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Podkayne of Mars
Podkayne Fries, a clever Martian maid with dreams of becoming the first female starship pilot, is delighted to join her diplomatic uncle on an interstellar journey. But her uncle's power makes her a political target.
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 1963
About the author
Robert A. Heinlein
826 books9,629 followersRobert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accuracy in his fiction, and was thus a pioneer of the subgenre of hard science fiction. His published works, both fiction and non-fiction, express admiration for competence and emphasize the value of critical thinking. His plots often posed provocative situations which challenged conventional social mores. His work continues to have an influence on the science-fiction genre, and on modern culture more generally.
Heinlein became one of the first American science-fiction writers to break into mainstream magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post in the late 1940s. He was one of the best-selling science-fiction novelists for many decades, and he, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke are often considered the "Big Three" of English-language science fiction authors. Notable Heinlein works include Stranger in a Strange Land, Starship Troopers (which helped mold the space marine and mecha archetypes) and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. His work sometimes had controversial aspects, such as plural marriage in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, militarism in Starship Troopers and technologically competent women characters who were formidable, yet often stereotypically feminine—such as Friday.
Heinlein used his science fiction as a way to explore provocative social and political ideas and to speculate how progress in science and engineering might shape the future of politics, race, religion, and sex. Within the framework of his science-fiction stories, Heinlein repeatedly addressed certain social themes: the importance of individual liberty and self-reliance, the nature of sexual relationships, the obligation individuals owe to their societies, the influence of organized religion on culture and government, and the tendency of society to repress nonconformist thought. He also speculated on the influence of space travel on human cultural practices.
Heinlein was named the first Science Fiction Writers Grand Master in 1974. Four of his novels won Hugo Awards. In addition, fifty years after publication, seven of his works were awarded "Retro Hugos"—awards given retrospectively for works that were published before the Hugo Awards came into existence. In his fiction, Heinlein coined terms that have become part of the English language, including grok, waldo and speculative fiction, as well as popularizing existing terms like "TANSTAAFL", "pay it forward", and "space marine". He also anticipated mechanical computer-aided design with "Drafting Dan" and described a modern version of a waterbed in his novel Beyond This Horizon.
Also wrote under Pen names: Anson McDonald, Lyle Monroe, Caleb Saunders, John Riverside and Simon York.
Heinlein became one of the first American science-fiction writers to break into mainstream magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post in the late 1940s. He was one of the best-selling science-fiction novelists for many decades, and he, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke are often considered the "Big Three" of English-language science fiction authors. Notable Heinlein works include Stranger in a Strange Land, Starship Troopers (which helped mold the space marine and mecha archetypes) and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. His work sometimes had controversial aspects, such as plural marriage in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, militarism in Starship Troopers and technologically competent women characters who were formidable, yet often stereotypically feminine—such as Friday.
Heinlein used his science fiction as a way to explore provocative social and political ideas and to speculate how progress in science and engineering might shape the future of politics, race, religion, and sex. Within the framework of his science-fiction stories, Heinlein repeatedly addressed certain social themes: the importance of individual liberty and self-reliance, the nature of sexual relationships, the obligation individuals owe to their societies, the influence of organized religion on culture and government, and the tendency of society to repress nonconformist thought. He also speculated on the influence of space travel on human cultural practices.
Heinlein was named the first Science Fiction Writers Grand Master in 1974. Four of his novels won Hugo Awards. In addition, fifty years after publication, seven of his works were awarded "Retro Hugos"—awards given retrospectively for works that were published before the Hugo Awards came into existence. In his fiction, Heinlein coined terms that have become part of the English language, including grok, waldo and speculative fiction, as well as popularizing existing terms like "TANSTAAFL", "pay it forward", and "space marine". He also anticipated mechanical computer-aided design with "Drafting Dan" and described a modern version of a waterbed in his novel Beyond This Horizon.
Also wrote under Pen names: Anson McDonald, Lyle Monroe, Caleb Saunders, John Riverside and Simon York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 486 reviews
December 31, 2017
I like Robert A. Heinlein, he is certainly one of my favorite authors. So I am biased and am here, his apologist.
While I can understand many feminists dislike of him and of this book in particular, I even winced at some passages, I would remind some that he was progressive minded when he wrote these, and was born in 1907, in Missouri, and attended a very different Naval Academy from the one we know today.
This was entertaining, a little thin, but a well played use of science fiction politics and suspense. I thought he did a good job of characterization of Poddy, if not completely three dimensional. I did feel the ending was disappointing and have read some other reviews that concur.
Not one of his best, but it's Heinlein so a good SF tale at the end of the day.
While I can understand many feminists dislike of him and of this book in particular, I even winced at some passages, I would remind some that he was progressive minded when he wrote these, and was born in 1907, in Missouri, and attended a very different Naval Academy from the one we know today.
This was entertaining, a little thin, but a well played use of science fiction politics and suspense. I thought he did a good job of characterization of Poddy, if not completely three dimensional. I did feel the ending was disappointing and have read some other reviews that concur.
Not one of his best, but it's Heinlein so a good SF tale at the end of the day.
January 6, 2018
I loved the book when I first read it as a teen, because I liked the character of Podkayne and was blissfully ignorant of bad things like sexism. Also, the cover was really sexy. My mom saw me with it once, and I had a hard time explaining to her that it was a Science Fiction novel and not what she thought it was.
March 24, 2019
RAH was one of the first authors that I read way back in the mid 70s in my early teens as I got into sci-fi in a big way (Wells, Asimov and Clarke were also amongst the first). He was still merrily writing away as I grew up and started reading his early novels. I never did quite catch up with his prolific output as in my honest opinion his standard declined rapidly, and so I had (and still have) no desire to read some of his later novels.
This book is seen now as one of his YA novels, although in my opinion as an (early ha ha) middle aged man I still enjoyed both the characters and the story. He certainly did have an amazing ability to develop a storyline and make the future setting seem unbelievably natural.
This book introduces us to the Fries family from Mars, and in particular the precocious daughter Podkayne. And in typical Heinlein fashion within the first few pages we are immersed in the belief that in no possible way could humans have evolved on Earth, only weird geeky anthropologists believe that, and even they can't agree. Needless to say in typical RAH fashion, adventures ensue, so if one enjoys any RAH books then this should also be put on your list
This book is seen now as one of his YA novels, although in my opinion as an (early ha ha) middle aged man I still enjoyed both the characters and the story. He certainly did have an amazing ability to develop a storyline and make the future setting seem unbelievably natural.
This book introduces us to the Fries family from Mars, and in particular the precocious daughter Podkayne. And in typical Heinlein fashion within the first few pages we are immersed in the belief that in no possible way could humans have evolved on Earth, only weird geeky anthropologists believe that, and even they can't agree. Needless to say in typical RAH fashion, adventures ensue, so if one enjoys any RAH books then this should also be put on your list
September 27, 2017
Here's what I learned from Podkayne of Mars, courtesy of Professor Heinlein (blech):
A woman should always hide how smart she is, so she doesn't scare off the men.
If a woman wants to get a man's attention and get the information she needs to further her career, she should just act like a moron coquette.
It doesn't matter if a girl is a complete innocent from a Puritan society: she'll naturally know how to be a cocktease.
Introduce an infant into a situation, even if it is of a different species, and a woman--no matter how intelligent, savvy or career-oriented--will always disregard logic and personal safety to care for and protect it.
No matter how smart a woman thinks she is, she'll always be dumber than a 12-year-old boy.
Don't expect a woman to be able to solve a problem under pressure, unless it involves babies.
Look for the psychopathic but hyper-intelligent boy in the story; he's the real main character, no matter what the narrator thinks (especially if she's female.)
All Heinlein novels will contain a patriarchal, patronizing older male figure and a smug, patronizing younger male figure whose function is to tell the other characters how stupid they are and how they don't understand the way the real world works.
Women should be grateful that men try to get them drunk so they can rape them, instead of clubbing them over the head to rape them (usually).
Even in a future where humans have colonized Mars and Venus, and interplanetary travel is the equivalent of a cruise to Alaska, women will still be unable to get jobs in traditional male occupations and expected (even if they have managed to break through the glass ceiling) to give up their aspirations in favor of making babies, or taking care of babies.
RAGE.
Of all the ridiculous sexist tripe! I nearly threw this book against the wall so many times, it's a wonder I actually got through it.
A woman should always hide how smart she is, so she doesn't scare off the men.
If a woman wants to get a man's attention and get the information she needs to further her career, she should just act like a moron coquette.
It doesn't matter if a girl is a complete innocent from a Puritan society: she'll naturally know how to be a cocktease.
Introduce an infant into a situation, even if it is of a different species, and a woman--no matter how intelligent, savvy or career-oriented--will always disregard logic and personal safety to care for and protect it.
No matter how smart a woman thinks she is, she'll always be dumber than a 12-year-old boy.
Don't expect a woman to be able to solve a problem under pressure, unless it involves babies.
Look for the psychopathic but hyper-intelligent boy in the story; he's the real main character, no matter what the narrator thinks (especially if she's female.)
All Heinlein novels will contain a patriarchal, patronizing older male figure and a smug, patronizing younger male figure whose function is to tell the other characters how stupid they are and how they don't understand the way the real world works.
Women should be grateful that men try to get them drunk so they can rape them, instead of clubbing them over the head to rape them (usually).
Even in a future where humans have colonized Mars and Venus, and interplanetary travel is the equivalent of a cruise to Alaska, women will still be unable to get jobs in traditional male occupations and expected (even if they have managed to break through the glass ceiling) to give up their aspirations in favor of making babies, or taking care of babies.
RAGE.
Of all the ridiculous sexist tripe! I nearly threw this book against the wall so many times, it's a wonder I actually got through it.
April 3, 2012
So this was a bit ridiculous. I listened to all five discs rather quickly, as it started out as a fun space story. Then suddenly I was on disc four and thinking to myself, "Sooo, nothing much has happened yet." This book is about creating a world, setting the stage for what could be a cool story about a future female space pilot and then having the main character talk herself out of her ambitions because childbirth and mothering are the most important aspirations for women in the world and blahbitty blah blah blah. Thanks, Robert A. Heinlein, I definitely needed the reminder of how women should act. In case you're reading this review and wondering what kinds of awesome tidbits the main character shares in her journal, they are statements about hiding your intelligence from men, never letting a man see that you are better at anything than he is, and accepting that you should never have aspirations that will hinder your ability to find a man and reproduce for the good of the universe.
This book hints at so many possible plotlines and they go nowhere. The actual plot/action doesn't even start to occur until at least halfway through, probably further. Heinlein hints at a possible romance; it goes nowhere. He describes a lot of planets and governmental structures; it's all irrelevant. He spends the first half of the book on a space journey; it has very little bearing on the overall plot. The book ends more abruptly than any I've ever read. Honestly, this felt like the first part in a serialized story. (Ha! I just looked it up on Wikipedia and the book itself started out as a serialized story.)
Emily Janice Card did a good job voicing the teenage protagonist and her 11-year old genius brother. The side characters, including one or two with southern accents, were distinguishable, which isn't always the case in audiobooks. I do enjoy her narrations but unfortunately, I always keep thinking about her father's politics and it takes me away from the story she's reading. I know this isn't the case for everyone but it IS the case for me, even if she doesn't share the same beliefs. (I don't know one way or the other)
Skip this one unless you're a writer who is looking for a world that was created and then just disregarded. There are lots of ideas to be had here!
