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Future History or "Heinlein Timeline" #23
Orphans of the Sky
Spine and cover creased, library stamps and labels. Shipped from the UK in recyclable card packaging.
143 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1963
240 people are currently reading
4323 people want to read
About the author
Robert A. Heinlein
1,059 books10.5k followersRobert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accuracy in his fiction, and was thus a pioneer of the subgenre of hard science fiction. His published works, both fiction and non-fiction, express admiration for competence and emphasize the value of critical thinking. His plots often posed provocative situations which challenged conventional social mores. His work continues to have an influence on the science-fiction genre, and on modern culture more generally.
Heinlein became one of the first American science-fiction writers to break into mainstream magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post in the late 1940s. He was one of the best-selling science-fiction novelists for many decades, and he, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke are often considered the "Big Three" of English-language science fiction authors. Notable Heinlein works include Stranger in a Strange Land, Starship Troopers (which helped mold the space marine and mecha archetypes) and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. His work sometimes had controversial aspects, such as plural marriage in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, militarism in Starship Troopers and technologically competent women characters who were formidable, yet often stereotypically feminine—such as Friday.
Heinlein used his science fiction as a way to explore provocative social and political ideas and to speculate how progress in science and engineering might shape the future of politics, race, religion, and sex. Within the framework of his science-fiction stories, Heinlein repeatedly addressed certain social themes: the importance of individual liberty and self-reliance, the nature of sexual relationships, the obligation individuals owe to their societies, the influence of organized religion on culture and government, and the tendency of society to repress nonconformist thought. He also speculated on the influence of space travel on human cultural practices.
Heinlein was named the first Science Fiction Writers Grand Master in 1974. Four of his novels won Hugo Awards. In addition, fifty years after publication, seven of his works were awarded "Retro Hugos"—awards given retrospectively for works that were published before the Hugo Awards came into existence. In his fiction, Heinlein coined terms that have become part of the English language, including grok, waldo and speculative fiction, as well as popularizing existing terms like "TANSTAAFL", "pay it forward", and "space marine". He also anticipated mechanical computer-aided design with "Drafting Dan" and described a modern version of a waterbed in his novel Beyond This Horizon.
Also wrote under Pen names: Anson McDonald, Lyle Monroe, Caleb Saunders, John Riverside and Simon York.
Heinlein became one of the first American science-fiction writers to break into mainstream magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post in the late 1940s. He was one of the best-selling science-fiction novelists for many decades, and he, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke are often considered the "Big Three" of English-language science fiction authors. Notable Heinlein works include Stranger in a Strange Land, Starship Troopers (which helped mold the space marine and mecha archetypes) and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. His work sometimes had controversial aspects, such as plural marriage in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, militarism in Starship Troopers and technologically competent women characters who were formidable, yet often stereotypically feminine—such as Friday.
Heinlein used his science fiction as a way to explore provocative social and political ideas and to speculate how progress in science and engineering might shape the future of politics, race, religion, and sex. Within the framework of his science-fiction stories, Heinlein repeatedly addressed certain social themes: the importance of individual liberty and self-reliance, the nature of sexual relationships, the obligation individuals owe to their societies, the influence of organized religion on culture and government, and the tendency of society to repress nonconformist thought. He also speculated on the influence of space travel on human cultural practices.
Heinlein was named the first Science Fiction Writers Grand Master in 1974. Four of his novels won Hugo Awards. In addition, fifty years after publication, seven of his works were awarded "Retro Hugos"—awards given retrospectively for works that were published before the Hugo Awards came into existence. In his fiction, Heinlein coined terms that have become part of the English language, including grok, waldo and speculative fiction, as well as popularizing existing terms like "TANSTAAFL", "pay it forward", and "space marine". He also anticipated mechanical computer-aided design with "Drafting Dan" and described a modern version of a waterbed in his novel Beyond This Horizon.
Also wrote under Pen names: Anson McDonald, Lyle Monroe, Caleb Saunders, John Riverside and Simon York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 677 reviews
August 1, 2016
Lord of the Flies meets Lost in Space.
Not one of Heinlein's masterpieces but also not bad, very imaginative and creative. At it's best it is an interesting religious and political allegory, at worst it is campy pulp. But not bad. I think the producers of Disney's Wall-E may have been influenced somewhat by the generational ship concept. This began as a couple of novelettes in the early 40s and then put together in book form and published as a novel in 1963, so this was at least one of his earliest ideas.
Like many Heinlein novels, there is inherent and almost casual violence and, beginning to be disturbing, an ongoing theme of cannibalism. Also an early example of polygamy, Heinlein was not a traditionalist.
Very good for the genre.
Not one of Heinlein's masterpieces but also not bad, very imaginative and creative. At it's best it is an interesting religious and political allegory, at worst it is campy pulp. But not bad. I think the producers of Disney's Wall-E may have been influenced somewhat by the generational ship concept. This began as a couple of novelettes in the early 40s and then put together in book form and published as a novel in 1963, so this was at least one of his earliest ideas.
Like many Heinlein novels, there is inherent and almost casual violence and, beginning to be disturbing, an ongoing theme of cannibalism. Also an early example of polygamy, Heinlein was not a traditionalist.
Very good for the genre.
February 22, 2026
Read for an hour; Enjoy it for years!
The mutiny took place many, many years ago on an enormous star ship outfitted for a multi-generational voyage to Far Centaurus. The last remaining member of the original crew, for right or wrong, made a political decision to hide the logs and, in effect, to bury the present crew's real history. As a result, for those alive today, now drifting aimlessly in a deep space of which none of the inhabitants are even aware, the ship constitutes their entire universe. None of them has ever been outside the ship and, indeed, even the existence of "outside" is a concept beyond their ken and imagination. They farm, they eat, they raise their families, they live and die, and they battle mutants that inhabit the upper levels of the ship. Scraps of past knowledge such as a book entitled "Basic Modern Physics" have been re-interpreted as religious artifacts and scientists have become the priesthood of the ship's "religion". Hugh Hoyland, a young man who had hopes of becoming a scientist, is captured by the mutants as he indulges himself in typically reckless young men's high jinx on the upper levels of the ship. Although he has been presumed dead by the ship's crew he left behind, the mutants reveal the true nature of the ship and its place in the universe to Hugh who decides he must somehow return to the lower levels and persuade them to complete the trip to Centaurus.
Like many of his other ground-breaking classics such as METHUSELAH'S CHILDREN or THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS, ORPHANS OF THE SKY can read on the surface as a short exciting adventure tale that succeeds brilliantly. Indeed, it is so simple and straight forward that one could easily classify it as juvenile fiction that would thrill the young readers in your family and convert them to life long fans of the sci-fi genre.
But the discerning adult reader who cares to dig a little more deeply will appreciate that Heinlein, in the space of an incredibly short 128 pages, has provided us with the fodder for many a thoughtful conversation - science as religion; religion as science; the tendency of established religion to view thinking outside its doctrine as unforgivable heresy; the extreme societal antagonism to sea change and paradigm shifts in philosophical or scientific thought; the difficulties scientists often encounter in the interpretation of their own data when the results run counter to their intuition; and, of course, the prejudice, fear and hatred we are all prone to in dealing with societies or individuals "different" from ourselves. Heinlein no doubt took the light-hearted humorous expression "Don't look at me like I've got two heads!" and turned Joe-Jim Gregory, a mutant with two heads, into a metaphor for the whole bigotry issue. In the closing chapters, Heinlein even deals with the cruel necessity for persecuted individuals to occasionally strike out blindly on their own and establish a new pioneering society norm as an expedient for basic survival.
ORPHANS OF THE SKY is a classic that can be read at a single sitting but you'll savour it for years to come!
