The Apolyton Science Fiction Book Club: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[JohnT]

Title: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Author: Robert Heinlein
Published: 1966
Copyright: Robert Heinlein (or his estate)
Publisher: Tor Books (at least the 1996 reprint is Tor)

From the book jacket: “It is a tale of revolution, of the rebellion of a former penal colony on the Moon against its masters on the Earth. It is a tale of a culture whose family structures are based on the presence of two men for every woman, leading to novel forms of marriage and family. It is the story of the disparate people – a computer technician, a vigorous young female agitator, and an elderly academic – who become the movement’s leaders. And it is the story of Mike, the supercomputer whose sentience is known only to the revolt’s inner circle, who for reasons of his own is committed to the revolution’s ultimate success.

It is one of the high points of modern science fiction, a novel bursting with invention, with a natural-seeming future dialect, with familial warmth and human passion, with insight into artificial intelligence and grass-roots politics, and the problems of human freedom and the overweening State. It is a great political novel and a great survey of the human prospect. It is an outstanding novelist’s most outstanding work.”

Oh, yeah? Really? I don’t believe it. Hell, Time Enough for Love was better than this claptrap.

How is it that an intelligent person, after seeing how the following:

Automobiles
Transistors
Plastics
Television
Radio

and etc. flow down into mass-consumption within mere years (at most 2 decades) of their invention, cannot predict the idea that the computer would filter down to everyday use? Did Heinlein truly expect that the “Priesthood” of computer technicians that existed in 1966 would perpetuate itself for another 110 years?

I know that this is my particular pet peeve, but when a premise becomes so flawed as to render the entire story nonsensical (as in the Matrix and batteries), I totally lose my suspension of disbelief. Oh, I know a lot of you are excited about the idea of a Libertarian revolution, but the fact is that the premise is so damned silly (rebels being helped by the only ( ) computer on the moon, all while Earth authorities remain ignorant until over halfway into the book) that I cannot really focus on anything other than "God, this is a waste of my time."

Speaking of the society… since when do prisoners willfully emasculate themselves? Tell you what: toss 250 women in a 500 man prison, wait 10 years, and see if the women take control. Who here thinks that’s going to happen?

… silence…

I thought so.

Something tells me that the natural aggressiveness of males would bring about a hierarchy of harems, i.e., the man with the most booty claiming allegiance to him is top dog. The idea that unintelligent, violent prisoners (I mean, they’re not shipping people who committed misdemeanors or traffic violations up there) would automatically become intelligent gentlemen when faced with a society where there are 2 men for every woman is wishful thinking at best. Try again, Robert.

[Imran Siddiqui]

John, John, John..

I thought this was a WONDERFUL book, I loved it! Absolutely did. It was fabulous to see the solar system's smartest computer basically come 'alive' and help with a revolution. With the Prof and Mike (the computer) planning out everything in order to make the mission a success. Outwitting the Earth authorities and successfuly guiding a revolution. If I was writing 1966, I wouldn't think computers would infilitrate everyday use either. Then again, would it have to? After all Mike controls everything. Even though there are other computers, why would you need another one?

As for the women taking over... you did realize that women weren't in the prision, yah? And most of this book doesn't take place in a prision, right? In cities of free men, I don't see the problem with men sticking up for women when they are faced with sexual assault. The women deciding when and what can easily happen. After all there have been plenty of matriarchial societies on Earth. It isn't that far featched to me at all. I mean take 250 women and put them in a regular American town of 500 men. I could easily see Heinlein's premise being adopted, especially in a future society where women aren't seen as property, etc.

I liked the unpolitical Manny being a leader of this revolt. You see things through his eyes and the hesitation of the beginning really comes out. I love the loony 'slang' used, and the interesting form of marriages. Though the best, and saddest, part was when Mike stopped talking, basically saying, 'you guys are on your own now'.

[JohnT]

"After all there have been plenty of matriarchial societies on Earth."

Really? Where and when, and how many people under the largest?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Many ancient societies were matriarchial. Ancient (Early) Egypt was a matriarchal society (women as manifestations of the Mother Goddess), as were many in West Africa. Mespotamian societies as well as those in Anatolia were matrilinial, if not matriarchial.

