Podkayne of Mars

By: Robert A. Heinlein

Narrated by: Emily Janice Card

Length: 6 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

From the author of Friday and Rocketship Galileo comes this classic tale featuring the Grand Master of science fiction's most remarkable heroine.

Podkayne Fries, a smart and determined maid of Mars, has just one goal in life: to become the first female starship pilot and rise through the ranks to command deep-space explorations. So when she is offered a chance to join her diplomatic uncle on an interstellar journey to distant Earth via Venus, it's a dream come true - even if her only experience with diplomacy is handling her brilliant but pesky younger brother, Clark.

But she's about to learn some things about war and peace, because Uncle Tom, the ambassador plenipotentiary from Mars to the Three Planets Conference, is traveling not quite incognito enough - and certain parties will stop at nothing to sabotage negotiations between the three worlds.

©2003 The Robert A. & Virginia Heinlein Prize Trust (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Perfect narrator, and I forgot how funny it was.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Heck yes. The book itself is one of Heinlein's juvies, with a plucky heroine and her mad genius of a little brother. I bought it for my daughter to listen along with forgetting that the Juvies were meant for Tweens/teens with a matching vocabulary. So I listened to it by myself.

And absolutely loved it. The narrator was flat out perfect. I don't know what voice I have in my head for her when I read this, but it's Emily Card from now on.

The book is awesome. It's basically a travelogue that is mostly character driven, with the plot only showing up in Act III. Don't care, it's a fun journey.

What other book might you compare Podkayne of Mars to and why?

I wish I knew, so I could buy those as well. Obviously Heinlein's other juvies, but no idea. Given that YA is so huge right now, I don't know why this isn't huge.

What does Emily Janice Card bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She IS Poddy. She nails the voice.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Three planets, two kids, and one mad genius of a brother,

Any additional comments?

Thanks, Emily!

Hated the ending

Though I liked the story line, the ending seemed jolting, and unsatisfying. I felt that it ended abruptly, without wrapping up all the loose ends. The switch in narrative from Poddy to her brother was also disconcerting.

great story, lackluster ending.

as the title says above, Heinlein kept me interested and engaged, but his ending felt like it should be pretty of a series, and it is not.

Classic Heinlein

I first read this novel around 1980 and while we know now that only Earth is easily inhabitable at the time it was written it was still commonly believed that both Mars and Venus had survivable environments humans could live in without massive effort. So if we forgive that factor and accept this as a novel from the multiverse next door we can just enjoy it as a story.

The Audiobook performance was excellent and the narrator did a great job of sounding like a mature 17 year old on the cusp of adulthood.

Below this is my synopsis and contains spoilers, proceed with caution!

As a story this is a coming of age novel from the viewpoint of a 17 year old girl raised on Mars approaching rapidly her birthday. Heinlein mentions in one or more of his essays that he wrote it as a challenge because before this all of his characters were male and it was a stretch to try thinking and writing from a female viewpoint. While many modern reviewers might find Poddy's attitudes hopelessly regressive the facts of history support that at the time it was written many young women did hold views like those of the protagonist. She starts out firmly convinced that her brains and skill set should provide her the same career option as any male but becomes somewhat discouraged when she considers everything she would have to give up that is special about being a woman to compete effectively. She never really decides one way or the other by the conclusion of the book, she just mulls over her options in one passage.

This novel has two endings, Heinlein originally had Poddy die but the publisher was appalled and made him rewrite the last page to make her barely survive her injuries requiring a long convalescence. I have read both versions and find them equally acceptable as they both prove a strong character a resolution true to how she behaves through the story developing as a character.

Uncle Orson's Daughter

Emily Card did a wonderful job of characterizing Podkayne. She truly did. The reading of this novel called for a teenage girls voice using inflections as if she were conversing with a voice recorder or talking on a telephone. Ms. Card delivered splendidly. However, her talent as a reader may be limited in this respect. She could deliver a good performance with similarly themed science fiction books, and she might do really well reading chick-lit novels or perhaps classics like Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights, but her voice has too high of a pitch to embody masculine characters very well.

Enough criticisms about the reader. The book is one of my favorites. Heinlein's simple stories always entertain me completely. However, when I read this book a couple of years ago; I read a Baen paperback copy and I believe that there was an alternate ending to the novel. I may be wrong, maybe it was another book that offered an alternative ending. Perhaps it was the one with the two telepathic twins, or maybe "Tunnel in The Sky". But I didn't like the ending to this book. It was too sad and left too much unanswered. If you want to understand what I am talking about then buy the book and listen for yourself.

Fast moving, performance awesome!

Would you consider the audio edition of Podkayne of Mars to be better than the print version?

I believe this audio version is as good as the print version of Podkayne of Mars. Emily Janice Card captured the character essence of Podkayne, her brother, and the other characters, something that I thought could only be done well by reading the book! Thanks, Ms. Card for doing an excellent job!

What did you like best about this story?

The duality of Podkayne's view of what was happening with just enough context for someone to note that there was a LOT going on that Podkayne couldn't see. The clues in what she noticed but did not fully understand gives the reader a chance to look beyond Podkayne's view and anticipate what might happen next.

Have you listened to any of Emily Janice Card’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is my first Emily Janice Card performance - in fact I didn't even know she did audible books before I downloaded this book. As soon as I heard her name, I suspected that she was related to Orson Scott Card and I knew I was in for a treat! Sci-Fi runs in the family!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I empathized with Podkayne's capture and her fear for her future. I think Emily Janice Card really captured the essence of Robert Heinlein's characterization.

Any additional comments?

I've read every single Robert Heinlein novel between my age of 15 and 49. I've been pleased to listen to the Audibles - they form a backdrop to my morning and evening commutes. I've been pleasantly surprised by the rediscovery of the books; and like Podkayne, my maturity has allowed me to see the undercurrents and political views of Mr. Heinlein in a broader context. Thoroughly enjoyable!

Classic Heinlein, perfect reader!

i first read POM around 1960 and have re-read it at least 10 times in the past 60 years. I loved this recording.

There are two recorded versions of Podkayne on Audible at this moment. This one captures every nuance of the characters. the other one sounds like a snarky "mean girl" that's just totally wrong.

This reader interprets Podkayne as "Betty" where the other casts Podkayne as "Veronica." If you know the book, or you know Heinlein, you know which one he intended his heroine to be. Clark and uncle Tom are also perfectly portrayed.

What happened.

This book should have been called "The incalculable Clark" as it had more to do with Podkayne's brother Clark than it did "Poddy". RAH masterfully builds a lush environment, then fails to fill it with any substance. My first disappointment from RAH.

Come for the Adventure, leave for the misogyny

Heinlein writes a relatively decent adventure story following this young Martian girl on her trip to Venus with her Senator uncle and genius little brother. but what may have been okay in the 1960s is basically unstomachable today. podkayne is constantly throwing out little misogynistic undertones which are masked by what appears to be a bit of enlightenment. But it becomes clear by the end of the book that heinline has some really conservative views about women and their place in society.

Perfect narrator

This is one of Heinlein’s many Science Fiction juveniles. Some of the ideas are outdated, especially compared to his latter works. But Heinlein has such a way with words! Emily Card is a perfect Podkayne. Her narration and his wordcraft made this audio.