This book hints at so many possible plotlines and they go nowhere. The actual plot/action doesn't even start to occur until at least halfway through, probably further. Heinlein hints at a possible romance; it goes nowhere. He describes a lot of planets and governmental structures; it's all irrelevant. He spends the first half of the book on a space journey; it has very little bearing on the overall plot. The book ends more abruptly than any I've ever read. Honestly, this felt like the first part in a serialized story. (Ha! I just looked it up on Wikipedia and the book itself started out as a serialized story.)
Emily Janice Card did a good job voicing the teenage protagonist and her 11-year old genius brother. The side characters, including one or two with southern accents, were distinguishable, which isn't always the case in audiobooks. I do enjoy her narrations but unfortunately, I always keep thinking about her father's politics and it takes me away from the story she's reading. I know this isn't the case for everyone but it IS the case for me, even if she doesn't share the same beliefs. (I don't know one way or the other)
Skip this one unless you're a writer who is looking for a world that was created and then just disregarded. There are lots of ideas to be had here!
April 23, 2024
First, This is one of the ugliest covers I've ever seen; it doesn't help the book. :-)
Second: The intrigue. The narrative, as hinted by the fourth cover, unfolds uniquely. Political intrigue, a vast conspiracy, and even a fairy baby all come into play, but they only surface 50 pages from the end of the 250-page book. This plot, while not extensively explored, serves as a compelling backdrop for the kidnapping of the children.
Third, The book's background is mysterious. There is no explanation about the Martians (yet still alive) and their culture, except that it is ancient, and the fairies of Venus. This lack of information adds to the intrigue and keeps the reader guessing.
There remains the Quarto, which makes the book nevertheless worth a quick read: In the first 200 pages, Heinlein gives us an excellent, very pleasant babbling about Podkayne and his journey, again a pretext to provide us with his ideas on education, politics, women, everything and nothing.
Second: The intrigue. The narrative, as hinted by the fourth cover, unfolds uniquely. Political intrigue, a vast conspiracy, and even a fairy baby all come into play, but they only surface 50 pages from the end of the 250-page book. This plot, while not extensively explored, serves as a compelling backdrop for the kidnapping of the children.
Third, The book's background is mysterious. There is no explanation about the Martians (yet still alive) and their culture, except that it is ancient, and the fairies of Venus. This lack of information adds to the intrigue and keeps the reader guessing.
There remains the Quarto, which makes the book nevertheless worth a quick read: In the first 200 pages, Heinlein gives us an excellent, very pleasant babbling about Podkayne and his journey, again a pretext to provide us with his ideas on education, politics, women, everything and nothing.
July 17, 2012
So much to rant about here, so little time. When I finished the first chapter of Podkayne my grin was so wide I damn near cut my own face off. Heinlein had an indisuptable gift for killer openings (see for example "The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag") and this one promised absolute glory to come. The trouble is, the glory never comes. The magnificent possibilities of the first chapter and its coda are set aside. The plot meanders, and then in classically half-assed fashion picks up without warning a scant few pages from the end... the incredibly condescending, problematic, throw-the-book-across-the-room end.
The only net positive I can find in Podkayne is that it's a fine example of Heinlein in exploratory rather than prescriptive mode. The cast visits several different societies and interacts with their laws and customs, always wondering and speculating rather than lecturing or insisting. This is such a stark relief from what I call Heinlein's "LOOK, YOU!" mode, where a mouthpiece struts across the page shouting "Look, you! This is how things are and the only way they oughta be, see!" In reference to the all-pervading corporatism of Venus, for example, one major character "...can't make up his mind whether it is the grimmest tyranny the human race has ever known... or the most perfect democracy." The evidence is presented and the reader is invited to do their own pondering. Heinlein the Philosopher could certainly offer up some tasty thought experiments when Heinlein the Authoritarian was out of the room.
It's a crying shame that this book, which had the velocity of a home run ball as it left the plate, somehow managed to plop softly into the dirt somewhere short of second base.
The only net positive I can find in Podkayne is that it's a fine example of Heinlein in exploratory rather than prescriptive mode. The cast visits several different societies and interacts with their laws and customs, always wondering and speculating rather than lecturing or insisting. This is such a stark relief from what I call Heinlein's "LOOK, YOU!" mode, where a mouthpiece struts across the page shouting "Look, you! This is how things are and the only way they oughta be, see!" In reference to the all-pervading corporatism of Venus, for example, one major character "...can't make up his mind whether it is the grimmest tyranny the human race has ever known... or the most perfect democracy." The evidence is presented and the reader is invited to do their own pondering. Heinlein the Philosopher could certainly offer up some tasty thought experiments when Heinlein the Authoritarian was out of the room.
It's a crying shame that this book, which had the velocity of a home run ball as it left the plate, somehow managed to plop softly into the dirt somewhere short of second base.
October 9, 2009
There's a short story by Isaac Asimov, What is this thing called love?, which he apparently wrote because he was tired of people telling him he couldn't do sex scenes. I am the great Asimov, and I can do anything! I imagine him saying, as he turned out what is actually a quite competent and funny story with a fair amount of sex.
This is the same, but reversed. Perhaps also tired of people's snide remarks, Heinlein writes a book in which the central character is an attractive girl who doesn't have sex with anyone throughout the entire novel. But having made his point, he clearly decided afterwards that he wasn't doing that again.
This is the same, but reversed. Perhaps also tired of people's snide remarks, Heinlein writes a book in which the central character is an attractive girl who doesn't have sex with anyone throughout the entire novel. But having made his point, he clearly decided afterwards that he wasn't doing that again.
August 14, 2012
I've just finished re-reading this book, which I first read when I was about 12 years old, right after it was published. I'd been reading science fiction for a few years, though there wasn't much available in my small town library and a bookstore was unheard of. The librarian always held the new arrivals for me as I devoured everything available.
Podkayne hit me right between the eyes. A pretty, likable, intelligent girl my age (well, a little older) who was confident and courageous and didn't wait to be rescued. Wow, I wanted to be her.
In later years, as I reread the book, I recognized that Heinlein's sexism was expression of his generation and that he really liked women and maybe even thought them better than men. His female characters are almost impossibly idealized ~ tall, beautiful, brilliant, loving, fierce, sexy, domestic, accomplished, modest, diplomatic, cheeky. Even the old, fat women were "lookers" in their youth and still smart, nurturing and witty.
But those women made me think, subconsciously, that I really could be all that, and a bag of chips. So, in a way, Heinlein inspired me and encouraged me to reach outside of gender roles.
Podkayne of Mars was one of the most influential books of my youth. She, along with Dr. Susan Calvin from I, Robot (the Susan of the books, NOT the movies *shudder*), is among the reasons I am a nerdy and former technoqeek (former because I just can't keep up these day).
Podkayne hit me right between the eyes. A pretty, likable, intelligent girl my age (well, a little older) who was confident and courageous and didn't wait to be rescued. Wow, I wanted to be her.
In later years, as I reread the book, I recognized that Heinlein's sexism was expression of his generation and that he really liked women and maybe even thought them better than men. His female characters are almost impossibly idealized ~ tall, beautiful, brilliant, loving, fierce, sexy, domestic, accomplished, modest, diplomatic, cheeky. Even the old, fat women were "lookers" in their youth and still smart, nurturing and witty.
But those women made me think, subconsciously, that I really could be all that, and a bag of chips. So, in a way, Heinlein inspired me and encouraged me to reach outside of gender roles.
Podkayne of Mars was one of the most influential books of my youth. She, along with Dr. Susan Calvin from I, Robot (the Susan of the books, NOT the movies *shudder*), is among the reasons I am a nerdy and former technoqeek (former because I just can't keep up these day).
March 18, 2020
Not your average Robert A. Heinlein book... Really, how often do you hear that?!
Robert Heinlein was one of the most influential and controversial authors of his time. He wrote all kinds of books, from the Young Adult market to pseudo-sexual revolutionary stories. He even went so far as penning books where the characters knew they were in a story and end up cussing him out, as to the way events were unfolding. With all that it might be hard to believe that this story is a little different, yet it is.
Originally serialised in If: Worlds of Science Fiction (1962) Podkayne comes early in the period after Heinlein had moved beyond the Young Adult market. Here he is more unabashedly writing the SF social commentary he judiciously sprinkled into his YA books, the Heinlein Juveniles.
A commonly-held misconception of Podkayne of Mars is that it's part of the Heinlein Juveniles but 1959's Starship Troopers, which raised serious objections from the publisher, resulted in the end of HJ series. The last of Heinlein's juvenile novels was actually Have Space Suit - Will Travel published in 1958.
It is evident why people mistake this story to be in the YA genre he was so prolific in, until then, after all it does follow many of the usual tropes of the YA market: It is about a young girl, Podkayne Fries, and her asocial genius brother, Clark, as they leave their home on Mars to take a trip on a spaceliner to visit Earth, accompanied by their uncle, Tom.
But once you realize the heavily laden social commentary of the story mostly surrounds making time to raise children, implying that when parents' carers take precedence over raising the children society might atrophy (something I agree with whole-hardheartedly). You realize what the book is doing is questioning a woman's ideal place in society, you notice the absence of role models in Podkayne's life, you see this is what drives Pod through the tale and you begin to realize how subversive this story may actually be.
Podkayne of Mars is filled with the vibrant and imaginative landscapes Heinlein is know for, including a Venusberg that's almost some kind of cyber-punk Las Vegas. Inhabited by miners, gamblers, cute yet vicious 'fairies' and pinheaded-aliens to whom it seems humans tend to sell a highly addictive drug. Another of the things that makes this book a noticeable change from Heinlein's earlier works is that the entire story is composed of diary entries rather than his usual prose.
Though the book is Podkayne's diary it is debatable whether she is the main character of the story. Within the pages of the diary/book itself secret entries are made by Clark, in invisible ink, that expand the story. In fact his adventures/mischief tend to take much of the center stage. And there's a lot more here than what's on the stage, because Uncle Tom is a former member of the Mars government and a hero. This means that Pod and Clark are privileged to interact with all sorts of odd characters the average future space traveler would not.
Like a good cook Heinlein thickens the plot to a satisfying consistency. As the trip continues Pod comes across the mystery of Clark's secret package, gambling dens and we see skullduggery afoot all around. This while the seemingly innocuous travel log teaches us quite a few things about how get along whenever you find yourself far from home. It should be noted in fact that much of the descriptions of Pod's voyage are based on Heinlein's own experiences traveling the world, during and after his stint in the Navy.
The original ending of Podkayne of Mars caused some controversy with the publishers which resulted in two endings to this story. The edition I read prints both the original ending as well as the changed ending that appeared in all editions from 1963 until 1993. It also has a section of fan essays discussing the endings. This is almost as fun to read as the book. Some differ wildly though most agree that the original ending gives the book more weight.
Collected and published as a novel in 1963, on the cusp of sexual revolution, when many of those same questions asked here were being talked about. All while Heinlein is already communicating that women are capable of equaling, or out-classing, men at the same time he positions young Podkayne, and her brother, as palpably grasps for a role models. If, as in Pod's case, it were only as she struggles with her femininity it might seem impertinent but it reaches into what she wants out of her future... what can fulfill her.
It's not all that surprising that the trend of latch-key children, with working parents, was something Heinlein saw fit to include and comment on back in 1963 as programs like CBC radio's Discussion Club featured the topic "How War Affects Canadian Children" coining the term 'latchkey kid' back in 1942. What is impressive is that he would find this trend so troubling that Heinlein would build an entire novel about it.
That, in 1962, a male SF writer would bring up these particular questions in this rather original way, for him, is striking in itself. Most surprising of all, for Heinlein who has no problem providing examples of how best to live over-and-over again throughout his career, is that Podkayne of Mars doesn't answer any of the questions it brings up and indeed leaves much unknown.
