Part of the Worlds Without End Grand Masters Reading Challenge
I didn’t expect to read a Heinlein novel as part of GMRC, because I wanted to try more “new” old authors. But I ended up pressed for time, and so resorted to a shortie, one of Heinlein’s “Juveniles.” I must be juvenile-minded, because this book was a lot of fun. The Stone family and their goodnatured bickering really made me grin. A welcome relief from the stuffy prose and flat characters that I have found to be the key ingredients of most of the Grand Master books I picked (damn me). I particularly loved Heinlein’s semi-rant about the preposterous reciprocating engine, and the Stone twins, Castor and Pollux, reminded me of the Weasley twins from Harry Potter. I picked this book not just because it’s short, but because I read about it on the super-awesome website Atomic Rockets, and with good reason is it cited there – quite a bit of info about rocketry, orbital mechanics, and the complexities of space travel can be found tucked away amidst the hilarious bantering of the Stones. Enjoy.
