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A review by cruelspirit
Tunnel in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein
adventurous
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was my introduction to the work of Robert A Heinlein. I'm surprised it's taken me this long. As someone who is an Eagle Scout, the works of Heinlein and scouting have run a in tandem. Maybe by the time I got into scouts in the early 2000s his reputation had waned a bit since his heyday in the 50s and 60s; it wasn't until later that I really learned of his reputation. I was never much of a Science Fiction reader growing up so that may also lend itself as an explanation as to why its taken me this long to get to him.
I bring up all of this as it really is pertinent to the work of Heinlein, especially in this book. While not his most popular work it is one people seem to receive favorably. I ended up with a copy, not knowing about its actual contents. For the most part I was pleasantly surprised with this book but overall not thrilled.
Tunnel In The Sky is one of Heinlein's earlier works, having been published in 1955, this is one of his "juvenile" books and reads as such. The language is pretty simplistic and nothing too astonishing happens here. Still I found it to be an interesting and insightful introduction to Heinlein.
Heinlein is known for his characters that imbody the "competent man" architype. Essentially, protagonists who are skilled in all tasks. Whether it be leadership, survival, science, or communication these characters possess the skills to do anything. This is why his books are so big with Boy Scouts (and to a larger extent, branches of the armed forces such as Marines).
Having grown up with the importance of these skills and abilities drilled into me, reading this book was kind of a fun way to revisit this part of my life. Granted, I can see the flaws in exclusively following this kind of logic and as a person I've grown beyond this simplistic view point. Still, I found a lot of great lessons for young people in this and probably would have enjoyed it more if I read it back then.
The story of Tunnel In The Sky is one of a group of essentially space boy scouts, who aspire to grander military roles, being sent off on a "wilderness survival" type mission where they are placed on a foreign planet and tasked with surviving until they are picked back up. Survival tactics are put to the test but they soon realize no one is coming to pick them up, leading to the group working out plans of establishing a new society.
I enjoyed a lot of the setup. There really isn't that much in terms of Science Fiction in this, you could easily imagine this just being scouts surviving in the American wilderness in the 1950s. Its easy to jump into and if you have the experience of being tasked with utilizing survival skills, it is easy to follow along.
Where I started to lose interest was when they started to rebuild society. There's a lot of great commentary from Heinlein in these sections on how different people envision society and whether basing a society on science or defense or democracy is the best option but ultimately a lot of this started to tread the same ground and drew out a 250 book into feeling like it was much longer than it actually is. Ultimately rebuilding society is just not an exciting subject (at least in my eyes) in comparison to the lone wolf or small group survival of the early chapters.
I think the end makes up for a lot of the middle as the group is finally rescued and allowed to return to their previous life. Our protagonist, who has become the leader of the group, is the only one who wants to stay and there is great commentary on power and the hesitation to give it up.
Overall, I was really surprised by this one, while not a new favorite I found it to have aged better than you'd expect. There are a lot of great lessons for young people looking to take on this "competent man" mindset, giving thoughts on sensible survival tactics, communication skills and an introduction to civics. That being said, reading this as an adult, I was left desiring more.
I bring up all of this as it really is pertinent to the work of Heinlein, especially in this book. While not his most popular work it is one people seem to receive favorably. I ended up with a copy, not knowing about its actual contents. For the most part I was pleasantly surprised with this book but overall not thrilled.
Tunnel In The Sky is one of Heinlein's earlier works, having been published in 1955, this is one of his "juvenile" books and reads as such. The language is pretty simplistic and nothing too astonishing happens here. Still I found it to be an interesting and insightful introduction to Heinlein.
Heinlein is known for his characters that imbody the "competent man" architype. Essentially, protagonists who are skilled in all tasks. Whether it be leadership, survival, science, or communication these characters possess the skills to do anything. This is why his books are so big with Boy Scouts (and to a larger extent, branches of the armed forces such as Marines).
Having grown up with the importance of these skills and abilities drilled into me, reading this book was kind of a fun way to revisit this part of my life. Granted, I can see the flaws in exclusively following this kind of logic and as a person I've grown beyond this simplistic view point. Still, I found a lot of great lessons for young people in this and probably would have enjoyed it more if I read it back then.
The story of Tunnel In The Sky is one of a group of essentially space boy scouts, who aspire to grander military roles, being sent off on a "wilderness survival" type mission where they are placed on a foreign planet and tasked with surviving until they are picked back up. Survival tactics are put to the test but they soon realize no one is coming to pick them up, leading to the group working out plans of establishing a new society.
I enjoyed a lot of the setup. There really isn't that much in terms of Science Fiction in this, you could easily imagine this just being scouts surviving in the American wilderness in the 1950s. Its easy to jump into and if you have the experience of being tasked with utilizing survival skills, it is easy to follow along.
Where I started to lose interest was when they started to rebuild society. There's a lot of great commentary from Heinlein in these sections on how different people envision society and whether basing a society on science or defense or democracy is the best option but ultimately a lot of this started to tread the same ground and drew out a 250 book into feeling like it was much longer than it actually is. Ultimately rebuilding society is just not an exciting subject (at least in my eyes) in comparison to the lone wolf or small group survival of the early chapters.
I think the end makes up for a lot of the middle as the group is finally rescued and allowed to return to their previous life. Our protagonist, who has become the leader of the group, is the only one who wants to stay and there is great commentary on power and the hesitation to give it up.
Overall, I was really surprised by this one, while not a new favorite I found it to have aged better than you'd expect. There are a lot of great lessons for young people looking to take on this "competent man" mindset, giving thoughts on sensible survival tactics, communication skills and an introduction to civics. That being said, reading this as an adult, I was left desiring more.