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Red Planet

by Robert A. Heinlein

3.68 · rating details · 2,687 ratings · 81 reviews

Jim Marlow and his strange-looking Martian friend Willis were allowed to travel only so far. But one day Willis unwittingly tuned into a treacherous plot that threatened all the colonists on Mars, and it set Jim off on a terrfying adventure that could save--or destroy--them all!

From the Paperback edition.

Paperback, 256 pages

Published March 25th 2009 by Del Rey (first published 1949)

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Apr 21, 2009

Jim rated it

Shelves: science-fiction

One of Heinlein's early YA books, it's about 2 young boys who wind up on an adventure on Mars. This is a Mars with water (frozen) in its canals, oxygen, but not enough for a human to breath unassisted. So if you like your SF with the latest science in place, this isn't for you.

Heinlien's young heroes are boy scouts, good kids with good intentions who buck the odds to do the right thing. They make discoveries beyond what the adults have done & face danger. They tough it out & mak...more

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Jan 17, 2009

Joshua rated it

Shelves: read-in-09

1949 science fiction adventure from one of the era's most prominent writers. Red Planet is a lot of fun to read--although not really full of the kind of realistic "hard" science that made Kim Stanley Robinson's landmark Mars trilogy or other recent releases. This, like a lot of sci-fi from this Golden Age of Sci-Fi, is more about a rousing, fast paced story rather than accurate science. That's fine with me; both strategies have their place in the canon of sci-fi history.

Red...more

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Dec 09, 2011

Wendy rated it

Shelves: reviewed

Genre: Junior, Science Fiction

Summary:

In a fantastical tale of life on Mars, the story centers on the escapades and daring lives of Jim Marlowe and his “pet” Willis. In a futuristic world where the Company controls life on Mars, a frontier mentality takes hold as the residents attempt to fight for freedom and liberty. In multiple encounters with the Martian inhabitants, the migrants to Mars, and Jim and his friend Frank, blunder through a difficult relationship, attempting...more

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Jul 14, 2011

Valerie added it · review of another edition

An author can't reasonably be called on the carpet for not knowing things that were not known at the time the book was written.

That said, there are several things Heinlein COULD have known, and didn't. Examples? Heinlein didn't know quite how low the atmospeheric pressure was, so he couldn't reasonably have known that it was so low that surface tension couldn't be sustained, so that water would boil away at so close to freezing temperature that it wouldn't mostly go into liquid for...moreAn author can't reasonably be called on the carpet for not knowing things that were not known at the time the book was written.

That said, there are several things Heinlein COULD have known, and didn't. Examples? Heinlein didn't know quite how low the atmospeheric pressure was, so he couldn't reasonably have known that it was so low that surface tension couldn't be sustained, so that water would boil away at so close to freezing temperature that it wouldn't mostly go into liquid form at all. But he should have realized that the water would sublimate, and that therefore there wouldn't be any dry air in the neighborhood of the canals. There would be a nearly constant snowstorm around the canals, since the cold air couldn't hold much moisture.

Another? Heinlein blithely assumes that all plants will produce energy by photosynthesis, though even at the time it was known that there were other forms of photosynthesis. Even granting that chemosynthesis was not widely known at the time, there's also xanthophyll.

A related problem is that though the atmospheric composition of Mars was very imperfectly known at the time, there was no reason to believe that there was any free oxygen at ALL. Not 'too little for humans'. NONE. The assumption is necessary for the story, but it's a 'willing suspension of disbelief' matter. Oxygen is very reactive stuff. If something (such as photosynthesis, in this case) is not continually liberating it, it'll rapidly oxidize other elements.

Heinlein apparently had a very limited knowledge of biology--something of a handicap in world-building.

The 'Martians' (meaning the native people, because apparently few terrestrial plants, animals, etc, were imported, so ALL the native biota are 'Martians' in the strict sense) are, as has been noted, similar to the Martians in Stranger in A Strange Land. Heinlein didn't see this as the only possible model for Martian sapients--cf Double Star, for example. Or Between Planets. But it's not surprising that he was fond of the form he chose for this book and Stranger in A Strange Land. I don't see, however, why Heinlein chose to consistently argue that communion with nonhuman intelligences is essentially impossible.

Even in this book, the humans who attempt communication with Martians generally don't dig very deep. They seem unable to achieve true understanding. Has NOBODY gone 'over the wall', as Cyrus Buchanan is said to have done on Venus in Between Planets?

