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medea_jade's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
I read this books years ago and remembered loving it. I think I would have enjoyed it more reading a physical copy again as I did not love this reader. He did female voices very poorly and a lot of his sort of side character voices were frankly weird. All kinda slow and drawling.
The story itself is a classic. In many ways Heinlein was ahead of his time. The sexism is overt yet you also get the sense that the author himself didn’t necessarily believe it, only wrote it because it’s what was expected.
It’s an exciting plot with lots of twists. Truly this author is one of the fathers of modern sci fi. Much better than say the likes of Asimov who wouldn’t know a descriptive adjective or a diverse cast if they slapped him in the face.
The story itself is a classic. In many ways Heinlein was ahead of his time. The sexism is overt yet you also get the sense that the author himself didn’t necessarily believe it, only wrote it because it’s what was expected.
It’s an exciting plot with lots of twists. Truly this author is one of the fathers of modern sci fi. Much better than say the likes of Asimov who wouldn’t know a descriptive adjective or a diverse cast if they slapped him in the face.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
moriaine's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Suicide, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I never thought about this book as one of my favorites, but on this re-read I suddenly realized how many times I've re-read it before, and that any book I re-read every few years should probably officially be counted as a favorite!
This is classic pulp sci-fi adventure stuff, and I enjoy that sort of story, but I think it's the characters here that really keep me coming back. The romance story line may leave out all the mushy stuff, but it substitutes with noble heroics, so I have no complaints there. And while other reviewers attack the 'outdated gender roles', I actually love seeing a female character who is tough and competent but doesn't feel the need to prove it every thirty seconds.
This was pretty much the edgiest book I'd read when I discovered it in my mid-teens, and in addition to the uncomfortable repeated references (though totally lacking in description) to nudity, and weird (supposedly futuristic) view of marriage, the tense/scary parts definitely kept me up at night, and there was an animal death that made me cry. (The general violence and references to torture and plague made less impression on me specifically, but could also be stressful for other readers.) I wouldn't recommend it for readers much younger than my mid-teen self, but for me, it was a good age to read it for the first time.
This is classic pulp sci-fi adventure stuff, and I enjoy that sort of story, but I think it's the characters here that really keep me coming back. The romance story line may leave out all the mushy stuff, but it substitutes with noble heroics, so I have no complaints there. And while other reviewers attack the 'outdated gender roles', I actually love seeing a female character who is tough and competent but doesn't feel the need to prove it every thirty seconds.
This was pretty much the edgiest book I'd read when I discovered it in my mid-teens, and in addition to the uncomfortable repeated references (though totally lacking in description) to nudity, and weird (supposedly futuristic) view of marriage, the tense/scary parts definitely kept me up at night, and there was an animal death that made me cry. (The general violence and references to torture and plague made less impression on me specifically, but could also be stressful for other readers.) I wouldn't recommend it for readers much younger than my mid-teen self, but for me, it was a good age to read it for the first time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Death, Drug use, and Violence
Minor: Torture, Death of parent, and Alcohol
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