readers_pov's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Quote: "Next time he would try not to take the long way round."
✒️ I have not read much literature from 1950s, and even less scifi from that time. I don't recal what my expectations were, but it wasn't what I thought it would be. The plot was unexpected, it was all sorts of coincidences after one another that led the MC on his journey. It was a scifi themed growing up story, but the MC's growing up held no importance for the plot. I did like the MC's stubborn personality.
✒️ The most interesting to me was how the author had written a futuristic worldview: there was robots, space travel, alien dragon, habitation on Venus and Mars and a lot of physics jargon. In contrast, there were radiograms, video projectors, a boy school on a ranch, no internet, no mentions of a computer, no cellphones... It was fun to read what was considered futuristic and what Heinlein thought future world with casual space travel would have.
✒️ Characters fell flat - there was one woman and all others were men. And some venus dragons and one martian. There was quite little insight into any of them, even MC's lifestory and backstory was barely brushed upon. That left me wanting deeper connection to the characters.
✒️ Personally, another interesting point was the focus on language and linguistics. There were a lot of weight on what was referred to as 'true speech' (the whistling-like language of the Venus dragons) and MC's proficiency in that language was very important throughout. He gained connections and allies, respect and a job and even someone akin to family. I loved this as a student of languages and linguistics.
✒️ I have not read much literature from 1950s, and even less scifi from that time. I don't recal what my expectations were, but it wasn't what I thought it would be. The plot was unexpected, it was all sorts of coincidences after one another that led the MC on his journey. It was a scifi themed growing up story, but the MC's growing up held no importance for the plot. I did like the MC's stubborn personality.
✒️ The most interesting to me was how the author had written a futuristic worldview: there was robots, space travel, alien dragon, habitation on Venus and Mars and a lot of physics jargon. In contrast, there were radiograms, video projectors, a boy school on a ranch, no internet, no mentions of a computer, no cellphones... It was fun to read what was considered futuristic and what Heinlein thought future world with casual space travel would have.
✒️ Characters fell flat - there was one woman and all others were men. And some venus dragons and one martian. There was quite little insight into any of them, even MC's lifestory and backstory was barely brushed upon. That left me wanting deeper connection to the characters.
✒️ Personally, another interesting point was the focus on language and linguistics. There were a lot of weight on what was referred to as 'true speech' (the whistling-like language of the Venus dragons) and MC's proficiency in that language was very important throughout. He gained connections and allies, respect and a job and even someone akin to family. I loved this as a student of languages and linguistics.
gildius's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
javamamanc's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-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
4.0
bookwormerica's review against another edition
4.0
I love me some heinlein. I'm a bigger fan of his adult vs juveniles tho
bickleyhouse's review
5.0
Between Planets is another one of Heinlein's "juvenile" books, which, I suppose, means that they were written with young readers in mind?
It has been one of the best ones, thus far. It is also the twelfth book in my epic mission to read all of the Science Fiction Grand Masters. And, it is another book by Heinlein that I had never heard of.
Donald Harvey is a young man who is currently going to school on Earth. His parents, one an earth citizen and the other a Venus citizen, live on Mars. One day, he gets an urgent message. He is going to Mars. Before leaving, he is told that he should be expecting a package with something that he is to deliver to his father.
Thus begins a tale of mystery and subterfuge. The thing that makes it somewhat comical is that Don Harvey, who is right smack in the middle of all of the subterfuge, has no idea what is happening.
On the first leg of the trip, Harvey's ship must dock at a space station just out of Earth's orbit. However, when his ship, the "Glory Road" (this will be the title of a later Heinlein novel, most definitely NOT for juveniles) arrives at the station, it has already been taken over by Federation soldiers. It turns out that a sort of war was beginning between Earth and Venus.
At first, Don is told that he must return to Earth. But he objects, stating that he is supposed to go to Mars, which is neutral in this conflict, and that his mother is Venusian. After some debate, it is decided that Don can continue, but must go to Venus, as no ships are going to Mars.
The story continues, and that is far as I will go with the plot. I thoroughly enjoyed Harvey's character, as well as several others, including a young lady he meets on Venus, named Isobel. He also has an encounter with a native Venusian, which turns out to be a dragon. The communication between them is a language of whistling. This dragon figures into the plat, later, as well.
And if I though Willis, from Red Planet, was adorable, Heinlein invents another creature in this story, that he calls "gregarians," but the people on Venus call them "move-overs." They have the be the cutest, most lovable creatures ever written.