Another assumption Heinlein consistently makes is that the colonies will have essentially unlimited electrical power. This assumption is not necessarily valid, as people who are currently exploring Mars via robot frequently complain.

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May 15, 2009

Glenn Schmelzle rated it

· review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Plot summary:
young Jim Marlowe is part of the first Martian colony administered by a private company. He has a pet "bouncer" named Willis, who's a three eyed ball that can reproduce anything he hears. Jim, his friend Frank & Willis take the canal-shuttle to their boarding school at the distant North Colony. Their parents, actually every colonist will rejoin them as they migrate to escape the South Colony's polar-like winter.

The schools's new headmaster, Howe, is a me...morePlot summary:
young Jim Marlowe is part of the first Martian colony administered by a private company. He has a pet "bouncer" named Willis, who's a three eyed ball that can reproduce anything he hears. Jim, his friend Frank & Willis take the canal-shuttle to their boarding school at the distant North Colony. Their parents, actually every colonist will rejoin them as they migrate to escape the South Colony's polar-like winter.

The schools's new headmaster, Howe, is a mean disciplinarian who confiscates Willis, locking him in his office. Jim & Frank recover Willis, but hear him repeat a secret conversation he overheard saying that the colonizing company is cancelling the seasonal migration to grab more profit. Knowing that their families are in danger and that Howe will charge them with stealing, they escape the school and (with the Martian's help) race their way over two thousand miles to get back home.

They arrive home to find that they're considered criminals, but they manage, with Willis' help, to convince everyone to evacuate. The 500 colonists get to the North via large Ice-rovers, only to see that the Company's goons are ready to use force to get their way. The men manage to apprehend Howe and the company's top man, who both turn out to be spineless wimps. The book ends with the families organizing their own colonial government.

Comments:
I think this book hits all the right buttons that appeal to young readers. The boys' race home is exciting and mixes straightforward solutions in with some Martian technology that's beyond our understanding. On Heinlein's Mars you can walk around in this Mars using just an O2 mask, you can skate its canals, you can walk amongst its cities and its flora and fauna. Martian civilization is old, meditative and though it has advanced technology, it's not consumed with it. Just go with it, ignoring what you know about Mars.

The two aspects I didn't like were the council meetings that dragged on, giving many sides of the debate over how the colony should be organized - too polemic. As well, Heinlein depicts females as largely useless. He wasn't being malevolent; perhaps he just needed to divorce himself more from the era in which he wrote it.
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Dec 04, 2010

Ben Connelly rated it

Red Planet, by Robert A. Heinlein, is a science fiction novel set in the near future on Mars. The main story takes place in human colonies and cities, although parts take place in Martian cities and in wastelands. The story is told in the third person limited point of view, and focuses mainly on one character: Jim Marlowe.

Jim Marlowe is a young boy, who is the son of two colonists on Mars. He has a pet named Willis. Willis is an indigenous species to Mars, and can record and play back...more

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Jul 05, 2011

Eric rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Sci-fi fans

Shelves: audiobooks, science-fiction, action-adventure

Before I comment on this book, I have to comment on how it came to my attention. Manny, a good friend of mine, had suggested I read Red Mars, a sci-fi novel by Kim Stanley Robinson. Some time later, Audible.com had an audio-book sale, and Red Planet was one of the featured books. My memory being what it is, I bought it, thinking it was the book Manny had recommended to me. I realized my mistake after I bought it and before I listened to it, but decided to give it a whirl because Robert Heinl...more

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Aug 05, 2009

Dan rated it

Shelves: e-books, science-fiction, young-adult-juvenile

I never read any of the Heinlein juveniles when I was growing up (that I recall, anyway). And not many Heinlein books are available as e-books. But this one was, so I plunged in with relish. I wasn't disappointed, because it was exactly what I had always heard RAH's juvenile works described as.

This book was first published in 1949 and is set in some unnamed year in the future. What I found intriguing and jarring was not the overcome-by-time science (intelligent Martians, canals filled

...more

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Dec 30, 2011

Jeff rated it

Shelves: banana-box-bonanza

Simplistic but a rollicking good read. The book I remember reading as a teenager. It was funny that they were on another planet, but still used pen and paper, no mention of a computer. Also they had to depend on a moon being in the sky for transmissions, no man made satellites. The book says it was copyright 1949, almost 10 years before Sputnik went up so that make sense.

