Infinite Possibilities

by Robert A. Heinlein

Remember writers telling fast-paced, complex tales in a few hundred pages? Rbt A. Heinlein was such a one--his books are concise yet never rushed, richly plotted, never bloated. His '50s juveniles were among his best work. Here are 3: Tunnel in the Sky, Time for the Stars & Citizen of the Galaxy.

Tunnel in the Sky: Just a test, but something went wrong. As part of a final exam, Rod Walker's Advanced Survival class was dropped thru a teleportation gate to an unknown location. A standard 10-day field exercise became an indefinite life-or-death struggle. Stranded beyond contact with Earth, divested of all luxuries & laws, they were forced to forge a future of their own--a future where sometimes not even the fittest survive.

Time for the Stars: The ship Lewis & Clark sought worlds for overpopulated Earth to colonize. Twins Tom & Pat Bartlett participated. Scientists had discovered thoughts travel faster than light & the twins were telepathic. Pat remained on Earth, growing old, while Tom made a 70-year voyage. As the pioneer torchship discovered seemingly habitable new planets at Tau Ceti & Deneb Kaitos, messages Tom sent back spoke of disaster.

Citizen of the Galaxy: Thorby had been taken from his parents & sold into slavery while young. His life had been under cruel masters on planets across the Terran Hegemony. His new owner was different. With the beggar, he found kindness & hope, not just for safety but for freedom. Baslim the Cripple was more than he seemed. He taught him a message that would take him to the stars. Thorby's true identity would stay secret thru his adventures with an odd society of traders, until service as a Terran Hegemony Guardsman brought him to his lost homeworld & destiny.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Collections, Fantasy, Adventure

568 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2002

About the author

Robert 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.

Reviews

[Michael Moats · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first read these stories in Jr. High. For a 13 - 14 yr old they were great adventures. not so much now except for the nostalgia. Heinlein has a style that at times is irritatingly simplistic but moves at a quick pace. Heroes are usually heroic yet humble. Still, after all these years the tales were fun to read again.

[Daniel Laflin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Citizen of the Galaxy is in this and is one of Heinlein better stories ,it keeps one engrossed and the ending is a pretty satisfying one to its start

[Matt Truxaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Review on Amazing Stories
https://amazingstories.com/2025/12/ma...

[John Bruni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is actually a collection of three novels Heinlein wrote for juveniles back in the day, and it is a mighty fine collection at that. The first novel is "Tunnel in the Sky," about a bunch of teenagers who take a survival course at their school and are transported to a distant planet. Unfortunately, something gets screwed up, and they're abandoned in this strange land full of dangerous creatures. It's fun to see these kids band together, not just to survive, but to form their own society. If the kids from LORD OF THE FLIES were smart and courteous (for the most part), they'd be the kids in this book. The second novel is "Time for the Stars," and it is easily my favorite in this collection. It's the best use of the Twin Paradox I've ever read. Humans are trying to explore deep space, but since there's such a communications lag, they can't do it properly. So they find a bunch of telekinetic twins (and, in some cases, triplets), and since telepathy is instantaneous, they're able to finally take off for the stars, leaving one twin in each pair behind (and in the case of triplets, they put the third on another ship). Here's the thing, though: if you're traveling at a really fast rate like these guys--they're going almost as fast as the speed of light--there is a difference in time. Two years might pass for those on the ships, but for those left on earth? It could be 13 years. Also, because of this time difference, when the twins try communicating with one another while going that quickly, the earth-twin sounds super fast, too fast to hear, and the space-twin sounds super slow, as in, a simple sentence could take several months to impart. The ending of this story is completely mindblowing. I'm surprised no one thought to make a movie out of this one. The last novel in this book is "Citizen of the Galaxy," and it's the weakest of the bunch. A slave boy is purchased by a beggar and put to work scamming pedestrians out of their money. However, when the beggar gets into trouble with the government, he grants the kid his freedom, and the boy takes to the stars on an adventure to find out who he is and where he belongs. It's still pretty good--I don't think Heinlein could write a bad book--but it's not in the same league as the other two. The one thing that surprises me, though, is that these books were written for kids. They're so heavy on science, I can't imagine kids understanding much of these books. I know today's kids wouldn't know what to make of it. It took a while for me to get through this one, but I'm glad I did. These three books are definitely worth your while.

[Jim Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The three stories in this Science Fiction Book Club compilation were fascinating and kept my attention to the last page. Heinlein's story telling in futuristic settings is descriptive but not to the point of minutia. His characters are well defined with distinct personalities and are developed to be either easily liked or disliked.

"Tunnel in the Sky" finds a group of young teens on an unfamiliar planet for survival testing. They arrived by a "gate" that shuttled them a huge distance from their native home. Each member of the group starts on their own or in pairs and attempts to make it to the target zone and travel reverse through the "gate" back home. When the teenagers find the gate no longer available, they begin to develop a colony of their own. Drama, social dynamics, politics, rivalries and teenage angst are address in this "Lord of the Flies" like story. With todays popular box-office hits like "The Hunger Games" and "Divergent", "Tunnel in the Sky" seems like it could easily be developed for the big screen.

"Time for the Stars" follows telepathic twins, Tom and Pat Barlett; One planet side the other traveling through space. The instant communication the two have keep explorers, who are looking for new plants to colonize, apprised of what's happening back home and controllers updated on the findings of the explorers. The further the ship gets from the launch pad, the more rapid the time deferential increases. New discoveries and found about telepathy that make an already interesting story more captivating. Will the ship make it back? How old are the people that were left behind? The distance between the twines is found much greater than the light years between them.

"Citizen of the Galaxy" Deals with slavery in an imaginative and thought provoking way. A slave youngster called Thorby travels the planetary system, starting as a beggar's apprentice and ends discovering his challenging family roots. Thorby is meet with several challengers and opportunities along his journey and develops a personality of compassion and determination. He's a quick study and picks up on new ideas and technology with each new fork that he takes. Contempt, intrigue and possible murder make for a compelling story in any setting.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A trio of good yarns in this book, none of them terribly deep. It's a fun way to wile away some hours. Of the three stories, "Tunnel in the Sky" is my favorite - that would have gotten a solid four stars. I liked the other two stories, but they haven't really stayed with me like "Tunnel" (I almost used an acronym, but realized that wouldn't work well LOL).

[Karina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd read two of these novels (Tunnel in the Sky, and Citizen of the Galaxy) previously in my native language, but since I loved them then, I decided to purchase this volume and read them again, along with the other one. Heinlein is one of the authors I consider the quintessential sci-fi.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was nice reading a collection of heinlein from my formative years reading Science Fiction and books didn't have to be 400 pages long and park of a trilogy, If you like Heinlein, you also have to read Asimov, Clarke, Norton, Andersen and just so many other great story tellers.

[Freek]

N/A

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I prefer Heinlein's novels to his short stories but these are still very good SiFi reads. Recommended

[Austin Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Collection of books 9, 10, 11 of Heinlein's Juveniles.