Red Planet by Robert Heinlein

First published in 1949

Jim Marlowe lives with his sister and parents on Mars.  Jim's life inside the colony and his Martian adventures beyond its borders are the subject of Robert Heinlein's Red Planet.

The 1949 novel is vintage Heinlein. Characters rant about bureaucracy, regulations, and limitations on personal freedom (the unfettered right to bear arms is sacred), themes that reappear often in Heinlein's later work. Although Red Planet is characterized as a "juvenile"--and although I was thoroughly entertained by it when I read it as a teenager--the story retains enormous appeal for adult fans of science fiction. While lacking the complexity of Heinlein's later work, the novel showcases Heinlein's vivid imagination and his stalwart belief in the ability of individuals to meet challenges posed both by hostile environments and by muddle-headed humans.  It has aged well.

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