Orphans of the Sky

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Summary: Nice plot but leaves you wanting
Review: 3.5 stars.
This is a good book, not to be missed by SF fans. My only complaint was that the psychology of people who are not familiar with a concept of anything outside their own ship had enormous potential, but was explored in a fairly casual manner - not very convincing. But the rest of the story is tops.

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Summary: I can't believe this is out of print. Republish it NOW!
Review: An excellent book, establishing a paradigm followed by many subsequent science fiction plots. As always, Heinlein is fascinated by competence and issues of morality and personality. This, however, does not get in the way of an excellent story line with interesting and believable characters. Go get it from the library, then email the publishers that they've missed a sale by letting this go out of print!

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Summary: REPUBLISH!
Review: I agree with the first persons review......GREAT BOOK, NEED TO REPUBLISH!

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Summary: My first Heinlein book
Review: I first read this short novel when I was about 12 years old. Talk about mind-blowing. It never occured to me that people could have two heads, or be the heroes of a book! Or that a gigantic, self-contained spaceship could be so long in space that the inhabitants have forgotten they are _on_ a spaceship, and instead think it's the entire universe. I have no idea what happened to my first paperback copy. I do miss it. Wherever it's at, I hope some other 12-year-old has stumbled upon it.

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Summary: If my memory serves correctly...
Review: I remember reading this one as a young teenager about 20 years ago. It was a fascinating tale; my favorite Heinlein book of the few I've read.

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Summary: My first sci-fi book
Review: I was bored by the so-called childrens classics--predictable, dull, etc. Then, in 1971, when I was 13 years old, I found Orphans of the Sky in the school library. It was the first science fiction book that I ever read. I was so fascinated by it that I searched the libraries and book stores for more and discovered Andre Norton and Isaac Asimov. My original copy was burned in a house fire and I've looked to replace it. It will be set in a place of honor along side the other contemporary books that kept me reading as a child and longing for more. Orphans of the Sky IS a classic and deserves to be republished.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting premise, executed successfully
Review: Imagine a society that exists in a vacuum on a space ship, having been voyaging for so many generations that the reason for their trip is nearly forgotten and the existence of the outside world is denied. That's the world of this book. It is short (my paperback from 1978 is only 128 pages) but this novel is as current today as it was when it was written (I often feel that Heinlein's works haven't always aged well - this one is a definite exception). If you like s-f, snap this up if you find a copy.

Rating:
Summary: Extremely well written and thought provoking.
Review: Like all great works of science fiction, this book is truly timeless. I was fascinated by Heinlein's treatment of true knowledge as "heresy", a recurring theme in man's history. While short, and very easy to read, this book deals with challenging themes: faith, knowledge, and man's unquinchable instinct to survive. I highly recommend it.

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Summary: Mind-expanding perspectives for younger readers
Review: Originally published as two short stories, ("Universe" and "Common Sense"), this short novel showcases Heinlein's penchant for cynical social commentary. "Common Sense" is the sequel to "Universe" so the two stories fit together well to tell a single intriguing tale, based on an unusual, but not-too-unbelievable situation. An enormous, self-sufficient colonial expedition has been sent out towards a distant star. But human weakness interferes with the designers' well-laid plans when a mutiny leads to the death of every officer capable of piloting the ship. Generations later, when the story opens, the ship is still wandering aimlessly through space, the indefatigable engineering systems still running flawlessly; but the "crew" has lost virtually all knowledge of what their mission was, and no longer even realize they are in a moving vessel. The ship is their entire Universe, and when one man discovers otherwise, events unfold that rock their society to its foundations. "Universe" is very entertaining in a cerebral way, as we see how the ship's rules and traditions and history have become distorted into legends, myths, and of course, religion. Heinlein's practical knowledge of ship's organization serves him well here, too, as he paints a portrait of the working (if not exactly ideal) society that developed during the generations following the mutiny. And as usual, he pairs a good-hearted but naïve young protagonist (Hugh Hoyland) with a cynical, world-wise man-who-knows. The fact that Heinlein chose a two-headed mutant (Joe-Jim) for this role seems a bit over the top, but Joe-Jim is certainly an outsider, and the presence of large numbers of physically mutated persons seems reasonable enough under the circumstances. Still, a more believable mutation might have been a good idea - the very notion of a two-headed mutant may seem a little too "pulp-magazine" for adult readers. "Common Sense" is the more action-oriented part of the novel, and doesn't offer as many fresh insights into the unique social order as does "Universe". It does succeed in tying up a lot of loose ends, and provides for a resolution that should satisfy on at least an emotional level. Sadly, from a scientific view, the final outcome of this yarn is just painfully unlikely - a quintillion to one seems like a fair estimate - and even Heinlein (whose addiction to coincidence is well-documented) comes off rather apologetic when talking about the unlikelihood of his conclusion; but if one admits that "human stubbornness in the face of inconvenient fact" is the theme of this book, then how else can it end without putting poor Hugh in a very uncomfortable position? While this book may be not strictly a juvenile, its weaknesses are very glaring indeed, and cannot be recommended for any adult readers who take their science fiction seriously. On the other hand, younger readers should find this a mind-expanding adventure that brings them to see their own Universe in a brand new light.

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Summary: A giant ship in space becomes all that the crew know!
Review: Orphans of the sky - Robert Heinlein

This has got to be one of Heinlein's best books; a real find if you can get it! The story is set on a giant spaceship, five miles long, one and a half wide, a colony ship on it's way to Alpha Centaurii. The ship is a spinning cylinder with hundreds of decks like the rings in a tree trunk - centrifugal force gives the impression of gravity on outer decks, while the inner ones, near the axis, are weightless, and it is in the axis that command was situated.

Shortly after it set off, centuries ago from the story's perspective, there was a mutiny and the Captain and much of the original crew was lost. Those left of the crew abandoned the central command axis, and settled permanently in the outer decks. What was left of the mutineers, injured, irradiated and mutating, retreated to the axis. And thus it stayed for hundreds of years, the ship drifting on with no-one in control.

Society has degenerated into a kind of medieval feudal structure, with strict class hierarchies, and even a priest caste. The "Captain" is like an emperor, his "scientists" tend the holy machines. Special poets recite the manuals and the rotas as though they were scripture. No-one really knows what all the machines are anymore, or how they work, or even what the manuals mean. All the books have become holy, the ship's routines have become religious acts, and the ship is now considered to be the entire universe. In the beginning, there was the ship.....

Our hero is a teenager, who lives in one of the "villages" along the outer decks. He and some of his friends explore the forbidden upper decks, which are dark and cold, and grow steadily more weightless as they near the axis. Up a hundred decks they go, until they finally meet the "muties". Our hero is captured, and there learns just who and what the muties really are. He reads books that he has never seen before, free of the "interpretation" of the scientists down below, and finally realises the truth. He goes below to try and convince the others, but is taken for a heretic.... What does he do? Does he convince them? What happens the ship?

This is a very impressive story, with a really original and fascinating plot. The characters are well developed, the detail of the setting just right, and the end is surprising! While this is a fairly short book, that just leaves you wanting more! It's a great read, that keeps you interested from the first page to the last. If you can find it, hang on to it for dear life!