers and scandalized librarians to ensure that they included nothing even in the least "damaging" to young minds. As a result, it's a
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miraclethat these books turned out as well as they did. This particular book, however, suffered the most damaging change. Before publishing, Heinlein was told
that he would have to change the ending. That one stroke completely changed the vision of the work. I will avoid details of the change in order not to
include spoilers, and I won't say I agree with the vision of the book as it was originally written (I don't think I do), but if you want the point of the
book as Heinlein intended it, you need to track down the most recent baen edition. It includes both endings side by side, allowing you to contrast them
and pick one for yourself.
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LibraryThing member maybedog
I read this when I was quite young so any offensiveness went right over my head. I just loved it because it was a science fiction adventure story with a girl as the hero, a rarity in its time if not in mine.
LibraryThing member Tanya-dogearedcopy
Podkayne is a young adult human female born and raised on provincial Mars, who dreams of becoming a starship captain... Heinlein wrote this novella in 1963 and it mostly serves as an expository vehicle for the author's ideas of what life might be like in the future in terms of science and social
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mores. The actual plot is superficial ("Poddy" takes an interplanetary trip with her uncle and brother) and the real action doesn't occur until the final chapters. Pure science fiction and dated, it doesn't hold up after sixty years of real-world advancements (both technological and societal) and and the lack of depth in regard to the plot make this little more than a curiosity. Show Less
LibraryThing member librisissimo
This edition ends with Heinlein's draft chapter that was rejected by the publisher; the original published ending is appended. Heinlein's draft was better.
A long discussion about the readers' preferences can be found in the appendix. Despite having read the "original published edition" in 1963, I
However, it is not as good as I remembered, as a whole, although at the time I was much impressed with Podkayne, she being one of the very few female protagonists in sf at the time. The language is dated, and from a mature vantage, he didn't impersonate a 16-year-old female all that well, but it worked at the time.
A long discussion about the readers' preferences can be found in the appendix. Despite having read the "original published edition" in 1963, I
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"remembered" the story as ending the way Heinlein preferred (so did a lot of other people), thus vindicating his choice.However, it is not as good as I remembered, as a whole, although at the time I was much impressed with Podkayne, she being one of the very few female protagonists in sf at the time. The language is dated, and from a mature vantage, he didn't impersonate a 16-year-old female all that well, but it worked at the time.
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LibraryThing member Jean_Sexton
When I first read the book years ago, I loved it. Here was a young female heroine and she was competent! She even had an annoying younger brother. When I could, I got it on Kindle with the "author's original, preferred ending." I am so glad I kept my 1970s paperback, because the "original" ending
I enjoyed the book up until the "original" ending started to go darker and darker. Heinlein's explanation of why he wanted it that way made him sound like a misogynist old man, and I'm pretty sure he wasn't a misogynist. I thoroughly believe that a mother can hold down a job and still raise fairly normal children. While the uncle expresses Heinlein's views in the earlier version, there is some distancing from the situation as the man is distraught and could be seen as casting blame. A letter from the author ... well, that is different.
I want my books to have some light at the end of the tunnel. I want to believe that people learn from their mistakes and *can* change for the better. I want hope. I think the editor of the book realized that and the change he wanted was for the best. I know folks voted for the "original" ending; I wish the Kindle version had included both.
Five stars for my earlier paperback; four stars for the Kindle version.
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proves there is a good reason for editors. I enjoyed the book up until the "original" ending started to go darker and darker. Heinlein's explanation of why he wanted it that way made him sound like a misogynist old man, and I'm pretty sure he wasn't a misogynist. I thoroughly believe that a mother can hold down a job and still raise fairly normal children. While the uncle expresses Heinlein's views in the earlier version, there is some distancing from the situation as the man is distraught and could be seen as casting blame. A letter from the author ... well, that is different.
I want my books to have some light at the end of the tunnel. I want to believe that people learn from their mistakes and *can* change for the better. I want hope. I think the editor of the book realized that and the change he wanted was for the best. I know folks voted for the "original" ending; I wish the Kindle version had included both.
Five stars for my earlier paperback; four stars for the Kindle version.
