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58th out of 441 books
—
410 voters
Orphans of the Sky
Fix-up consisting of the novelette "Universe" (1941) and the novella "Common Sense" (1941). First published in 1963.
Hugh had been taught that, according to the ancient sacred writings, the Ship was on a voyage to faraway Centaurus. But he also understood this was actually allegory for a voyage to spiritual perfection. Indeed, how could the Ship move, since its miles and mi...more
Hugh had been taught that, according to the ancient sacred writings, the Ship was on a voyage to faraway Centaurus. But he also understood this was actually allegory for a voyage to spiritual perfection. Indeed, how could the Ship move, since its miles and mi...more
Mass Market Paperback, 224 pages
Published
November 27th 2001
by Baen
(first published 1963)
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This is a "big idea" novel for Heinlein. It tells the story of the first inter-stellar ship, planing to make a trip that will span generations. Mutiny and a general degradation of culture occur aboard and generations are born who are unable to conceive of, or believe in, a world outside the ship. The story centers on brave and clever men who start to regain this knowledge, stomping a foot on a deck plate and insisting like a similar brave man, "But still, it moves!"
Heinlein's skill at envisionin...more
Heinlein's skill at envisionin...more
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I rather like this religious allegory. They've been on a huge spaceship ("The Ship") for many generations, and all they can remember of Earth are distant legends kept alive in an oral tradition. According to these myths, the Ship was built by "Jordan". Once, there had been a Golden Age, when the ship was ruled by "Jordan's Captain", the guardian of the sacred "Plan". But then there was a mutiny, led by someone called Huff ("accursed Huff, the First to Sin"), and the Plan was lost. Now the Ship i...more
From a vague conversation with my dad, perhaps ten years ago, I remembered a story about a movie or a book he read. He didn’t remember its name, but it was an early science fiction book that involved a giant spaceship which rotates to generate pseudogravity. Generations of people have lived on the inside of it. One day, someone climbs up to the middle of the ship, where there’s no [pseudo]gravity, and discovers that the world they are living in is a spaceship, by coming upon ancient books. They...more
WOW this cover is not the cover I have, which is far less ... Whatever the hell this cover is. ("That must have been the '80s," said my Glaswegian. Goodreads has this as the 2001 cover from Baen. It's a good thing feminism fixed all the world's problems or who KNOWS what kind of cover we'd have.)
I picked this up second-hand (Mayflower-Dell paperback, June 1965), curious to read some more Heinlein in the wake of having recently finished Jo Walton's Among Others. Thus far the only Heinlein I'd rea...more
I picked this up second-hand (Mayflower-Dell paperback, June 1965), curious to read some more Heinlein in the wake of having recently finished Jo Walton's Among Others. Thus far the only Heinlein I'd rea...more
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Il primo grande romanzo sulle cosiddette "astronavi generazionali", i cui viaggi fra le stelle durano secoli, è questo di Robert A. Heinlein, noto sia come Universo sia come Orfani del cielo. E' un'avventura epica che esplora uno degli aspetti più affascinanti della sf: il "conceptual breakthrough", la rivelazione di una verità fisica che davamo per scontata. In questo caso, la natura del nostro mondo.
Addentrarsi nelle pagine di Universo è come addentrarsi in un labirinto fisico e psicologico, u...more
Addentrarsi nelle pagine di Universo è come addentrarsi in un labirinto fisico e psicologico, u...more
First Impressions:
The book reads rather rapidly and well for a young adult novel, originally appearing in Astounding Science Fiction back in the 1940s. Heinlein's writing and plotting had improved since those days, but there's something fun and unique about his early writings such as Space Cadet, or Starship Troopers, contemporary stories that involved a strong lead character and lots of plot points.
Plots:
I may be wrong but this may be one of the first stories of a multi-generational ship that...more
The book reads rather rapidly and well for a young adult novel, originally appearing in Astounding Science Fiction back in the 1940s. Heinlein's writing and plotting had improved since those days, but there's something fun and unique about his early writings such as Space Cadet, or Starship Troopers, contemporary stories that involved a strong lead character and lots of plot points.