In the end; as entertaining as I feel this story to be, much of this book could be misunderstood [see other reader reviews], so in this rare case I would dare say I might recommend this to gender studies majors or anyone prepared to talk about this book in a forum.
Of course I would also recommend it to any Heinlein fan.
Robert Heinlein was one of the most influential and controversial authors of his time. He wrote all kinds of books, from the Young Adult market to pseudo-sexual revolutionary stories. He even went so far as penning books where the characters knew they were in a story and end up cussing him out, as to the way events were unfolding. With all that it might be hard to believe that this story is a little different, yet it is.
Originally serialised in If: Worlds of Science Fiction (1962) Podkayne comes early in the period after Heinlein had moved beyond the Young Adult market. Here he is more unabashedly writing the SF social commentary he judiciously sprinkled into his YA books, the Heinlein Juveniles.
A commonly-held misconception of Podkayne of Mars is that it's part of the Heinlein Juveniles but 1959's Starship Troopers, which raised serious objections from the publisher, resulted in the end of HJ series. The last of Heinlein's juvenile novels was actually Have Space Suit - Will Travel published in 1958.
It is evident why people mistake this story to be in the YA genre he was so prolific in, until then, after all it does follow many of the usual tropes of the YA market: It is about a young girl, Podkayne Fries, and her asocial genius brother, Clark, as they leave their home on Mars to take a trip on a spaceliner to visit Earth, accompanied by their uncle, Tom.
But once you realize the heavily laden social commentary of the story mostly surrounds making time to raise children, implying that when parents' carers take precedence over raising the children society might atrophy (something I agree with whole-hardheartedly). You realize what the book is doing is questioning a woman's ideal place in society, you notice the absence of role models in Podkayne's life, you see this is what drives Pod through the tale and you begin to realize how subversive this story may actually be.
Podkayne of Mars is filled with the vibrant and imaginative landscapes Heinlein is know for, including a Venusberg that's almost some kind of cyber-punk Las Vegas. Inhabited by miners, gamblers, cute yet vicious 'fairies' and pinheaded-aliens to whom it seems humans tend to sell a highly addictive drug. Another of the things that makes this book a noticeable change from Heinlein's earlier works is that the entire story is composed of diary entries rather than his usual prose.
Though the book is Podkayne's diary it is debatable whether she is the main character of the story. Within the pages of the diary/book itself secret entries are made by Clark, in invisible ink, that expand the story. In fact his adventures/mischief tend to take much of the center stage. And there's a lot more here than what's on the stage, because Uncle Tom is a former member of the Mars government and a hero. This means that Pod and Clark are privileged to interact with all sorts of odd characters the average future space traveler would not.
Like a good cook Heinlein thickens the plot to a satisfying consistency. As the trip continues Pod comes across the mystery of Clark's secret package, gambling dens and we see skullduggery afoot all around. This while the seemingly innocuous travel log teaches us quite a few things about how get along whenever you find yourself far from home. It should be noted in fact that much of the descriptions of Pod's voyage are based on Heinlein's own experiences traveling the world, during and after his stint in the Navy.
The original ending of Podkayne of Mars caused some controversy with the publishers which resulted in two endings to this story. The edition I read prints both the original ending as well as the changed ending that appeared in all editions from 1963 until 1993. It also has a section of fan essays discussing the endings. This is almost as fun to read as the book. Some differ wildly though most agree that the original ending gives the book more weight.
Collected and published as a novel in 1963, on the cusp of sexual revolution, when many of those same questions asked here were being talked about. All while Heinlein is already communicating that women are capable of equaling, or out-classing, men at the same time he positions young Podkayne, and her brother, as palpably grasps for a role models. If, as in Pod's case, it were only as she struggles with her femininity it might seem impertinent but it reaches into what she wants out of her future... what can fulfill her.
It's not all that surprising that the trend of latch-key children, with working parents, was something Heinlein saw fit to include and comment on back in 1963 as programs like CBC radio's Discussion Club featured the topic "How War Affects Canadian Children" coining the term 'latchkey kid' back in 1942. What is impressive is that he would find this trend so troubling that Heinlein would build an entire novel about it.
That, in 1962, a male SF writer would bring up these particular questions in this rather original way, for him, is striking in itself. Most surprising of all, for Heinlein who has no problem providing examples of how best to live over-and-over again throughout his career, is that Podkayne of Mars doesn't answer any of the questions it brings up and indeed leaves much unknown.
In the end; as entertaining as I feel this story to be, much of this book could be misunderstood [see other reader reviews], so in this rare case I would dare say I might recommend this to gender studies majors or anyone prepared to talk about this book in a forum.
Of course I would also recommend it to any Heinlein fan.
April 22, 2021
Regular, se deja leer pero poco más.
Cuenta la historia de una chica de Marte que quiere ir a la Tierra de viaje y que a pesar de que en un principio iba a ir luego no puede, pero finalmente si sale de viaje con su hermano y su tío.
Y el libro nos cuenta un poco como es el viaje por los lugares donde hacen escala y demás, las distintas costumbres de cada uno de los sitios en los que paran.
También aparecen intrígas políticas.
5/10
Cuenta la historia de una chica de Marte que quiere ir a la Tierra de viaje y que a pesar de que en un principio iba a ir luego no puede, pero finalmente si sale de viaje con su hermano y su tío.
Y el libro nos cuenta un poco como es el viaje por los lugares donde hacen escala y demás, las distintas costumbres de cada uno de los sitios en los que paran.
También aparecen intrígas políticas.
5/10
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2022
I always tear up at the end of Podkayne. It's funny that I insist on remembering it the way Heinlein wrote which isn't the way it is published. The really odd thing is that when I learned that he wanted a different ending, I was puzzled and assumed that in later editions such as the one I had that they published it as he had originally written it, but not so. He just so leads up to a natural conclusion that you remember it even though he never draws it.
Poddy is one of Heinlein's classic juvenile characters in a great coming-of-age story. As I read it now, I can't help but think about my own children and my relationships with them.
2015: The kids liked this one, but it didn't really resonate. The oddest part of the experience for me was how heavy-handed Heinlein's message that parents (and arguably, women) should raise their kids without undue distraction with their careers. In four previous readings, I didn't miss this, but it didn't seem such a dominating part of the theme.
2017: The kids liked this one so much we had a replay together.
Poddy is one of Heinlein's classic juvenile characters in a great coming-of-age story. As I read it now, I can't help but think about my own children and my relationships with them.
2015: The kids liked this one, but it didn't really resonate. The oddest part of the experience for me was how heavy-handed Heinlein's message that parents (and arguably, women) should raise their kids without undue distraction with their careers. In four previous readings, I didn't miss this, but it didn't seem such a dominating part of the theme.
2017: The kids liked this one so much we had a replay together.
August 29, 2015
I enjoyed this book very much. Podkayne is a brave, clever, and compassionate heroine whose compassion is ultimately her downfall and possibly her brother's salvation. I don't want to talk too much about the plot because it would give it away. But this gives me an opportunity to address something that, as a classic sci-fi fan, I find difficult, and that is that I think Heinlein is often deeply misunderstood by modern readers.
The most recent film adaptation of Starship Troopers interpreted Heinlein's classic critique of democracy as a pro-fascism novel. And Heinlein is often interpreted as a rampant sexist. This novel is one of the novels so interpreted.
A review by Ungelic_is_us addresses some of these criticisms in regards to specific events in the novel that are often interpreted that way. Later on in the comments section, in which Heinlein fans lambaste the criticism, this reviewer seems truly mystified as to why it's received such attention and such negativity, pointing out that some people like the book, some don't, and what's the big deal? I think Ungelic would be truly astounded to know that the answer is that it's because Ungelic's review is not a critique of a book; it is an assault on the author's character. That is why the reaction is so negative. Let me break down these statements one by one, because they make good talking points:
"Here's what I learned from Podkayne of Mars, courtesy of Professor Heinlein (blech):"
Already the reviewer communicated a judgment of the author's character. I think this would be a good time to point out that the views expressed by characters in a novel do not necessarily reflect the views of the author. Actually, authors often write about characters who *don't* share their views in order to challenge the readership and make a point. Podkayne of Mars is such a book.
"A woman should always hide how smart she is, so she doesn't scare off the men."
Let's start by explaining that this book was published in 1963 - by a man born in 1907! The most popular TV shows in 1963 were Gunsmoke, the Lucy Show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents (now there's a real misogynist!), the Jetsons, and the new kid on the block, the Beverley Hillbillies. Bra-burning was still a decade away, and if you've seen the Jetsons and the Beverley Hillbillies, you know what teenage girls were supposed to be like; dumb as rocks, but pretty and nice and motivated by shopping. Women's liberation was still a long way away.
I suspect this reviewer is somewhere in her early twenties. I suspect this because I remember how, in the 1970s, it was important that even the most kickass women heroes on TV - Wonder Woman, the Bionic Woman, and Charlie's Angels - had to be sexy, feminine, and not as tough as the male characters in the series (except Wonder Woman - mostly). And even that's now considered a sexist trope.
Podkayne, in the time of Lucy, the Beverley Hillbillies and the Jetsons, wants to be a spaceship captain when she grows up. Her mother is a respected engineer. Do you have any idea how hard it is now for women to get jobs as engineers? (Maybe New Horizons has changed that, but we'll see in the next decade or so).
Besides - take it from a smart, middle aged woman - she's not wrong! And that, I think, says more about Heinlein's attitude towards men than his attitude towards women.
"If a woman wants to get a man's attention and get the information she needs to further her career, she should just act like a moron coquette."
Um - it works. And it worked even better in 1963. See above comment.
"It doesn't matter if a girl is a complete innocent from a Puritan society: she'll naturally know how to be a cocktease."
Ah, now this comment indicates that the reviewer a) missed the sarcasm that was the tone of that passage, and b) did not clue in that Heinlein was using the technique of the Unreliable Narrator. It's when a character's biases and ideas colour the narrative, particularly when it's a first person narrative. The character's perceptions are somewhat askew from what the truth actually is, and such a technique actually shows more about the character than the world.
Mars is not a Puritanical society. That was a teenage girl comparing the society of Mars to the society of Venus, which is kind of like comparing Washington to Amsterdam; Naboo to Mos Eisley; or the Earth of the Vorkosiverse to Jackson's Whole.
Heinlein respected women who were comfortable with their sexuality, but of course Podkayne is a teenaged girl just discovering her sexuality, and this was 1963. Meaning his protagonist couldn't actually have sex with anyone or she would not be considered moral. So she flirts but it goes no farther.
"Introduce an infant into a situation, even if it is of a different species, and a woman--no matter how intelligent, savvy or career-oriented--will always disregard logic and personal safety to care for and protect it."
Well, okay. I have to admit that as a feminist who sees no reason why women and men should not share any childrearing past the age of nursing equally, that tone in the book rankled me a little. But Heinlein was writing a dissertation on the maternal instinct and how he admired it. I can read it with a grain of salt as a result. And history, despite our vain assertions to the contrary, is not a march towards progress. It's a drunken dance. Sometimes you gain ground and sometimes you lose it. It's a much less progressive world than it was before 9/11, except in the area of gay rights. The history of Afghanistan can show you just how fragile women's rights can be.
But . . . I would hope that most people in the world would disregard logic and personal safety to care for and protect innocents. I would call that courage, not stupidity.
Also . . . I never had any plans to be a mother. But when I found myself a stepmom at the age of twenty, I found that yes, there was a desire in me somewhere to protect a child and care for it, whether it was "mine" or not. I don't expect everyone to have that desire, and I see no reason that men can't have it too . . . but Podkayne, being a naturally compassionate and empathic person, obviously does. I don't see this as a bad thing. Quite to the contrary, it's one of her best qualities.
