Red Planet - 00.txt
Robert A. Heinlein - Red Planet
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Full Cast Audio; (October 1, 2008)
Narrator: William Dufris
Format: 10 mp3's
Bit Rate: 56kbps/22kHz Stereo
Length: 7:04:52 unabridged
In all fairness to Kim Stanley Robinson's beyond excellent Mars trilogy and all the other fine writers who have tackled Mars in a realist fashion, there's that little Golden Age part of me that prefers romps like this one, where the story isn't as much as slave to science and fun rules the day. In Heinlein's day nobody really knew anything about Mars so a story like this where Mars is fairly run over with creatures (including the adorable ball of fur Willis) didn't cause anyone to bat an eye. And it shouldn't cause today's readers to put it aside either, its a fun and fast read that hits all the right notes and will entertain you throughout. Young adult Jim is going to school on Mars with his pet Willis when they discover something that might harm his fellow colonists back home, he and his friend Frank go through what seems like a million adventures, each one more fantastic than the last, before eventually saving the day. Yes, it's a book for the young adult in you, but Heinlein sticks plenty of stuff in here to appeal to us older folk. Granted he also loves to stick in his politics, there's plenty of "Guns make you a man" arguments running around (which I can stomach here moreso than the "letting the army kick the crap out of you makes you a man" argument in later novels) along with other issues like that but they don't get in the way of the book at all. The good guys are good the bad guys are bad and Heinlein's imagination is in full force, even the obligatory cutesy alien that winds up being far more than a cutesy alien is used to good effect here and while Jim indulges in that overly breezy dialogue we've come to know and love, none of the characters strike me as annoying (unlike the Star Beast where they all annoyed me), which is a good thing. The Martians are extremely well done, coming off as both human and alien at the same time, blessed with a culture we can barely strike the tip of. The cover of my edition trumpets that it's the "complete, uncut novel" and while that may have had some relevance for Stranger in a Strange Land, what the heck could they have cut out, it's not that long a book in the first place. Those looking for sophisticated examinations of complex issues aren't going to find that here but those who just want a fun time and a good read can do worse with this, that's for sure. There's a reason why people considered him a master before Stranger in a Strange Land.
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