Paul Weiss
The mutiny took place many, many years ago on an enormous star ship outfitted for a multi-generational voyage to Far Centaurus. The last remaining member of the original crew, for right or wrong, made a political decision to hide the logs and, in effect, to bury the present crew's real history. As a result, for those alive today, now drifting aimlessly in a deep space of which none of the inhabitants are even aware, the ship constitutes their entire universe. None of them has ever been outside the ship and, indeed, even the existence of "outside" is a concept beyond their ken and imagination. They farm, they eat, they raise their families, they live and die, and they battle mutants that inhabit the upper levels of the ship. Scraps of past knowledge such as a book entitled "Basic Modern Physics" have been re-interpreted as religious artifacts and scientists have become the priesthood of the ship's "religion". Hugh Hoyland, a young man who had hopes of becoming a scientist, is captured by the mutants as he indulges himself in typically reckless young men's high jinx on the upper levels of the ship. Although he has been presumed dead by the ship's crew he left behind, the mutants reveal the true nature of the ship and its place in the universe to Hugh who decides he must somehow return to the lower levels and persuade them to complete the trip to Centaurus.
Like many of his other ground-breaking classics such as METHUSELAH'S CHILDREN or THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS, ORPHANS OF THE SKY can read on the surface as a short exciting adventure tale that succeeds brilliantly. Indeed, it is so simple and straight forward that one could easily classify it as juvenile fiction that would thrill the young readers in your family and convert them to life long fans of the sci-fi genre.
But the discerning adult reader who cares to dig a little more deeply will appreciate that Heinlein, in the space of an incredibly short 128 pages, has provided us with the fodder for many a thoughtful conversation - science as religion; religion as science; the tendency of established religion to view thinking outside its doctrine as unforgivable heresy; the extreme societal antagonism to sea change and paradigm shifts in philosophical or scientific thought; the difficulties scientists often encounter in the interpretation of their own data when the results run counter to their intuition; and, of course, the prejudice, fear and hatred we are all prone to in dealing with societies or individuals "different" from ourselves. Heinlein no doubt took the light-hearted humorous expression "Don't look at me like I've got two heads!" and turned Joe-Jim Gregory, a mutant with two heads, into a metaphor for the whole bigotry issue. In the closing chapters, Heinlein even deals with the cruel necessity for persecuted individuals to occasionally strike out blindly on their own and establish a new pioneering society norm as an expedient for basic survival.
ORPHANS OF THE SKY is a classic that can be read at a single sitting but you'll savour it for years to come!
Paul Weiss
August 2, 2016
An imaginative if improbable tale (or more accurately: pair of SF tales combined together to make a short novel) by Robert Heinlein, about a spaceship voyage to colonize another planet. The trip has taken so long that the people being born, living, having children and dying on the huge ship have lost all scientific knowledge about what the ship is and where it's going. To them, it is the world and the universe. The story of where they are from and where they're going has turned into a religion. For excitement, the normal people battle the mutant Muties -- but the leader of the Muties, the two-headed Joe-Jim, actually has rather more of a clue about what's really going on.
Love the artwork, lol!
I wouldn't recommend that anyone go out of their way to read this story, but if you like old-fashioned SF and Heinlein's stories from the period when they were only semi-weird, this is a fun and quick read. Joe-Jim's arguments with himself are one of the highlights.
Written in 1940s + backwards society on the spaceship = women are pretty much nonexistent in the story, and when they do show up they're treated like servants (in one scene, a mouthy woman gets slapped down). Arguably it's realistic for this group of people, but if you're sensitive about this kind of thing, give this book a pass.
Love the artwork, lol!
I wouldn't recommend that anyone go out of their way to read this story, but if you like old-fashioned SF and Heinlein's stories from the period when they were only semi-weird, this is a fun and quick read. Joe-Jim's arguments with himself are one of the highlights.
Written in 1940s + backwards society on the spaceship = women are pretty much nonexistent in the story, and when they do show up they're treated like servants (in one scene, a mouthy woman gets slapped down). Arguably it's realistic for this group of people, but if you're sensitive about this kind of thing, give this book a pass.
February 6, 2011
I rather like this religious allegory. They've been on a huge spaceship ("The Ship") for many generations, and all they can remember of Earth are distant legends kept alive in an oral tradition. According to these myths, the Ship was built by "Jordan". Once, there had been a Golden Age, when the ship was ruled by "Jordan's Captain", the guardian of the sacred "Plan". But then there was a mutiny, led by someone called Huff ("accursed Huff, the First to Sin"), and the Plan was lost. Now the Ship is moving aimlessly among the Stars.
Educated people, who live in the middle of the Ship, scoff at all this - though they still say "Huff!" when they want to swear. It shouldn't be taken literally, they say. It's a metaphor for the path towards spiritual enlightenment. And what are Stars, anyway? Clearly another metaphor or symbol.
But, by accident, the hero finds himself near the outside, in a lawless territory inhabited by mutant pariahs. These people aren't very civilised, but they know things he doesn't. When he expresses doubts about the existence of Stars, they just take him to a porthole so that he can see them for himself. He's very surprised.
Similarly...
Educated people, who live in the middle of the Ship, scoff at all this - though they still say "Huff!" when they want to swear. It shouldn't be taken literally, they say. It's a metaphor for the path towards spiritual enlightenment. And what are Stars, anyway? Clearly another metaphor or symbol.
But, by accident, the hero finds himself near the outside, in a lawless territory inhabited by mutant pariahs. These people aren't very civilised, but they know things he doesn't. When he expresses doubts about the existence of Stars, they just take him to a porthole so that he can see them for himself. He's very surprised.
Similarly...
February 13, 2025
„Сираци на вселената“ е отлична сатира! Чрез страшно силна и напрегната фантастична история за живота в космически кораб, Робърт Хайнлайн брилянтно осмива човешката алчност за власт, която води до зараждане на жесток фанатизъм... Много поколения хора пътуват на борда на кораба, обаче след войнишки бунт в миналото учени-жреци са превзели управлението и впоследствие се е стигнало до момента, в който почти всички отказват да възприемат, че корабът всъщност се движи и съществува вселената извън него.
January 12, 2013
WOW this cover is not the cover I have, which is far less ... Whatever the hell this cover is. ("That must have been the '80s," said my Glaswegian. Goodreads has this as the 2001 cover from Baen. It's a good thing feminism fixed all the world's problems or who KNOWS what kind of cover we'd have.)
I picked this up second-hand (Mayflower-Dell paperback, June 1965), curious to read some more Heinlein in the wake of having recently finished Jo Walton's Among Others. Thus far the only Heinlein I'd read consisted of the bowdlerized edition of Stranger in a Strange Land, picked up from my local library when I was 14 on the recommendation of one of the first people I Knew From the Internet. I remember enjoying Stranger in a Strange Land, in a distant "this was odd by enjoyable" kind of way, and still find myself blinking in perplexity at the stuff people tell me is in the non-bowdlerized version.
All this is to say that I had not read enough Heinlein to be able to conceptualize the misogyny which many people have pointed out runs rampant through his books. If Orphans of the Sky is representative, though, I now understand with perfect clarity.
This book is essentially Ayn Rand's Anthem in space, except with more men and poorer treatment of women. ("But wait," I hear you say, "there was only one woman in Anthem! She didn't have a name until our hero gave her one! Her entire purpose in the book was to adore him!" Yes. And this is worse.) It's often interesting, and competently written, except for the bit where every aspect of this society's ignorance is complicated and problematized and addressed -- except for the women-are-silent-chattel aspect, which up until the very last page of the novel, is taken as read.
It was an interesting window into early Heinlein, and it was even more fascinating to follow this book immediately with some Ursula Le Guin essays from the '70s, notably "A Citizen of Mondath," in which she says "I got off science fiction some time in the late forties. It seemed to be all about hardware and soldiers....I almost totally missed Heinlein, et al. If I glanced at a magazine, it still seemed to be all about starship captains in black with lean rugged faces and a lot of fancy artillery."
Orphans in the Sky was published as a two-part serial in 1941.
I'm still curious to read more Heinlein, in the ways in which one is curious about history, or bacteria: knowledge I'd like to have of things I'd just as soon remained at arm's length, or that I'm aware of as colonizing my body in various ways.
