sillypunk's review against another edition
4.0
It was good: http://blogendorff.ghost.io/book-review-the-moon-is-a-harsh-mistress/
yurugu's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-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
1.0
hairband_dude's review against another edition
5.0
Wow! Very heavy read, AAA stuff. It's more of a sociological fiction with a few bits of science in it. Right up there with 1984 on my shelves :)
ndenitto's review against another edition
3.0
This book starts out really, really strong and then becomes consistently less engaging.
The first half, which constitutes Book One, is a fascinating look into an all new society created by Heinlein. The moon used to be a penal colony, but now it's its own society that lives under the Lunar Authority. Since there are significantly more men than women, women have a lot of power. Laying hands on a woman against her will is enough to get an entire gang of guys to literally murder you on the spot. There is very little murder in general, because everyone knows they'll be punished by being murdered themselves.
Manny, a computer repairman with one arm befriends a sentient computer called Mike (Mycroft). Manny is the only one that knows the computer it "alive", but he shares the secret with a select few when talks of revolution materialize.
The first book is a great read because we get to see the inner workings of a revolution in progress, balanced with the analysis of the culture.
The next two books are rather dull, however, because once the revolutionaries succeed and reach the second phase of their coup (being recognized Earthside so they can be truly independent), things just continually go their way and there's no real conflict.
The first half, which constitutes Book One, is a fascinating look into an all new society created by Heinlein. The moon used to be a penal colony, but now it's its own society that lives under the Lunar Authority. Since there are significantly more men than women, women have a lot of power. Laying hands on a woman against her will is enough to get an entire gang of guys to literally murder you on the spot. There is very little murder in general, because everyone knows they'll be punished by being murdered themselves.
Manny, a computer repairman with one arm befriends a sentient computer called Mike (Mycroft). Manny is the only one that knows the computer it "alive", but he shares the secret with a select few when talks of revolution materialize.
The first book is a great read because we get to see the inner workings of a revolution in progress, balanced with the analysis of the culture.
The next two books are rather dull, however, because once the revolutionaries succeed and reach the second phase of their coup (being recognized Earthside so they can be truly independent), things just continually go their way and there's no real conflict.
kikuchiyo90's review against another edition
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
logantea's review against another edition
4.0
I can totally understand both loving this book or hating it. It definitely reads like a not very subtle piece of libertarian propaganda at some points. However, I quite enjoyed it. It's not a poorly crafted story in service of a worldview -- it's a well crafted, rich, and believable piece of science fiction that has a worldview.
The characters are enjoyable, the world of Luna is strange but has clearly explained logic and rules that make sense in the context and make it easy to engross yourself in their world. The science of the tech is never fully explained, but never really seems unbelievable. There's also a great use of an AI that goes contrary to the common portrayals of what sentient computers will be. Although that could be less because the machine is significantly different from other fictional AIs and more because the way it is treated and utilized by others in the world is quite different.
There are some sections in the middle where the story gets a little bogged down in technical descriptions -- rebel cell communication algorithms that were clearly meant to be fully explained but never truly made sense to me, but these are small quibbles. I really enjoyed this book and if you don't mind or can look past the libertarian propaganda vibes it's definitely worth a read.
The characters are enjoyable, the world of Luna is strange but has clearly explained logic and rules that make sense in the context and make it easy to engross yourself in their world. The science of the tech is never fully explained, but never really seems unbelievable. There's also a great use of an AI that goes contrary to the common portrayals of what sentient computers will be. Although that could be less because the machine is significantly different from other fictional AIs and more because the way it is treated and utilized by others in the world is quite different.
There are some sections in the middle where the story gets a little bogged down in technical descriptions -- rebel cell communication algorithms that were clearly meant to be fully explained but never truly made sense to me, but these are small quibbles. I really enjoyed this book and if you don't mind or can look past the libertarian propaganda vibes it's definitely worth a read.
deuxcl's review against another edition
4.0
Es un libro extraño, pero cautivador. Me mantuvo pendiente e intrigado de las aventuras de los "Loonies", sus planes y cómo cada uno de ellos salía de acuerdo a las predicciones de Mycroft. Quizás ahí tengan problemas algunos lectores, y por eso digo que es extraño, ya que en realidad los protagonistas y sus propósitos nunca están en peligro de fracasar, nunca sucede algo imprevisto, aunque sí hay muchas cosas que escapan del conocimiento de Mannie, pero nunca de Mike, quien es realmente el verdadero protagonista del libro. En ese sentido es bastante lineal. Las cosas comienzan con Mike y terminan con él. Pero la ausencia de giros y suspenso se suple de la mejor manera con lo intrigante que resulta la trama, la aventura de lograr una Luna libre.
El cambio en la narración, cuando Mannie pasa de hablar de eventos pasados al presente, es casual, casi imperceptible, pero tiene un gran impacto. Después de haber pasado todo el libro enterándonos de lo que sucedió en Luna a través de la narración de Mannie, las últimas páginas están reservadas para la nostalgia de Mannie por el amigo que encontró en Mike, una máquina más humana que los humanos. Su pérdida al final no es fácil para Mannie y tampoco para nosotros.
El cambio en la narración, cuando Mannie pasa de hablar de eventos pasados al presente, es casual, casi imperceptible, pero tiene un gran impacto. Después de haber pasado todo el libro enterándonos de lo que sucedió en Luna a través de la narración de Mannie, las últimas páginas están reservadas para la nostalgia de Mannie por el amigo que encontró en Mike, una máquina más humana que los humanos. Su pérdida al final no es fácil para Mannie y tampoco para nosotros.