Sometimes he is referred to as the “dean of science fiction writers”, for his numerous novels and short stories. He won many awards, including several Hugo awards, and in 1974 was named the first “Science Fiction Writers Grand Master”. Heinlein is a much revered name in Science Fiction. A ubiquitous theme in his canon is the loud, boisterous, adventurous family and the Stones setting out from Luna to explore Mars and the asteroid belt is too good to miss. Genius troublemakers, erstwhile trickster gods, I wonder if they were an inspiration for the Weasley twins, Fred and George? Both sets are mischievous, mercantile and capable.įinally, this is simply classic Heinlein. Hazel makes reference to Stranger in a Strange Land in context of Mars, nine years before that publication.Īlso noteworthy are the red headed twins Castor and Pollux. Hazel was the red headed imp in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and this describes her decades later as a free spirited matriarch of the Stone family. This features a show stealing Hazel Stone, one of Heinlein’s most enduring and intriguing characters. Enough science to count and more than enough RAH storytelling to make this extra worthwhile.

Now that I have refreshed my memory, I've bumped it up to four stars and count this as one of his best.įirst of all, it’s one of the juvenile books first published by Scribner’s ( this one in 1952 and so the sixth in the series) and so is good classic SF. I first read this pre-GR and my memory of it was such that I never wrote a proper review.

The rolling stones heinlein