I picked this up second-hand (Mayflower-Dell paperback, June 1965), curious to read some more Heinlein in the wake of having recently finished Jo Walton's Among Others. Thus far the only Heinlein I'd read consisted of the bowdlerized edition of Stranger in a Strange Land, picked up from my local library when I was 14 on the recommendation of one of the first people I Knew From the Internet. I remember enjoying Stranger in a Strange Land, in a distant "this was odd by enjoyable" kind of way, and still find myself blinking in perplexity at the stuff people tell me is in the non-bowdlerized version.
All this is to say that I had not read enough Heinlein to be able to conceptualize the misogyny which many people have pointed out runs rampant through his books. If Orphans of the Sky is representative, though, I now understand with perfect clarity.
This book is essentially Ayn Rand's Anthem in space, except with more men and poorer treatment of women. ("But wait," I hear you say, "there was only one woman in Anthem! She didn't have a name until our hero gave her one! Her entire purpose in the book was to adore him!" Yes. And this is worse.) It's often interesting, and competently written, except for the bit where every aspect of this society's ignorance is complicated and problematized and addressed -- except for the women-are-silent-chattel aspect, which up until the very last page of the novel, is taken as read.
It was an interesting window into early Heinlein, and it was even more fascinating to follow this book immediately with some Ursula Le Guin essays from the '70s, notably "A Citizen of Mondath," in which she says "I got off science fiction some time in the late forties. It seemed to be all about hardware and soldiers....I almost totally missed Heinlein, et al. If I glanced at a magazine, it still seemed to be all about starship captains in black with lean rugged faces and a lot of fancy artillery."
Orphans in the Sky was published as a two-part serial in 1941.
I'm still curious to read more Heinlein, in the ways in which one is curious about history, or bacteria: knowledge I'd like to have of things I'd just as soon remained at arm's length, or that I'm aware of as colonizing my body in various ways.
August 2, 2019
Orphans 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 is horribly ignorant. Besides this so called civilized society, there are also mutants who live in an ongoing state of war with the rest of the crew. Hiding in the vast spaces of the ship, the mutants are a constant treat. I must say that I quite liked the concept of the novel. Moreover, from a scientific point of view, this book has aged pretty well. The idea of a ship that spins to imitate gravity is scientifically correct and Heinlein makes good use of it. The contrast between the ship, that is described as extremely technically advanced and the morons inside is startling. The so called scientists are more learned than farmers but are none the smarter for it. They have no idea what space or space travel is and they are slaves to religious dogmas. The wonderful irony of a scientist preaching dogmas! For that alone, this book would be worth of a recommendation.
Definitely not a book to read if you are looking for strong female characters. With a small and not that relevant exception of one mutant lady, ladies play no part in the events. In fact, the physical and verbal abuse of women seems to be extremely common in the "civilized" part of the ship. We never do learn exactly how women are treated in the mutant community but we can assume it is not good. With the exception of one mutant character, they are not exactly portrayed as caring or intelligent individuals. Mostly, mutants seem a wild bunch. So, we can assume that ladies like the mutant knife maker are exceptions to the rule (the writer stresses that her dwelling is a respected taboo among the mutants because of her occupation, i.e, it is not herself that yield respect but the work she does). At any rate, all the significant characters, both the positive and the negative ones are men.
THE ABUSE, THE VIOLENCE AND THE HORRIBLE TREATMENT OF WOMEN
A fair warning _ this book is quite violent. Heinlein does not dwell much on descriptions of violence, but violence is a big part of the story. Cannibalism, violence and murders are common place occurrence in this book. They might reflect the primitiveness and ruthlessness of the society imagined and described, so the violence does make sense to the story, but still these things are disturbing to read about. If you are very sensitive to them, you might want to skip this one.
THE CHARACTERS AND THE ONLY THING I DO NOT GET
I can swallow the all men caste and forgive Heinlein for lacking any strong female ones taking into consideration that the society described is primitive, but there is one thing I do not get. It is not the main characters or the protagonist as such. The characters themselves are developed well enough. The "heroes" are quite credible and their development makes sense. They really are a good balance of the good and the bad. The negative characters are well portrayed too. There is even one Machiavellian villein that is extremely credible. On overall, the characterization is not badly done.
What I found troubling is that among the "heroes", the only guy who treats his wife with some respect is Alan, who also happens to be the most stupid of the bunch. Literally, he is the only one who thinks of saving his wife when their lives are in danger, the other "heroes" seem to abuse their wives and could not care less. I can understand that this society is very primitive and ruled by religious dogmas, but if our heroes were brave enough to fight that society I do not understand why they keep being so brutal. It seems more logical for them to change their attitude at least a little bit, I mean they undergo some big character changes.
WHY ONLY ALAN I WONDER....
It is only Alan that is decent, a guy that is so proud at himself for being able to count above ten. He is so stupid he does not comprehend anything of what is going on, but curiously enough he is the only character to have a fully developed moral sense. Others have their strikes of generosity and virtue but Alan is the only one who is brave in his loyalties and quite selfless. Interesting choice to make him the moral vertical. Unless his virtue is an illusion. Honestly, some things do not quite make sense in this novel. I can understand the lack of female characters but not the fact that none of the protagonist seem to give the unfair treatment of women a single thought. Nevertheless, it is an interesting and thought provoking work. We should try to understand that it is really a work of fiction representing a primitive future society and not a book that gives guidelines about how to treat women...Well, at least I hope that is what it is. As a work of fiction, I did enjoy it. It is not one of Heinlein's best works, but it is very thought provoking. If you are not overly sensitive to violence, do give it a read.
Definitely not a book to read if you are looking for strong female characters. With a small and not that relevant exception of one mutant lady, ladies play no part in the events. In fact, the physical and verbal abuse of women seems to be extremely common in the "civilized" part of the ship. We never do learn exactly how women are treated in the mutant community but we can assume it is not good. With the exception of one mutant character, they are not exactly portrayed as caring or intelligent individuals. Mostly, mutants seem a wild bunch. So, we can assume that ladies like the mutant knife maker are exceptions to the rule (the writer stresses that her dwelling is a respected taboo among the mutants because of her occupation, i.e, it is not herself that yield respect but the work she does). At any rate, all the significant characters, both the positive and the negative ones are men.
THE ABUSE, THE VIOLENCE AND THE HORRIBLE TREATMENT OF WOMEN
A fair warning _ this book is quite violent. Heinlein does not dwell much on descriptions of violence, but violence is a big part of the story. Cannibalism, violence and murders are common place occurrence in this book. They might reflect the primitiveness and ruthlessness of the society imagined and described, so the violence does make sense to the story, but still these things are disturbing to read about. If you are very sensitive to them, you might want to skip this one.
THE CHARACTERS AND THE ONLY THING I DO NOT GET
I can swallow the all men caste and forgive Heinlein for lacking any strong female ones taking into consideration that the society described is primitive, but there is one thing I do not get. It is not the main characters or the protagonist as such. The characters themselves are developed well enough. The "heroes" are quite credible and their development makes sense. They really are a good balance of the good and the bad. The negative characters are well portrayed too. There is even one Machiavellian villein that is extremely credible. On overall, the characterization is not badly done.
What I found troubling is that among the "heroes", the only guy who treats his wife with some respect is Alan, who also happens to be the most stupid of the bunch. Literally, he is the only one who thinks of saving his wife when their lives are in danger, the other "heroes" seem to abuse their wives and could not care less. I can understand that this society is very primitive and ruled by religious dogmas, but if our heroes were brave enough to fight that society I do not understand why they keep being so brutal. It seems more logical for them to change their attitude at least a little bit, I mean they undergo some big character changes.
WHY ONLY ALAN I WONDER....