"No matter how smart a woman thinks she is, she'll always be dumber that a 12-year-old boy."
No, no, no. Podkayne just finds her brother difficult to outwit because he's a 12-year-old psychopath who is willing to do crazy and possibly evil things she would never consider. He's Dexter (Dexter's Laboratory or maybe even the Showtime series - and no, Podkayne is not Didi.)
"Don't expect a woman to be able to solve a problem under pressure, unless it involves babies."
Actually, that's not true. I blame the males in the story for this one. The only problem under pressure they were willing to listen to her solution for was in dealing with babies. And as an older sister to small triplets, that's a problem she had training in, when other situations she did not, and so the adults were not likely to trust her. They didn't trust her brother either. And her brother doesn't trust her because he puts too much stock in their IQ tests and, as a psychopath (or rather, a child that has never been given a clear moral compass) has a natural sense of his own superiority.
"Look for the psychopathic but hyper-intelligent boy in the story; he's the real main character, no matter what the narrator thinks (especially if she's female.)"
He was the moral foil to Podkayne; an example of everything bad about the Ayn Rand "selfishness is the highest law" scumbags. He was clearly provided to contrast Podkayne's nobility and compassion.
"All Heinlein novels will contain a patriarchal, patronizing older male figure and a smug, patronizing younger male figure whose function is to tell the other characters how stupid they are and how they don't understand the way the real world works."
ALL Heinlein novels? You never read Glory Road, did you? Or The Number of the Beast?
"Women should be grateful that men try to get them drunk so they can rape them, instead of clubbing them over the head to rape them (usually)."
Okay; this was sarcasm. And a cautionary note from an older, cynical, worldly young woman to Podkayne not to trust the young man that was responding to her flirtations.
"Even in a future where humans have colonized Mars and Venus, and interplanetary travel is the equivalent of a cruise to Alaska, women will still be unable to get jobs in traditional male occupations and expected (even if they have managed to break through the glass ceiling) to give up their aspirations in favor of making babies, or taking care of babies."
Even in this day and age in which women are world leaders and executives-- bah, never mind. You'll find out when you get out of University.
"RAGE. Of all the ridiculous sexist tripe! I nearly threw this book against the wall so many times, it's a wonder I actually got through it."
Well, it wasn't a long book! Seriously though. If you think that Heinlein was sexist, please read Glory Road and tell me that Star was a wilting wallflower.
Some say that Podkayne demonstrates a marvelous understanding of the teenage mindset. I agree. Heinlein nicely captured the total self-absorption of the teenage mindset while still building a lovely, just plain nice heroine that I loved and wanted to protect and mother. Even if all of this other reviewer's views were spot on, Podkayne is still twice the heroine, and twice the role-model, of Bella of Twilight! And she was considered to be a good teenage girl character. That's something that makes me rage.
Heinlein was critiquing a generation that had become selfishly focused on their own careers as opposed to the future of their children. He had a point, and still does. The child traipsing off to go on adventures has become a literary trope, but in the real world, that would be the sign of either hard luck or bad parenting.
I don't think it's fair to judge a man's character by the course of events in a story he wrote in 1963 when comparing it to modern sensibilities. Heinlein wrote charater-driven science fiction about men and women, boys and girls with their own unique flaws and merits. And I think that with the understanding that Heinlein was exploring the maternal instinct, and the understanding that the Unreliable Narrator technique certainly applies to the heroine as well as most of the other characters, Podkayne is a memorable novel that, even though it was written more than fifty years ago, and even though it was intended as teen fiction, stands the test of time.
The most recent film adaptation of Starship Troopers interpreted Heinlein's classic critique of democracy as a pro-fascism novel. And Heinlein is often interpreted as a rampant sexist. This novel is one of the novels so interpreted.
A review by Ungelic_is_us addresses some of these criticisms in regards to specific events in the novel that are often interpreted that way. Later on in the comments section, in which Heinlein fans lambaste the criticism, this reviewer seems truly mystified as to why it's received such attention and such negativity, pointing out that some people like the book, some don't, and what's the big deal? I think Ungelic would be truly astounded to know that the answer is that it's because Ungelic's review is not a critique of a book; it is an assault on the author's character. That is why the reaction is so negative. Let me break down these statements one by one, because they make good talking points:
"Here's what I learned from Podkayne of Mars, courtesy of Professor Heinlein (blech):"
Already the reviewer communicated a judgment of the author's character. I think this would be a good time to point out that the views expressed by characters in a novel do not necessarily reflect the views of the author. Actually, authors often write about characters who *don't* share their views in order to challenge the readership and make a point. Podkayne of Mars is such a book.
"A woman should always hide how smart she is, so she doesn't scare off the men."
Let's start by explaining that this book was published in 1963 - by a man born in 1907! The most popular TV shows in 1963 were Gunsmoke, the Lucy Show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents (now there's a real misogynist!), the Jetsons, and the new kid on the block, the Beverley Hillbillies. Bra-burning was still a decade away, and if you've seen the Jetsons and the Beverley Hillbillies, you know what teenage girls were supposed to be like; dumb as rocks, but pretty and nice and motivated by shopping. Women's liberation was still a long way away.
I suspect this reviewer is somewhere in her early twenties. I suspect this because I remember how, in the 1970s, it was important that even the most kickass women heroes on TV - Wonder Woman, the Bionic Woman, and Charlie's Angels - had to be sexy, feminine, and not as tough as the male characters in the series (except Wonder Woman - mostly). And even that's now considered a sexist trope.
Podkayne, in the time of Lucy, the Beverley Hillbillies and the Jetsons, wants to be a spaceship captain when she grows up. Her mother is a respected engineer. Do you have any idea how hard it is now for women to get jobs as engineers? (Maybe New Horizons has changed that, but we'll see in the next decade or so).
Besides - take it from a smart, middle aged woman - she's not wrong! And that, I think, says more about Heinlein's attitude towards men than his attitude towards women.
"If a woman wants to get a man's attention and get the information she needs to further her career, she should just act like a moron coquette."
Um - it works. And it worked even better in 1963. See above comment.
"It doesn't matter if a girl is a complete innocent from a Puritan society: she'll naturally know how to be a cocktease."
Ah, now this comment indicates that the reviewer a) missed the sarcasm that was the tone of that passage, and b) did not clue in that Heinlein was using the technique of the Unreliable Narrator. It's when a character's biases and ideas colour the narrative, particularly when it's a first person narrative. The character's perceptions are somewhat askew from what the truth actually is, and such a technique actually shows more about the character than the world.
Mars is not a Puritanical society. That was a teenage girl comparing the society of Mars to the society of Venus, which is kind of like comparing Washington to Amsterdam; Naboo to Mos Eisley; or the Earth of the Vorkosiverse to Jackson's Whole.
Heinlein respected women who were comfortable with their sexuality, but of course Podkayne is a teenaged girl just discovering her sexuality, and this was 1963. Meaning his protagonist couldn't actually have sex with anyone or she would not be considered moral. So she flirts but it goes no farther.
"Introduce an infant into a situation, even if it is of a different species, and a woman--no matter how intelligent, savvy or career-oriented--will always disregard logic and personal safety to care for and protect it."
Well, okay. I have to admit that as a feminist who sees no reason why women and men should not share any childrearing past the age of nursing equally, that tone in the book rankled me a little. But Heinlein was writing a dissertation on the maternal instinct and how he admired it. I can read it with a grain of salt as a result. And history, despite our vain assertions to the contrary, is not a march towards progress. It's a drunken dance. Sometimes you gain ground and sometimes you lose it. It's a much less progressive world than it was before 9/11, except in the area of gay rights. The history of Afghanistan can show you just how fragile women's rights can be.
But . . . I would hope that most people in the world would disregard logic and personal safety to care for and protect innocents. I would call that courage, not stupidity.
Also . . . I never had any plans to be a mother. But when I found myself a stepmom at the age of twenty, I found that yes, there was a desire in me somewhere to protect a child and care for it, whether it was "mine" or not. I don't expect everyone to have that desire, and I see no reason that men can't have it too . . . but Podkayne, being a naturally compassionate and empathic person, obviously does. I don't see this as a bad thing. Quite to the contrary, it's one of her best qualities.
"No matter how smart a woman thinks she is, she'll always be dumber that a 12-year-old boy."
No, no, no. Podkayne just finds her brother difficult to outwit because he's a 12-year-old psychopath who is willing to do crazy and possibly evil things she would never consider. He's Dexter (Dexter's Laboratory or maybe even the Showtime series - and no, Podkayne is not Didi.)
"Don't expect a woman to be able to solve a problem under pressure, unless it involves babies."
Actually, that's not true. I blame the males in the story for this one. The only problem under pressure they were willing to listen to her solution for was in dealing with babies. And as an older sister to small triplets, that's a problem she had training in, when other situations she did not, and so the adults were not likely to trust her. They didn't trust her brother either. And her brother doesn't trust her because he puts too much stock in their IQ tests and, as a psychopath (or rather, a child that has never been given a clear moral compass) has a natural sense of his own superiority.
"Look for the psychopathic but hyper-intelligent boy in the story; he's the real main character, no matter what the narrator thinks (especially if she's female.)"
He was the moral foil to Podkayne; an example of everything bad about the Ayn Rand "selfishness is the highest law" scumbags. He was clearly provided to contrast Podkayne's nobility and compassion.
"All Heinlein novels will contain a patriarchal, patronizing older male figure and a smug, patronizing younger male figure whose function is to tell the other characters how stupid they are and how they don't understand the way the real world works."
ALL Heinlein novels? You never read Glory Road, did you? Or The Number of the Beast?
"Women should be grateful that men try to get them drunk so they can rape them, instead of clubbing them over the head to rape them (usually)."
Okay; this was sarcasm. And a cautionary note from an older, cynical, worldly young woman to Podkayne not to trust the young man that was responding to her flirtations.
"Even in a future where humans have colonized Mars and Venus, and interplanetary travel is the equivalent of a cruise to Alaska, women will still be unable to get jobs in traditional male occupations and expected (even if they have managed to break through the glass ceiling) to give up their aspirations in favor of making babies, or taking care of babies."
Even in this day and age in which women are world leaders and executives-- bah, never mind. You'll find out when you get out of University.
"RAGE. Of all the ridiculous sexist tripe! I nearly threw this book against the wall so many times, it's a wonder I actually got through it."
Well, it wasn't a long book! Seriously though. If you think that Heinlein was sexist, please read Glory Road and tell me that Star was a wilting wallflower.
Some say that Podkayne demonstrates a marvelous understanding of the teenage mindset. I agree. Heinlein nicely captured the total self-absorption of the teenage mindset while still building a lovely, just plain nice heroine that I loved and wanted to protect and mother. Even if all of this other reviewer's views were spot on, Podkayne is still twice the heroine, and twice the role-model, of Bella of Twilight! And she was considered to be a good teenage girl character. That's something that makes me rage.
Heinlein was critiquing a generation that had become selfishly focused on their own careers as opposed to the future of their children. He had a point, and still does. The child traipsing off to go on adventures has become a literary trope, but in the real world, that would be the sign of either hard luck or bad parenting.
I don't think it's fair to judge a man's character by the course of events in a story he wrote in 1963 when comparing it to modern sensibilities. Heinlein wrote charater-driven science fiction about men and women, boys and girls with their own unique flaws and merits. And I think that with the understanding that Heinlein was exploring the maternal instinct, and the understanding that the Unreliable Narrator technique certainly applies to the heroine as well as most of the other characters, Podkayne is a memorable novel that, even though it was written more than fifty years ago, and even though it was intended as teen fiction, stands the test of time.
