02 July 2014
Book: "Friday"
As I left the Kenya Beanstalk capsule he was right on my heels. He followed me through the door leading to Customs, Health, and Immigration. As the door contracted behind him I killed him.
I have never liked riding the Beanstalk. My distaste was full-blown even before the disaster to the Quito Skyhook. A cable that goes up into the sky with nothing to hold it up smells too much of magic. But the only other way to reach Ell-Five takes too long and costs too much; my orders and expense account did not cover it.
So I had been edgy even before I left the shuttle from Ell-Five at Stationary Station to board the Beanstalk capsule... but, damn it, being edgy isn't a reason to kill a man.
That is how the book begins, and it's one of my absolute favorite starts to a book.
Friday isn't the best book in the world, and isn't even the best book by Robert Heinlein. (That would be The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.) But it's a book I read over and over again. Some books are "comfort food" for me: A Wrinkle in Time, The Chronicles of Narnia, Tisha, and Friday.
I think what brings me back to it is that it's just a simple, well-told adventure story. There is a damaged-but-badass main character, who meets lots of people and does lots of stuff, in a crazy somewhat-dystopian future.
As I've gotten older, I've started to have some issues with the way he portrays women -- some sexism at work, I think -- but it doesn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the book.
p.s. This is the book where he accurately describes the internet. In 1982.
I have never liked riding the Beanstalk. My distaste was full-blown even before the disaster to the Quito Skyhook. A cable that goes up into the sky with nothing to hold it up smells too much of magic. But the only other way to reach Ell-Five takes too long and costs too much; my orders and expense account did not cover it.
So I had been edgy even before I left the shuttle from Ell-Five at Stationary Station to board the Beanstalk capsule... but, damn it, being edgy isn't a reason to kill a man.
That is how the book begins, and it's one of my absolute favorite starts to a book.
Friday isn't the best book in the world, and isn't even the best book by Robert Heinlein. (That would be The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.) But it's a book I read over and over again. Some books are "comfort food" for me: A Wrinkle in Time, The Chronicles of Narnia, Tisha, and Friday.
I think what brings me back to it is that it's just a simple, well-told adventure story. There is a damaged-but-badass main character, who meets lots of people and does lots of stuff, in a crazy somewhat-dystopian future.
As I've gotten older, I've started to have some issues with the way he portrays women -- some sexism at work, I think -- but it doesn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the book.
p.s. This is the book where he accurately describes the internet. In 1982.
Labels: review: book, scifi/fantasy
# posted by mamurd @ 10:38 PM 
