The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress in SpecFic Buddy Reads

Sep 22, 2011 Lyn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: all-time-most-favorite-books

TANSTAAFL = There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

My three favorite books of all time are (in no order) Heart of Darkness, The Dispossessed, and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

When I first read this years ago I loved it, I could not put it down. As Stranger in a Strange Land was a Robert A. Heinlein vehicle for theology, so is Moon is a Harsh Mistress to ideology. And just as The Fountainhead is the better, though less epic, of the pair with Atlas Shrugged, so is Moon is a Harsh Mistress, the ...more

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Nov 13, 2011 Nataliya rated it liked it

Shelves: 2012-reads, hugo-nebula-nominees-and-winners, 2015-reads

Robert Heinlein’s works have not aged very well, and reading this book almost 60 years after it was written (1966) can quickly offend any modern sensibilities (as John Scalzi put it once, “[…] he is a product of his time, of course, and that his time is not ours”), especially when it comes to sexism. The depiction of women, their roles and their worth, the source of their empowerment and contrasts between them and male characters are sufficiently eyeroll-inducing to strain even the strongest ey ...more

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Mar 25, 2013 Bradley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi, 2016-shelf, top-one-hundred

What do you want us to do? Throw rocks at them?

Nah, but we could have a tea party.

Wow. I'm still amazed at how good this Revolution novel has held up over the years. I had read it twice before this latest re-read, but it hasn't lost any of its charm.

Of course, I love Heinlein's heavy reliance on self-reliance, libertarianism, and TANSTAAFL. I'm lucky to have read him early so as to be fully indoctrinated in this gung-ho politicism of Rational Anarchy and I can laugh and whoop and grin foolishly ...more

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Mar 20, 2021 Philip rated it liked it

Shelves: hugo, classic, author-man, sci-fi

3.75ish stars.

It's the mark of a talented writer that a book that's basically 75% socio-political exposition is somehow entertaining. The narrator, Mannie, isn't particularly charismatic, lovable, or relatable enough to latch onto emotionally, but it works because he's funny in a deadpan sort of way, and loyal enough to admire. Obviously the star of the novel is Mike, and the best parts of the book were of Mike settling into his humanity. Overall, a satisfying story with a satisfying ending, but ...more

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Apr 19, 2020 Dennis rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, dnf

Well, I tried.

This is not a bad book by any means. But Heinlein’s decision to let his first-person narrator speak in broken English made this hard work for me.

I just never got into a real flow, and after three or four pages my mind always started to wander. So I actually had to force myself to think about the book's content instead of whether I’ve already done the laundry or not.

Right now this just hasn’t any of the things that I want from a book. Which is either be fun, or be educational, or be ...more

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Aug 03, 2016 Veronique rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, read2016

4.5

My first experience of Heinlein hadn’t been the best. I did appreciate Starship Troopers, but didn’t love it. This is not the case with this novel - far from it.

Where to start? There is So much. What seems at first a straightforward science fiction story is in fact a mixture of different genres, combining revolution, politics, philosophy, adventure and suspense, all this seasoned with historical, scientific and literary references, especially from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. With so many elements 4.5

My first experience of Heinlein hadn’t been the best. I did appreciate Starship Troopers, but didn’t love it. This is not the case with this novel - far from it.

Where to start? There is So much. What seems at first a straightforward science fiction story is in fact a mixture of different genres, combining revolution, politics, philosophy, adventure and suspense, all this seasoned with historical, scientific and literary references, especially from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. With so many elements, the whole could have felt disjoined but Heinlein pulls it off, even if some sections are rather verbose :O)

The book starts with Mike self-awareness and his friendship with Mannie, which is lovely to witness. Heinlein uses Mannie as his narrator, not just because he is a likeable character, but also because he is intelligent, honest and decent, and so easy to identify with. Throughout the book, we are introduced to various characters, from complex main ones to supporting cast (view spoiler).

Since Heinlein wrote this book in the 1960s, I did fear that this future world would feel quite dated, but in fact it holds its own very well. Luna is an interesting setting, with a fascinating culture and social structure, all potentially waiting to explode. Loonies even have their ‘own’ language: a kind of pidgin, mixing English with other languages, such as Russian. The portrayal of women is interesting with some progressive aspects and others less so. Connected to this is the unusual concept of family. Loonies have adapted to their circumstances and demographic, and thus invented their own social structure and rules in order to survive.

And then the revolution. Just look at the date the author chose for his story - 2076 - and that should give you a clue (think 300 years prior). I did expect a lot of political and philosophical discourse, and they are present, but these are wide enough and from such an engaging angle that I did not mind them, and even enjoyed quite a few.

So yes I did enjoy this novel. Heinlein not only created an entertaining story but a though-provoking one where he asks the reader to think outside the box, not jump at conclusion, or discard any idea even the apparently foolish ones. Oh and There really Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch :O) ...more

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