Does Donald ever make it to Mars? You'll have to read it to find out, because I'm not telling. A charming tale, though, and a quick read by the first of the Science Fiction Grand Masters.
It has been one of the best ones, thus far. It is also the twelfth book in my epic mission to read all of the Science Fiction Grand Masters. And, it is another book by Heinlein that I had never heard of.
Donald Harvey is a young man who is currently going to school on Earth. His parents, one an earth citizen and the other a Venus citizen, live on Mars. One day, he gets an urgent message. He is going to Mars. Before leaving, he is told that he should be expecting a package with something that he is to deliver to his father.
Thus begins a tale of mystery and subterfuge. The thing that makes it somewhat comical is that Don Harvey, who is right smack in the middle of all of the subterfuge, has no idea what is happening.
On the first leg of the trip, Harvey's ship must dock at a space station just out of Earth's orbit. However, when his ship, the "Glory Road" (this will be the title of a later Heinlein novel, most definitely NOT for juveniles) arrives at the station, it has already been taken over by Federation soldiers. It turns out that a sort of war was beginning between Earth and Venus.
At first, Don is told that he must return to Earth. But he objects, stating that he is supposed to go to Mars, which is neutral in this conflict, and that his mother is Venusian. After some debate, it is decided that Don can continue, but must go to Venus, as no ships are going to Mars.
The story continues, and that is far as I will go with the plot. I thoroughly enjoyed Harvey's character, as well as several others, including a young lady he meets on Venus, named Isobel. He also has an encounter with a native Venusian, which turns out to be a dragon. The communication between them is a language of whistling. This dragon figures into the plat, later, as well.
And if I though Willis, from Red Planet, was adorable, Heinlein invents another creature in this story, that he calls "gregarians," but the people on Venus call them "move-overs." They have the be the cutest, most lovable creatures ever written.
Does Donald ever make it to Mars? You'll have to read it to find out, because I'm not telling. A charming tale, though, and a quick read by the first of the Science Fiction Grand Masters.
barryhaworth's review against another edition
4.0
Continuing with the Heinlein juveniles, I found this one more engaging than Red Planet, though it is a little hard to pin down why. Perhaps the writing style is better - the very chatty type of style that I enjoy with most of Heinlein's books.
markyon's review against another edition
4.0
Here’s the latest of my rereads of Heinlein’s works.
After Farmer in the Sky Robert then published a decidedly more adult novel, The Puppet Masters. However, he was still with a Scribner’s contract to publish one juvenile novel a year, and so returned to the world of young adult SF with this novel.
Things in Heinlein’s own world had moved on a little since his last sojourn to his future Solar System, and this change is partly reflected in this novel. Though a juvenile novel, and one of a series designed for Scouts (a predominantly male teen audience), Heinlein had found a voice through his Destination Moon movie scriptwriting and The Puppet Masters. It is possible that Heinlein was starting to outgrow such a setup.
The background to Between Planets is a more sophisticated one. Having travelled to Venus, Mars and Ganymede in previous juveniles and examined the importance of freedom and pioneering characteristics, Between Planets sets up a situation where the main protagonist is between different territories. His loyalties are less black-and-white than in previous novels, because his conscience is also transitory.
Like Red Planet, Between Planets is a tale of colonial revolt. Such a situation was to some degree forewarned in Farmer in the Sky, when Bill Lermer was involved in a discussion that suggested that the continued human expansion and colonisation of the Solar System would eventually lead to war. (Chapter 18, pages 154-155.) As William H Patterson points out in his Introduction to Between Planets, “This time he (Heinlein) would turn Space Cadet inside out, he decided: Instead of a young man deliberately preparing for war, this story would be about a young man surprised and overtaken by war.”
Here, in Between Planets, we see the culmination of that ‘progress’, with an independent colony (Venus) demanding liberation from the original home planet, each world accusing the other of taking advantage of their status. Of course, not all of this is entirely relevant (at first) to our hero of Between Planets, Don Harvey. Don begins the novel at school on Earth. On his recall to Mars, Don (with a father from Earth and a mother from Venus) finds himself in the middle to a deteriorating situation between the two planets. Whilst visiting a family friend before lift-off, Don is arrested. He is eventually released, but his family friend, Professor Jefferson, dies of heart failure whilst under arrest.