A good book to read on this is The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State by Friedrich Engels. Don't let the author throw you off, it's a good read (and where Heinlein, I believe, got his ideas for line marriages).

I think che could direct you to others (IIRC, he argued for matriarchial societies in antiquity).

[Lonestar]

The Scythians on the northern coast of the Black sea were matriarchal.

Incidently, Mike was not the only computer. There was at least one other (remember? They found it at the Hong Kong Bank and Mike was "training" it to fire the catapult?).

Mike was the Central computer for a centralized economy. Heinlein was making it clear that the Free Market was severly hampered by the Lunar Authority's command economy. A large central computer like Mike was just one more sympton of command economies.

[chequita guevara]

There are a lot of implausibilities in the book, created mainly for the purpose of driving the story. The biggest one is that anyone could belive that a lunar colony of three million people could create enough grain to stop famine in India.

I'll comment more when I get home from work. It's a fun read, but it won't hold up to a critical analysis, which, after all, is the point of a SciFi book club.

[Imran Siddiqui]

There are a lot of implausibilities in the book, created mainly for the purpose of driving the story.

Well isn't that the mark of all sci-fi . Like in Red Mars... colony on Mars in 2029? Yeah right... but we don't read sci-fi for accuracy, but for the interesting worlds and new technologies. This is an 'interesting world' tale.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Incidently, Mike was not the only computer. There was at least one other (remember? They found it at the Hong Kong Bank and Mike was "training" it to fire the catapult?).

Don't forget all of those on Earth... such as the one in Beijing.

[Ben Kenobi]

JohnT:

I too loved the book, though it has been awhile.

Don't worry about whether the book can 'stand up to scrutiny,' sometimes it is best to just read and enjoy.

[Starchild]

Argh, I thought I'd be done with this book by the time the *****-and-drool criticism session came around. Just my luck to not finish the only book in the Book Club that I've got in my possession. Anyway, some thoughts so far:

Loony slang is driving me crazy. Yes, it's a textured, logical outgrowth of the language considering the ethnic makeup of the colony but honestly, I simply don't know enough Russian to make sense of it!

I'm curious on why they went to all the expense of setting up the Luna colony in the first place. From the limited descriptions we hear of the Great Powers in the Federated Nations (North American Directorate, PanAfrica, SovUnion, India, Great China. Am I missing any?) these are seriously powerful nations. I mean, the extent and might of Great China (controlling China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, Mongolia, Eastern coast of Russia, Malaysia, Singapore, and northern Australia) is mindboggling. Wouldn't a nation of such size just dump it's convicts (and ethnic cleansed populations) in some barren piece of the Gobi desert? Why would the North American directorate send people up to the moon, no matter how cheap space travel is, when they've got, say, northern Canada to place unwanted individuals? Or, if they are the aggressive violent types, why not just shoot them? Has China and America suddenly gone all soft on killing people?

The Federated Nations also comes off as some monster UN. It's in control of all the offensive armies of the world, has a crack group of Peace Dragoons to enforce its will, and seems to be run by bureaucrats with no democratic mandate.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Starchild, I believe that if there is a Federated Nations controlling everything that the death penalty is gone as well. And is Great China supposed to still be Communist? I thought it was a democracy in the book.

I dunno... maybe the Luna prison colony was set up so you could just forget about your prisioners. I mean, even if you drop them into the Gobi, there is a chance they could come back (slim, but there). If you put them on the moon, it'd be almost impossible for them to get back (because of physiological changes). And it'd be damned cool .

[JohnT]

If the moon could be used to grow food ( ) and there is a serious population/famine problem, then I think that convict workers could be a logical way to go.

But then, why not ship people who know what they are doing up there - you know, like, erm, FARMERS???

[Imran Siddiqui]

But then, why not ship people who know what they are doing up there - you know, like, erm, FARMERS???

Why would they ever want to go?

[JohnT]

State, duty, and patriotism. You know, good old fashioned Starship Troopers values.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Yeah, right

And be forced to live there forever? The physiological changes would mean you were forced to live there forever. Furthermore it is owned by all the states together in the Federated Nations. Why would someone want to go leave Earth forever (with less amenities and women) for a beefed up UN?