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LibraryThing member sferguson
Heinlein is one of the best writers to have ever contributed to science fiction and this particular title is a great addition to the genre. Heinlein is one of the best at looking at the society(ies) of modern humanity from the perspective of an outsider and Podkayne of Mars is one of the best
Well worth the read.
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overall looks at humanity and our society that I have read in recent memory.Well worth the read.
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LibraryThing member LTFL_JMLS
Really liked it when I was 12, at least.
LibraryThing member pastrydeity
This was the first Heinlein book I ever read (I think I was eight?) and so it still has a special place in my heart, but objectively I'd have to say it feels a bit dated.
Podkayne Fries is a Marsgirl on an interplanetary trip with her uncle and her bratty-but-brilliant kid brother Clark, and
Podkayne Fries is a Marsgirl on an interplanetary trip with her uncle and her bratty-but-brilliant kid brother Clark, and
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appropriate SFnal mayhem ensues. The story itself is entertaining enough, but Podkayne as a character leaves me a little cold. Maybe it's the era in which it was written, maybe it's Heinlein's apparent trouble writing believable female characters, maybe it's the age Poddy is supposed to be, but she doesn't seem to have much drive or personality of her own. She is naive and she is swept along by the actions and machinations of other people; she doesn't drive the plot herself. I expect more from my heroines than that--but back then, you'd have been lucky to get a heroine at all, so there's that. Show Less
LibraryThing member hroethgar
A decent kids' sci-fi book.
Cover art is frankly disturbing, given the central character is 13.
Cover art is frankly disturbing, given the central character is 13.
LibraryThing member Zumbanista
Possibly the first sci-fi book I ever read when I was about 11 or 12. Started a love affair with the genre that continued off and on for over 40 years. Have no idea what it's about now, but the favourable memory of it has stayed with me since that time. Would probably find it too young now, but
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might be interesting to give it another read for old times sake. Give it 4 stars for now and will revise if I revisit it. Show Less
LibraryThing member antao
(Original Review, 1980-08-06)
I was not a Heinlein fan before. I've probably read most of his work, but there are only 3 of his books I've kept to enjoy reading again. I've kept more than 3 of a LOT of other authors, such as Leinster, McCaffrey, Dickson, James White, and even Philip E. High. Nor did
The strongly emotional negativism RAH and his books engenders in certain readers is strange. Now, what Spider Robinson worships, if anything, is no concern of mine, but unlike the emotional attacks, his article in DESTINIES struck me as a reasonable, straightforward presentation of indeed familiar anti-RAH statements, each rebutted by cogent evidence. Read it for yourselves, and decide.
While I am in complete agreement with Weinreb that Spider's criticism of the entry for Heinlein in Nicholls' SF ENCYCLOPEDIA is unwarranted, I have not found any such error in the DESTINIES article.
From background arising out of my collection and study of SF books with female protagonists, the accusation of Heinlein being "sexist" seems more than strange. If by this it is meant that R.A.H does not subscribe to the theory of the equality of the sexes, then -- Yes, he and Ashley Montague (anthropologist-author of the classic THE NATURAL SUPERIORITY OF WOMEN) are a pair of them. (And they make any PRO-female position a lot more palatable than Joanna Russ' bludgeoning in THE FEMALE MAN!)
As I read it, H's message that so galls Libbers is that a female has a right to be womanly. There is a regrettable strain of self-hate underlying the sexism of virulent Libber-hood.
Weinreb's initial sentence about THE ROLLING STONES [SFL V2 #35] doesn't make sense. Nothing he says about the 3 women exemplifies degeneration. His 2nd sentence seems a common ploy of anti-RAHers: points of evidence counter to their position are dismissed as exceptional. But whether or not "TRS is the most liberal portrayal of women that H. has ever created" is immaterial beside the fact that he DID create it. See in particular/ H's portrayal of the attitudes and behaviour of Mr. and Mrs. Stone when there's an epidemic aboard the space liner. It IS exceptional! But what's exceptional about it is that this is in a juvenile, a juvenile written in 1952!!!