August 2, 2019
Podkanye is a charming female protagonist, a young girl dreaming of becoming a spaceship captain. Named after a saint from Mars, we quickly learn that Podkanye is very devoted to her birthplace i.e. Mars, but also how much she is very much looking forward to visiting other planets in an upcoming family trip. Right from the start Podkanye reminded me of another teenage female protagonist, Holly the heroine of Heinlein's short story The Menace From Earth. Like Podkanye, Holly was born and raised away from Earth. Holly is a Luna Native i.e. Loonie, while Podkanye is a Marsman (because as she stresses, Martian only refers to the original species and inhabitants of Mars) but both of them belong to alien societies. Holly aspires to be a space ship designer, Podkanye wants to command one. Both young girls are ambitious individuals with a well developed moral compass.
This book is basically a series of diary entries written by Podkanye and occasionally her hyper intelligent and potentially problematic brother. This diary opens up with Podkanye introducing her family that is composed of the above mentioned brother and her brilliant parents, a mother who is an accomplished engineer and a father who is an equally successful and esteemed historian. Podkanye then raves about the family trip that gets cancelled because of the mix up in the frozen babies factory. In fact, her family suddenly gets 3 new members all at once. Her parents didn't plan to have them all at once, but now there are here, Podkanye does what she can help and hides her disappointment about the cancelled trip. However, it seems that not all is lost because Podkanye has a brilliant uncle who is willing to help and take her and her brother on a planet hopping trip himself.
Now, based on my description, you might judge this book to be SF YA adventure but Podkanye of Mars is actually more a social commentary of the future. One thing I like about Heinlein's future history works is that they seem so realistic. He portrays future societies as complex and problem ridden as our present ones. You might call it pessimistic but I think his estimations are spot on. As much as we would like, it is unlikely that the human race will solve all of their problems with the advancement of technology. It is much more likely that we will drag our deeply rooted issues with us into space.
Not that things are hopeless. There is always hope and Heinlein is good in showing that it pays to think and use your head. As a social commentary, this book is very successful. It examines a series of important subjects, ranging from politics to economics, from gender roles to parenthood, from personal liberty to parenthood. One sentence in particular stayed with me (Those who do not have time for kids should not have them) and made me think quite hard. I wonder whether it really possible for both parents to have a very successful and demanding career and to be there for their children, or is it always one parent (regardless of the gender) that makes some career sacrifices. I am not saying it has to be a woman and a mother who makes that choice, but maybe somebody must make it, for it is hard to believe that both parents can chase their career and be there for their kids at all times. Not unless we want to have a society where kids raise themselves without a moral compass. The number of children is something that needs to be considered as well. It is not the same to raise two kids and ten. Having children is a serious life long obligation and responsibility, something technology does not really help with.
All in all, this was a great book to read. The story itself is interesting and well written, the plot is well paced, there is enough action to keep you on your toes, plenty of humor and enough food for the mind. It is an amazing book, perhaps not as intellectually ambitious or profound as some of the best Heinlein's works, but certainly worthy of a recommendation.
This book is basically a series of diary entries written by Podkanye and occasionally her hyper intelligent and potentially problematic brother. This diary opens up with Podkanye introducing her family that is composed of the above mentioned brother and her brilliant parents, a mother who is an accomplished engineer and a father who is an equally successful and esteemed historian. Podkanye then raves about the family trip that gets cancelled because of the mix up in the frozen babies factory. In fact, her family suddenly gets 3 new members all at once. Her parents didn't plan to have them all at once, but now there are here, Podkanye does what she can help and hides her disappointment about the cancelled trip. However, it seems that not all is lost because Podkanye has a brilliant uncle who is willing to help and take her and her brother on a planet hopping trip himself.
Now, based on my description, you might judge this book to be SF YA adventure but Podkanye of Mars is actually more a social commentary of the future. One thing I like about Heinlein's future history works is that they seem so realistic. He portrays future societies as complex and problem ridden as our present ones. You might call it pessimistic but I think his estimations are spot on. As much as we would like, it is unlikely that the human race will solve all of their problems with the advancement of technology. It is much more likely that we will drag our deeply rooted issues with us into space.
Not that things are hopeless. There is always hope and Heinlein is good in showing that it pays to think and use your head. As a social commentary, this book is very successful. It examines a series of important subjects, ranging from politics to economics, from gender roles to parenthood, from personal liberty to parenthood. One sentence in particular stayed with me (Those who do not have time for kids should not have them) and made me think quite hard. I wonder whether it really possible for both parents to have a very successful and demanding career and to be there for their children, or is it always one parent (regardless of the gender) that makes some career sacrifices. I am not saying it has to be a woman and a mother who makes that choice, but maybe somebody must make it, for it is hard to believe that both parents can chase their career and be there for their kids at all times. Not unless we want to have a society where kids raise themselves without a moral compass. The number of children is something that needs to be considered as well. It is not the same to raise two kids and ten. Having children is a serious life long obligation and responsibility, something technology does not really help with.
All in all, this was a great book to read. The story itself is interesting and well written, the plot is well paced, there is enough action to keep you on your toes, plenty of humor and enough food for the mind. It is an amazing book, perhaps not as intellectually ambitious or profound as some of the best Heinlein's works, but certainly worthy of a recommendation.
July 28, 2016
I'm giving this three stars, as there are two groups of people who shouldn't read this book: preteen girls, who might actually consider Podkayne a role model, and those who are Easily Outraged. To the second group I would point out the futility of expending a lot of feminist outrage, since author Robert Heinlein passed away in 1988 and wouldn't be a bit concerned.
I think I understand what happened. By 1962, science fiction master Heinlein had written a dozen Young Adult novels, all starring boys, and his publishers pointed out that he had a female fan base as well. But he couldn't just slap a girl's name on a male character, could he? No, she would need to demonstrate her femininity, by showing her happily caring for infants, occasionally bursting into tears, discovering the thrill of properly applied make-up, and incessantly flirting or playing dumb around the numerous men-folk in her life, since (direct quote) "It does not do to let a male of any age know that one has brains..." Ouch.
With all that girly stuff going on, Podkayne's initial aspiration of becoming a star-ship captain quickly fades into the background and eventually disappears all together.
In Heinlein's defense, it's not as though he had a lot of contemporary material to study. This book was memorable because it was one of the handful of books of science fiction books that had a female protagonist at all. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction by John Clute and Peter Nicholls (in print and online) provides interesting insight on this topic, under the listing "Women as Portrayed in Science Fiction."
It is also possible that we are all missing the mark. Heinlein insisted Podkayne of Mars was not a Young Adult novel, but a social commentary. The above observations could be reconsidered in that light; however, to me this novel seems more straight-forward than satirical.
Meanwhile, those (both women and men) who recommended this book to me remembered it fondly from their own Young Adult days, probably impressed by the fun space adventures encountered by spunky Podkayne and her super-genius younger brother Clark. I'm reluctant to stomp further on their nostalgic memories.
So, enjoy this book like any other entertaining-yet-outdated science fiction or adventure story - laughing (or groaning) at the sexist and racist attitudes of an earlier era, while being grateful at the progress we've made since then. Don't take it too seriously, and you'll have more fun.
May 4, 2016
In a world... where gender roles are still stuck in the 1950s, teen feminist space heroine Poddy Fries rebels against the patriarchy by... by, erm... well, I must have missed that bit.
Podkayne spends the entire book conforming to other people's ideas of how women should act. She suppresses her intellect in front of men so as not to scare them off, and adopts a "puzzled kitten" expression instead. She stops herself from cursing because it's unbecoming of a woman. She wants to be a pilot, which apparently is still a man's job even after centuries of space colonisation, but she doesn't tell men about those aspirations because they might fancy her a bit less. This is a universe where all nurses are women and all officers are men, where everyone is heterosexual and gender-conforming — and Pod's teenaged rebellion against this system amounts to wearing a bit of makeup and imagining herself on the arms of handsome gentlemen, playing dumb and sitting pretty.
And, I mean, I get it. Writers a few decades ago had no idea that the future would offer many women the opportunity to just do whatever they want. Heinlein genuinely tried to write a girl who's struggling with a segregated society. The way he wrote Poddy was probably revolutionary back in the 1960s. And maybe, in some Brechtian way, we're supposed to interpret Pod's lack of rebellion as a signal to start rebelling in all the ways she doesn't.
It's just that... well, to put it bluntly, he seems to have based Pod on an escort services ad. She describes her Asian features as an "exotic flavor", which I just don't think people actually do outside of the sex worker profession. She spends half the book trying to change her personality in order to attract suitors. She asks her uncle to spank her for basically no reason. The book literally includes the line "[...] by then I had worked out my own private "Poddy special" escort service." I just couldn't take any of it seriously. Usually I adore Heinlein's views on freedom of intimacy, self-expression, politics and scientific curiosity... but I have to genuinely wonder whether he'd actually ever met a seventeen-year-old girl before writing this book, or whether he got his inspiration for Pod from a particularly loquatious honey trap.
And then the moral of the book turns out to be: women should spend time cuddling their babies instead of getting jobs, otherwise their children will (almost) die or become psychopaths. Satire? Or genuinely Heinlein's views at that point in time? The whole plot was so boring to me that I can't even bring myself to care either way.
Podkayne spends the entire book conforming to other people's ideas of how women should act. She suppresses her intellect in front of men so as not to scare them off, and adopts a "puzzled kitten" expression instead. She stops herself from cursing because it's unbecoming of a woman. She wants to be a pilot, which apparently is still a man's job even after centuries of space colonisation, but she doesn't tell men about those aspirations because they might fancy her a bit less. This is a universe where all nurses are women and all officers are men, where everyone is heterosexual and gender-conforming — and Pod's teenaged rebellion against this system amounts to wearing a bit of makeup and imagining herself on the arms of handsome gentlemen, playing dumb and sitting pretty.
And, I mean, I get it. Writers a few decades ago had no idea that the future would offer many women the opportunity to just do whatever they want. Heinlein genuinely tried to write a girl who's struggling with a segregated society. The way he wrote Poddy was probably revolutionary back in the 1960s. And maybe, in some Brechtian way, we're supposed to interpret Pod's lack of rebellion as a signal to start rebelling in all the ways she doesn't.
It's just that... well, to put it bluntly, he seems to have based Pod on an escort services ad. She describes her Asian features as an "exotic flavor", which I just don't think people actually do outside of the sex worker profession. She spends half the book trying to change her personality in order to attract suitors. She asks her uncle to spank her for basically no reason. The book literally includes the line "[...] by then I had worked out my own private "Poddy special" escort service." I just couldn't take any of it seriously. Usually I adore Heinlein's views on freedom of intimacy, self-expression, politics and scientific curiosity... but I have to genuinely wonder whether he'd actually ever met a seventeen-year-old girl before writing this book, or whether he got his inspiration for Pod from a particularly loquatious honey trap.
And then the moral of the book turns out to be: women should spend time cuddling their babies instead of getting jobs, otherwise their children will (almost) die or become psychopaths. Satire? Or genuinely Heinlein's views at that point in time? The whole plot was so boring to me that I can't even bring myself to care either way.
September 16, 2019
"La principal debilidad de mi hermana —el punto flaco de su cerebro, ya que por otra parte no es nada estúpida— es su incapacidad casi total para admitir que algunas personas sean tan malas como lo son. La maldad… Poddy jamás ha comprendido lo que es el mal. Su imaginación no llega más allá de una simple travesura. Pero yo sí comprendo la maldad. Puedo meterme en el cerebro de una persona como la señora Grew y comprender cómo piensa."
