Lynn McGuire wrote:
Don wrote:

<snip>

And why not listen to your number one pick, _Rogue Moon_, afterward?
It's been on my To Be Heard list for about a decade.

Did you mean "Mutineer's Moon" ? That is on my short reread list, ie,
my nightstand.

Yes. My mistake. _Mutineer's Moon_ (not _Rogue Moon_) tops your list.

Danke,

--
Don.......My cat's )\._.,--....,'``. https://crcomp.net/reviews.php telltale tall tail /, _.. \ _\ (`._ ,. Walk humbly with thy God.
tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.' Make 1984 fiction again.

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XPost: alt.fan.heinlein

Lynn McGuire wrote:

"Citizen of the Galaxy" by Robert A. Heinlein
https://www.amazon.com/Citizen-Galaxy-Robert-Heinlein/dp/1416505520/

A standalone Young Adult "juvenile" science fiction book. I reread my
used 1986 MMPB copy that somebody converted into a hardback. The font
is kinda small but the after market Demco binding was solid. The book
was first published as a hardback by Scribner in 1957. Warning, the
story moves quickly and is very hard to put down. Good luck on getting
a new dead tree MMPB or trade paperback as the book is out of print again.

One of my top ten favorite books of all time. This book just pushes all
my buttons: space opera, thousands of occupied planets, the free traders spaceships, military sf, well thought out space aliens, a rich and
infinite universe, a likable protagonist, great mentors, good people
making tough and good decisions, FTL spaceships, air cars, the 3,000+
light year Terran Hegemony sphere, etc, etc, etc.

The book is really three books in one: slave, trader, military. It was originally serialized in Astounding magazine in three issues in 1957. Heinlein could have easily made this book into a long series but chose
not to. Interesting decision. For instance, did Leda and Thorby get
married ?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_of_the_Galaxy

Jo Walton's much better review is at:
https://reactormag.com/citizengalaxy/

My rating: 6 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,419 reviews)

"There's a time and place for everything." appears in the denouement, as
the story's fourth to last line of the story. It brings to mind Ecclesiastes. As mentioned previously, part of my Lenten observance is to study
Ecclesiastes:

5:19 For they will hardly dwell on the shortness of life,
because God lets them busy themselves with the joy of
their heart.*

...

* [5:19] The joys of life, though temporary and never
assured, keep one from dwelling on the ills which afflict
humanity.

<https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ecclesiastes/5?19=#25005019>

One of the joys in my life is to read a comprehensive review after a
story's finished. Here's a deep dive dissection, a feast free for the
taking:

<https://www.heinleinsociety.org/citizen-of-the-galaxy-review/>

Although all of the reviews ignore her, anthropologist Dr Margaret
Mader's a memorable character to me. She's obviously Heinlein's
analog to Margaret Mead.

Thank you Lynn for reminding me of how highly Heinlein's esteemed.
He's earned enough esteem for an entire society to be created in his
honor.

Danke,

--
Don.......My cat's )\._.,--....,'``. https://crcomp.net/reviews.php telltale tall tail /, _.. \ _\ (`._ ,. Walk humbly with thy God.
tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.' Make 1984 fiction again.

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"Michael F. Stemper" <michael.stemper@gmail.com> writes:

On 05/03/2024 16.37, Lynn McGuire wrote:

"Citizen of the Galaxy" by Robert A. Heinlein
   https://www.amazon.com/Citizen-Galaxy-Robert-Heinlein/dp/1416505520/ >>
A standalone Young Adult "juvenile" science fiction book.

Weren't all of Heinlein's juveniles stand-alone?

The book is really three books in one: slave, trader, military.

The cover of my copy[1] led to a nice discussion about social justice
and inequality with my then roughly ten-year-old son.

I got a bit of whiplash with the transition from "trader" to "heir
to a major commercial combine". (Still a great story.)

    For instance, did Leda and Thorby get married ?

It's been a long time, but my recollection is that, at the end,
she told him that their different (socio-economic) worlds meant
that they had no future together.

Do hospitals still record footprints for newborns?

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Michael F. Stemper wrote:

Lynn McGuire wrote:

"Citizen of the Galaxy" by Robert A. Heinlein
   https://www.amazon.com/Citizen-Galaxy-Robert-Heinlein/dp/1416505520/ >>
A standalone Young Adult "juvenile" science fiction book.

Weren't all of Heinlein's juveniles stand-alone?

The book is really three books in one: slave, trader, military.

The cover of my copy[1] led to a nice discussion about social justice
and inequality with my then roughly ten-year-old son.

