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The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
Monthly Read: Themed
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January Themed Read: The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
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I am all over this novel.And unlike the last two months, which I have been discussing drawing upon my faded memory, lol, I will be reading along this time. ;)
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I listened to this one a while back.
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I don't recall reading much Heinlein. I was in high school when the scifi bug bit and read Dune, and the Foundation series. Our library must not've had a good selection.What did I think of it? I found it amusing but not very compelling. Are his other books better? It's, of course, a bit dated and the computer reminded me of 'Hal' in 2001, A Space Odyssey. I was amused when David Weber referred to 'pulling a Heinlein' in one of his Honor Harrington books.
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i suppose i'm the discussion leader for this book, so i'm going to try my hardest to keep an open mind when i read the book this week.
mark wrote: "as far as Heinlein's other books go, i'm not sure i can tell you. i'm probably not the right person to ask because he is not one of my favorite authors. i didn't care for Stranger in a Strange Land..."I love Heinlien, but I did not care at all for this book.
There is a lot hard tech (for the era certainly) in this Heinlein work. From the accelerator catapults to those who are Moon natives that can't return to Earth, the author listened to his acquaintances at Cal Tech closely when considering what to write.Heinlein is very much about current events of his time, i.e. the revolutionary/freedom themes in this book. He's reflects the Civil Rights era in many of his works and that is often over looked by readers who have 'just' or recently started reading Heinlein.
WOw - mid 1960s! That is enough to make me reread it. I recall it being a good representation of the network going sentient, and done as an aside to the main story. If as well done as I recall will up my opinion of Heinlein as foresighted. Heh - maybe should be the next theme - networks going sentient, there are real good (and quite old) ones on this...
Heinlein is probably my all-time favorite author. I've read nearly everything he's written, most of them multiple times - I was even named after a character in Time Enough For Love. Mark - Number Of The Beast is better if you've read the other material that relates, i.e. some of the Lazarus Long books. As for the "outdated tech" (for lack of better terminology) the key to reading Heinlein (for me) and believing all this future tech that seems like it is "outdated" is letting myself think of it as an alternate history/different plane of existence/Earth mark II - you know letting fantasy play a part. I realize that SF is geared towards actual possibilities in tech(like that pun?) or should I say, it plays with what we perceive as achievable and ups the ante (so to speak), but perhaps for older works that incorporate weird things like Stereovision (from Stranger in a Strange Land) - a technology that seems VERY outdated from our modern perspective - it would be easier to read if you accept it as part of a different/alternative world altogether. Sorry - I rambled there - the point was that some Heinlein tech is a bit un-fabulous-sounding, but it is just part of the story and should be looked at through the lens of the story. If you look at any SF or fantasy novel's world through the eyes of modernity (i.e. YOUR eyes) then it ruins the whole illusion and keeps you from really sinking into the story.
BTW - anyone who wants to talk Heinlein - let me know - he's my jam (so to speak).
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I am about a fifth into the book. Some initial thoughts...It does seem different in tone from Stranger in a Strange Land, but it does remind me of that novel because we get a lot of philosophy early on. So far, I am really fascinated, with the discussions regarding artificial intelligence, which is still a relevant topic these days, and I am trying to figure out some of the main character's.
I am going to keep on reading. So far the novel is painting an interesting world and I am looking forward to learning more about it.
I'm always happy to talk Heinlein! Exhibit A, my husband: we met at an ACLU Singles Picnic and spent two hours talking about science fiction, especially Heinlein. He had never met a female Heinlein fan. We've been married 22 years. :-)Dora wrote: "Heinlein is probably my all-time favorite author. I've read nearly everything he's written, most of them multiple times - I was even named after a character in Time Enough For Love. Mark - Number O..."
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i like it so far. enjoyable. Manny & Mike the computer are interesting and pretty sympathetic. i love all the details of Lunar culture, particularly the attitude towards women and the communal living/group marriages. fascinating. also interesting was the course in Revolution 101! that was surely a product of the time period in which the book was written, but certainly relevant today as well.
i understand that Mike returns in The Cat Who Walks Through Walls. anyone read that one?
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spoiler: (view spoiler)I had trouble with the dialect at first, reminded me too much of text speak but soldiering on I adapted to it. I thought it was a really good read I especially liked the relationships Mike had with everyone and how he grew.
Got to admit I'm a sucker for reading how our future was imagined from the past especially when done in such a good story.
I've already read this recently, but I just want to chime in that it's my favorite Heinlein novel. It's certainly one that I will re-read in the future.
mark wrote: "i understand that Mike returns in The Cat Who Walks Through Walls. anyone read that one?"
Yup, but I really can't recommend that book. If you are looking to read everything Heinlein wrote, then naturally give it a read, but read everything else first!
Jp36 wrote: "Got to admit I'm a sucker for reading how our future was imagined from the past especially when done in such a good story.
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Me too. :-)
mark wrote: "i understand that Mike returns in The Cat Who Walks Through Walls. anyone read that one?"
Yup, but I really can't recommend that book. If you are looking to read everything Heinlein wrote, then naturally give it a read, but read everything else first!
Jp36 wrote: "Got to admit I'm a sucker for reading how our future was imagined from the past especially when done in such a good story.
"
Me too. :-)
message 21:
by
mark, personal space invader
(last edited Jan 17, 2012 08:30PM)
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rated it 3 stars
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pros: enjoyable, breezy writing style. details of lunar society was fascinating. it was perhaps far from a utopian society, but it sure felt utopian to me... particularly around the treatment of women and the lack of laws. loved that! the details of communal living were continually fascinating. i also really liked the step-by-step How To Make A Revolution which dominated the novel. Man was a good protagonist but predictably my favorite character was the very amusing Mike. he's like Hal's loveable little cousin. and much like 2001, all of the genuinely emotional & moving parts came from Mike rather than the human characters.
cons: the protagonist did very occassionally drive me up the wall. it was rare, but it happened... those couple times that he felt overwhelmed and just basically shut down and had a tantrum like a tired child that needs to go to bed. quite annoying. but that is, overall, pretty minor. my main con is that the whole novel felt predetermined from beginning to end. there was one death of weight (view spoiler) but despite that, i felt there were little to no stakes because of how obvious it was that the revolutionaries would get everything they want. the novel in some way became more of a treatise on How To Make A Revolution than a narrative with actual stakes or even tension.
mark wrote: "as far as Heinlein's other books go, i'm not sure i can tell you. i'm probably not the right person to ask because he is not one of my favorite authors. i didn't care for Stranger in a Strange Land..."It's perfectly normal to love some Heinlein books and hate others. I think the consensus opinion is that his early "juvies" like Citizen of the Galaxy are pretty strong, his middle novels (like this one) that combine the storytelling craft of the juvies with more adult content are classic, and that the later books are a hot mess. Stranger in a Strange Land is definitely a love-it-or-hate-it book.
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress was originally serialized in 1965 & 1966, within the pages of Worlds of If. It was nominated for the Nebula in 1965 and won the Hugo in 1966.
The novel is about REVOLUTION!