Don then travels to an Earth orbiting space station en-transit to Mars. Whilst there, a raid by Venusian colonists takes over the station. Many travellers are returned to Earth, whilst Don claims Venusian citizenship in the hope that from Venus he can then travel to his parents on Mars.
Once on Venus, Don finds that, due to the current interplanetary fracas, his Earth-money is worth nothing. Communication with his parents is impossible. He is forced to get a job and try and earn the credit needed to pay for passage to Mars. When the Federation of Earth invades Venus, Don finds himself as an enlisted guerrilla fighter for the Venusians, but with a bigger part to play in events than he realised.
On finishing this book, my first thoughts were that this was the most exciting YA Heinlein novel I’ve read so far. It’s an entertaining combination of espionage and thriller, with a Space-Age setting. Whilst some of its information is now sadly out of date (farewell, jungle-swamp Venus!) I was able to still read this without losing my sense of disbelief.
The book itself is a strange concoction of old-world imagery combined with future-age optimism, even from the hindsight of 2013. We have this from the first page, when Don is out riding a pony in New Mexico whilst managing communication with what we would now call a mobile phone. The receipt of a ‘radiogram’ could now be seen as an email.
This combination of things the reader recognises with things they don’t runs throughout the novel. It is perhaps to be expected with a novel over 60 years old. In the 1950’s, as now, the purpose of Science Fiction was often seen by many at that time to predict the future, and as we know now some ideas work, whereas others don’t.
What I did find interesting was relating parts of this to Heinlein’s own background, and his movement in the series to more adult concerns. Between Planets shows a world where the teen-hero is clearly growing older. Whilst Don is initially rather naïve, he finds that he has to grow up fast and get a grip on bigger issues. The school part may be based on his Naval training; as a sign of his growing maturity, Professor Jefferson takes Don to a night club (and possibly strip joint?) on his visit to New Chicago. By the end he is clearly an adult.
Heinlein’s view on a World Authority is also interesting here as well. Like in Red Planet and Space Cadet, worldly governments (or at least the Interplanetary Bureau of Investigation) don’t seem to be working that well – regimented, even dictatorial, they seem to employ methods that are not the ideal – arresting people to be tortured and such like. “Any government that gets to be too big and too successful gets to be a nuisance”(page 154), one of the characters say. Perhaps the message here is one often given as a result of WW2, that it is up to the people of the future like Don, as part of the new order, to put things right. Space is truly the new frontier, and as such should be unshackled by previous terrestrial confines.
We also get those Heinlein-esque touches that are becoming recognisable as I read the series again. Professor Jefferson is another older mentor character that seems to fit the Jubal Halshaw/Lazarus Long template we will see again later. It is here that we are introduced to the key Heinlein idea of ‘paying it forward’ that will become a standard in later years. Between Planets also has an alien character with nearly as much charisma as Red Planet’s Willis, that of Venusian dragon Sir Isaac Newton (who will briefly reappear in The Number of the Beast.) One of the spaceships is named Glory Road, a title to reappear as a novel title a decade later.
If any criticism can be made of Between Planets, it is perhaps that most of the ideas here are not new, even in the 1950’s. But the execution of the tale, the plotting and the ideas throughout are what we would now count as typical Heinlein. Although the ending of the novel does rather depend upon one major invention, in most other ways Between Planets is a complete world away from the slam-bang space-operatics of early SF writers like Edmond Hamilton or E. E. ‘Doc’ Smith. Whilst we’re not talking stylistic and literary acrobatics such as in Alfred Bester’s The Demolished Man (1951-52) or Algis Budrys’s Rogue Moon (1960), we are reading here solidly written, engaging and entertaining tales, storytelling in as straightforward a manner as possible but with enough depth to go beyond the impossibilities of pulp SF.
Between Planets is a book that is more complex than I remembered it to be, yet entertaining enough for the teenage reader. It shows a writer developing his craft further and clearly on an upward trajectory. We are now at the point where Heinlein’s skills in storycraft are reaching universally recognised status. As we enter an era seen as one of SF’s greatest, Between Planets shows that Heinlein deserves to be seen as one of the most entertaining and inspiring SF authors of that time.
After Farmer in the Sky Robert then published a decidedly more adult novel, The Puppet Masters. However, he was still with a Scribner’s contract to publish one juvenile novel a year, and so returned to the world of young adult SF with this novel.
