I got this book the first time out of a box of books a teacher brought in to class--which, given the school, would've been when I was fifteen.Frankly, my interest in the 'adventures' was minimal at best. I was drawn from the start by the science--the descriptions of what I didn't know at the time was called terraforming. The social stuff frankly repulsed me, though I was interested in the idea of a blended family, then somewhat new to me.One point: There's a sort of sneak introduction of a subtheme here: the heroes find mechanisms clearly left behind by aliens (and use them to transport a sick person), and there's an indication that their efforts at terraforming are reactivating previous efforts at'x'-forming by an earlier civilization. The matter is never followed up--we never find out who the alienswere--is it possible that Heinlein was preparing the ground for a sequel, then never got around to it?In the case of the near-solar planets, it's easy to critique the planetography in light of more recent information from probes, flybys, etc. The information has been widely disseminated, and most people have picked up a smattering at least.To critique the description of the terraforming of Ganymede, it's necessary to get at such things as the reports of the Galileo probe, as well as the flyby information from the Pioneers, Voyagers, etc. The first edition of this is from 1950, and Heinlein would have had access to none of these.The 'heat trap' (which is never really described) would deal with only one of the problems any colonists would face. More updated information indicates that below the ice are large bodies of subsurface water (MUCH bigger than Lake Vostok in Antarctica. Possibly even whole oceans.) Not only might these bodies of water be habitats of life like those around hydrothermal vents (not sterile at all, likely), but you'd have to do something will all that water, which would probably lead to significant cloudbursts if an atmosphere were created at all--and gullywashers would wash away any soil that wasn't almost immediately anchored by plant roots and filtered by leaves, humus, etc. There are very few trees in this book, but they should be nearly the first step in terms of vegetation. Grasses (all cereal grains are grasses), other produce plants, and even legumes should come after the trees.But all this is predicated on the resolution of one major problem. Heinlein underrstood (probably better than a lot of planetographers at the time) about the impact of tidal forces. What he likely didn't know about was the danger from magnetic flux. Jupiter's colossal magnetic field extends well beyond the Galilean satellites. It's said that despite Io's lack of atmosphere (because of the outgassing from volcanoes), Io has the most spectacular aurorae in the Solar System--but that if you were there to see it in person, you'd die very quickly. And Ganymede is even closer to Jupiter than Io. You'd have to come up with some sort of solution to the magnetic fluxes before you could even CONSIDER setting up colonies there. Details, details, eh? Corrections to the above--Ganymede is further away from Jupiter than Io, but still well within Jupiter's magnetic field. The text states that it's tide-locked, but I don't quite see how this would prevent tides in liquefied ice. Not from Jupiter itself, maybe--there'd be a tidal bulge, which might create what would effectively be a permanent hill of water (wonder how that'd work?). And there'd be a sort of 'anti-tidal bulge' opposite Jupiter. But Ganymede does still move relative to Jupiter. The same face may always face Jupiter, but there should still be movement of water. And tidal forces increase internal heating, so that a planet that had lost most of its original heat through radiative heat dispersion would still be generating internal heat, even billions of years later. And then there are the other satellites. Given the new understandings after the impact of Shoemaker-Levy 9, you'd have to keep a constant watch against the danger of a collision between satellites. Granted, it's more likely that one of them would hit Jupiter itself. But what effects might that have? And there'd be tidal effects from the other moons, particularly the Galilean moons, even where there was little risk of collision. Not to anticipate, but this effect isn't irrelevant to the story.The proposed method of creating an atmosphere is frankly reckless in the extreme. Even given the postulated unlimited power, using electrolysis (via extreme heat, in this case) to dissassociate water into hydrogen and oxygen is an inherently dangerous process. I find it extremely implausible that the hydrogen would rise to the top with no risk of massive fires (cast your mind back to the Hindenberg). But even if it DID happen, the hydrogen would eventually escape to space, resulting in a significant loss of water. Furthermore, since oxygen is extremely reactive stuff, it would tend to be constantly trying to reform itself into water with the escaping hydrogen. Perhaps explosively. And the nitrogen which is necessary for plants is described as plentiful--but not (apparently) released by the atmosphere project. Seems a bit shortsighted. Why DIDN'T they release the trapped nitrogen at the time?Anyway, it's an interesting story. I wouldn't give much credit to Heinlein's Malthusian fantasies. He's too prone to deplore Malthus' conclusions--but not to recognize that they're based on the false premise that humans reproduce mindlessly and automatically, with no decisionmaking on the part of the parents and society. In general, I find Heinlein's dismissive attitude toward most of his fellow humans more than a little arrogant. If you think people are ignorant, why is anger and despair a more appropriate response than education? And as for the argument that they're obdurately and inescapably stupid, maybe Heinlein's confusing the resentment of people he tried to bully into learning (instead of taking advantage of their innate pleaure in learning) with inevitability. Speaking personally, I've only ever seen one baby who wasn't actively exploring the world--and that one was mortally ill. If children lose that, isn't it just possibly at least partly the fault of an abusive educational system?
