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Book review: Red Thunder.
This is the best Robert Heinlein I've read in a long time. Sure, the cover say it was written by John Varley, but who are you going to trust? Me, or some giant publishing house?
(speaking of which, yesterday I had a coworker convinced I was from Rhodesia. I should have been a con man.)
Anyway, Red Thunder is an excellent book, and yes, I'm not going to stop with the Heinlein comparisons. We get extremely smart young people, crusty old astronauts, a bit of jingoism, the all-American "hey kids, let's go to Mars!" sense of wonder, and even the Grand Master's patented Romance accelerator. All wrapped around a fun plot, interesting characters (I include places and things in that, by the way), and very solid writing.
I don't think I'm giving too much away by pointing out that the actual flight of the Red Thunder is almost an afterthought. This is a novel about engineering and invention.
The Admiral would be proud. I give it five penguins.
Yes, I am fully aware of the sequel. It is on my list to buy either before or at Baycon.
(speaking of which, yesterday I had a coworker convinced I was from Rhodesia. I should have been a con man.)
Anyway, Red Thunder is an excellent book, and yes, I'm not going to stop with the Heinlein comparisons. We get extremely smart young people, crusty old astronauts, a bit of jingoism, the all-American "hey kids, let's go to Mars!" sense of wonder, and even the Grand Master's patented Romance accelerator. All wrapped around a fun plot, interesting characters (I include places and things in that, by the way), and very solid writing.
I don't think I'm giving too much away by pointing out that the actual flight of the Red Thunder is almost an afterthought. This is a novel about engineering and invention.
The Admiral would be proud. I give it five penguins.
Yes, I am fully aware of the sequel. It is on my list to buy either before or at Baycon.