Farmer in the Sky

3.5 stars. Originally posted at FanLit.

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.

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.

Heinlein, Yes! Nick Podehl, NO!

the aftermath of the line up of the planets

No. not until he has more training

No. Heinlein is gon.

Scott Brick performed this book outstandinly. He is one of the best. I have to be more careful about verifying readers from one foremat to another.

I am a great fan of Heinlein Juveniles so I rate this audio copy highly

Probably the 'moon quake' and its aftermath.

Bill, the lead. A typically competent (with guidance from convenient father figures, as usual, in H's juveniles) Heinlein YA character.

Yes, though I didn't have the time to do so. It is a book I will listen to again and again, as well.

I love the Heinlein juveniles (except for Podkayne of Mars) and while this books has structural 'problems' with the final sequence kind of seemingly tacked on (but interesting in itself). I had forgotten how good this particular Heinlein Juvenile was -- it's not at the very top of my list of the best of these books -- until I listened to it this time.

Great stuff!

Well no, I would not; it is equal to the print version but has the bonus of a great voice reading it to you.

The protagonist's adherence to TANSTAAFL and working himself to his limits to make something for and of himself.

His voice makes you want to listen to every word and not skip the "boring" parts....which are rare in this book anyhow.

no, but decidedly kept me entertained going across the Atlantic by air (ATL-CDG & return) for when I was not asleep.

This is, imho, the worst of RAH's "juveniles", but is still a fantastic read that should not be missed as it is better than 90% of the other sci-fi out there today. Also, this is probably the only format you will be able to "read" this book in for awhile unless you stumble across a copy in a used bookstore or want to pay a wad of cash on-line for a print edition.

The story stands on its own merits; it is one of his better juveniles, but not his best. As usual, he has interesting characters and makes you think about the science and engineering of what is going on in a natural way, without detracting from the entertaining and compelling characters, and the solid plot. The narrator did a nice job, and let the story roll along without being melodramatic. He also did a nice job of giving the characters unique voices.

I liked it, almost as much as I enjoyed the book.

great book but the performance version may be better for early listeners. This was one of RAH stories that were run as a serial in Boys Life in the 40s and 50s so is quite appropriate for young listeners. great listen!

The exploration of various personality types and illustration that most don't want or can't participate in what it takes to 'farm'. Heinleins blend of common understanding of technique and fully exploring what it would take to get to square 1 of that common definition of farming was incite-full for all readers (at least thought provoking). Adding in the various personality types to the colony further emphasized how much talent was possessed by the successful farmer (in the colony)

'Stranger in a Strange Land' - kind of a polar opposite of the themes presented. A fine pair to showcase Heinlein's range.

A fine voice ranging from young to old and female voices were quite believable. Inflections changed as one personality moved to another. Good job!

N/a - I don't think this would be ,"Hollywood" material

"farmer..." wasn't my favorite Heinlein book, but that being said - still worth the read.

I'm seriously glad they are doing more Heinlein! He's my favorite author from when I was a kid, now my kids love him too!

If you like Heinlein, you'll enjoy this. I'm glad that the estate is releasing more and more of his stories on audio!