The one thing that was very jarring about this book is the casual misogyny in it. The women don't have big part...more

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Aug 19, 2011

Megan Olsen rated it

· review of another edition

This was a fun, quick book. I wasn't hugely invested in the characters--they're likable enough, just not especially believable--but I don't think that was the author's main focus. As a true science fiction author, this book is about world creation and exposition. That's where the fun lies. Heinlein is very imaginative about the Martian race, about the logistics of humans living on Mars, about problems and goals of a colony there. He brought up a lot of realistic themes: human nature in a fringe ...more

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Apr 28, 2011

Ron Beffa rated it

· review of another edition

A really fun Heinlein "juvenile" first published in 1949. I would call this a "boy's adventure story" of it's time. Jim Marlowe is a young martian colonist who has developed a close relationship with a native martian creature that he calls "Willis". Willis is a kick and is more than a pet. Willis and Jim have a close bond that proves to be especially important as the novel progresses and finishes. I really enjoyed this golden oldie and can recommend it without hesit...more

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Mar 28, 2011

Darth rated it

Shelves: heinlein

My free time lately has been greatly taken over by Borderlands - so this was "read" entirely on the treadmill at the gym.

I wouldnt say it was Heinlein's best, but it was still really good. More than once I found myself going past the hour I intended, just to get a little further along in the story
It gave the feeling of an outer space Tom & Huck, not that there were a lot of exact literal transposition, it just had a similar feel.

While listening, I couldnt...more

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Aug 04, 2010

Faye Heath rated it

· review of another edition

This is a book from my childhood. Did Robert Heinlein write for children? Yes, he did. I would call this a pre-teen book but he sets some basics in this book that carry over to his more adult fare. I was pleased, years later, to read Stranger In A Strange Land and recognize the Martian cities and the Martians themselves.

What I remembered most about this book was Willis, the funny little Martian bouncer who turned out to be more than anyone thought. Willis is still a delight. Th...more

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Aug 25, 2010

Jim Mcclanahan rated it

All of you who have immersed themselves in the Kim Stanley Robinson Red Mars trilogy should invest a little time in reading this one. Robinson made supreme use of current scientific knowledge in putting together a real hard SF tale about our planetary neighbor.

Now picture someone in 1949 (Heinlein) trying to do the same thing with the limited knowledge available at the time. The story is a YA tale, with a pair of boys as the protagonists and a cute but mysterious Martian crittur, Wil...more

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Jun 15, 2009

Tom rated it

Quaint, young-adult, Sci-Fi from Heinlein. Some of the 1950s social viewpoints would be offensively chauvinistic if they weren't so ridiculous. In the future, we've evidently developed the technology to colonize Mars, yet women are still expected (and happy) to stay inside the bio-domes washing and cooking, while the men rove about the surface, killing the the local wildlife.

Two teenage boys are sent off to boarding school on Mars, where the headmaster is appropriately evil (and ap...more

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Jan 01, 2011

Roger Loran Bailey rated it

When I was in junior high school I read every Heinlein juvenile the school library had. I can still picture the shelf on which they were all shelved. That was a very long time ago and some of them I remember better than others. I am not sure that the school library had every single Heinlein juvenile, so I can't be sure that I read every one. Some of the plots I remember and others of them escape me now. Red Planet is one of those I was not sure that I had read. Now that I have read it again afte...moreWhen I was in junior high school I read every Heinlein juvenile the school library had. I can still picture the shelf on which they were all shelved. That was a very long time ago and some of them I remember better than others. I am not sure that the school library had every single Heinlein juvenile, so I can't be sure that I read every one. Some of the plots I remember and others of them escape me now. Red Planet is one of those I was not sure that I had read. Now that I have read it again after all these years I can say that as soon as the little round Martian, Willis, was introduced the memory did come back to me and as I made it through the book more and more came back to me. That is the case even if this is not actually the same book I read back then. It appears that there was a grand battle between Heinlein and his editor and that the version I read in junior high school was drastically mangled in comparison to what Heinlein actually wrote. This version is a restored version and appears as the author intended it to be. I am tempted to give it a four or five star rating in tribute to the nostalgia of revisiting something I read back when I was just becoming a science fiction fan, but I can't quite do it. I don't know how I would have rated it then -- probably pretty high because I certainly did enjoy anything I read by Heinlein in those days -- but it just doesn't have the same effect now. First, the plot strikes me as a bit weak. A couple of teenagers do battle with and expose a corrupt headmaster of a school on Mars and they end up running away and living with the Martians for a while. The most interesting part is at the very end when Martian biology is discussed. Second, the story is considerably dated and most of all, it really is juvenile literature. As a much older and more sophisticated science fiction reader now, that means that it comes off as rather simplistic to me. I did still enjoy the book, just not that much, so I give it three stars. This is apparently the first of the Heinlein juveniles, published in 1949, and according to the introductory material it set the stage for Stranger In a Strange Land. Well, it so happens that I read Stranger In a Strange Land somewhere around the same time I read Red Planet, when I was in junior high school, and I remembered everything about that book much better. Stranger In a Strange Land was not juvenile literature. Back then I noticed no connection between the books and I still would not have if this volume had not told me.(less)