Things in Heinlein’s own world had moved on a little since his last sojourn to his future Solar System, and this change is partly reflected in this novel. Though a juvenile novel, and one of a series designed for Scouts (a predominantly male teen audience), Heinlein had found a voice through his Destination Moon movie scriptwriting and The Puppet Masters. It is possible that Heinlein was starting to outgrow such a setup.
The background to Between Planets is a more sophisticated one. Having travelled to Venus, Mars and Ganymede in previous juveniles and examined the importance of freedom and pioneering characteristics, Between Planets sets up a situation where the main protagonist is between different territories. His loyalties are less black-and-white than in previous novels, because his conscience is also transitory.
Like Red Planet, Between Planets is a tale of colonial revolt. Such a situation was to some degree forewarned in Farmer in the Sky, when Bill Lermer was involved in a discussion that suggested that the continued human expansion and colonisation of the Solar System would eventually lead to war. (Chapter 18, pages 154-155.) As William H Patterson points out in his Introduction to Between Planets, “This time he (Heinlein) would turn Space Cadet inside out, he decided: Instead of a young man deliberately preparing for war, this story would be about a young man surprised and overtaken by war.”
Here, in Between Planets, we see the culmination of that ‘progress’, with an independent colony (Venus) demanding liberation from the original home planet, each world accusing the other of taking advantage of their status. Of course, not all of this is entirely relevant (at first) to our hero of Between Planets, Don Harvey. Don begins the novel at school on Earth. On his recall to Mars, Don (with a father from Earth and a mother from Venus) finds himself in the middle to a deteriorating situation between the two planets. Whilst visiting a family friend before lift-off, Don is arrested. He is eventually released, but his family friend, Professor Jefferson, dies of heart failure whilst under arrest.
Don then travels to an Earth orbiting space station en-transit to Mars. Whilst there, a raid by Venusian colonists takes over the station. Many travellers are returned to Earth, whilst Don claims Venusian citizenship in the hope that from Venus he can then travel to his parents on Mars.
Once on Venus, Don finds that, due to the current interplanetary fracas, his Earth-money is worth nothing. Communication with his parents is impossible. He is forced to get a job and try and earn the credit needed to pay for passage to Mars. When the Federation of Earth invades Venus, Don finds himself as an enlisted guerrilla fighter for the Venusians, but with a bigger part to play in events than he realised.
On finishing this book, my first thoughts were that this was the most exciting YA Heinlein novel I’ve read so far. It’s an entertaining combination of espionage and thriller, with a Space-Age setting. Whilst some of its information is now sadly out of date (farewell, jungle-swamp Venus!) I was able to still read this without losing my sense of disbelief.
The book itself is a strange concoction of old-world imagery combined with future-age optimism, even from the hindsight of 2013. We have this from the first page, when Don is out riding a pony in New Mexico whilst managing communication with what we would now call a mobile phone. The receipt of a ‘radiogram’ could now be seen as an email.
This combination of things the reader recognises with things they don’t runs throughout the novel. It is perhaps to be expected with a novel over 60 years old. In the 1950’s, as now, the purpose of Science Fiction was often seen by many at that time to predict the future, and as we know now some ideas work, whereas others don’t.
What I did find interesting was relating parts of this to Heinlein’s own background, and his movement in the series to more adult concerns. Between Planets shows a world where the teen-hero is clearly growing older. Whilst Don is initially rather naïve, he finds that he has to grow up fast and get a grip on bigger issues. The school part may be based on his Naval training; as a sign of his growing maturity, Professor Jefferson takes Don to a night club (and possibly strip joint?) on his visit to New Chicago. By the end he is clearly an adult.
Heinlein’s view on a World Authority is also interesting here as well. Like in Red Planet and Space Cadet, worldly governments (or at least the Interplanetary Bureau of Investigation) don’t seem to be working that well – regimented, even dictatorial, they seem to employ methods that are not the ideal – arresting people to be tortured and such like. “Any government that gets to be too big and too successful gets to be a nuisance”(page 154), one of the characters say. Perhaps the message here is one often given as a result of WW2, that it is up to the people of the future like Don, as part of the new order, to put things right. Space is truly the new frontier, and as such should be unshackled by previous terrestrial confines.