Plots:
I may be wrong but this may be one of the first stories of a multi-generational ship that...more
This novella collects two of Heinlein's earliest stories, both from 1941, but unlike other such combinations, the two stories were originally meant to go together, and form a continuous narrative. As this is a very early attempt from Heinlein, it wouldn't be surprising to find his writing rough and flawed, but it's an unexpectedly solid yarn.
His writing is direct and unobtrusive; something many authors aspire to, but few ever manage. Even at this early stage, his naturalistic prose sets him abov...more
His writing is direct and unobtrusive; something many authors aspire to, but few ever manage. Even at this early stage, his naturalistic prose sets him abov...more
I was due for a sci-fi classic and this slim little novel sure did the trick.
Set far into the future, Hugh Hoyland starts exploring "the ship" a 5 mile long (2,000 feet across) steel expanse that is the only known world to its inhabitants. The people on board the ship have no concept of anything outside the ship, the idea that anything could exist beyond its steel walls is inconcevable. The lower decks are inhabited by the citizens and the largely unexplored upper decks are inhabited by the "mu...more
Set far into the future, Hugh Hoyland starts exploring "the ship" a 5 mile long (2,000 feet across) steel expanse that is the only known world to its inhabitants. The people on board the ship have no concept of anything outside the ship, the idea that anything could exist beyond its steel walls is inconcevable. The lower decks are inhabited by the citizens and the largely unexplored upper decks are inhabited by the "mu...more
I read this because it was one of the earlier examples of a story that takes place on a generation ship and I'm preparing to writing a novel set on a generation ship. This is early Heinlein and I wished he hadn't mentioned women at all, sexism by omission would have seemed so much less sexist than the few sentences he included that reference women. In the first novella, the only mention of a woman is Hugh's (the main character) aunt, who looks up when he returns home but says nothing "as is fitt...more
I had already read Universe, and at first I didnt know that this was Universe and its sequel - Common Sense in one volume.
The basis idea in Universe - that a multi-generational interstellar had a mutiny mid trip and never reached its destination - is interesting in itself. The idea that they think their whole universe is the ship itself is so easily recognizable. It reminded me of Ramsis II - who lived over 90 years in a time when the typical lifespan was 30. It made for a case where almost lite...more
The basis idea in Universe - that a multi-generational interstellar had a mutiny mid trip and never reached its destination - is interesting in itself. The idea that they think their whole universe is the ship itself is so easily recognizable. It reminded me of Ramsis II - who lived over 90 years in a time when the typical lifespan was 30. It made for a case where almost lite...more
Mar 01, 2013
Joshua
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
2013
Science vs. Religion
The informed vs the blind and fearful
The power of perspective is showcased in this short work by Heinlein. Universes are built and shattered as the characters discover the varying levels of truth that govern their lives.
The one thing that kept popping into my head the entire length of this book was "Allegory of the Cave" This book is a veritable showcase of that ancient work and it is potent in the way that it was written. Heinlein had a keen way of making a reader think abou...more
The informed vs the blind and fearful
The power of perspective is showcased in this short work by Heinlein. Universes are built and shattered as the characters discover the varying levels of truth that govern their lives.
The one thing that kept popping into my head the entire length of this book was "Allegory of the Cave" This book is a veritable showcase of that ancient work and it is potent in the way that it was written. Heinlein had a keen way of making a reader think abou...more
I read it, and it was a quick Heinlein read and rather fun. However, the two appearances of women in the plot were so irrelevant and so misogynist (from the author more than the characters) that an editor might as well cut them out and change the genders of various main characters. I assure you, it would make no difference to the book, except that I wouldn't want to go back and punch Heinlein in the nose.
Seriously. This one dude gets picked out at the beginning of the story for being exceptional...more
Seriously. This one dude gets picked out at the beginning of the story for being exceptional...more
I am always of two minds about Heinlein. He writes clear, easy to follow prose. And he is better at drawing an engaging character than his peers in the classic age of SF, like Asimov and Clarke; One need only think of Mycroft Holmes and Mannie from
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
to understand what I am saying. And his ideas are pretty good too. Unlike most world-builders, he doesn't get too carried away. And I love the way that he just mentions a technology, and doesn't harp on its origin or exac...more
This is not my favorite Heinlein book. I was really drawn to some of the characters, especially Jimmy/Joe. I wanted to like Hugh, and I realize this book was written in a different time, but I'm not into spousal abuse. I don't care what age you come from, I'm not going to like a character who hits his wife in the mouth--especially not when it's hard enough to knock a tooth out.