3.5 stars. Originally posted at FanLit.As I mentioned in my recent review of The Number of the Beast, I used to be a fan of Robert A. Heinlein’s “Juveniles” when I was a kid. I give Heinlein much of the credit for turning me into a speculative fiction lover at a young age, so I was really disappointed that The Number of the Beast was so dreadful. To cleanse my palate, and to restore my trust in a man who was such an influence on me, I decided to read Farmer in the Sky, a Heinlein Juvenile which has recently been produced in audio format by Brilliance Audio.Farmer in the Sky took me back to my childhood — when I loved to think about riding in spaceships while most girls were thinking about riding horses. In this story, Earth is overcrowded and food is rationed, so 16 year old Bill and his father George decide to emigrate to Ganymede, one of Jupiter’s moons. There’s a new colony on Ganymede and they’re struggling to survive as Earth, to ease its population tensions, keeps sending spaceship-loads of new settlers. Terraforming Jupiter’s moons is a difficult and dangerous enterprise, but Bill is determined to succeed by making his own farm productive. The skills he learned in Boy Scouts prove to be helpful for this and other tasks he undertakes to help his new colony.You can’t get much more exciting than taking a spaceship to Ganymede to build a new colony, so youngsters looking for speculative adventure will surely enjoy Farmer in the Sky. But I think the book is also appealing to kids who enjoy frontier stories such as Little House on the Prairie. In addition to homesteading skills, they’ll learn a bit of science, too.Though Bill is having a life-changing experience, he’s still easy to relate to. He’s a normal kid with normal kid desires and problems — he’s concerned about his Boy Scout uniform and badges, he’s mourning the death of his mother and upset about his father’s new relationship, he doesn’t like girls, and he has to deal with bullies and a few stupid adults. During the course of the story, Bill experiences both triumph and tragedy, and the reader feels them, too.Brilliance Audio’s version was read by Nick Podehl who does a great job reading stories with young men as protagonists (e.g., Patrick Rothfuss’s KINGKILLER CHRONICLE). When I see Nick Podehl’s name on the cover, I know it’s going to be a great audio production.A shorter version of Farmer in the Sky was originally serialized in Boy’s Life magazine in the fall of 1950 under the title “Satellite Scout,” so that gives you a good sense of its target audience. However, I recommend Farmer in the Sky for both teens and adults who love a good wholesome SF adventure. Farmer in the Sky was published as a novel in 1953 and won the Retro Hugo award.
What do You think about Farmer In The Sky (1975)?
I found this book to not be so interesting. This book is a chapter book for older students to discuss science concepts to students, such as astronomy* Literacy, science, and social studies (e.g. Immigration) are all linked in this book, so there is an integration of subjects for students to learn.* Introduces the genre of science fiction to older students. I acknowledge that some of my students will be interested in science friction and this book will enable children to explore the many aspects of science fiction. fiction.