Hilda's role in ...BEAST has distinct parallels with Mrs. Stone's in the epidemic segment. Of the 4 central protagonists, she is the one best equipped by experience and personality to be leader. Her worst trouble is from her husband. In fact, insofar as that dreadfully structured book has a main plot or central theme, it concerns the problems of leadership. (And if it weren't so badly structured, it might have qualified as H's 2nd book with a female protagonist.)
But what about his FIRST such candidate, poor PODKAYNE, who is ever advanced as a Horrible Example of H's portrayal of a female character? As a specialist in SF books with female protagonists, I get darned peeved at the ignorance this displays. Sure, compared to the later Lessa's and Rissa's, it might seem so, but is it fair to assay it out of its temporal context? If you except the "Golden Amazon" stories from the pulps and a Utopian novel of 1880, PODKAYNE is the 10th genre science-fictional book ever to have a female protagonist. Now, there are over a hundred. Give the old gentleman credit for doing something so daring in 1963. And let sf-writers not look down on their literary ancestors -- on whose shoulders they are standing.
The sexual mores of societies H depicts often repulse me, but so do those of the Trobriand Islanders and some contemporary mating patterns in other parts of the world. I do see, however, that his distinction between liberty and license is a thoughtful one, with a strong emphasis on personal responsibility.
Weinreb's references to child molestation and the porn market are smears by inference. His reference to "a man being tripped into bed by his daughters" is (probably) equally culpable error. I say "probably" because I may have forgotten an actual instance in the H corpus. But of the two possibilities which come to mind-- both from TIME ENOUGH FOR LOVE-- in no case is physical paternity involved. (Good grief! this is getting as bad as TESB!) The 3 girls stood in a social/ relationship of daughter, but Dora's was adoptive, and Laz and Lor were genetic SISTERS to Lazarus.
As for Weinreb's finding it objectionable that RAH made a lot of bucks off of ...BEAST, I somehow can't find it a bad thing for any/ SF writer to be well paid.
[2018 EDIT: This review was written at the time as I was running my own personal BBS server. Much of the language of this and other reviews written in 1980 reflect a very particular kind of language: what I call now in retrospect a “BBS language”.]
I was not a Heinlein fan before. I've probably read most of his work, but there are only 3 of his books I've kept to enjoy reading again. I've kept more than 3 of a LOT of other authors, such as Leinster, McCaffrey, Dickson, James White, and even Philip E. High. Nor did
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I "cut my teeth" on RAH, so I've no sentimental associations or long-standing loyalties. To me, he's just another SF-writer, though more competent than most.The strongly emotional negativism RAH and his books engenders in certain readers is strange. Now, what Spider Robinson worships, if anything, is no concern of mine, but unlike the emotional attacks, his article in DESTINIES struck me as a reasonable, straightforward presentation of indeed familiar anti-RAH statements, each rebutted by cogent evidence. Read it for yourselves, and decide.
While I am in complete agreement with Weinreb that Spider's criticism of the entry for Heinlein in Nicholls' SF ENCYCLOPEDIA is unwarranted, I have not found any such error in the DESTINIES article.
From background arising out of my collection and study of SF books with female protagonists, the accusation of Heinlein being "sexist" seems more than strange. If by this it is meant that R.A.H does not subscribe to the theory of the equality of the sexes, then -- Yes, he and Ashley Montague (anthropologist-author of the classic THE NATURAL SUPERIORITY OF WOMEN) are a pair of them. (And they make any PRO-female position a lot more palatable than Joanna Russ' bludgeoning in THE FEMALE MAN!)
As I read it, H's message that so galls Libbers is that a female has a right to be womanly. There is a regrettable strain of self-hate underlying the sexism of virulent Libber-hood.
Weinreb's initial sentence about THE ROLLING STONES [SFL V2 #35] doesn't make sense. Nothing he says about the 3 women exemplifies degeneration. His 2nd sentence seems a common ploy of anti-RAHers: points of evidence counter to their position are dismissed as exceptional. But whether or not "TRS is the most liberal portrayal of women that H. has ever created" is immaterial beside the fact that he DID create it. See in particular/ H's portrayal of the attitudes and behaviour of Mr. and Mrs. Stone when there's an epidemic aboard the space liner. It IS exceptional! But what's exceptional about it is that this is in a juvenile, a juvenile written in 1952!!!