It is only Alan that is decent, a guy that is so proud at himself for being able to count above ten. He is so stupid he does not comprehend anything of what is going on, but curiously enough he is the only character to have a fully developed moral sense. Others have their strikes of generosity and virtue but Alan is the only one who is brave in his loyalties and quite selfless. Interesting choice to make him the moral vertical. Unless his virtue is an illusion. Honestly, some things do not quite make sense in this novel. I can understand the lack of female characters but not the fact that none of the protagonist seem to give the unfair treatment of women a single thought. Nevertheless, it is an interesting and thought provoking work. We should try to understand that it is really a work of fiction representing a primitive future society and not a book that gives guidelines about how to treat women...Well, at least I hope that is what it is. As a work of fiction, I did enjoy it. It is not one of Heinlein's best works, but it is very thought provoking. If you are not overly sensitive to violence, do give it a read.
June 22, 2022
This was one of the first Generation Ship stories. It was originally two short novels written in the early 1940's. Fun read.
Ratings:-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ratings:-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
June 9, 2015
Second Heinlein collection in this book (the first being
The Man Who Sold the Moon
). Now we have two related 1940s novellae fixed-up into a single novel in the 1960s. Oh, science fiction publishing, you are so fun.
Orphans of the Sky is one of the ur–generation ship tales. Heinlein immediately seizes on the possibility that something could go so disastrously wrong during the voyage such that the entire crew forgets it is on a ship. For all intents and purposes, the Ship is now the universe. Anyone, like Hugh, who challenges this worldview is accused of heresy. (There’s a nice little shout-out to Galileo’s trials and tribulations with the Catholic Church.) This plot was executed most memorably for me in “For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky,” an episode in the third season of the original Star Trek.
There’s something about generation ships that doesn’t really apply to me as a motif. I really didn’t like Journey into Space , and I wasn’t crazy about this book either. As far as the writing goes, it is pretty much what I expect from Heinlein now—a lot of conversation, a lot of scientific speculation and libertarianism disguised as the desire for open scientific inquiry.
The plot is mediocre. Lots of repetitive actions culminating in an all-too-predictable betrayal and a mad dash towards near-certain death. It goes through the motions, follows certain forms, and so it is minimally fulfilling in that barest of ways. While it is true that this is among the first (if not the first) story of its kind, I suspect that others who have since picked up on these themes have used them better, or in more interesting ways, or with better characters.
I also can’t forgive the level of misogyny in this book. Heinlein’s sexism in The Man Who Sold the Moon is problematic, sure, but mostly for its erasure of women—he does at least feature a single woman scientist, even if she is objectified. But in Orphans of the Sky, women play a far smaller and worse role. Women of the Ship, it seems, exist to be wives and breeders. Hugh “selects” two women, graciously “allowing” the first to keep her own name because she behaves. The other, however, is “wild as a mutie” and bites Hugh, so “he had slapped her, naturally, and that should have been an end to the matter” and then “had not got around to naming her.” Later on Heinlein talks about how she is better behaved after Hugh knocks out a tooth! Because there’s nothing like trivializing domestic abuse, amirite?
If you’re a diehard Heinlein completist (I’m not) or you have a particular fascination with the subgenre of generation ships (I don’t), you should probably read this. Otherwise, give it a miss.
Orphans of the Sky is one of the ur–generation ship tales. Heinlein immediately seizes on the possibility that something could go so disastrously wrong during the voyage such that the entire crew forgets it is on a ship. For all intents and purposes, the Ship is now the universe. Anyone, like Hugh, who challenges this worldview is accused of heresy. (There’s a nice little shout-out to Galileo’s trials and tribulations with the Catholic Church.) This plot was executed most memorably for me in “For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky,” an episode in the third season of the original Star Trek.
There’s something about generation ships that doesn’t really apply to me as a motif. I really didn’t like Journey into Space , and I wasn’t crazy about this book either. As far as the writing goes, it is pretty much what I expect from Heinlein now—a lot of conversation, a lot of scientific speculation and libertarianism disguised as the desire for open scientific inquiry.
The plot is mediocre. Lots of repetitive actions culminating in an all-too-predictable betrayal and a mad dash towards near-certain death. It goes through the motions, follows certain forms, and so it is minimally fulfilling in that barest of ways. While it is true that this is among the first (if not the first) story of its kind, I suspect that others who have since picked up on these themes have used them better, or in more interesting ways, or with better characters.
I also can’t forgive the level of misogyny in this book. Heinlein’s sexism in The Man Who Sold the Moon is problematic, sure, but mostly for its erasure of women—he does at least feature a single woman scientist, even if she is objectified. But in Orphans of the Sky, women play a far smaller and worse role. Women of the Ship, it seems, exist to be wives and breeders. Hugh “selects” two women, graciously “allowing” the first to keep her own name because she behaves. The other, however, is “wild as a mutie” and bites Hugh, so “he had slapped her, naturally, and that should have been an end to the matter” and then “had not got around to naming her.” Later on Heinlein talks about how she is better behaved after Hugh knocks out a tooth! Because there’s nothing like trivializing domestic abuse, amirite?
If you’re a diehard Heinlein completist (I’m not) or you have a particular fascination with the subgenre of generation ships (I don’t), you should probably read this. Otherwise, give it a miss.
May 25, 2011
This novella collects two of Heinlein's earliest stories, both from 1941, but unlike other such combinations, the two stories were originally meant to go together, and form a continuous narrative. As this is a very early attempt from Heinlein, it wouldn't be surprising to find his writing rough and flawed, but it's an unexpectedly solid yarn.
His writing is direct and unobtrusive; something many authors aspire to, but few ever manage. Even at this early stage, his naturalistic prose sets him above van Vogt or other pulp authors.
The story, itself is straightforward; an adventure with some light politics and quite a bit of violence. It is also one of the earliest depictions of a 'generation ship' on a mission to colonize far worlds.
There is also a central philosophical theme, a staple in Heinlein, this time concerning the fact that the crew have grown exceedingly detached from reality, thanks to the long voyage. Numerous generations pass in space and the crew forget their mission, their history on Earth, and the most basic tenets of science. Instead they persist in a murky feudalism, fighting over territory in ship and considering 'Earth', 'The Trip', and the destination (Proxima) to be mystical, supernatural concepts.
Heinlein is able to play a quite amusing satire on religion, tradition, and ignorance here, successfully providing the characters with very realistic and unusual responses to the world based on their own limited understanding. They are not merely modern characters transplanted in place and time, Heinlein works hard to give them a psychology fit to their situation.
Unfortunately, in this brutal, superstitious, uneducated, warlike place, women are fully second-class citizens. Heinlein doesn't harp on this--in fact it rarely comes up--but when it does, it is not entirely pleasant to see. However, it's not an unrealistic portrayal, and it would hardly have made sense to depict a violent, ignorant society as having modern, egalitarian social mores.
Heinlein could have tried to make some stronger female characters living under this repressive structure; or alternately, used this as another opportunity to indulge in satire, but instead, we get a bit of the old sci fi boys' club. However, these occurrences are few and late in the book and hardly detract from the story, as a whole.
This is a well-crafted adventure story with satire, politics, and intriguing, active characters. Certainly not Heinlein's strongest work, but not without its charm.
His writing is direct and unobtrusive; something many authors aspire to, but few ever manage. Even at this early stage, his naturalistic prose sets him above van Vogt or other pulp authors.
The story, itself is straightforward; an adventure with some light politics and quite a bit of violence. It is also one of the earliest depictions of a 'generation ship' on a mission to colonize far worlds.
There is also a central philosophical theme, a staple in Heinlein, this time concerning the fact that the crew have grown exceedingly detached from reality, thanks to the long voyage. Numerous generations pass in space and the crew forget their mission, their history on Earth, and the most basic tenets of science. Instead they persist in a murky feudalism, fighting over territory in ship and considering 'Earth', 'The Trip', and the destination (Proxima) to be mystical, supernatural concepts.
Heinlein is able to play a quite amusing satire on religion, tradition, and ignorance here, successfully providing the characters with very realistic and unusual responses to the world based on their own limited understanding. They are not merely modern characters transplanted in place and time, Heinlein works hard to give them a psychology fit to their situation.
