I’m not really a science fiction reader, however, I quite enjoyed this Hugo Award winning novel by Robert Heinlein. I have read a couple of reviews stating that this may not be the best book to start with if you have never read Heinlein before. I have no idea why someone would say that. The book is quite enjoyable and does not require any sort of prerequisite to read in my opinion.
From the jacket:
It is a tale of revolution, of the rebellion of a former penal colony on the Moon against its masters on the Earth. It is a tale of a culture whose family structures are based on the presence of two men for every woman, leading to novel forms of marriage and family. It is the story of the disparate people – a computer technician, a vigorous female agitator, and an elderly academic – who become the movements leaders. And it is the story of Mike, the supercomputer whose sentience is known only to the revolt’s inner circle, who for reasons of his own is committed to the revolution’s success.
Heinlein goes into great depth with his description of the technology and customs of the lunar residents or Loonies as they call themselves. The story is told from the point of view of the main character, Mannie, the computer technician and is written in a Loonies dialect where most pronouns and articles are dropped. It takes a few pages to get used to the writing style. It is a tale of grass-roots politics and the problems of human freedom. It’s David taking on Goliath. How can a bunch of Loonies take on the Earth? Sorry, no spoilers here.
Although the story starts to drag on a bit in the middle, it is well worth reading. Especially when those Loonies start kicking butt!
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