Podkayne of Mars by Robert A. Heinlein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

From the start of this novel, well into when they made it to Venus from Mars, I kept thinking this would make a GREAT young adult mini-tv series, right up there with the best light adventures we've ever had. We've got the plucky Pod, her brilliant and naughty younger brother, and her war-hero ancient Uncle who takes the kids on a little adventure across the solar system.

Sound old-fashioned?

Sure, but classic storylines usually do. The trick is in how WELL the story comes off, the depth of character and worldbuilding, how much twisting of expectations goes on, and how much heart it has.

This has lots of heart. And that's why I think it'd make a great, non-problematic SF adventure that's not horror in disguise. It's discovery, tweaking the noses of racists and rich assholes, a bit of politics that's nine parts freedom and one part intrigue, and all outside-the-box thinking.

It's Heinlein at his prime. And I mean that quite literally. This book came out right after Starship Troopers and Stranger in a Strange Land. And Heinlein is, oddly enough, a chameleon in his writing.

How else would we go from Starship Troopers, a novel that is slightly subversive but easily mistaken for a novel about TRUE DUTY and chain of command and heroism, to Stranger in a Strange Land, a novel that becomes a paragon of 60's counter-culture, free love, empathy, and a satire about all things religious at the same time, to Podkayne: a novel that's about as light and free as a feather, thumbing its nose at all authority and duty for the sake of family?

All three novels came out as fast as a shotgun blast from the author. Two of them won the Hugos for best SF novel of the year.

So why isn't this one more talked about? It's very modern. It has most of our modern sensibilities, with only one or two examples to the contrary. I mean, it's not like we all assume taking care of children is all a woman's work. And I'd like to point out that Pod ropes in her brother to help out where it was needed, too. The reality is: she's still a character that WILL go all out when a thing needs doing. And it's clear.

And if it wasn't for the end of the novel, I'd STILL love to see a high-production mini-series made of this. Kept ENTIRELY as it was depicted. The details are what make this powerful.

Post-Mars rebellion, freedom fighters becoming politicians, can-do attitudes all around, and no patience for rich assholes. And above all, a great, light adventure that makes a point of STAYING mostly light. Accessible.

Highly recommended. Heinlein is a master of his craft.


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