Unfortunately, in this brutal, superstitious, uneducated, warlike place, women are fully second-class citizens. Heinlein doesn't harp on this--in fact it rarely comes up--but when it does, it is not entirely pleasant to see. However, it's not an unrealistic portrayal, and it would hardly have made sense to depict a violent, ignorant society as having modern, egalitarian social mores.
Heinlein could have tried to make some stronger female characters living under this repressive structure; or alternately, used this as another opportunity to indulge in satire, but instead, we get a bit of the old sci fi boys' club. However, these occurrences are few and late in the book and hardly detract from the story, as a whole.
This is a well-crafted adventure story with satire, politics, and intriguing, active characters. Certainly not Heinlein's strongest work, but not without its charm.
October 23, 2023
“Step out on your balcony and look. Can you tell the planets from the stars? Venus you may pick out with ease, but could you tell it from Canopus, if you had not previously been introduced? That little red speck -- is it Mars, or is it Antares? Blast for Antares, believing it to be a planet, and you will never live to have grandchildren.”
This book is a "fix-up" of the novellas "Universe" and "Common Sense," two stories in Heinlein's "Future History" series that were both published in the magazine "Astounding Science Fiction" in late 1941. The overall story involves a generation ship (a long-distance spaceflight in which many generations pass before the destination is reached) where the original purpose of the voyage has been forgotten and society has regressed somewhat; in fact, no one on board the ship even remembers that they are on a spaceship on a trip to a distant planet. The novella "Universe" was included in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two A as one of the novellas recognized by the Science Fiction Writers of America as an important work of fiction - likely due to the exploration of many of the important themes of long distance spaceflight - but that story is left as a cliff-hanger and is best read in conjunction with the second part of the story "Common Sense."
This book is a "fix-up" of the novellas "Universe" and "Common Sense," two stories in Heinlein's "Future History" series that were both published in the magazine "Astounding Science Fiction" in late 1941. The overall story involves a generation ship (a long-distance spaceflight in which many generations pass before the destination is reached) where the original purpose of the voyage has been forgotten and society has regressed somewhat; in fact, no one on board the ship even remembers that they are on a spaceship on a trip to a distant planet. The novella "Universe" was included in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two A as one of the novellas recognized by the Science Fiction Writers of America as an important work of fiction - likely due to the exploration of many of the important themes of long distance spaceflight - but that story is left as a cliff-hanger and is best read in conjunction with the second part of the story "Common Sense."
June 25, 2015
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 universe. They have no conception of movement, or there being anything "outside" the Ship. They have long since lost their understanding of the ship's technology and origins, even as they do the rote things necessary to keep its systems running. "Scientists" are now basically bards reciting holy writ passed down without understanding. And in the upper decks of the Ship dwell "muties," mutants who are descended (supposedly) from mutineers.
The story is about a young man on track to become a scientist who is captured by a band of muties led by a particularly intelligent two-headed leader named Jim-Bob. Jim-Bob, with a library of his own which he actually understands better than the so-called crew does, shows Hugh the stars and the true nature of the Ship. When Hugh goes back to tell his fellow crewmembers the truth, it goes over about as well as you'd expect. What follows is more than one mutiny and betrayal, as Hugh tries to make everyone understand that the Ship is not only moving, but that it's about to arrive at its destination.
Okay, Heinlein's rocket science, as usual, holds up much better than his biology, and there aren't even any Heinleinian women here, just "wives" who are little more than chattel and don't have a single line of dialog. This was not one of his more progressive stories, but while there aren't a lot of politics in it either, it still packs a fair amount of flinty and contrarian human nature, treated honestly and realistically, even when the humans in question are two-headed mutants. People react stupidly, some adhere to their religious faith in the face of contrary evidence, others doubt, others scheme, some are opportunists and some are idealists. Heinlein's strength, besides his imagination, was always in presenting very human characters with human foibles rather than archetypes. Well, aside from the women.
This is clearly one of his early works, and while not one of the better ones, it's also far from the worst. It's a quick classic adventure that has left its fingerprints on every story of lost generation ships that followed.
The "crew" of the Ship has never known anything but the Ship, a massive multideck vessel which to them is literally the entire universe. They have no conception of movement, or there being anything "outside" the Ship. They have long since lost their understanding of the ship's technology and origins, even as they do the rote things necessary to keep its systems running. "Scientists" are now basically bards reciting holy writ passed down without understanding. And in the upper decks of the Ship dwell "muties," mutants who are descended (supposedly) from mutineers.
The story is about a young man on track to become a scientist who is captured by a band of muties led by a particularly intelligent two-headed leader named Jim-Bob. Jim-Bob, with a library of his own which he actually understands better than the so-called crew does, shows Hugh the stars and the true nature of the Ship. When Hugh goes back to tell his fellow crewmembers the truth, it goes over about as well as you'd expect. What follows is more than one mutiny and betrayal, as Hugh tries to make everyone understand that the Ship is not only moving, but that it's about to arrive at its destination.
Okay, Heinlein's rocket science, as usual, holds up much better than his biology, and there aren't even any Heinleinian women here, just "wives" who are little more than chattel and don't have a single line of dialog. This was not one of his more progressive stories, but while there aren't a lot of politics in it either, it still packs a fair amount of flinty and contrarian human nature, treated honestly and realistically, even when the humans in question are two-headed mutants. People react stupidly, some adhere to their religious faith in the face of contrary evidence, others doubt, others scheme, some are opportunists and some are idealists. Heinlein's strength, besides his imagination, was always in presenting very human characters with human foibles rather than archetypes. Well, aside from the women.
This is clearly one of his early works, and while not one of the better ones, it's also far from the worst. It's a quick classic adventure that has left its fingerprints on every story of lost generation ships that followed.
May 5, 2021
After decades of trans-generational/trans-galactic migration, the command structure of the starship ‘Vanguard’ has seriously devolved. With the original crew long since dead and gone, their descendants have slowly usurped science and reason, filling the widening gaps in their knowledge base with dogmatic claptrap. In this Heinlein universe the priests are now the “scientists” and subjects like math and astrophysics are heretical and blasphemous.
This is vintage Heinlein (1941). I hesitate to call it a ‘hidden gem’ because just about everything R.A.H. wrote is gem caliber and often slightly obscure; ‘under appreciated classic’ seems more applicable.
This is vintage Heinlein (1941). I hesitate to call it a ‘hidden gem’ because just about everything R.A.H. wrote is gem caliber and often slightly obscure; ‘under appreciated classic’ seems more applicable.
August 15, 2016
Some clever ideas, esp. re' 'scientists' as priests, but too much is undeveloped. And the misogyny is completely gratuitous - when we finally briefly meet them, we learn that women are quite literally chattel, generally not even allowed to keep their own names. (The GR default cover is absolute nonsense on several levels.) I do like Hugh, though, idealistic, intelligent, curious. Clearly this was written for teen boys, the primary audience for SF back in the day.
April 16, 2022
"başlangıçta sadece jordan vardı; karanlık ve hiçlik hüküm sürüyordu. yalnızlıktan özlem, özlemden bir hayal doğdu. rüyadan plan meydana geldi, plandan karar. jordan elini kaldırdı ve gemi yaratıldı. eserine baktı ve beğendi, tek eksiği içinde yaşayacak olanlardı. jordan düşündü ve insanı yarattı. sonra da jordan kanunları yaptı. herkes için kaideler koydu. jordan'ın büyüklüğüne ve yüksek hedefine layık olmak için herkes kendince bir işe sahip edildi. birini sözcü yaptı, birini hizmetçi ve böylece insanlar arasında düzen kuruldu. hepsinin başı olarak da kaptanı koydu. onu insanların hakimi kıldı. işte altın çağda yaşam böyleydi. kusursuzluk jordan'a mahsustu, insanlara değil. zamanla; kıskançlık, ihtiras ve gurur, insanların kalbine tohumlarını saçtılar. ve aralarından birinde bu tohumlar yeşerdiler ve kötü meyveler verdiler. lanetlenmiş huff, ilk günahkardı. kötü sözleri nifak yarattı, isyan ve ayrılık körüklendi. şehitlerin kanları güverteleri boyadı. jordan'ın kaptanı, kötülerin elinde ölümü buldu. karanlık fazileti yuttu, talihsiz gemiyi günah idare etmeye başladı."
