Choice Juvie Sci-Fi by A Master of the Genre

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	• Space Cadet Robert A. Heinlein Del Rey, 1987 - 242 pages average customer review:based on 33 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Matthew Dodson, Space Cadet!

My title does not have the ring that "Tom Corbett: Space Cadet" had, which was based on this Robert A. Heinlein book, but it is more accurate. Matthew Dodson sounds like a plain, ordinary person, and that was Heinlein's intent. Heinlein's belief always was that the backbone of America was the everyday person doing their job.

Matt Dodson has joined the elite Solar Patrol. Before Matt and his friends can be officers in the Patrol they must endure rigorous, multi-part training. They begin their training on Earth in a process that eliminates many would-be Space Patrol candidates. As their training continues, Matt and his friends become members of a small group of students that have passed one test after another. Finally, the remaining students leave Earth to continue their training on a school ship. The training on the school ship starts with the mundane and ends with the complexities of calculus and nuclear physics. At long last the students move on to an operational ship where their training will help them to overcome the challenges of an actual mission on Venus, where death awaits their first wrong step!

Many people call Heinlein preachy in his books. While there is probably some truth in that comment, if you think Heinlein's viewpoints had merit, you probably like the supposed preachiness. Regardless of which side you fall on, this book has little of Heinlein's explanations of the woes of the world is focuses primarily on the story.

The story in this book is excellent. There is practical science in this book, but Heinlein blended the science into the story so naturally that I hardly noticed it. Those who have been through basic training and technical school in the military will recognize features of both in this book. Robert A. Heinlein was a member of the U.S. Navy for a time, which I think must have helped him to create an extremely believable story regarding the training of the members of the Space Patrol.

It has been many years since I first read "Space Cadet." I wondered whether I would enjoy the story as much now as I did decades ago. The answer is yes. I must admit that some of my enjoyment is nostalgia, but part of my enjoyment was how much Heinlein got right. There are cell phone equivalents, flat screen monitors and more. The only thing Heinlein failed to predict was the increasing lack of enthusiasm for space exploration.

Heinlein wrote many good books. This one is one of his best. I recommend this book for every person who thinks of themselves as a fan of science fiction. This book is a winner from an author who won four Hugo awards during his life and the first Nebula Grand Master Award.

Enjoy!

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The future I wanted but didn't get.

I read most of Heinlein's "juveniles" -- including this one -- when I was a juvenile, in the 60s. It was the era of Mercury and Gemini, and to a youngster enamored of the space era, the books were a glimpse of what might be in the future.
Of course with age came reality. FIrst, even when Heinlein wrote the books, I believe enough was known about the planets that it would have to have been considered highly unlikely there would be intelligent species on Venus or the moon, as in this story. And inevitably, the future would turn out very different from Heinlein's vision; no one, even a science fiction writer, has any hope of accurately forecasting events 50+ years in the future.
So here we are; with the internet and other inventions Heinlein didn't imagine, and with computing power beyond his estimation; but without colonies on the moon or Mars or Venus or Ganymede, and without a Space Patrol or any other significant presence in space. Or any strong reason to believe that will be changed any time soon.
When you're a kid, you want the future Heinlein imagines. And when you grow up, you might re-read the old stories, perhaps being willing to take the occasional silliness (a spaceship called "Kilroy Was Here"?!) and the redundancy (stern officers or teachers lecturing the earnest but unfocused young protagonist on how he needs to bone up on "simple mathematics" such as tensor calculus, quantum geometry, or whatever -- a scene you'll find in almost every Heinlein juvenile) in order to escape back to the more innocent and carefree days when you could dream about someday being a space cadet yourself.

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Good read.

Follow young Matt Dodson as he enters the academy in hopes of becoming a Space Cadet. Matt makes friends with Tex, who always has amusing tales about his Uncle Bodie, and a few others, as lessons are learned ... usually the hard way.

