The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Week One - Book One - discussion starts Feb 4th

Duffster · February 01, 2008, 09:36:11 AM

Book one discussion start next week. I think you will all enjoy this book.

Rico · February 04, 2008, 07:20:52 AM

Got my copy sitting right here. Starting it during lunch today.

wraith1701 · February 04, 2008, 09:48:24 AM

So far, so good. At first, Mannie's accent threw me off a little, but it has started to grow on me. And Mike is an interesting character, albeit a little unsettling ***Terminator theme music starts to play ;) ***.

One thing Heinlein does really well is make the reader feel like they have been dropped into the middle of a quickly evolving adventure, and I like that aspect of this book. Some of his attitudes, however, are unabashedly a reflection of the time in which the book was written. I can't put my finger on it, but something about this book (as well as Stranger In A Strange Land and The Number Of The Beast) has a 60's, quasi-hippie, radical feel to it. I'm not saying that's a good thing or a bad thing, I'm just saying...

Duffster · February 04, 2008, 10:30:35 AM

It definitely has a unique feel. A few things you will notice in almost all Heinlein books. One, the hero is an intelligent, savvy fellow. Two, there is definitely going to be a drop dead gorgeous women in it, that is smart and dangerous. Third (my favorite) there is going to be a wise old grumpy guy, like a Dr. or teacher. Oh and an extra bonus, there's going to be politics!

One thing I have always liked about Heinlein. The story isn't about the science. Like lots of great Sci-Fi it's about the people, and the society.

Duffster

Rico · February 04, 2008, 10:42:47 AM

I'm liking it so far. Got about to page 50 at lunch. Nice pace to the story. It's fun to read classic SF from this era once in awhile. And the accent thing I got used to pretty quickly. Think I'm going to enjoy this one.

Rico · February 07, 2008, 04:20:26 PM

Anyone else getting into this book yet? I'm liking it a lot. And Duffster is right. This is really a story about the people and characters. With a little SF tossed in too.

Duffster · February 08, 2008, 04:12:10 AM

I was wondering if anyone recognized the girl Hazel? If you have read a lot of Heinlein you might know who she is. Heinlein tied a lot of his characters from various books together.

I've read this book a few times, and always like it. When I first read it the idea of a computer like Mike was pretty farfetched. Now....not so much.

Duffster

Rico · February 08, 2008, 04:44:46 AM

Is Hazel in the early part of the book? I don't think I've gotten to her yet.

Duffster · February 08, 2008, 05:10:49 AM

She is in book one, not a major character. She is the leader of the Baker Street Irregulars, the kids.

Rico · February 08, 2008, 05:16:23 AM

Quote from: Duffster on February 08, 2008, 05:10:49 AM
She is in book one, not a major character. She is the leader of the Baker Street Irregulars, the kids.

Hmmm. I'm on page 127 and I sure don't remember reading about her yet.

Duffster · February 08, 2008, 06:28:49 AM

Oh, ok you may not have gotten there yet. Like I said, not a major character, but she does show up in at least two other Heinlein books. Interestingly enough, she was one of the main characters in his book "The Rolling Stones", which I also like a lot. There is mention in that book about the moons independence, although it was written 14 years before this book.

I only mention it because a lot of people think that Heinleins last books were the only ones where he tried to tie in a bunch of characters from his older books. He was doing it way back when this was written.