October 31, 2015
Time now for another slice of classic science fiction - this time from the pen of Robert Heinlein. I recently stumbled across a series of essays entitled "The defining science fiction of the (Insert decade) which ran from the 1950s to the 1990s. They are absolutely brilliant and it got me thinking, You see as part of the essay there was listed each year the top most influential and as the title describes defining. This title was one of them and I was instantly drawn to reading it.
Well now I have - and I must admit this book has got me thinking. The first reason is purely nostalgia - its been a while since I immersed myself in classic Heinlein. This book was written in 1951 and as such exposes its short comings in science and technology, from its assumption that not breathing in mildly radioactive gas from a broken fitting is perfectly safe to the idea that a journey to the stars would only take a couple of generations. However once you accept these flaws I think it adds to the appeal of the book.
The second aspect is that of the generation starship - no I am not giving spoilers as its is clearly stated on the back of the edition I was reading. This is not an uncommon idea and there have been some classics written using the idea - but this is probably the first instances (or at least the earliest) that I can remember.
And then there is the final aspect- the fact that the book focuses less on the science and wonder and more on the human elements - after all even with such huge (and faith shaking) discoveries being made personal agendas and selfish drives still rear their heads. Not sure if this is a good thing or a distraction - I will have to think on that.
Either way - read on its own - the book is an acceptable example of Robert Heinlein and his vision for the stars, when read in context of the year it was written you can start to appreciate why it is seen as a landmark book and deserves the attention it gets.
Well now I have - and I must admit this book has got me thinking. The first reason is purely nostalgia - its been a while since I immersed myself in classic Heinlein. This book was written in 1951 and as such exposes its short comings in science and technology, from its assumption that not breathing in mildly radioactive gas from a broken fitting is perfectly safe to the idea that a journey to the stars would only take a couple of generations. However once you accept these flaws I think it adds to the appeal of the book.
The second aspect is that of the generation starship - no I am not giving spoilers as its is clearly stated on the back of the edition I was reading. This is not an uncommon idea and there have been some classics written using the idea - but this is probably the first instances (or at least the earliest) that I can remember.
And then there is the final aspect- the fact that the book focuses less on the science and wonder and more on the human elements - after all even with such huge (and faith shaking) discoveries being made personal agendas and selfish drives still rear their heads. Not sure if this is a good thing or a distraction - I will have to think on that.
Either way - read on its own - the book is an acceptable example of Robert Heinlein and his vision for the stars, when read in context of the year it was written you can start to appreciate why it is seen as a landmark book and deserves the attention it gets.
September 22, 2013
Because this sentence exists "the other wife, the unnamed one, kept out of his sight after losing a tooth, quite suddenly"
December 22, 2018
"Сираци на вселената" е роман от две части ("Вселената" и "Здравият разум"), публикувани за първи път в "Astounding Science Fiction" през 1941 г. (в броевете за Май и Октомври). Това е около година преди Фау-2 да стане първият обект, конструиран от човека, достигнал границата на земната атмосфера!
Вероятно четвъртото художествено произведение, разработило идеята за космически кораб, пътуващ толкова дълго, че поколенията на борда му се сменят.
Една от най-ранните творби и в авторовата кариера, това определно си личи, макар и не драматично. Леко остаряла - факт, който по-скоро кара идеите вътре да изпъкват още повече. Не мога да си представя колко още по-фантастични са били преди почти осемдесет години! Най-големият минус за мен е праволинейността на някои герои, сред които и - главният такъв! Иначе - много социално-политическа критика, както и много класна заигравка с "И все пак тя се върти!" - приписваният на Галилео Галилей израз, произнесен на излизане от съда на инквизицията, където са го накарали да се отрече от научната постановка, че Земята се върти.
Българското издание е с много спорно качество на корекцията: Второстепенният Алън в половината пъти е Алан, както и леко дразнещите правописни грешки.
4+ - вероятно през 41-а е била за минимум 6!
Вероятно четвъртото художествено произведение, разработило идеята за космически кораб, пътуващ толкова дълго, че поколенията на борда му се сменят.
Една от най-ранните творби и в авторовата кариера, това определно си личи, макар и не драматично. Леко остаряла - факт, който по-скоро кара идеите вътре да изпъкват още повече. Не мога да си представя колко още по-фантастични са били преди почти осемдесет години! Най-големият минус за мен е праволинейността на някои герои, сред които и - главният такъв! Иначе - много социално-политическа критика, както и много класна заигравка с "И все пак тя се върти!" - приписваният на Галилео Галилей израз, произнесен на излизане от съда на инквизицията, където са го накарали да се отрече от научната постановка, че Земята се върти.
Българското издание е с много спорно качество на корекцията: Второстепенният Алън в половината пъти е Алан, както и леко дразнещите правописни грешки.
4+ - вероятно през 41-а е била за минимум 6!
October 11, 2025
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 envisioning future cultures emerging out of unusual circumstances is brought to a new height in Orphans. His talent for creating unforgettable characters is only aided by generations of drifting in space being bombarded by radiation as the crew has lost the knowledge to upkeep the radiation shielding. Most of his stories have settings that prevent his creating two-headed, knife-wielding philosophers, but this isn't even among the stranger elements of Orphans.
Heinlein's skill at envisioning future cultures emerging out of unusual circumstances is brought to a new height in Orphans. His talent for creating unforgettable characters is only aided by generations of drifting in space being bombarded by radiation as the crew has lost the knowledge to upkeep the radiation shielding. Most of his stories have settings that prevent his creating two-headed, knife-wielding philosophers, but this isn't even among the stranger elements of Orphans.
June 18, 2023
Un Heinlein sottotono!
January 31, 2014
I read this because it was one of the earlier examples of a story that takes place on a generation ship and I'm preparing to write a novel set on a generation ship. This is early Heinlein and I wished he hadn't mentioned women at all, sexism by omission would have seemed so much less sexist than the few sentences he included that reference women. In the first novella, the only mention of a woman is Hugh's (the main character) aunt, who looks up when he returns home but says nothing "as is fitting a woman." Her only action in the story is to bring him and his uncle dinner. In the second novella the women haven't even achieved the level of chattel. They are closer to cattle. Little more than beasts that are presumably only necessary to make more men. The main character, after improving his station in life post uprising chooses two wives. The first a widow, the uprising having freed up many excellent widows. She's uncomplaining - according to him, in any case she has no lines. He generously allows her to keep her name "Chloe." The second, a young girl who even though she bites him when he "inspects" her, he marries her anyway. He never christens her with any kind of name. The only other woman is the mustachioed hag who smiths knives and swards for the characters. Ugh. If this was some winking angle of how a uber-patriarchal society might play out, it wasn't developed enough to come off that way.
As far as the boy story. It was just okay, there was a little too much Dues Ex Machina in the way certain characters saw the light and changed sides, or not, etc. as the plot moved forward. The world building on the generation ship was okay, so I guess I got what I needed as far as historical/cannon research.
As far as the boy story. It was just okay, there was a little too much Dues Ex Machina in the way certain characters saw the light and changed sides, or not, etc. as the plot moved forward. The world building on the generation ship was okay, so I guess I got what I needed as far as historical/cannon research.
March 8, 2013
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 or exactly how it looks.
But Heinlein is also very much a man of his times. He can be sexist -- despite his futile attempts at Feminism in Time Enough for Love , where Feminism equates to liking sex and being able to shoot a gun. Or thinking that the way to win a woman's heart is to "mind meld" with her as she dances erotically, so she can understand why men like women so much. At least, that's how Valentine Michael Smith went about wooing women in Stranger in a Strange Land
You get the point. Even to the 1940's and 1950's, he was a bit backwards. But, at least, he was aware that he was. And tried...
Another fault is that Heinlein can be a bit callous. His characters do not "walk a mile" in other people's shoes. Instead, they function like detached, completely rational Free Market decision machines. Which, of course, is ludicrous.