Me fascina Heinlein y todo lo que siempre plantea en sus páginas, lo bueno es que no es necesario estar de acuerdo con todo lo que dice para pasarla bien. Para mí fue un 3.5, no redondeada a 4 porque no la disfruté de la misma forma como lo hice con Starship Troopers o Estrella Doble, por ejemplo. Ha sido rápida y entretenida. Con Poddy me la pasé genial, me encantó la chiquilla de Marsópolis. Me quedé con ganas de que llegaran a Luna y a la Tierra, tal vez unas cuantas páginas más no hubieran caído mal... Bueno, no siempre se puede tener todo.
¡Un pasaje a Venusberg, por favor!
Me fascina Heinlein y todo lo que siempre plantea en sus páginas, lo bueno es que no es necesario estar de acuerdo con todo lo que dice para pasarla bien. Para mí fue un 3.5, no redondeada a 4 porque no la disfruté de la misma forma como lo hice con Starship Troopers o Estrella Doble, por ejemplo. Ha sido rápida y entretenida. Con Poddy me la pasé genial, me encantó la chiquilla de Marsópolis. Me quedé con ganas de que llegaran a Luna y a la Tierra, tal vez unas cuantas páginas más no hubieran caído mal... Bueno, no siempre se puede tener todo.
¡Un pasaje a Venusberg, por favor!
November 18, 2013
-Ejercicio de costumbrismo juvenil pero de género.-
Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. Podkayne Fries, más conocida como Poddy, es una jovencita de unos 16 años (terrestres) que vive en Marte y que está a punto de viajar a la Tierra con su familia. Una serie de acontecimientos hacen que el viaje se cancele pero Poddy terminará viajando hacia Venus y la Tierra por la intervención de su tío, héroe de la Rebelión, que la acompañará a ella y a su hermano Clark en la travesía espacial.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. Podkayne Fries, más conocida como Poddy, es una jovencita de unos 16 años (terrestres) que vive en Marte y que está a punto de viajar a la Tierra con su familia. Una serie de acontecimientos hacen que el viaje se cancele pero Poddy terminará viajando hacia Venus y la Tierra por la intervención de su tío, héroe de la Rebelión, que la acompañará a ella y a su hermano Clark en la travesía espacial.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
October 24, 2019
No ha terminado de engancharme, salvo en algunos momentos puntuales. En ciertos momentos me ha recordado a algunas situaciones de The Expanse, pero han sido simples reminiscencias de mi cerebro. Pasemos página y sigamos con las lecturas.
March 28, 2016
A Girl's First Space Adventure
12 February 2012
It is interesting that this is the third Heinlein book that I have read and a quick flick through some of the reviews I notice a lot of people carrying on about how outdated and sexist this book is. Look, come off it, not only was this book written in 1963, meaning that it was before our own 'enlightened' society in regards to sexual equality (and come on, while I am all for sexual equality, putting a completely unskilled woman into the role of director of a multinational company just so that the company can reach its quota of women on the board is just ridiculous), but the fact that the main character, who is a woman, is complaining through the book about the how glass ceiling that will make it very difficult for her to become a space pilot makes me think that there is more to this book that most people care to see.
The story is the journal of a young adolescent lady, Podkayne, who is going on her first space flight from Mars to Earth via Venus. As a book I found that there was a lot of detail as to who she was, who her family was, and the particulars of the voyage, though I was quite surprised that they only got as a far as Venus. To me, I found that the end was pretty much tacked on to create some conflict within the book, and a part of me felt that Heinlein could easily have dropped the conflict and simply carried on with her experience of her first space flight. Oh, and I found the ending to be quite disappointing as well.
As I was reading this book I suspected that there would be allegations of sexism, but I suspect that too many people are reading too much into many of the books that they are attacking. In fact I feel that Heinlein is actually criticising the existence of the glass ceiling, suggesting that Podkayne is not only desiring a role only males occupy, but that she has the courage to make it happen. In fact I did not really find anything all that wrong with the character, though she may have been a little on the innocent side (though it is clear that Mars is a puritanical society).
Heinlein does a wonderful job at creating the societies in which Podkayne visits (though we are told about Mars and she visits Venus, and that is about it). I note that his Venusian society is an incredibly liberal society in once sense, and very conservative in another. I say conservative because the corporation controls everything. In fact nobody can open up or run a business without the corporation getting its cut. He is also scathing of casinos, in that he suggests that casinos will purposely allow you to win giving you a false sense of being able to beat the house, before they pretty much bleed you dry.
I do not believe Heinlein is out to 'put women in their place' in this book, but rather to attempt to write a story through the eyes of a woman, and the struggles that she faces. I do not believe it is sexist, and the fact that one of my bosses at work (who is a feminist by the way) said that she quite liked Heinlein, and even quoted this book as one that she had read. This makes me think that it is nowhere near as sexist as some people claim that it is. The only thing that I really did not like about it was the rather rushed and contrived ending.
12 February 2012
It is interesting that this is the third Heinlein book that I have read and a quick flick through some of the reviews I notice a lot of people carrying on about how outdated and sexist this book is. Look, come off it, not only was this book written in 1963, meaning that it was before our own 'enlightened' society in regards to sexual equality (and come on, while I am all for sexual equality, putting a completely unskilled woman into the role of director of a multinational company just so that the company can reach its quota of women on the board is just ridiculous), but the fact that the main character, who is a woman, is complaining through the book about the how glass ceiling that will make it very difficult for her to become a space pilot makes me think that there is more to this book that most people care to see.
The story is the journal of a young adolescent lady, Podkayne, who is going on her first space flight from Mars to Earth via Venus. As a book I found that there was a lot of detail as to who she was, who her family was, and the particulars of the voyage, though I was quite surprised that they only got as a far as Venus. To me, I found that the end was pretty much tacked on to create some conflict within the book, and a part of me felt that Heinlein could easily have dropped the conflict and simply carried on with her experience of her first space flight. Oh, and I found the ending to be quite disappointing as well.
As I was reading this book I suspected that there would be allegations of sexism, but I suspect that too many people are reading too much into many of the books that they are attacking. In fact I feel that Heinlein is actually criticising the existence of the glass ceiling, suggesting that Podkayne is not only desiring a role only males occupy, but that she has the courage to make it happen. In fact I did not really find anything all that wrong with the character, though she may have been a little on the innocent side (though it is clear that Mars is a puritanical society).
Heinlein does a wonderful job at creating the societies in which Podkayne visits (though we are told about Mars and she visits Venus, and that is about it). I note that his Venusian society is an incredibly liberal society in once sense, and very conservative in another. I say conservative because the corporation controls everything. In fact nobody can open up or run a business without the corporation getting its cut. He is also scathing of casinos, in that he suggests that casinos will purposely allow you to win giving you a false sense of being able to beat the house, before they pretty much bleed you dry.
I do not believe Heinlein is out to 'put women in their place' in this book, but rather to attempt to write a story through the eyes of a woman, and the struggles that she faces. I do not believe it is sexist, and the fact that one of my bosses at work (who is a feminist by the way) said that she quite liked Heinlein, and even quoted this book as one that she had read. This makes me think that it is nowhere near as sexist as some people claim that it is. The only thing that I really did not like about it was the rather rushed and contrived ending.
October 11, 2022
I give up. I’ve tried to write this three times and I’ve lost it three times.
The next day:
Ready to try again. This book was published the year I was born. It shows. A lot. It purports to be an adventure story about a young girl who is travelling with her Uncle and pesky, genius younger brother Clark. There is precious little adventure in it until the final quarter of the book. Then it is by turns tragic and exciting. Poddy ends up getting blown up by a bomb set by her brother, Clark, she is badly injured in an ICU on Venus. In Clark’s defence when he set the bomb he was trying to stop a plot designed to thwart the free Will of the Martian people (sort of like Republicans). Anyhow, Uncle Tom gives a speech at the end of the novel, blaming her parents(particularly Poddy’s mother) for putting her in danger as they kind of neglected her even though they were 75,000,000 miles away at the time.That just pissed me off. Not only was Poddy refrigerated in order to give Clark emotional growth, Poddy was in Uncle Tom’s care at the time. Poddy’s mother is a high powered career woman, an engineer. She speaks several languages, she is a self defence expert, she is highly educated. (Honestly, Heinlein should have written a book about her). Poddy on the other hand dreams of being a pilot but is close to deciding against it and becoming a highly educated baby-minder because no one will hire her because she is a girl (?!?!). She isn’t allowed to take self defence classes on Mars because her father doesn’t want his little girl to know how to take care of herself (?!?!). Heinlein could imagine a world where we can travel through space but he couldn’t imagine a world where women and girls have agency. He creates a girl with a mother who has lived, who does interesting work who is capable but makes Poddy less interesting and gives her less to do (it is Clark who comes up with the escape plan, kills their body guard and sets the bomb). Thankfully this was short. I will add that I read this when I was about twelve and thought it was great. Back then most books written about young girls gave them even less to do.
The next day:
Ready to try again. This book was published the year I was born. It shows. A lot. It purports to be an adventure story about a young girl who is travelling with her Uncle and pesky, genius younger brother Clark. There is precious little adventure in it until the final quarter of the book. Then it is by turns tragic and exciting. Poddy ends up getting blown up by a bomb set by her brother, Clark, she is badly injured in an ICU on Venus. In Clark’s defence when he set the bomb he was trying to stop a plot designed to thwart the free Will of the Martian people (sort of like Republicans). Anyhow, Uncle Tom gives a speech at the end of the novel, blaming her parents(particularly Poddy’s mother) for putting her in danger as they kind of neglected her even though they were 75,000,000 miles away at the time.That just pissed me off. Not only was Poddy refrigerated in order to give Clark emotional growth, Poddy was in Uncle Tom’s care at the time. Poddy’s mother is a high powered career woman, an engineer. She speaks several languages, she is a self defence expert, she is highly educated. (Honestly, Heinlein should have written a book about her). Poddy on the other hand dreams of being a pilot but is close to deciding against it and becoming a highly educated baby-minder because no one will hire her because she is a girl (?!?!). She isn’t allowed to take self defence classes on Mars because her father doesn’t want his little girl to know how to take care of herself (?!?!). Heinlein could imagine a world where we can travel through space but he couldn’t imagine a world where women and girls have agency. He creates a girl with a mother who has lived, who does interesting work who is capable but makes Poddy less interesting and gives her less to do (it is Clark who comes up with the escape plan, kills their body guard and sets the bomb). Thankfully this was short. I will add that I read this when I was about twelve and thought it was great. Back then most books written about young girls gave them even less to do.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 10, 2012
If Podkayne is Heinlein's most remarkable heroine, I'm glad I haven't read any of his other stuff because Podkayne of Mars is a wimpy, passive, airhead who lets the men in the story do all the thinking. I understand that social moires were different when this was written, but just because I understand that doesn't mean I have to like this book. The plot was all right, but I was too frustrated with the main character to enjoy the book.
April 24, 2020
Good story, different than expected.
January 5, 2016
An enjoyable story about a girl native to Mars who goes on a trip to visit Earth with her brother and uncle. The format is the girl's journal, so the feel (and ultimate development) is actually a lot like Feed, but I liked the writing better here. I was also tickled to discover that "Podkayne" is the girl's name. I always thought that referenced a title or occupation, and for some reason I think it fits as a girl's name (the issue actually comes up in the book).