I'm guessing this was written before Heinlein realized he liked strong, capable women.
I think Beth Revis's "Across the...more
I'm guessing this was written before Heinlein realized he liked strong, capable women.
I think Beth Revis's "Across the...more
I thought I'd like this, and I did. The story follows a ship launched by humans towards Alpha Centurai. The journey was to take two generations, but things go rather wrong, as there's a power-struggle onboard and a mutiny in which many of the crew are killed. Without the officers they somehow manage to miss their destination and float off, into space, onwards and onwards for generations. We then join the story with a crew that lives aboard the ship, but has no concept of what the ship is, what i...more
This was a nice short story (it IS short compared to some of Heinlein's other work) with a enjoyable premise and plot. The only real flaw of this book was that this story was published by itself, when it would have been better as part of a collection. I understand that it WAS part of a series, but for whatever reason, this new publication isolates this story. But like I said, that's it only real flaw, because I wanted to know what happened after the ending and had to read it somewhere else.
Edit-...more
Edit-...more
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I revisited a couple of old favorites, Robert Heinlein's Orphans of the Sky (1941), a dreadful and provocative little novelette about a starship community that has forgotten of any existence outside the ship and has sacralized its history and necessary science into ritual and myth--religion. The book has a great take on the conflict between the dominant members of the "crew" and the "mutie" (mutant/mutineer) community living in the unprotected levels of the ship. I read this in a kind of despera...more
Lord of the Flies meets Lost in Space. Not one of Heinlein's masterpieces but also not bad, very imaginative and creative. At it's best it is an interesting religious and political allegory, at worst it is campy pulp. But not bad. I think the producers of Disney's Wall-E may have been influenced somewhat by the concept. This began as a couple of novelettes in the early 40s and then put together in book form and published as a novel in 1963, so this was at least one of his earliest ideas. Like ma...more
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I enjoyed this book basically because it's Heinlein. Everything I've read from him is always very good. It seems that this book should fall though (I don't really know) on the Young Adult stuff he wrote. I think it's in the same league as 'Have Space Suit, Will Travel' and 'Citizen of the Galaxy'.
I loved the setting but the resolution is soooo simple I expected more, I wouldn't buy anything like this ending from any other author, but, since it's Heinlein...
It's not on the same league as 'Strange...more
I loved the setting but the resolution is soooo simple I expected more, I wouldn't buy anything like this ending from any other author, but, since it's Heinlein...
It's not on the same league as 'Strange...more
This is a classic Heinlein science fiction novel about a generation ship transiting the stars, the descendants of whose crew have lost knowledge about their mission or the truth about their world. This is not an original idea but this early book may have been the first to explore it. The protagonist finds out the truth and struggles to convince others, including the power-hungry captain.
The book is fast-paced and easy to read. Despite the age of the book there are few scientific or technological...more
The book is fast-paced and easy to read. Despite the age of the book there are few scientific or technological...more
Wow, I never thought my first audio book, yes I said Audio Book would be such an adventure. Thank you my dear friend Caro!! I loved this book!! I can honestly say, I got lost at some points as it was hard for me to "listen" to the book,rather than read it. So retaining what I just heard was hard at first, but then the story grew and I learned how to imagine what was being said. By the end of the book I actually got the whole story, and I can remember some parts of the book. It's full of action a...more
Really loved this. It's a rare old sci-fi book (this one written in the '40s) that doesn't have some major plot point rendered ridiculous by recent science. But this one is still pretty sound, minus a couple minor conceits that seem a little iffy today. The story brings up some fascinating issues—mainly what it would be like to grow up isolated on a windowless space craft with no sense of (real) Earth history and no concept of metric time—where your "world" is a man-made vessel. Written in a fas...more
Honestly, I don't know how to review this book. I know that I loved it, but it's so different from my usual reading, and so thought provoking, that I'm almost afraid to try to write a review that couldn't possibly do it justice. Orphans is about a spaceship which, after a mutiny on mankind's first attempted journey to a distant star, has become lost in space for so many generations that, for those on board, the Ship has become their entire universe, and they are no longer aware that anything exi...more
The concept that this book works with is pretty interesting. People have been traveling on a ship for generations and, with the help of a mutiny in the past, have basically forgotten everything outside of the ship. They take the science books that were provided for the expedition to run the ship and turn them into religious texts. Anything they don't understand gets interpreted as allegory. For example gravity is just a way to describe the attraction of love and the journey that the ship is on i...more
Il genio di uno scrittore si vede in tante cose.Nel modo di scrivere, ovviamente, nella capacità di non riciclarsi e, davanti a tutto, nelle idee che la sua mente creativa partorisce.Partendo da questi presupposti penso che non si possa non affermare che Heinlein è stato un genio e me ne vado convincendo sempre più ad ogni suo romanzo che termino.Stavolta, in "Universo", Heinlein racconta di un'enorme nave spaziale che ha lasciato innumerevoli generazioni prima la Terra diretta su una stella lon...more
I've read this a ton of times and it's always a right rivetting read, in the sense that normally when I start it I have to read the whole thing in one sitting. It's a better piece in one sitting.