Both his strengths and weaknesses are on full display in Orphans of the Sky . Heinlein presents us with a relatively likable protagonist in Hugh Hoyland, whose "tribe" selects him to be a "Scientist." We quickly piece together that the tribe is living on a spaceship. And that they are living on a spaceship, but have no concept that there is anything outside the tube.
I especially like how Heinlein took the concept of isolation, and how that caused the humans to create a religion to explain life. And how that very religious system came to limit personal freedom. In fact, I think he conveys the ideas much better here than he does in his other anti-religious polemic, Revolt in 2100 . And it also seems more natural, and less forced.
Another great thing about Heinlein is his openness to the strange. His characters do not judge books by their covers. And he makes it clear that the human's treatment of the Muties, most of whom who are mutants and look different, is wrong. As was their treatment of people who thought differently. Like Hugh during his trial for blasphemy -- saying that the ship moved.
But, alas, Heinlein's weaknesses are flaunted here as well. And Orphans of the Sky displays a few. Like the story's lack of female characters. in fact, the women here all have a subservient role. As if their only function were as baby carriers. Now, granted, this may have been an artifact of the culture. But even the open-minded Hugh never questioned that.
All in all, a decent book that I read because I found it for pennies at a used book store, and it was the only volume I have never read of Heinlein's Future History . Now that I am done, I will leave Heinlein to rest. Appreciating him at his best: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress still ranks among my all-time science fiction favorites. To his worst -- the creepy, often cringe-worthy erotic solipsism of Time Enough For Love and Friday .
Leo's Blog: leo-walsh.com.
But Heinlein is also very much a man of his times. He can be sexist -- despite his futile attempts at Feminism in Time Enough for Love , where Feminism equates to liking sex and being able to shoot a gun. Or thinking that the way to win a woman's heart is to "mind meld" with her as she dances erotically, so she can understand why men like women so much. At least, that's how Valentine Michael Smith went about wooing women in Stranger in a Strange Land
You get the point. Even to the 1940's and 1950's, he was a bit backwards. But, at least, he was aware that he was. And tried...
Another fault is that Heinlein can be a bit callous. His characters do not "walk a mile" in other people's shoes. Instead, they function like detached, completely rational Free Market decision machines. Which, of course, is ludicrous.
Both his strengths and weaknesses are on full display in Orphans of the Sky . Heinlein presents us with a relatively likable protagonist in Hugh Hoyland, whose "tribe" selects him to be a "Scientist." We quickly piece together that the tribe is living on a spaceship. And that they are living on a spaceship, but have no concept that there is anything outside the tube.
I especially like how Heinlein took the concept of isolation, and how that caused the humans to create a religion to explain life. And how that very religious system came to limit personal freedom. In fact, I think he conveys the ideas much better here than he does in his other anti-religious polemic, Revolt in 2100 . And it also seems more natural, and less forced.
Another great thing about Heinlein is his openness to the strange. His characters do not judge books by their covers. And he makes it clear that the human's treatment of the Muties, most of whom who are mutants and look different, is wrong. As was their treatment of people who thought differently. Like Hugh during his trial for blasphemy -- saying that the ship moved.
But, alas, Heinlein's weaknesses are flaunted here as well. And Orphans of the Sky displays a few. Like the story's lack of female characters. in fact, the women here all have a subservient role. As if their only function were as baby carriers. Now, granted, this may have been an artifact of the culture. But even the open-minded Hugh never questioned that.
All in all, a decent book that I read because I found it for pennies at a used book store, and it was the only volume I have never read of Heinlein's Future History . Now that I am done, I will leave Heinlein to rest. Appreciating him at his best: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress still ranks among my all-time science fiction favorites. To his worst -- the creepy, often cringe-worthy erotic solipsism of Time Enough For Love and Friday .
Leo's Blog: leo-walsh.com.
September 16, 2025
4 🌟🌟🌟🌟 e mezzo.
Non ho dubbi nell'affermare che Universo di Heinlein, sia uno dei migliori libri di fantascienza che io abbia mai letto.
Mi ha completamente rapito.
È riuscito in poche pagine (appena 178), ad esprimere concetti molto complessi, spiegati però in maniera molto semplice e a creare una storia ricca di spunti riflessivi...
Erano anni che non leggevo un libro così "forte". Tanta roba...
Non ho dubbi nell'affermare che Universo di Heinlein, sia uno dei migliori libri di fantascienza che io abbia mai letto.
Mi ha completamente rapito.
È riuscito in poche pagine (appena 178), ad esprimere concetti molto complessi, spiegati però in maniera molto semplice e a creare una storia ricca di spunti riflessivi...
Erano anni che non leggevo un libro così "forte". Tanta roba...
July 25, 2016
1977 grade A
1995 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, please let me know in the comments. I read them long before I started keeping records and would like to read them again.
In this story, the crew structure has failed for some reason and, after many many generations, degenerated into a basically feudal society while the unfailing mega-ship drifts on. The officers have become basically a religious group who misinterpret the scientific texts and continue their governing power as the Scientists. The regular crew are now the farming/hunting Peasants. These humans live on the outer decks with gravity. The central low gravity decks are where the waring mutants live and the ship's controls are located. The story is about one human who manages to find the controls and figure out the truth.
The book is short, and took less than a day to read. It is also a fast and fun read despite the descending grades and the implausibility of the end. It is told in two sections that were initially published as separate stories. I will read the novel again eventually.
The first forgotten novel also had two areas as I recall. One was a plant area that had become a jungle in the intervening years. It is found again and I think the ship is just returning to earth after aborting the trip because of problems. The story is a bit more abstract than Orphans of the Sky.
The second forgotten title might be a short story. It has a long ship with the engines not running. To keep the ship moving, the people use a machine to activate a space anchor at the bow end of the ship. They then proceed to move the anchor to the back of the ship thus moving the ship along. They have been repeating the process for a long, long time. As I recall the ship is discovered by a faster than light ship generations later.
1995 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, please let me know in the comments. I read them long before I started keeping records and would like to read them again.
In this story, the crew structure has failed for some reason and, after many many generations, degenerated into a basically feudal society while the unfailing mega-ship drifts on. The officers have become basically a religious group who misinterpret the scientific texts and continue their governing power as the Scientists. The regular crew are now the farming/hunting Peasants. These humans live on the outer decks with gravity. The central low gravity decks are where the waring mutants live and the ship's controls are located. The story is about one human who manages to find the controls and figure out the truth.
The book is short, and took less than a day to read. It is also a fast and fun read despite the descending grades and the implausibility of the end. It is told in two sections that were initially published as separate stories. I will read the novel again eventually.
The first forgotten novel also had two areas as I recall. One was a plant area that had become a jungle in the intervening years. It is found again and I think the ship is just returning to earth after aborting the trip because of problems. The story is a bit more abstract than Orphans of the Sky.
The second forgotten title might be a short story. It has a long ship with the engines not running. To keep the ship moving, the people use a machine to activate a space anchor at the bow end of the ship. They then proceed to move the anchor to the back of the ship thus moving the ship along. They have been repeating the process for a long, long time. As I recall the ship is discovered by a faster than light ship generations later.
August 28, 2018
Naufraghi dentro la propria astronave
Il primo grande romanzo sulle cosiddette "astronavi generazionali", i cui viaggi fra le stelle durano secoli, è questo di Robert A. Heinlein, noto sia come Universo sia come Orfani del cielo. E' un'avventura epica che esplora uno degli aspetti più affascinanti della sf: il "conceptual breakthrough", la rivelazione di una verità fisica che davamo per scontata. In questo caso, la natura del nostro mondo.