We also get those Heinlein-esque touches that are becoming recognisable as I read the series again. Professor Jefferson is another older mentor character that seems to fit the Jubal Halshaw/Lazarus Long template we will see again later. It is here that we are introduced to the key Heinlein idea of ‘paying it forward’ that will become a standard in later years. Between Planets also has an alien character with nearly as much charisma as Red Planet’s Willis, that of Venusian dragon Sir Isaac Newton (who will briefly reappear in The Number of the Beast.) One of the spaceships is named Glory Road, a title to reappear as a novel title a decade later.
If any criticism can be made of Between Planets, it is perhaps that most of the ideas here are not new, even in the 1950’s. But the execution of the tale, the plotting and the ideas throughout are what we would now count as typical Heinlein. Although the ending of the novel does rather depend upon one major invention, in most other ways Between Planets is a complete world away from the slam-bang space-operatics of early SF writers like Edmond Hamilton or E. E. ‘Doc’ Smith. Whilst we’re not talking stylistic and literary acrobatics such as in Alfred Bester’s The Demolished Man (1951-52) or Algis Budrys’s Rogue Moon (1960), we are reading here solidly written, engaging and entertaining tales, storytelling in as straightforward a manner as possible but with enough depth to go beyond the impossibilities of pulp SF.
Between Planets is a book that is more complex than I remembered it to be, yet entertaining enough for the teenage reader. It shows a writer developing his craft further and clearly on an upward trajectory. We are now at the point where Heinlein’s skills in storycraft are reaching universally recognised status. As we enter an era seen as one of SF’s greatest, Between Planets shows that Heinlein deserves to be seen as one of the most entertaining and inspiring SF authors of that time.
lorrilou's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
cesarbustios's review
3.0
"Man needs freedom, but few men are so strong as to be happy with complete freedom."
Mixed feelings. ⠀
⠀
There's this thing when I've read enough books by the same author (3⭐, 4⭐ or 5⭐ books), I really can't help but compare the one I just finished with the ones I liked the most. Hell, I don't even know if it's a good rating method but that's what I do. Does it make sense to you? See, this was a gripping space adventure for me, better than Space Cadet (3⭐), but not better than Startship Troopers (4⭐) or Farmer in the Sky (4⭐). Let's just say Between Planets it's a 3.5⭐ and get on with it already. Sorry for sharing my rating problems.⠀
⠀
Heinlein's inventiveness was certainly ahead of his time. The year was 1951 and there he was talking about mobile phones, self-driving cars and stealth tech. Having read some of his late novels I noticed some backward references like Venusberg and Tycho City, and some other themes that he also develops in other of his books like citizenship, conspiracy and individual freedom. ⠀
⠀
Don Harvey is a fine young boy who needs to deliver a message to his parents on Mars but get caught in the middle of a war of independence between the Republic of Venus and the mighty Earth Federation. One of the few books I've read where Earth is the bad boy. Because he was born in space, with one parent from Venus and the other from Earth, he needs to decide where his loyalties lie. An entertaining and complex juvenile novel about a boy whose courage will decide the future of planetary freedom. ⠀
⠀
Side note: Mr. Darrell K. Sweet got it wrong! Venerian dragons have eight eyes, not six
Mixed feelings. ⠀
⠀
There's this thing when I've read enough books by the same author (3⭐, 4⭐ or 5⭐ books), I really can't help but compare the one I just finished with the ones I liked the most. Hell, I don't even know if it's a good rating method but that's what I do. Does it make sense to you? See, this was a gripping space adventure for me, better than Space Cadet (3⭐), but not better than Startship Troopers (4⭐) or Farmer in the Sky (4⭐). Let's just say Between Planets it's a 3.5⭐ and get on with it already. Sorry for sharing my rating problems.⠀
⠀
Heinlein's inventiveness was certainly ahead of his time. The year was 1951 and there he was talking about mobile phones, self-driving cars and stealth tech. Having read some of his late novels I noticed some backward references like Venusberg and Tycho City, and some other themes that he also develops in other of his books like citizenship, conspiracy and individual freedom. ⠀
⠀
Don Harvey is a fine young boy who needs to deliver a message to his parents on Mars but get caught in the middle of a war of independence between the Republic of Venus and the mighty Earth Federation. One of the few books I've read where Earth is the bad boy. Because he was born in space, with one parent from Venus and the other from Earth, he needs to decide where his loyalties lie. An entertaining and complex juvenile novel about a boy whose courage will decide the future of planetary freedom. ⠀
⠀
Side note: Mr. Darrell K. Sweet got it wrong! Venerian dragons have eight eyes, not six