Review written for ClubReading.com by Gary
This novel is set almost entirely upon the moon. The moon after having been used as a penal colony for many years has a population that has no freedoms, except for those few that are granted by the overseers. Any place without basic freedoms is ripe for revolution, and the moon is no exception. Life on the moon is described and is understandably difficult, but the residents of the moon do not seem to mind the limitations that life there imposes, and in fact create a society based upon these constraints that is quite different than the society on earth.
This novel has highly developed and entertaining characters, including nearly everybody’s favorite Microft Holmes, who is actually a computer with consciousness. If you enjoy a good story and can handle a little violence, then this is a good book. If you are as fascinated with social science fiction as I am, then this is a great book!
One quick note about the format of the book. It seems that upon his original submission to the publisher, the publisher thought the book was too long and demanded that Heinlein cut several thousand words from the book. He did so - all of the articles (such as a, an, and the) were eliminated. Reading this book seems strange at first without the inclusion of these, but the exclusion did not force him to drop any of the detailed storylines and I believe you will find that your mind automatically fills in the blanks as you read.