—Kristen Lindsay
В 1947 году фантаст Роберт Хайнлайн, известный всем любителям жанра по многочисленным рассказам из цикла “История будущего”, написал наконец свой первый большой роман - “Ракетный корабль “Галилео”. Про трёх юных инженеров-ракетчиков, которые принимают участие в подготовке первого полёта на Луну. Но редактор отказался печатать рукопись, сказав, что писатель уж слишком замечтался, а Луна – это явный перебор. Неожиданная поддержка пришла к Хайнлайну со стороны издательства Scribner, которое согласилось издать не только этот роман, но и все остальные книги про подростков, которые Хайнлайн напишет в будущем. Отныне каждый год под Рождество писатель сдавал в издательство новое произведение о приключениях бойскаутов за пределами нашей планеты. Сначала на Луне, потом на Марсе, чуть позже – на Ганимеде, еще позднее – вне границ Солнечной системы. Продолжался этот роман между фантастом и издателем чуть больше десяти лет и породил 12 первосортных книг, читать которые обожали не только подростки, но и взрослые. Романы не были связаны друг с другом через героев или сквозные события, но все вместе создавали большой футуристический эпос. Эпос закончился в 1959 году, когда Хайнлайн принес в издательство рукопись 13-й книги - “Звездного десанта”. Начальство сказало, что, бля, не станет это издавать. Мы много лет терпели, что ты даёшь бойскаутам в руки короткоствол и пускаешь их на передовую, но новая книга – это уже явный перебор. Окей, сказал Хайнлайн, развернулся и ушел. Так завершился в его биографии период, известный как “scribner juveniles”. “Небесный фермер” – шестой из двенадцати хайнлановских“ювенилей”. Очень простое, лаконичное и эффектное произведение. В недалеком будущем на Земле начались проблемы с едой. Подлые азиаты не стали контролировать рождаемость, из-за чего простым американцам пришлось потуже затянуть кушаки и жить исключительно на пищевые талоны. К счастью, в этой ситуации появился неожиданный выход – стать колонистом и отправиться покорять терраформированный спутник Юпитера – Ганимед. После смерти жены инженер Джордж Лермер решает покинуть Землю вместе со своим сыном-школьником Биллом. Повествование ведется от лица этого сурового пацана – настоящего американского пионера-бойскаута. Наш рассказчик временами наивен и слегка прямодушен, но явно не глуп и легко адаптируется к любым ситуациям. Образцовый пионер-первопроходец из советского космофанта, но только с прошивкой в генах и извилинах, доставшейся ему прямиком от предков - пилигримов и колонистов Дикого Запада. В огне не тонет, в воде не горит, пробоины от метеоритов затыкает голыми руками.Про последнее, кстати, не вру, хотя тут же добавлю, что книга написана максимально серьезно, реалистично и бескомпромиссно. Пожалуй, чуть более бескомпромиссно, чем мы привыкли видеть в young adult “золотого века”. А еще в книге есть капитан Харкнесс. Интересно, случайно или нет.
—Felix Zilich
I went in biased against this book. Firstly, it's another Heinlein. Another one. C'mon, WorldCon voters of 2001, you know that Heinlein won four Hugos in his lifetime; does he really need a retro Hugo, too? And it beat The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which is just ludicrous. And the title Farmer in the Sky is incredibly inane. And it was written as Boy Scout propaganda.And then... the book was great. Really great. Fantastic. I loved it. It's just the kind of sf I like: science, adventure, exploration, mysteries, with the characters front-and-center.And the climax. And the ending. Man, if you don't know how to end a book, just burn the house down. Shit got really real, really fast, and I loved it.It's got the asterisks you'd expect for a book written in 1950. * *** Passing sexism.** Racism-by-omission -- everybody is white.But still, I can't not recommend it. Highly. :)
—Erik