I first read it roughly aged 10 so the young protagonist appealed to me in a big way. Heinlein is good at that, he does it well in Have Spacesuit Will Travel and just as well in Tunnel In the Sky.
I've owned this book a couple of times (bought it once when I was in the RAF and had to give away a lot of my...more
I first read it roughly aged 10 so the young protagonist appealed to me in a big way. Heinlein is good at that, he does it well in Have Spacesuit Will Travel and just as well in Tunnel In the Sky.
I've owned this book a couple of times (bought it once when I was in the RAF and had to give away a lot of my...more
GALATTICO!!!
Preso alla fiera del libro, non volevo perchè stavo dando priorità ad altro..ma ero lì e lui era lì...e così...
Mai scelta fu più azzeccata...letto in pochissimo.
é un libercolo di poche pagine poche perchè ormai sono abituata a libri di 400 pagine e più, ma c'è tutto: amore, tradimenti, avventura e magia..magia perchè mi ha portaro letteralmente tra le nuvole..più precisamente tra le stelle.
Fantascienza anche questa umana, e non piena di morti ditruzioni invasioni robottoni (che non è...more
Preso alla fiera del libro, non volevo perchè stavo dando priorità ad altro..ma ero lì e lui era lì...e così...
Mai scelta fu più azzeccata...letto in pochissimo.
é un libercolo di poche pagine poche perchè ormai sono abituata a libri di 400 pagine e più, ma c'è tutto: amore, tradimenti, avventura e magia..magia perchè mi ha portaro letteralmente tra le nuvole..più precisamente tra le stelle.
Fantascienza anche questa umana, e non piena di morti ditruzioni invasioni robottoni (che non è...more
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Robert Anson Heinlein was an American novelist and science fiction writer. Often called "the dean of science fiction writers", he is one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of "hard science fiction".
He set a high standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of literary quality. He was the first SF writer to break into mainstre...more
More about Robert A. Heinlein...
He set a high standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of literary quality. He was the first SF writer to break into mainstre...more
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“Two bodies attract each other directly as the product of their masses and inversely as the square of their distance.' It sounds like a rule for simple physical facts, does it not? Yet it is nothing of the sort; it was the poetical way the old ones had of expressing the rule of propinquity which governs the emotion of love. The bodies referred to are human bodies, mass is their capacity for love. Young people have a greater capacity for love than the elderly; when thy are thrown together they fall in love, yet when they are separated they soon get over it. 'Out of sight, out of mind.' It's as simple as that. But you were seeking some deep meaning for it.”
—
19 people liked it
“There is a misconception, geocentric and anthropomorphic, common to the large majority the the earthbound, which causes them to visualize a planetary system stereoscopically. The mind's eye sees a sun, remote from a backdrop of stars, and surrounded by spinning apples -- the planets. Step out on your balcony and look. Can you tell the planets from the stars? Venus you may pick out with ease, but could you tell it from Canopus, if you had not previously been introduced? That little red speck -- is it Mars, or is it Antares? Blast for Antares, believing it to be a planet, and you will never live to have grandchildren.”
—
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