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tome15 's review for:
Space Cadet
by Robert A. Heinlein
Heinlein, Robert A. Space Cadet. 1948. Tor, 2005.
Robert Heinlein’s Space Cadet is where the subgenre of an academy for spacefarers begins. You can draw a direct line of influence from Heinlein’s Matt Dodson to Star Trek’s Wesley Crusher. Heinlein was optimistic about the development of nuclear-powered single-stage rockets and artificial gravity. His navigators and pilots fly their ships by hand, without the benefit of a computerized autopilot. No one at the time predicted the laptop. We have less than 60 years to make a permanent presence in space on Heinlein’s schedule. Interestingly, his is an academy of peacekeepers, not warriors. His academy graduates are all officers and have a monopoly on nuclear weapons, ready to devastate any nation that breaks a worldwide peace. Modeled on a coast guard, they search for lost ships and police interplanetary trade. There are aliens on a tropical Venus and pirates in the asteroid belt, both of which are credible given the world he has built and the science of the time. Character drama is simple. Heinlein’s highly competitive teenage cadets must learn to subordinate their egos to a higher cause and work together as a team. Space Cadet is still enjoyable after all these years.
Robert Heinlein’s Space Cadet is where the subgenre of an academy for spacefarers begins. You can draw a direct line of influence from Heinlein’s Matt Dodson to Star Trek’s Wesley Crusher. Heinlein was optimistic about the development of nuclear-powered single-stage rockets and artificial gravity. His navigators and pilots fly their ships by hand, without the benefit of a computerized autopilot. No one at the time predicted the laptop. We have less than 60 years to make a permanent presence in space on Heinlein’s schedule. Interestingly, his is an academy of peacekeepers, not warriors. His academy graduates are all officers and have a monopoly on nuclear weapons, ready to devastate any nation that breaks a worldwide peace. Modeled on a coast guard, they search for lost ships and police interplanetary trade. There are aliens on a tropical Venus and pirates in the asteroid belt, both of which are credible given the world he has built and the science of the time. Character drama is simple. Heinlein’s highly competitive teenage cadets must learn to subordinate their egos to a higher cause and work together as a team. Space Cadet is still enjoyable after all these years.