Robert A. Heinlein was the most influential science fiction writer of his era, an influence so large that, as Samuel R. Delany notes, “modern critics attempting to wrestle with that influence find themselves dealing with an object rather like the sky or an ocean.” He won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, a record that still stands. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress was the last of these … Hugo-winning novels, and it is widely considered his finest work.
It is a tale of revolution, of the rebellion of the former Lunar penal colony against the Lunar Authority that controls it from Earth. It is the tale of the disparate people–a computer technician, a vigorous young female agitator, and an elderly academic–who become the rebel movement’s leaders. And it is the story of Mike, the supercomputer whose sentience is known only to this inner circle, and who for reasons of his own is committed to the revolution’s ultimate success.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is one of the high points of modern science fiction, a novel bursting with politics, humanity, passion, innovative technical speculation, and a firm belief in the pursuit of human freedom.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is the winner of the 1967 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
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Robert A. Heinlein has been called the dean of s.f. writers, anf with good cause. He has earned multiple Hugo and Nebula awards, the top 2 awards in the field of s.f. Heinlein’s characters come alive in a way few other writer’s characters can. They are as real as the kid across the street, as wise as your favorite grandma, as cocky as The Fonz. I have read all of Heinlein’s books, and of all of them, my favorite, to which I return time and again, is The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. Like Botany Bay in Australia in the 19th century, the moon is used by the nations of Earth as a penal colony where criminals, political dissidants, malcontents and other unlikely and unlucky dregs of societies are transported for punishment. But unlike a regular jail, no one leaves because one-sixth gravity soon causes irreversible changes that make earth’s gravity unbearable by light-gravity-adapted bodies. To make matters worse, the Warden’s goons create intolerable conditions for the Loonies, as they call themselves. Like any container in which pressure builds up too high, the results are explosive. Tried beyond endurance, and having no allegiance to the nations that shipped them to the moon, the Loonies begin fomenting revolution, helped by a computer programmer, a former host-mother, and an intelligent computer with a low sense of humor. Riveting reading. As good as it gets. Five-plus stars!
This book is a classic, and is among my all time favorites.
A classic and one of my favorite Heinlein books. More action oriented and less esoteric than many of his other works.
He saw the future of computers pretty accurately. A fun read with an interesting protagonist.
Definitely recommended in the science fiction pantheon of must reads.
I consider this book one of Heinlein’s best, not only for his great world building, but also for his characters. He managed to imbue a computer AI with personality as well as pathos. It takes a while to get used to the dialect (a shortened form of english often minus pronouns). But this story of a penal colony on the moon which rebells against mother earth is intriguing and will hold a reader’s interest.
I read most of Heinlein’s work years ago, and was in the mood for some classic Sci-Fi. This work has aged well, and makes it clear why he was a grandmaster story-teller.
*** What to Expect
This is the story of an accidental revolutionary, a computer technician that ends up leading the movement to free the Lunar penal colonies from Earth’s control and into independence. Written in the mid 60’s, the book is very much a product of its time: back when wearing a shirt with Che Guevara’s profile wasn’t a cutesy retro thing but a political statement, when putting Russian slang in your novel would get you on on government lists, and when the flower-power movement was peaking. This book is as much about the period it was written and how socity changes since, as it is about the future it predicts.
*** What I liked
I love Heinlein’s story-telling style, which is both unassuming and immediately immersive. The plot keeps rolling and the characters are engaging; you’d want to keep on reading.
His use of language is something I probably missed when I was younger: he not only uses Russian terms, but the protagonist uses English with a distinct Russian grammar (I know a smattering of Russian, but that just increases the joy of reading – it shouldn’t stand in anyone’s way), with Australian slang thrown on top (you know, that other colonial penal colony). At the time he was writing, this was practically subversive.
There is a certain charming naivete in the futuristic predictions. I’m not referring to having missed the impact that communication networks introduced in the age of information – you can’t hold it against Heinlein – but despite this being a story of a war for independence there is still a certain belief in the future of the human race. When one looks at how humanity has both changed and stagnated since it was written, one tends to be more cynical.
*** What to be aware of
As a product of the 60’s, there will be statements that will look chauvinistic and racist to modern readers. That is unfair to Heinlein, as he was actually one of the influencers of the flower-power movement, one of the first Sci-Fi authors to break into main-stream media and have his futuristic work depict racial and gender equality in measures far beyond the times.
Also as mentioned, though his use technology, of AI and computers, is very dated. If you’d like to read a modern work that conjectures about solar-system colonisation, I’d suggest Eric Klein’s The One (which, coincidentally, opens up with an homage to The Moon is a Harsh Mistress).
*** Felix’s Review
Felix was ambivalent about the book. He felt the natural sympathy towards those downtrodden who seek to throw the yoke of oppression, but at the same time he comes from a culture with a strong veneration of ancestors (and their associated institutions) and where slave revolts are a constant danger. Anarchy, benevolently productive or otherwise, just isn’t his thing. Still, he enjoyed the story, and the strive for equality and freedom against rapacious autocrats (something he’s definitely seen).