Space Cadets are the elite guard of the solar system. They accept missions others fear, take risks no others dare, and uphold the peace of the solar system for the benefit of all. (Much like the Jedi Order!) This novel will take you from Earth, to Mars, to Venus, and beyond. Matt and his friends are tested in the most severe and extraordinary ways that will change them forever, but still not prepare them for the alien treacheries that await.

**** If you have never read a novel by Robert A. Heinlein, then please keep in mind that this was written in the year 1948. The author renewed the copyright in 1975. I stress this because even though the story begins in July 2075, there are a few references to events that supposably happened in OUR past, such as the notation of the person who created the Patrol's Tradition who lived 1969 - 1996.

The fact that Robert A. Heinlein's novels are still being published today clearly expresses how outstanding readers find his science fiction novels. Once you read this, or any other novel by Heinlein, you will have no doubt as to how the man came about being crowned "The Master of Science Fiction". ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

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Some things not scifi anymore

Think about the episode in the beginning when Matt's phone rings in the middle of a crowd. "So what, his parents called his cellphone" you may say. However, this was just pure fantasy in 1948.

Choice Juvie Sci-Fi by A Master of the Genre

I am in my early twenties and didn't know about Heinlen until I turned 12. He was not on my recommended reading list as my parents knew my tendency, which began around my 8th year, to read everything by an author if I liked one of their titles. I think they were nervous about the compatibility of Stranger In a Strange Land for an 8 - 10 year old. I did not discover Heinlein's juvies until I was in my early twenties, which I still haven't left. I had read much of Heinlen's more mature material in my `teens, some of it before I was ready for it. Therefore, when I read SPACE CADET, I approached it with a mind toward how it would have affected me if I had read it earlier in life. So doing, I was highly impressed with his work.

There seems to be some contention concerning the relation of this book to his better-known STARSHIP TROOPERS. Regardless of other subject matter, I think that there is a legitimate connection between the principles that he was promoting in both. The main difference in the two books is the age group and the times he was writing for, since the adventures that entertained children and older youths in the nineteen-forties or fifties would probably not have held the attention or provided equal entertainment for those more advanced in years and less innocent in outlook.

Heinlen rarely wrote anything without a point, and in SPACE CADET he promoted concepts of personal responsibility to society, spoke against racism (VERY progressive for 1948), warned of the practical disadvantages of drinking, congratulated honoring one's parents in the face of parental ignorance, advocated a strong military defense capability even as he pronounced the lofty goal of a lasting peace, and celebrated study and productive activity over immature destructive behaviors. He did all of this with very little moral grandstanding or preaching, and even the few speeches he included contained enough serious drama and ironic humor to keep almost anyone buried in the story.

What Heinlen achieved, in short, is a remarkable work of juvenile fiction; active, adventurous, fanciful only in its dated depiction of a possible Venus, never slowing down, just utopian enough for those who retain some innocence, just worldly practical enough to encourage thinking and the abandonment of naiveté, as full of turmoil and new things and "what-do-I-want-to-do-with-my-life" questionings as will cause mental weight lifting and big dreams in most brains from 8 to 80. Maybe the story is somewhat old-fashioned, maybe a lot of people would rather watch something mindless than read something that is at all dated. However, I can honestly state my absolute opinion that if anyone picks up this book and, with an open mind, pays attention to it, it will demonstrate to them practical lessons that a lot of people, these days, seem to be in need of learning.

Also, it's just a titanic chunk of fun for anyone who loves, or is being introduced to the love of hard sci-fi.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Only the best and brightest -- the strongest and the most courageous -- ever managed to become Space Cadets. They were the elite guard of the solar system, accepting missions others feared, taking risks no others dared, and upholding the peace of the solar system for the benefit of all.
But before Matt could earn his rightful place in the ranks, his mettle would be tested in the most severe and extraordinary ways -- ways that would change him forever but would still not prepare him for the alien treacheries that awaited him on strange worlds far beyond his own.

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