Space Cadet

 This was the first Heinlein juvenile that ended up being a re-read for me, and I recalled it being one of my favorites of the bunch. I didn't remember that it was the second of these books to be written and published, dating all the way back to 1948.

This one might prove a high bar to clear for the rest of the series. It's a great book. The general concept of a naval academy coming-of-age story set in space is simple and predictable enough, but the character development is superb. I love the Venerians in this book. They're some of the coolest science fiction aliens I can think of. Heinlein did go back to Venus, but as far as I know he never revisited these particular aliens again and no other authors did anything like them. Too bad.

Maybe it's my lack of familiarity with science fiction from this era at work here, but one of the striking themes of Space Cadet is the importance of having the strategic military infrastructure in space controlled by the good guys, a theme that is deplorably understated these days, and it's bizarre to me that the first story to explore this theme is a book written for young boys. Heinlein was laying it out for kids in 1948, but now adults can't come to terms with this reality. Yikes. You guys, have we fallen or something? I don't know. Wasn't planning to make this a deep series of blog posts. Let's move on.

And let's engage with some "Critical Reception."

Surveying Heinlein's juvenile novels, Jack Williamson characterized Space Cadet as "a long step forward. ... The characters are stronger [and] the background is carefully built, original, and convincing, the story suspenseful enough." Williamson noted that Heinlein was "perfecting the bildungsroman form that shapes the whole series."

That's a fair characterization. Not much to add to that.

P. Schuyler Miller gave the book a favorable review as "a first-rate historical novel of the near future," saying "So subtly has the scientific detail been interwoven with plot and action that the reader never realizes how painstakingly it has been worked out."

Well, "near future" might be a bit of a stretch. Come to think of it, I'm not entirely sure as to when Space Cadet is supposed to be set. I believe that 1971 is given as the year for the pioneering voyage to Venus, which comes up as something in the distant past for that characters in the book, but exactly how distant is not officially stated.

Like I said, this is going to be a high bar to clear. Up next we've got a book I know nothing about: Red Planet. Since I was bored half to death by Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars, I hope that I have a better reaction to this one.