*** Summary
This book, which I’ve read several times in my impressionable youth, certainly explains my own anarchic and cynical worldview. Despite it having aged in the science department, I’d still highly recommend this to modern readers. It’s a book to make you think on many levels: on government, on technology, on things that have changed in how we see ourselves, on what hasn’t changed despite what we may think of ourselves. This is a prime example of uncompromising speculative fiction, of using the best of what is currently known to speculate on what could be – and perhaps in doing so motivate a change for the better.
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Assaph Mehr, author of Murder In Absentia: A Story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic – for lovers of Ancient Rome, Murder Mysteries, and Urban Fantasy.
This is one of my favorite books.
It’s a bit dated now.
But it’s smart. It’s wry. It’s predictive. There’s a character loss that made me cry, and this is the first book to ever do that to me (decades ago when I first encountered it).
And when one of your leads is a dude with switchable arms, it’s already fun.
One of Heinlein’s best.
One of my favorite books. I’ve read it at least 10 times over the last 50 years and this book is NOT at all dated.
There is a lot of action. There is, buried in a very good story, a philosophical and thoughtful book. I’ve adopted many of the principles in my life. (One of my college economics textbooks was based on, and titled from, just one of the ideas expressed here.)
Good story!
Heinlein Classic; must-read (and read again) for serious SF fans.
Nobel Prize material.
One of my favorite stories from one of my favorite authors, both during my childhood and as an adult. I enjoyed just about all of Heinlein’s books when I first read them as a pre-teen/teen, with the exception of Stranger in a Strange Land since I had to read it for an English class focused on finding the author’s hidden thoughts instead of just being able to read it for personal enjoyment.:)
It seems almost superfluous to add a review to such a classic novel. Suffice to say that for a while, Heinlein embodied all that was great about Science Fiction, and nowhere does that show more clearly than with The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Even the title is awesome.
Heinlein is a brilliant author. Somehow his books always manage to weave history and current events into a sci-fi package that is easier to digest. The venues are always exotic and the characters somewhat strange, but the humanity is always strongly present and vital. In this case, the book’s treatment of libertarian ideals and the quest for freedom from authoritarianism is so brilliant that it feels less like a lecture and more like a free and open discussion with a friend. Although outside the norms of the day (and even modern norms), by the end of it you feel as though you’ve always agreed with the author and the thoughts are not only commonly held but your own. I feel this is one of the main reasons I love Heinlein’s work so much. It effortlessly expands my aperture and helps me to see myself in new ways. This book is worth the read.
Heinlein at his best. Good story. Great characters. Thought provoking.
good story, flavored with too much Heinlein fascist sentiment
Heinlein’s best, IMO (yes, even better than Stranger in a Strange Land). A read-again-and-again novel of (mostly libertarian) revolution.
What else can be said about one of Heinlein’s greatest works (perhaps the greatest)? If you want a science fiction novel that you can’t put down, this is it. I rarely like first-person novels, but this one couldn’t be told any other way. I’ve read it at least eight times now, and I’ve listened to the Audible version at least twice. Every time, I see or hear something that had escaped me before. For me, most books fall into one of five categories:
1. A waste of my money and time–wish I hadn’t read it (or even part of it).
2. Okay. Probably not worth my money or time, but I was able to finish it without getting sick. Give it away or throw it away. Ignore the author in future.
3. Really good–maybe even interesting. I’m glad I bought it and read it, but I’ll probably never re-read it. Might recommend it to some friends. Perhaps. Might take a chance on another work by the author.
4. Great! I really liked it. It was well worth the money and my time. I’ll probably watch for more works by the same author, but it’s not a book I’ll re-read. I’ll give it to one of my good friends.
5. Excellent! I’ll re-read it, probably more than once. Try to take it from me and you’ll lose a hand. I might run into my burning house to retrieve it. The wife can take care of herself. Just kidding, Dear, but you’ll have to hold the book while I carry you through the flames.
This book is a definite FIVE.
I read it many years ago, and I really enjoyed it.
This shows why Robert Heinlein was a master storyteller. He really set the world up and made it come alive.
One of my favorite books of all time, and of all authors.
Heinlein is THE golden age of science fiction writer. Asimov is a hack in comparison. I don’t dislike I.A. but compared to RAH, please.
In many ways this is Heinlein’s best work. If you “feel the Bern” you will not like this book because it is maybe the best book advocating for personal responsibility and freedom over joint responsibility. There is a reason many people believe Heinlein is the father of libertarianism. Small ell, not L. This book is it.
Many of the military academies require this book.
True RAH fans DESPISED the Troopers movie because they were TRYING to discredit RAH while making money off his name and work. He would not have cared as long as they paid in cash.
For the life of me when SO much dross gets green lit for Hollywood, how this book has not been made into a movie is beyond me.
I truly envy you if you have not read it yet. I have read it so many times I could not begin to remember the count. Weirdly if I have a rare night of insomnia where I know I am not getting to sleep I will pull this out and read it before morning.
SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT
One of my favorite lines is by a fairly minor character named Stuart. He advocates for a king. He says. “I am royalist because I am a democrat.”. When you read it in context it makes much more sense. But I love that line and in some ways when people rail at the continued existence of the House of Windsor, although how you can not love HRM ER II escapes me, I think of that line because I think more and more, especially here at the end of Trump, a king because I am a democrat makes complete sense. A Benevolent King who insured the rights of the people over this orange skinned bad haired monkey makes a ton of a sense.