Addentrarsi nelle pagine di Universo è come addentrarsi in un labirinto fisico e psicologico, un mix di azione e crescita personale. L'autore ci narra la tragica spedizione di un'astronave terrestre che avrebbe dovuto atterrare nella lontanissima Proxima Centauri, ma dopo un incidente, gli esseri umani dimenticarono il vero scopo del viaggio e continuarono a vivere per generazioni creandosi una propria pseudo-religione, discriminando i mutanti, visti come demoni malefici... Fortunatamente Hugo non la pensa come gli altri, riesce ad uscire fuori dal guscio, riesce a pensare con la sua testa. Hugo incontra il capo dei mutanti, Joe-Jim (doppia testa) il quale lo guiderà verso la verità del viaggio, fino a quando vedrà con i suoi occhi le stelle...
Universo, pur se pubblicato come romanzo solo nel 1963, viene scritto e pubblicato per Astounding in due racconti separati nel 1941, e da allora, per altri vent’anni Heinlein si occupa di educare gli adolescenti alla libertà di azione e di pensiero, all’indipendenza intellettuale, al coraggio indirizzato al bene della comunità. Lo fa con ambientazioni e situazioni credibilissimi, con argomenti che risultano moderni per qualsiasi periodo storico, e con un linguaggio chiaro e familiare.
Il primo grande romanzo sulle cosiddette "astronavi generazionali", i cui viaggi fra le stelle durano secoli, è questo di Robert A. Heinlein, noto sia come Universo sia come Orfani del cielo. E' un'avventura epica che esplora uno degli aspetti più affascinanti della sf: il "conceptual breakthrough", la rivelazione di una verità fisica che davamo per scontata. In questo caso, la natura del nostro mondo.
Addentrarsi nelle pagine di Universo è come addentrarsi in un labirinto fisico e psicologico, un mix di azione e crescita personale. L'autore ci narra la tragica spedizione di un'astronave terrestre che avrebbe dovuto atterrare nella lontanissima Proxima Centauri, ma dopo un incidente, gli esseri umani dimenticarono il vero scopo del viaggio e continuarono a vivere per generazioni creandosi una propria pseudo-religione, discriminando i mutanti, visti come demoni malefici... Fortunatamente Hugo non la pensa come gli altri, riesce ad uscire fuori dal guscio, riesce a pensare con la sua testa. Hugo incontra il capo dei mutanti, Joe-Jim (doppia testa) il quale lo guiderà verso la verità del viaggio, fino a quando vedrà con i suoi occhi le stelle...
Universo, pur se pubblicato come romanzo solo nel 1963, viene scritto e pubblicato per Astounding in due racconti separati nel 1941, e da allora, per altri vent’anni Heinlein si occupa di educare gli adolescenti alla libertà di azione e di pensiero, all’indipendenza intellettuale, al coraggio indirizzato al bene della comunità. Lo fa con ambientazioni e situazioni credibilissimi, con argomenti che risultano moderni per qualsiasi periodo storico, e con un linguaggio chiaro e familiare.
November 24, 2015
Noor ja vihane Heinlein paneb hästi ja hoogsalt. Tegevus ja põnevus püsivad ja maailm on loodud lahedalt praktiliste ja küüniliste inimeste/mutantidega. Ei pea vastu ja toon siinkohal ära ühe lõigu
"Üks usutaganejast teadlane, üks röövitud teadlane, üks juhm talumees, üks kahepäine koletis ja üks õunasuuruse ajuga debiilik; viis nuga, kui Joe-Jimi ühe eest lugeda; viis aju, kui Joe-Jimi kahe eest lugeda ja Bobot üldse mitte arvestada; viis aju ja viis nuga, et pea peale pöörata kogu kultuur."
Kuid tegemist pole vaid hoogsa märuliga, kuna taustal kumab ka sügavam mõte, mis pisut analoogne Lapikmaa omaga. Täpsemalt üritab Heinlein nutika-lihtsustatud näide varal visualiseerida kuidas nii religioosne kui materjalistlik vaade mingile maailmale võivad olla üheaegselt vildakad, kui vaadeldakse kõike liiga kitsast punktist. Teadlased ja usumehed vaidlevad maailma tekke ja olemuse üle aga tõde on lõpuks märksa erinev ja suurem.
"Üks usutaganejast teadlane, üks röövitud teadlane, üks juhm talumees, üks kahepäine koletis ja üks õunasuuruse ajuga debiilik; viis nuga, kui Joe-Jimi ühe eest lugeda; viis aju, kui Joe-Jimi kahe eest lugeda ja Bobot üldse mitte arvestada; viis aju ja viis nuga, et pea peale pöörata kogu kultuur."
Kuid tegemist pole vaid hoogsa märuliga, kuna taustal kumab ka sügavam mõte, mis pisut analoogne Lapikmaa omaga. Täpsemalt üritab Heinlein nutika-lihtsustatud näide varal visualiseerida kuidas nii religioosne kui materjalistlik vaade mingile maailmale võivad olla üheaegselt vildakad, kui vaadeldakse kõike liiga kitsast punktist. Teadlased ja usumehed vaidlevad maailma tekke ja olemuse üle aga tõde on lõpuks märksa erinev ja suurem.
June 9, 2016
I don't know if this was actually the first generation starship story, but it was almost certainly the most influential. Hugh Hoyston was born (as were his to-the-nth-generation ancestors) on the Ship, but to him it's just the world -- it's only natural that the Decks curve and that your weight decreases as you ascend. Then he gets captured by the Muties (Mutineers/Mutants -- take your pick) and their two-headed leader Joe-Jim, and discovers that there's actually an outside to the world ...
This is relatively early Heinlein (1941) and short (two linked ... novelettes, maybe?); but one thing it demonstrates beyond question is that Heinlein could write. The prose is economical but evocative and goes down smoothly. The characters are, for the most part, engaging, although the less said about the women (about whom, in point of fact, he wrote almost nothing in this story) the better.
This is relatively early Heinlein (1941) and short (two linked ... novelettes, maybe?); but one thing it demonstrates beyond question is that Heinlein could write. The prose is economical but evocative and goes down smoothly. The characters are, for the most part, engaging, although the less said about the women (about whom, in point of fact, he wrote almost nothing in this story) the better.
January 23, 2011
I read it, and it was a quick Heinlein read and rather fun. However, the two appearances of women in the plot were so irrelevant and so misogynist (from the author more than the characters) that an editor might as well cut them out and change the genders of various main characters. I assure you, it would make no difference to the book, except that I wouldn't want to go back and punch Heinlein in the nose.
Seriously. This one dude gets picked out at the beginning of the story for being exceptionally intelligent, so they raise his rank rather than have him threaten the establishment. The idea that some women might do the same is apparently not a figment of Heinlein's imagination, and neither is putting any women in the outcast population, or making the women other than "useless". Having read "Have Space Suit, Will Travel" some years ago, I'd thought he was better than that.
Seriously. This one dude gets picked out at the beginning of the story for being exceptionally intelligent, so they raise his rank rather than have him threaten the establishment. The idea that some women might do the same is apparently not a figment of Heinlein's imagination, and neither is putting any women in the outcast population, or making the women other than "useless". Having read "Have Space Suit, Will Travel" some years ago, I'd thought he was better than that.
June 25, 2013
This is the most memorable sci-fi title of my youth. I loved the idea that people born on a deep space ship might not know that it WAS a ship, that it was the extent of the universe to them, and that the concept of "outside" would be horribly frightening.
To anyone interested, this is a short one! Short & sweet. :o)
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June 2013 - finished another re-read. Still love it.
To anyone interested, this is a short one! Short & sweet. :o)
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June 2013 - finished another re-read. Still love it.
February 1, 2010
One of my long ago Heinlein reads and one of the (I'm sad to say) less satisfying "colony starship with a crew who have forgotten they are on a ship and think it's the whole universe", stories.
I'm pretty sure that short of a longer synopsis and a few spoilers that about says it. A mutiny on a colonization starship ends in most everybody in charge getting killed. the survivors farm the hydroponic gardens and time passes, until that rare breed of individual is born.... a protagonist.
I'm pretty sure that short of a longer synopsis and a few spoilers that about says it. A mutiny on a colonization starship ends in most everybody in charge getting killed. the survivors farm the hydroponic gardens and time passes, until that rare breed of individual is born.... a protagonist.
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