A Sci-Fi that has it all, though a bit too much talk-talk

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	• The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress Robert A. Heinlein Orb Books, 1997 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 233 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Doesn't quite reach greatness

This is an entertaining, thought-provoking story that explores several timeless themes of science fiction: the relationship between humanity and machines, the sentient nature of artificial intelligence and the relentless perservance of the human race against all odds. As always, Heinlein is original, imaginative and gripping. However, the book also contains some lewd sexual elements and displays poor taste on a number of occasions. The fatal flaw of this book, however, is its readability. The story is told from the first-person perspective of the main character, who has less than a mastery of the English language (for example, he frequently leaves out key words such as it, the, a/an, pronouns, helping verbs, etc). While this is part of the novel's ambiance, it makes for clumsy reading. This novel is worth your time but isn't strong enough to recommend highly.

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Simply a great read

Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is a story of revolution that could have really been set anywhere, but it just happens to be set on the moon. That is the best part of Heinlein's earlier works- while they are science fiction they are still grounded in reality and character driven tales. A little slow at the beginning, this book was a great read.

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Should be required reading annually for all politicians

This is a great book and really should be required reading for anyone even considering a career in politics. I hope colleges use it in both Literature and Poly-Sci courses.

A Sci-Fi that has it all, though a bit too much talk-talk

Warning - Spoiler ahead: I read this on recommendation of the National Review, who were celebrating Robert Heinlein's 100th birthday and his importance as a libertarian and patriot. Perhaps people of all political stripes will find something to like here, and this novel dives into political issues every bit as much as it does scientific and personal aspects of the story. "The Moon" is about a revolt by 3 million Moon dwellers, most former prisoners, against their commanders on or from Earth. It begins in the year 2075 and is divided into three books: Book One introduces the story and themes and setting for the revolution, Book Two contains extensive meetings and negotiation between the Moon (Luna) and the Earth (Terra), and Book Three has the dramatic, climactic conflict...this is where most of the action is, and it includes some physical theory that helps to keep it real. For example, Heinlein understands how attacks from Terra are greatly inhibited by earth's huge gravity, making a missile-laden ship more cost-effective than firing large missiles directly from Terra. The Loonies, on the other hand, have the advantage of raining destruction on Terra simply by overcoming Luna's weak gravity, and letting the bomb fall to its target. After all, Heinlein wasn't a fantasy writer; he used realistic situations to illustrate universal principles, just on a different plane - or planet!

IMHO Book Two goes a little overboard with plotting and dialogue about Luna's path for achieving revolutionary independence, and things drag in places. Much of this is between the main character and narrator, Mannie, and the "Professor," the revolutionary mastermind. The Professor is less scrupulous, always planning how to manipulate not just the Terran authorities, but also the "Loonies." I kept picturing the professor as Lenin, in spite of Heinlein's goals for a free, libertarian society. Mannie is also a fighter but he's more sympathetic, sort of an `everyman', and his triumphant survival is sweet but not too sentimental. One other criticism would be the stylistic jargon that Heinlein invents for Loonie society, words like the salutation Gospodin meaning Mr., or Choom meaning chum, and his unintelligible description of polygamous marriages (necessary with the skewed ratio of men to women). At times it gets just a little too thick and by the end I was relieved by the action that tied it all together. This was written in the mid-60's and I think Heinlein wanted to sound cool to get his message across, but it's a little anachronistic now. Regardless, the ending is a great payoff and justifies rating this as his most important work, even if like me you're not a big sci-fi reader.

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