Friday

There was such a difference in style between Heinlein's earlier and later works that without a chronology to hand it's very difficult to know quite what you're going to get. I enjoyed this one as an adventure story, and of course there are links to two of my favourite Heinlein works (Gulf, a story from [b:Asignment In Eternity], and [b:The puppet Masters|7171856|The Puppet Masters|Robert A. Heinlein|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1280692998s/7171856.jpg|2534984].

I often find myself wondering just why his female characters are so willful sometimes, and occasionally in this book particularly I wondered where it was all heading. The climax seemed to rush up at you and go boo, but still worth reading if you're a Heinlein fan.

This is my first Heinlein read and I'm not sure how to describe it. Scientifically fascinating (star charts and impressive detailing of the future) and sexually disturbing (in a good way as far as the family structure goes, but maybe not so good due to the rape and its less than serious consequences). While the plot seems a little aimless, I'm still pondering the concepts about artificial humans, interplanetary governments, and gender stereotypes that Heinlein explores in this book.