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Jul 06, 2011

Phill Coxon rated it

For the most part I love reading Robert Heinlein. I have had Red Planet for a year but never quite got around to reading it. I think I'd gotten to the point that while I enjoy reading Heinlein it really does seem to be the same basic plot over and over again, particularly in the juvenile series.

You know... teenager with some sort of basic maths/engineering background gets wisked off on some crazy adventure into space, makes some new friends (human or alien) has a conflict or two w...more

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Jan 02, 2008

The Fza rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Jim Marlowe and Frank Sutton live on the Mars colony, a strange desert planet with life on it much different then our own. Jim befriends a volleyball-sized creature he names Willis.

Willis is a Bouncer, a native creature with an intelligent similar to that of a human child. Willis has a photographic memory for sounds, which he can also reproduce perfectly.

Also living on Mars with the colonists are Martians, sentient three-legged creatures that have never communicated w...moreJim Marlowe and Frank Sutton live on the Mars colony, a strange desert planet with life on it much different then our own. Jim befriends a volleyball-sized creature he names Willis.

Willis is a Bouncer, a native creature with an intelligent similar to that of a human child. Willis has a photographic memory for sounds, which he can also reproduce perfectly.

Also living on Mars with the colonists are Martians, sentient three-legged creatures that have never communicated with the human settlers. They are secretive and almost never seen, save striding across the desert at high speeds.

Until... as the boys travel to the Lowell Academy to start the new school year, Willis encounters a Martian and the three of them are invited to join a ritual called "growing together" with a group of its fellows.

They then share water with them, making Jim and Frank "water friends" with a Martian named Gekko.

Traveling on to the academy they soon find themselves embroiled in school politics as Willis is confiscated and experimented on and all three learn of a corporate plot to exploit both the planet and the boys families.

One daring escape later and once again they are on the move. This time traveling in an attempt to save their family and the world they have come to love as home.

Written by the Dean the SF, Robert A. Heinlein, this book is part of what are collectively know as The Heinlein Juveniles. About a dozen SF adventure books written for the Young Adult audience.

Heinlein is well known for his award winning, philosophical and satirical science fiction/fantasy works as well as scientific essays. But, in his early writing career Heinlein wrote these challenging and exciting stories, mostly for boys.

In find YA fashion each story deals with a young man growing into adulthood through a series of amazing adventures as they are forced to push themselves to accomplish goals and succeeds with dedication, inner strength, and moral resolve.

RECOMMENDED for anyone who loves a good adventure story with a little social commentary and more-so recommended if you're between the ages of 12 - 21.(less)

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Mar 01, 2010

Rachel rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: sf, bought-used, read-2010, male-author, hero, male-author-hero

Robert Heinlein's vision of life on Mars in this book is, from a scientific standpoint, way off, but the story he tells of two young men fighting to keep that life safe for their family and friends (with help from some of the native Martians along the way) is an interesting, funny, exciting, and wholly enjoyable one. There's even a bit of a mystery along with all the atmosphere and adventure. This is the sort of Heinlein book that one can't help smiling at the thought of.

Heinlein jus...more

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Oct 25, 2009

Daniel rated it

One of Heinlein's young adult books, this one deals with libertarian ideas as an overly authoritarian headmaster clashes with the wild-western philosophy of early Martian colonists. Its a quick and fun read, even if it presents its ideas with a bit of a heavy hand.

Originally presented in a highly edited format, this version has the author's original story as it was meant to be presented and is interested to read just to learn about the controversy it presented to the editors of the ...more

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Jan 29, 2012

Rob rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, science-fiction, young-adult

Not the best of Heinlein's "juvenile" stories, in my opinion, but required reading for anyone enamored of Stranger in a Strange Land. Want to know more about the Martians who are so important in Stranger, but about whom you learn practically nothing in that book? This fast read will catch you up on Martian philosophy—well, at least as far as we Terrans can understand it.