Hilda's role in ...BEAST has distinct parallels with Mrs. Stone's in the epidemic segment. Of the 4 central protagonists, she is the one best equipped by experience and personality to be leader. Her worst trouble is from her husband. In fact, insofar as that dreadfully structured book has a main plot or central theme, it concerns the problems of leadership. (And if it weren't so badly structured, it might have qualified as H's 2nd book with a female protagonist.)
But what about his FIRST such candidate, poor PODKAYNE, who is ever advanced as a Horrible Example of H's portrayal of a female character? As a specialist in SF books with female protagonists, I get darned peeved at the ignorance this displays. Sure, compared to the later Lessa's and Rissa's, it might seem so, but is it fair to assay it out of its temporal context? If you except the "Golden Amazon" stories from the pulps and a Utopian novel of 1880, PODKAYNE is the 10th genre science-fictional book ever to have a female protagonist. Now, there are over a hundred. Give the old gentleman credit for doing something so daring in 1963. And let sf-writers not look down on their literary ancestors -- on whose shoulders they are standing.
The sexual mores of societies H depicts often repulse me, but so do those of the Trobriand Islanders and some contemporary mating patterns in other parts of the world. I do see, however, that his distinction between liberty and license is a thoughtful one, with a strong emphasis on personal responsibility.
Weinreb's references to child molestation and the porn market are smears by inference. His reference to "a man being tripped into bed by his daughters" is (probably) equally culpable error. I say "probably" because I may have forgotten an actual instance in the H corpus. But of the two possibilities which come to mind-- both from TIME ENOUGH FOR LOVE-- in no case is physical paternity involved. (Good grief! this is getting as bad as TESB!) The 3 girls stood in a social/ relationship of daughter, but Dora's was adoptive, and Laz and Lor were genetic SISTERS to Lazarus.
As for Weinreb's finding it objectionable that RAH made a lot of bucks off of ...BEAST, I somehow can't find it a bad thing for any/ SF writer to be well paid.
[2018 EDIT: This review was written at the time as I was running my own personal BBS server. Much of the language of this and other reviews written in 1980 reflect a very particular kind of language: what I call now in retrospect a “BBS language”.]
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LibraryThing member gregory_gwen
Really liked it when I was 12, at least.
LibraryThing member memccauley6
Some of Heinlein’s novels are classics in the science fiction genre… this isn’t one of them.
I was expecting it to be dated – but not so ridiculous. Perhaps it gets better, but I could not force myself to keep reading – the dialogue reminded me of Regina’s Song by David Eddings (and
I was expecting it to be dated – but not so ridiculous. Perhaps it gets better, but I could not force myself to keep reading – the dialogue reminded me of Regina’s Song by David Eddings (and
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that is not a good thing). Show Less
LibraryThing member Murphy-Jacobs
Reading this solidified my falling away from Heinlein. I'm sure there is some interpretation of this novel somewhere that gets around its naked misogyny and hammer handed story of destroyed innocence, but pretty much this one went hard against the wall.
LibraryThing member cindywho
It had been a while since I'd been exposed the that dirty old man, Heinlein. I was hoping that the sometimes fun and happy go lucky tone that I remembered could carry the story, but sadly, poor Podkayne becomes a teenage mouthpiece for his gender policing. She starts out with dreams of becoming a
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spaceship captain and her mom is a successful engineer, but her voyage to Venus brings out the baby-crazy in her and she narrows her vision. The reader is good at perky, but there's nothing she could do about the prattling. Oh well, that should learn me. Show Less
LibraryThing member jamespurcell
Starts out YA bubbly then goes dark as Heinlein's biases take hold
LibraryThing member jennifergeran
I have a feeling Heinlein had a new baby in the house when he wrote this. And he had a problem with it. Very amusing sexism floating around in a sea of racial equality.
Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — Science Fiction/Fantasy — 2010)
Language
Original publication date
1963
ISBN
0450020401 / 9780450020407