The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress - Robert A. Heinlein

This is a 1966 sci-fi novel by Robert Heinlein about an attempted revolution by the colonists of Earth's moon around the year 2075. There's a brilliant plot, some great characters and humorous dialogue but it is mainly a platform for communicating Heinlein's libertarian ideals and is very talky. My copy is 288 pages. Luna is nominally a penal colony, set up by the nations of Earth and run by the Luna Authority. Undesirables have been sent to Luna to carry out their sentences since the late 20th Century, but due to the effect of the Moon's low gravity, no matter how short their sentence may have been, it is always a one-way trip. The human body is ...  Read the complete review

This is my all time favourite book! Set on the Moon, written from the point of view of one of the leaders of the Lunar rebellion against the Federated Nations, it is everything a good SF book should be. It is funny, exciting, thought provoking, sad, outrageous and trimuphant. I first read it in the late 60's and re-read at least once every couple of years. The characterisation is great and you can really feel for the people in the book. One of the saddest things in SF is the loss of Mike at the end of the book. one of the funniest lines is "Stop throwing rocks at Cheyanne Mountain, it isn't there anymore!" The plot ...  Read the complete review

This novel is set in the Moon, as a supposed retrospective of the Lunar Rebellion. Sounds corny? Well it isn't. Heinlein has written this piece in coloquialism so realistic, that you will be speaking in it by the end of the book. His genius for detail makes this book completely believable and very, very readable. The story is about colonialism and makes a lot of comments about Government and families. As always with Heinlein, you can read the book on more than one level. It is a very enjoyable story, but a very canny comment on society. It follows Manuel Garcia Kelly through his part in the revolution and what I really like, is that ...  Read the complete review