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Feb 07, 2012

Pvw rated it

Shelves: science-fiction

A very nice Heinlein, with all the favourite elements you come to expect. It has Martian peculiarities, a loveable alien pet, an uprising against authority, some gender mixing and the boyish adventures typical of the juveniles.

It's nice to see that the ideas of the masterworks Stranger in a Strange Land and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress are already present in this short little adventure, while the book keeps its pace and doesn't lose itself in long moralistic digressions as the later no...more

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Nov 30, 2011

Rob added it

Interesting read. This one wasn't as "complicated" as some of the other Heinlein I've read. A pretty straight forward story that almost reminded me of The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, except with some very unique differences. This was an enjoyable read, just like Starship Troopers was. I've been finding myself in a "classic" sci-fi mode recently and have come back to reading the Top 3. If you are looking for a first good book to read from Heinlein, then this is the one.

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Dec 15, 2009

Randy rated it

This 2006 Del Rey Trade paperback is Heinlein's original version before an editor got ahold of it for the 1949 hardcover.

Ostensibly a juvenile, it doesn't read like one with early Mars colonists rebelling against an overzealous Company out to save a few bucks and stuff more people into the northern and southern hemisphere colonies by preventing them from migrating back and forth during the changing seasons. You see, the temperature would drop to 130 below during the winters.

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Aug 01, 2010

Bryan rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks, sf, ya

I've been reading a few "Mars" books this year, and finally got around to this Heinlein juvenile.

I've not read enough Heinlein to be an expert - I've read a few of his later works (not very good), and a couple mid-period books, and a few of his juveniles.

And, truly, I seem to enjoy the juveniles the most.

But this was not the best of them... it was fine, and any good SF fan should read it at least once. It's a fast read, and the story is well-written....more

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May 02, 2009

Jennifer rated it

Recommends it for: sci fi fans

Shelves: 2009

This was a fun science fiction ride. A young boy stumbles over a plot against the colonists on Mars and risks life and limb to warn them. With the help of his Martian friends along the way they fight for Mars independence. The plot line was very straight forward and relatively simple which made it the perfect lazy Saturday afternoon read on the back deck. Easily followed and enough details to paint the scene without being bogged down in description, I was able to blow through it in about 2 hours...more

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Dec 29, 2011

Linda rated it

Shelves: science-fiction

I first read this as a teen and just re-read it to see how it held up. Even when I first read it I knew that science had rendered the fiction in the book impossible. Mars wouldn't support human life and any Martians that did exist would likely be simple microscopic organisms. Even so, Heinlein spins a fun tale though it's full of casual 1940's sexism about the role of women. Despite that, it's a fun, quick read.

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May 05, 2011

k rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 6-overdrive-e-abs, 4-robert_a_heinlein, 2011, w1940s

Frank sound like Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder).
Dan Bernard: Rawlings Hendrix
Peter Brown: Konski Gibbs
Jacob Coppola: Jim Marlowe
Kymberly Dakin: Mrs. Marlowe
Lindsay Duffy: Phyllis
William Dufris: Narrator
Will Gattis: Hartley
JP Guimont: Pat Sutton
James Herrera: Linden Ibanez
Mark Honan: General Beech
David LaGraffe: Mr. Marlowe
Christine Marshall: Mrs. Palmer
Michael Matthys: Gekko, Smitty
Erik Moody: Kruger
Christop...more

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Jan 22, 2011

Beatrice added it

Shelves: science-fiction

When I first read Red Planet, at the age of 11, it blew me away. I was transported to Mars. Heinlein, besides being a natural storyteller, was a genius at imagining other planets and alternate realities and making them utterly convincing. Even though the space exploration of the last half-century has dated his concept of Mars, Red Planet is still an enjoyable read.

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Oct 23, 2010

Allyson rated it

Great yarn, in the tradition of the Golden Age of sci-fi. Very human-centric, with anthropomorphized aliens and the unspoken premise that the universe is there for humans to utilize. If you change the Martians to Native Americans and the colonists to pioneers, you've got a Western.

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What's The Name o...: SOLVED: YA set on Mars (Spoiler) [s]	4	28	Dec 15, 2011 08:47am
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About Robert A. Heinlein

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 writer to br...more

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