May 02, 2005

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

I'm just finishing up The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, and I've got to admit that I'm rather liking it. After finishing The Cat Who Walks Through Walls I was just hoping for the best, and was pleasantly surprised.

One of Heinlein's most famous works, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress follows the experiences of a computer technician, Mannie, through the computer-led lunar revolution. Once a penal colony, the residents of the moon are now fighting for autonomy and a free market.

Moon is everything you'd want in a politically subversive lunar manifesto. When I first started, I was a little nervous with the usage of a written accent. Sometimes first person dialects can start to wear on me after 200 pages, but not so much this time. Once again Heinlein walks a fine line, and this time he walked it well. I did however hit a bit of a lull just after they initially "win" their revolution. I was having flashbacks to the painful third book in The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, but luckily the pace did pick up quickly. Sometimes it feels like Heinlein either over-thinks or simply over-explains his sci-fi ideas. Since the desire to control one's own destiny is timeless, people in any decade will relate to the struggles of Luna Free State, and find something therein. I just hope I don't get tagged as a political danger through my library records and the Freedom of Information Act. Hahahaha!

Once again, Heinlein has won me over. Of course, his space-military books still hold the biggest slot in my heart with Space Cadet and Starship Troopers. But after experiencing Cat, this one won me back over.

May 2, 2005 06:52 PM

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