Present Books Conducive To Orphans of the Sky (Future History or "Heinlein Timeline" #23)
| Original Title: | Orphans of the Sky |
| ISBN: | 0671318454 (ISBN13: 9780671318451) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Future History or "Heinlein Timeline" #23 |
| Characters: | Hugh Hoyland |
Robert A. Heinlein
Paperback | Pages: 224 pages Rating: 3.79 | 9136 Users | 416 Reviews
Relation In Pursuance Of Books Orphans of the Sky (Future History or "Heinlein Timeline" #23)
A fix-up consisting of the novelette "Universe" (1941) and the novella "Common Sense" (1941). First published in 1963.Hugh had been taught that, according to the ancient sacred writings, the Ship was on a voyage to faraway Centaurus. But he also understood this was actually allegory for a voyage to spiritual perfection. Indeed, how could the Ship move, since its miles and miles of metal corridors were all there was of creation? Science knew that the Ship was all the Universe, and as long as the sacred Convertor was fed, the lights would continue to glow and the air would flow, and the Creator's Plan would be fulfilled.
Of course, there were the muties, grotesquely deformed parodies of humans, who lurked in the upper reaches of the Ship where gravity was weaker. Were they evil incarnate, or merely a divine check on the population, keeping humanity from expanding past the capacity of the Ship to support?
Then Hugh was captured by the muties and met their leader (or leaders), Joe-Jim, with two heads on one body. And he learned the true nature of the Ship and its mission between the stars. But could he make his people believe him before it was to late? Could he make them believe that he must be allowed to fly the ship?
Details Regarding Books Orphans of the Sky (Future History or "Heinlein Timeline" #23)
| Title | : | Orphans of the Sky (Future History or "Heinlein Timeline" #23) |
| Author | : | Robert A. Heinlein |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 224 pages |
| Published | : | December 1st 2001 by Baen (first published December 1963) |
| Categories | : | Science Fiction. Fiction. Science Fiction Fantasy. Space. Space Opera. Audiobook. Young Adult |
Rating Regarding Books Orphans of the Sky (Future History or "Heinlein Timeline" #23)
Ratings: 3.79 From 9136 Users | 416 ReviewsAssessment Regarding Books Orphans of the Sky (Future History or "Heinlein Timeline" #23)
I am always of two minds about Heinlein. He writes clear, easy to follow prose. And he is better at drawing an engaging character than his peers in the classic age of SF, like Asimov and Clarke; One need only think of Mycroft Holmes and Mannie from The Moon is a Harsh Mistress to understand what I am saying. And his ideas are pretty good too. Unlike most world-builders, he doesn't get too carried away. And I love the way that he just mentions a technology, and doesn't harp on its origin orOrphans of the Sky describes an extremely primitive human society living inside of a space ship. The glorious irony of this idea deserves praise. Knowledge is fragile, history has proved us that a number of times. Many great civilizations disappeared completely, taking their technological advances and learning with them. Orphans of the Sky describes a society that lives in a space ship but does not know it. Divided into two classes, scientist and farmers, the organized part of the crew society
1977 grade A1995 grade A-2016 grade B+/A-Failed generation ships were a pretty common theme in early hard SciFi. In fact, some publishers would give an idea to multiple authors and ask for each to write their own interpretation. No two that I read ever came out the same. The following description is not really a spoiler, but lightly describes the set up similar to that on a book jacket. After this review there are two other book themes mentioned. If anyone knows the names of those stories,
This is a "big idea" novel for Heinlein. It tells the story of the first inter-stellar ship, planing to make a trip that will span generations. Mutiny and a general degradation of culture occur aboard and generations are born who are unable to conceive of, or believe in, a world outside the ship. The story centers on brave and clever men who start to regain this knowledge, stomping a foot on a deck plate and insisting like a similar brave man, "But still, it moves!"Heinlein's skill at
This is one of the original "lost generation ship" stories, a novella stitched together from two of Heinlein's earlier short stories. Considering it was originally written in the 40s, Orphans of the Sky still holds up reasonably well as pure science fiction, with little to betray its golden age origins other than the fact that all the tropes are so well worn by now.The "crew" of the Ship has never known anything but the Ship, a massive multideck vessel which to them is literally the entire
I downloaded this book because I have a huge interest in "Generational Ships" in my own work and was curious to see how one of the masters handled it. Overall I love the premise. No need to summarize it in detail as this is a well known enough novel, but the idea of creating a world that has become lost in time and space is almost like a writers playground. Anything is possible, and Heinlein fills his ship with a myriad of intriguing ideas.Heinlein has this way of putting forth interesting bits
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