I got a bit of whiplash with the transition from "trader" to "heir
to a major commercial combine". (Still a great story.)

    For instance, did Leda and Thorby get married ?

It's been a long time, but my recollection is that, at the end,
she told him that their different (socio-economic) worlds meant
that they had no future together.

[1] <https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?420954>

The breakneck speed of the story's social climb, from slave to supreme
chief, can indeed induce whiplash. Heinlein atones for it with a healthy
dose of skepticism about the end of slavery. He views slavery as endemic
to humanity.

Searchable epubs bring me joy!

Leda's pride leaves a little wiggle room in marriage matters:

[Leda] said, "Thor, you know that Daddy has been throwing me
at you?"

"Huh?"

"I don’t see how you could miss it. Unless you are utterly -
but then, perhaps you are. Just take it as true. It’s one of
those obvious marriages that everyone is enthusiastic about …
except maybe the two most concerned."

Thorby forgot his worries in the face of this amazing statement
"You mean … well, uh, that you -" He trailed off.

"Heavens, dear! If I intended to go through with it, would I
have told you anything? Oh, I admit I promised, before you
arrived, to consider it. But you never warmed to the idea -
and I’m too proud to be willing under those circumstances even
if the preservation of Rudbek depended on it Now what’s this
about Daddy not letting you see the proxies that Martha and
Creighton gave him?"

During the denouement, a little later, lost in thought, Thorby thinks:

He didn’t even pick up the top item this time; he simply sat in
thought. Good girl, Leda … she had even tried to help in the
business - until it had become clear that business was not her
forte. But she was one bright spot in the gloom; she always
bucked him up. If it wasn’t patently unfair for a Guardsman to
marry - But he couldn’t be that unfair to Leda and he had no
reason to think she would be willing anyhow.

This story screams for a sequel.

Danke,

--
Don.......My cat's )\._.,--....,'``. https://crcomp.net/reviews.php telltale tall tail /, _.. \ _\ (`._ ,. Walk humbly with thy God.
tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.' Make 1984 fiction again.

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In article <20240311a@crcomp.net>, Don <g@crcomp.net> wrote:

Michael F. Stemper wrote:

Lynn McGuire wrote:

"Citizen of the Galaxy" by Robert A. Heinlein
   https://www.amazon.com/Citizen-Galaxy-Robert-Heinlein/dp/1416505520/ >>>
A standalone Young Adult "juvenile" science fiction book.

Weren't all of Heinlein's juveniles stand-alone?

The book is really three books in one: slave, trader, military.

The cover of my copy[1] led to a nice discussion about social justice
and inequality with my then roughly ten-year-old son.

I got a bit of whiplash with the transition from "trader" to "heir
to a major commercial combine". (Still a great story.)

    For instance, did Leda and Thorby get married ?

It's been a long time, but my recollection is that, at the end,
she told him that their different (socio-economic) worlds meant
that they had no future together.


[1] <https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?420954>

The breakneck speed of the story's social climb, from slave to supreme
chief, can indeed induce whiplash. Heinlein atones for it with a healthy
dose of skepticism about the end of slavery. He views slavery as endemic
to humanity.

Searchable epubs bring me joy!

Leda's pride leaves a little wiggle room in marriage matters:

[Leda] said, "Thor, you know that Daddy has been throwing me
at you?"

"Huh?"

"I don’t see how you could miss it. Unless you are utterly -
but then, perhaps you are. Just take it as true. It’s one of
those obvious marriages that everyone is enthusiastic about …
except maybe the two most concerned."

Thorby forgot his worries in the face of this amazing statement
"You mean … well, uh, that you -" He trailed off.

"Heavens, dear! If I intended to go through with it, would I
have told you anything? Oh, I admit I promised, before you
arrived, to consider it. But you never warmed to the idea -
and I’m too proud to be willing under those circumstances even
if the preservation of Rudbek depended on it Now what’s this
about Daddy not letting you see the proxies that Martha and
Creighton gave him?"

During the denouement, a little later, lost in thought, Thorby thinks:

He didn’t even pick up the top item this time; he simply sat in
thought. Good girl, Leda … she had even tried to help in the
business - until it had become clear that business was not her
forte. But she was one bright spot in the gloom; she always
bucked him up. If it wasn’t patently unfair for a Guardsman to
marry - But he couldn’t be that unfair to Leda and he had no
reason to think she would be willing anyhow.

This story screams for a sequel.

Thorby has a talent for being wrong about his future so if there's
one thing we know about his future it is that he walks out of the room
he is in into a chapel where he is immediately married to Leda.
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

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