Book reviews: The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

[baloonworld]

Junky space porn celibrating anarco-sydicatism. Refutes the values of other governmental systems by having peple in an immaginary socity say that they have never seen the need for n where n is somthing provided by an existing socity. Given that the socity is based on the premise that it is cheaper to grow grain hydroponicly on the moon and ship it to Earth than grow it hydroponicly on Earth, the validity of the hypothetical socity is pretty much nil. Heinlien sets up an ideal oppertunity to explore ideas concerning utilitarian socity ran by a loving machine overlord, and then carefully avoids it at the last minute, presumably for reasons of it being interesting. Charitors are almost psycopathic in their emotional detachment from the death of their loving machine-god.

With two exceptions (below), all the other (54) reviews on iRead are either libertarians saying "this book describes a world just like the one I imagine I live in. It is therfore excellent" or "this book is good"

"libertarian tough-guy writing at its best. Which isn't really saying a whole lot."

"Well, I'm TRYING to read it, anyway. I find Heinlein's take on gender to be REALLY off-putting."

Comments

[baloonworld.livejournal.com]

Some of your economic arguments could help bring down the cost of lunar grain; it is an example of my ain point rather than being a focus in its own right.

My main objection was to the Libertarian Moon-Utopia* being subjected to no scrutiny as a viable society, while societies known to be viable from having existed were torn down using straw-man (straw state?) arguments. It is not a convincing way to sell your ideology to a questioning audience.

I assume that the view on gender which the other reviewer found such hard going was that Wyoh's beauty is mentioned repeatedly and to no point, while demonstrations of her intelligence, courage or resourcefulness simply do not occur (by memory. Please don't make me go back and re read it).

*I love this phrase