A lot of the side comments are interesting and provide worldbuilding, such as Podkayne's dismissal of Earth as the human origin because of how rugged and trashed it is, or how she can't imagine an ocean of water, much less swimming in it without an environmental suit. The biggest point of interest for me, however, is Heinlein's idea of separating gestation & childbirth from the raising of kids by allowing them to be cryogenically frozen until the parent is ready to raise them. In this world, people have as many children as they can when they are very young, have them frozen as soon as they are born, and then defrost them one by one as they feel fit to start raising another one. It's actually a significant idea, I think, as much as the separation of sex from pregnancy with birth control.
I don't know how convincingly Podkayne is written as a girl, but her relationship with her brother feels realistic to me, even if her brother is a little too smart.
A lot of the side comments are interesting and provide worldbuilding, such as Podkayne's dismissal of Earth as the human origin because of how rugged and trashed it is, or how she can't imagine an ocean of water, much less swimming in it without an environmental suit. The biggest point of interest for me, however, is Heinlein's idea of separating gestation & childbirth from the raising of kids by allowing them to be cryogenically frozen until the parent is ready to raise them. In this world, people have as many children as they can when they are very young, have them frozen as soon as they are born, and then defrost them one by one as they feel fit to start raising another one. It's actually a significant idea, I think, as much as the separation of sex from pregnancy with birth control.
I don't know how convincingly Podkayne is written as a girl, but her relationship with her brother feels realistic to me, even if her brother is a little too smart.
December 14, 2019
I recommend reading both endings to this book. Personally I think Heinlein should have been allowed to keep his original ending, but regardless, this book is one of his that has not aged well. I've been a Heinlein fan for years and enjoyed many of his books, and he knows his science, but this one is not one i would recommend unless you're a Heinlein completist.
June 15, 2022
Kirjahyllyä vuosia lämmittänyt kirppislöytö paljastuikin nuortenkirjaksi yhdeltä kolmesta scifin "grand masterista". Luin tästä suomennoksen Taistelu Venuksessa (WSOY 1978, alk.per. 1963).
Oli tosi kiinnostava tytöille suunnattu scifi! Päähenkilö Podkaynen, tämän neron pikkuveli Clarkin ja Tom-sedän dynamiikka kantoi tarinaa hyvin. Toisin kuin arvonimikollegansa Asimov, Heinlein onnistuu mm. luomaan 1960-luvulle tyypillisen tyttösankarin (voisi vaihtaa milloin tahansa paikkaa kenen tahansa Anni Polvan sankarittaren kanssa, enkä huomaisi eroa) ja kuvittelemaan tälle yhteiskunnallisesti aktiivisen äidin. Masentavasti muutoin naisten yhteiskunnallinen asema vastasikin sitten pitkälti 60-luvun mallia, vaikka tarina kauas tulevaisuuteen ilmeisesti sijoittuukin (päätellen siitä, että Mars ja Venus oli asutettu). Heinlein kirjoittaa myös aika selvästi auki sen, kuinka kaikkien tyttöjen ensisijaisen uratoiveen pitäisi olla äitiys, vaikka kuinka avaruusaikaa eletään.
Selvästi näkyy, että Heinlein on kirjoittanut siitä, mistä hän USKOO tyttölukijoiden olevan kiinnostuneita. Tästä syntyy toisaalta kauttaaltaan ummehtunutta, (jopa aavistuksen misogynististä) monologia, mutta myös kohtauksia kuvaamaan esim. avaruuden luksusristeilijästä asioita, joiden järjestelyä miehille ja pojille kirjoitettuun scifiin kukaan tuskin koskaan on vaivautunut edes pohtimaan (esim mitä tapahtuu aluksen lastenhoitohuoneessa, kun painovoima katoaa).
Onnistui kivasti saamaan mukaan yhteiskuntakuvauksen lisäksi poliittista suhmurointia ja sydäntä syrjällään pitävää seikkailua. Kaikin puolin oikeasti kiva aikansa nuortenkirja! Kolmannen tähden annan ihan vain positiivisesta yllätyksestä, jonka tämä tarjosi - tiettyjen osien takia tämä voisi jäädä kahteenkin.
Oli tosi kiinnostava tytöille suunnattu scifi! Päähenkilö Podkaynen, tämän neron pikkuveli Clarkin ja Tom-sedän dynamiikka kantoi tarinaa hyvin. Toisin kuin arvonimikollegansa Asimov, Heinlein onnistuu mm. luomaan 1960-luvulle tyypillisen tyttösankarin (voisi vaihtaa milloin tahansa paikkaa kenen tahansa Anni Polvan sankarittaren kanssa, enkä huomaisi eroa) ja kuvittelemaan tälle yhteiskunnallisesti aktiivisen äidin. Masentavasti muutoin naisten yhteiskunnallinen asema vastasikin sitten pitkälti 60-luvun mallia, vaikka tarina kauas tulevaisuuteen ilmeisesti sijoittuukin (päätellen siitä, että Mars ja Venus oli asutettu). Heinlein kirjoittaa myös aika selvästi auki sen, kuinka kaikkien tyttöjen ensisijaisen uratoiveen pitäisi olla äitiys, vaikka kuinka avaruusaikaa eletään.
Selvästi näkyy, että Heinlein on kirjoittanut siitä, mistä hän USKOO tyttölukijoiden olevan kiinnostuneita. Tästä syntyy toisaalta kauttaaltaan ummehtunutta, (jopa aavistuksen misogynististä) monologia, mutta myös kohtauksia kuvaamaan esim. avaruuden luksusristeilijästä asioita, joiden järjestelyä miehille ja pojille kirjoitettuun scifiin kukaan tuskin koskaan on vaivautunut edes pohtimaan (esim mitä tapahtuu aluksen lastenhoitohuoneessa, kun painovoima katoaa).
Onnistui kivasti saamaan mukaan yhteiskuntakuvauksen lisäksi poliittista suhmurointia ja sydäntä syrjällään pitävää seikkailua. Kaikin puolin oikeasti kiva aikansa nuortenkirja! Kolmannen tähden annan ihan vain positiivisesta yllätyksestä, jonka tämä tarjosi - tiettyjen osien takia tämä voisi jäädä kahteenkin.
June 10, 2020
Well, I stopped short of wanting to throw the book across the room but overall it was a disappointment. And a lot of stuff with the bomb just doesn’t make sense to me.
It started out promisingly enough, and I thought Poddy’s (Podkayne’s) jocular tone was fun at first. Her mother is even a big shot engineer, so I thought there might actually be some truth in Heinlein’s earlier stuff being better. But boy oh boy does he start showing his true colours as the story progresses. It started with little things, like comments about how all a woman has is her looks, despite any other accomplishments. That scene with the makeup was just cringeworthy. And I’ve honestly never met a teenage girl who was baby crazy, or who judged that her hips made her designed for making babies. Maybe things were different back then, but…I’m thinking it was some authorial projection. I’m not saying she can’t like babies, it’s just the way it’s presented, you know? Up to that point she’d been spaceship crazy. The book presents forgetting about trying for traditionally male careers as “growing up”, to which this engineer offers a middle-fingered salute.
Oh, and in the end Poddy’s mother is portrayed as being negligent for having a career instead of spending all her time raising her kids, so between that and the ending…I’d generally recommend taking a hard pass on this one.
It’s so depressing to think that Heinlein is still worshipped today as a master of SF.
It started out promisingly enough, and I thought Poddy’s (Podkayne’s) jocular tone was fun at first. Her mother is even a big shot engineer, so I thought there might actually be some truth in Heinlein’s earlier stuff being better. But boy oh boy does he start showing his true colours as the story progresses. It started with little things, like comments about how all a woman has is her looks, despite any other accomplishments. That scene with the makeup was just cringeworthy. And I’ve honestly never met a teenage girl who was baby crazy, or who judged that her hips made her designed for making babies. Maybe things were different back then, but…I’m thinking it was some authorial projection. I’m not saying she can’t like babies, it’s just the way it’s presented, you know? Up to that point she’d been spaceship crazy. The book presents forgetting about trying for traditionally male careers as “growing up”, to which this engineer offers a middle-fingered salute.
Oh, and in the end Poddy’s mother is portrayed as being negligent for having a career instead of spending all her time raising her kids, so between that and the ending…I’d generally recommend taking a hard pass on this one.
It’s so depressing to think that Heinlein is still worshipped today as a master of SF.
April 9, 2018
¿Buscáis un Heinlein CÓMICO, ÁCIDO Y EVASIVO (en lo referente a distracción), pero, como siempre, SIN ELUDIR LA CRÍTICA Y DENUNCIA SOCIAL?; éste es vuestro libro!.
Pero voy allá con el argumento y demás observaciones respecto a la obra...
Podkayne Fries, es una jovencita marciana (dejémoslo en eso..) , despierta, decidida y segura de sus armas femeninas, exótica, extrovertida, curiosa y descarada; pero sumamente sentimental y algo inocente. Con una pintoresca (y liosa) familia que completa el cuadro: un padre bondadoso y melancólico, profesor de historia terrestre, una madre autónoma y profesional, ingeniera y pionera de la reconstrucción planetaria, un hermano pequeño, Clark, inteligente, asocial y un sociópata en potencia y, por último, su tío Tom, un ex revolucionario y senador de Marte, que es un ávido jugador y un práctico pensador y filósofo de la vida.
Poddy desea visitar por encima de todo, la Tierra (a parte de piloto espacial). A través de sus memorias, “más francas que modestas” (incluyendo sugerentes anotaciones de su hermanito), nos hablará de los suyos, sus deseos futuros a nivel profesional y sentimental, y del día a día , durante el transcurso de su viaje interplanetario con parte de su familia, lleno de líos y entuertos, experiencias aleccionadoras y giro inesperado de planes....
Hija de Marte, empero de ser una obra destinada, y acertadamente (aunque recomendable para todo tipo de público), al público más joven, SIGUE LOS PRINCIPIOS DEL AUTOR EN SUS NARRACIONES: DIVERSIÓN A LA VEZ QUE CONOCIMIENTO CIENTÍFICO (aunque es un grado bastante bajo y básico), Y UNA FUERTE CARGA DE DISCURSO CRÍTICO, MEZCLADO DE MANERA INTELIGENTE, DE SOSLAYO, MEDIANTE LAS SITUACIONES DIARIAS DE LA PROTAGONISTA, SUS REFLEXIONES Y CONVERSACIONES CON OTROS.
Redactado de manera FLUIDA, es una obra de AVENTURAS EN TONO MORDAZ, CON UNA COMICIDAD EN LO TOCANTE A LAS “SALIDAS” DE PODDY, DISTRAÍDA Y QUE NO DEJA A TÍTERE CON CABEZA.
Éstos son algunos de los temas que cuestiona, plantea y / o critica, en sus apenas casi doscientas páginas:
- Cuestiona que la raza humana sea originaria de la tierra (no estamos adaptados para vivir en ésta, nos lo dice nuestro cuerpo..), y su egocentrismo
- Cuestiona la sobre-población, el sistema de vida y ecológico de la Tierra
- Crítica la lengua inglesa ( no es ninguna novedad en el autor)
- Critica las estafas de Duty- free
- Critica la inevitable negligencia médica
- Plantea la facilidad del soborno , y los tratos de favor
- Critica la publicidad engañosa, el abuso publicitario a cambio de concesiones y la explotación turística ( y de turistas)
- Critica la intolerancia humana frente a las situaciones de emergencia ( y su egoísmo)
- Critica el abuso de amabilidad que hacen algunas personas
- Nos habla acerca de las paradojas de la libre empresa
- Hace una visión de la política, en su aspecto más positivo y negativo (acuerdo y guerra)
- Critica el ostracismo de ideas, la superficialidad y pedantería de las personas
- Critica los prejuicios de todo tipo: raciales, locales, generacionales, vamos, el racismo inherente en parte de la población
- Plantea el peligro radiactivo frente a un sol cada vez más dañino y errático ( recordemos que está escrito en 1963)
- Critica la burocracia, los regímenes de gobierno (tiranías y “ democracias”)
- Critica los lujos para ciertos sectores de la población
- Reflexiona acerca de la muerte y de la maldad humana
- Reflexiona ( y mucho, tiene mucho peso) acerca de la natalidad, el modo de criar a los niños y el mejor sistema y época para ello
- Hace alusión a la casa Blanca y su opulencia
- Critica la esclavitud del trabajador y el sistema laboral, que sirve al gobierno y los impuestos
- Critica el fascismo corporativo
- Habla acerca de la libertad y el liberalismo
- Hace un canto a la mujer y el honor de serlo
- Critica la desigualdad laboral entre diferentes sexos
- Nos habla acerca de la evolución antropológica de los hombres y mujeres; con el importante y decisivo papel de ésta última adquirido en la época moderna.
- Plantea la importancia de la definición y situación dentro del sistema político de planetas ( o en la tierra, en la realidad)
No obstante, y conforme va desarrollándose la narración, no pierde su capacidad crítica, pero renuncia al aspecto “ más desenfadado” (si es que realmente hay desenfado aquí, pues es más seria de lo que a priori aparenta) para adentrarse en una última aventura decisiva, con un desenlace agridulce, que incluye UN MENSAJE ALECCIONADOR HACIA LOS PROGENITORES, ADEMÁS DE UN EPÍLOGO, MARCA DE LA CASA, CON UN FINAL “ ESPERANZADOR” PARA ALGUNO DE SUS PERSONAJES....y es que Heinlein, aunque realista con la humanidad, siempre es Positivo, ya que nunca se ha de dar por “pérdida” a una persona..:)
Si tuviese de DEFINIR “Hija de Marte” CON UNA FRASE, sería: COMO UN BUEN LIBRO DE TEXTO, QUE TE HABLA Y PLANTEA DIVERSIDAD DE COSAS SIN APENAS DARTE CUENTA, por su ligereza narrativa (en el buen sentido del término).
Una novela MERITORIA PARA SU ÉPOCA, POR SER DESTINADA AL PUBLICO MÁS JOVEN DE LOS SESENTA, y LA INFORMACIÓN QUE INTRODUCE.
A pesar de no ser el mejor Heinlein, es RECOMENDABLE PARA ADENTRAR A LOS MÁS PEQUEÑOS EN LA LECTURA EN GENERAL, Y EN LA CIENCIA FICCIÓN EN ESPECIAL (si no han leído nada anteriormente).
Y, por supuesto, RECOMENDADA PARA LOS QUE QUIERAN PASAR UN BUEN RATO, CON UNA LECTURA AMENA PERO CON FONDO:)
Pero voy allá con el argumento y demás observaciones respecto a la obra...
Podkayne Fries, es una jovencita marciana (dejémoslo en eso..) , despierta, decidida y segura de sus armas femeninas, exótica, extrovertida, curiosa y descarada; pero sumamente sentimental y algo inocente. Con una pintoresca (y liosa) familia que completa el cuadro: un padre bondadoso y melancólico, profesor de historia terrestre, una madre autónoma y profesional, ingeniera y pionera de la reconstrucción planetaria, un hermano pequeño, Clark, inteligente, asocial y un sociópata en potencia y, por último, su tío Tom, un ex revolucionario y senador de Marte, que es un ávido jugador y un práctico pensador y filósofo de la vida.
Poddy desea visitar por encima de todo, la Tierra (a parte de piloto espacial). A través de sus memorias, “más francas que modestas” (incluyendo sugerentes anotaciones de su hermanito), nos hablará de los suyos, sus deseos futuros a nivel profesional y sentimental, y del día a día , durante el transcurso de su viaje interplanetario con parte de su familia, lleno de líos y entuertos, experiencias aleccionadoras y giro inesperado de planes....
Hija de Marte, empero de ser una obra destinada, y acertadamente (aunque recomendable para todo tipo de público), al público más joven, SIGUE LOS PRINCIPIOS DEL AUTOR EN SUS NARRACIONES: DIVERSIÓN A LA VEZ QUE CONOCIMIENTO CIENTÍFICO (aunque es un grado bastante bajo y básico), Y UNA FUERTE CARGA DE DISCURSO CRÍTICO, MEZCLADO DE MANERA INTELIGENTE, DE SOSLAYO, MEDIANTE LAS SITUACIONES DIARIAS DE LA PROTAGONISTA, SUS REFLEXIONES Y CONVERSACIONES CON OTROS.
Redactado de manera FLUIDA, es una obra de AVENTURAS EN TONO MORDAZ, CON UNA COMICIDAD EN LO TOCANTE A LAS “SALIDAS” DE PODDY, DISTRAÍDA Y QUE NO DEJA A TÍTERE CON CABEZA.
Éstos son algunos de los temas que cuestiona, plantea y / o critica, en sus apenas casi doscientas páginas:
- Cuestiona que la raza humana sea originaria de la tierra (no estamos adaptados para vivir en ésta, nos lo dice nuestro cuerpo..), y su egocentrismo
- Cuestiona la sobre-población, el sistema de vida y ecológico de la Tierra
- Crítica la lengua inglesa ( no es ninguna novedad en el autor)
- Critica las estafas de Duty- free
- Critica la inevitable negligencia médica
- Plantea la facilidad del soborno , y los tratos de favor
- Critica la publicidad engañosa, el abuso publicitario a cambio de concesiones y la explotación turística ( y de turistas)
- Critica la intolerancia humana frente a las situaciones de emergencia ( y su egoísmo)
- Critica el abuso de amabilidad que hacen algunas personas
- Nos habla acerca de las paradojas de la libre empresa
- Hace una visión de la política, en su aspecto más positivo y negativo (acuerdo y guerra)
- Critica el ostracismo de ideas, la superficialidad y pedantería de las personas
- Critica los prejuicios de todo tipo: raciales, locales, generacionales, vamos, el racismo inherente en parte de la población
- Plantea el peligro radiactivo frente a un sol cada vez más dañino y errático ( recordemos que está escrito en 1963)
- Critica la burocracia, los regímenes de gobierno (tiranías y “ democracias”)
- Critica los lujos para ciertos sectores de la población
- Reflexiona acerca de la muerte y de la maldad humana
- Reflexiona ( y mucho, tiene mucho peso) acerca de la natalidad, el modo de criar a los niños y el mejor sistema y época para ello
- Hace alusión a la casa Blanca y su opulencia
- Critica la esclavitud del trabajador y el sistema laboral, que sirve al gobierno y los impuestos
- Critica el fascismo corporativo
- Habla acerca de la libertad y el liberalismo
- Hace un canto a la mujer y el honor de serlo
- Critica la desigualdad laboral entre diferentes sexos
- Nos habla acerca de la evolución antropológica de los hombres y mujeres; con el importante y decisivo papel de ésta última adquirido en la época moderna.
- Plantea la importancia de la definición y situación dentro del sistema político de planetas ( o en la tierra, en la realidad)
No obstante, y conforme va desarrollándose la narración, no pierde su capacidad crítica, pero renuncia al aspecto “ más desenfadado” (si es que realmente hay desenfado aquí, pues es más seria de lo que a priori aparenta) para adentrarse en una última aventura decisiva, con un desenlace agridulce, que incluye UN MENSAJE ALECCIONADOR HACIA LOS PROGENITORES, ADEMÁS DE UN EPÍLOGO, MARCA DE LA CASA, CON UN FINAL “ ESPERANZADOR” PARA ALGUNO DE SUS PERSONAJES....y es que Heinlein, aunque realista con la humanidad, siempre es Positivo, ya que nunca se ha de dar por “pérdida” a una persona..:)
Si tuviese de DEFINIR “Hija de Marte” CON UNA FRASE, sería: COMO UN BUEN LIBRO DE TEXTO, QUE TE HABLA Y PLANTEA DIVERSIDAD DE COSAS SIN APENAS DARTE CUENTA, por su ligereza narrativa (en el buen sentido del término).
Una novela MERITORIA PARA SU ÉPOCA, POR SER DESTINADA AL PUBLICO MÁS JOVEN DE LOS SESENTA, y LA INFORMACIÓN QUE INTRODUCE.
A pesar de no ser el mejor Heinlein, es RECOMENDABLE PARA ADENTRAR A LOS MÁS PEQUEÑOS EN LA LECTURA EN GENERAL, Y EN LA CIENCIA FICCIÓN EN ESPECIAL (si no han leído nada anteriormente).
Y, por supuesto, RECOMENDADA PARA LOS QUE QUIERAN PASAR UN BUEN RATO, CON UNA LECTURA AMENA PERO CON FONDO:)
March 12, 2019
Heinlein’s first, but by no means last, experiment with female narrators.
April 23, 2019
The f*** did I just read. I'm now hella confused and slightly annoyed about it. At the moment I'm thinking 2.5, maybe 3 stars at the most?
Look, I loved Ender's Game and that's why I decided to pick up this random sci-fi book at the library. I'd heard of Robert Heinlein, the cover looked alright, and I read the first couple of pages and liked it. But now I've finished it... I mean, the blurb says this book features 'the Grand Master of Science Fiction's most remarkable heroine', and that makes me terrified to read about any other heroines Heinlein has come up with.
For the most part, I don't think this was a terrible book. I enjoyed it enough to finish it all in a day or two, which is always nice after taking 4 days to read a book shorter than this one! I liked the protagonist for the most part, mostly because I could relate to wanting to travel beyond your home, and I thought she was a pretty spunky but caring character who I could really root for. Her brother is pretty much a psycho but I liked that we got his perspective because he did grow on me.
As for the rest of it though, it was a bit of a chaotic mess, especially in the last 30 or so pages. I still have no clue what happened and will now need to speak in spoilery terms.
Overall, I'm still conflicted. I'm thinking it's either a 2.5 or it's a low 3. But I feel like it elicited enough annoyance to be a 2? I'll stick with a 3 for now but that probably will move down in the next couple of days.
Also, Heinlein really has no idea how to narrate the female voice does he? I'm going to just about excuse a lot of the sexism as being a contextual thing, but I definitely had problems with it as outlined in the spoiler bit above.
Look, I loved Ender's Game and that's why I decided to pick up this random sci-fi book at the library. I'd heard of Robert Heinlein, the cover looked alright, and I read the first couple of pages and liked it. But now I've finished it... I mean, the blurb says this book features 'the Grand Master of Science Fiction's most remarkable heroine', and that makes me terrified to read about any other heroines Heinlein has come up with.
For the most part, I don't think this was a terrible book. I enjoyed it enough to finish it all in a day or two, which is always nice after taking 4 days to read a book shorter than this one! I liked the protagonist for the most part, mostly because I could relate to wanting to travel beyond your home, and I thought she was a pretty spunky but caring character who I could really root for. Her brother is pretty much a psycho but I liked that we got his perspective because he did grow on me.
As for the rest of it though, it was a bit of a chaotic mess, especially in the last 30 or so pages. I still have no clue what happened and will now need to speak in spoilery terms.
Overall, I'm still conflicted. I'm thinking it's either a 2.5 or it's a low 3. But I feel like it elicited enough annoyance to be a 2? I'll stick with a 3 for now but that probably will move down in the next couple of days.
Also, Heinlein really has no idea how to narrate the female voice does he? I'm going to just about excuse a lot of the sexism as being a contextual thing, but I definitely had problems with it as outlined in the spoiler bit above.
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