Author: Robert A. Heinlein
Published By: New English Library
Cover: Joe Patagno
Binding: Paperback
Publication Date: 1978
A 1950s science fiction novel I read in an attempt to at least be somewhat informed on the classics in the genre (and to bridge the gap between now and the moment I can get my hands on some fresh material). I picked up a nice 1978 reprint a while ago. It’s in a surprisingly good state considering it’s age and the fact it is a cheap paperback. This novel is written for a young audience. I have no idea which age group Heinlein was aiming at. He gets quite technical in several places in the book so I’d say teenagers at least. It’s a nice adventure, without being overly moralistic. For a book half a century old it still very readable. It hasn’t aged badly at all.
The story is set in a near future in 1958, someone figured out it should be the year 1978 form details about the positions of Neptune and Pluto Heinlein mentions in the book. The main character is a boy, Clifford “Kip” Russel who is determined to travel to the moon. His father is a very pragmatic man, he tells him he will allow it if he can find a way. This answer might have discouraged most of us but not Kip. He realizes education is his ticket into space and wants to be an engineer. With the help of his father he studies the sciences and is soon beyond what his school has on offer. Even with a good education his chances are remote though. When a soap company announces they are giving away a trip to the moon in a contest Kip jumps at the opportunity.
He doesn’t win the trip but he does receive a real space suit. True, it is outdated and worn, but under Kip’s skilled hands it quickly becomes space worthy again. Kip spends every free moment working on the suit, he even decides to give it a name, Oscar, and practices wearing it to get used to the restrictions imposed by the suit. On one of his practice runs he picks up a signal on his radio. Much to his surprise a space ship lands near him. A ship that will take him to the moon and beyond. Further than he would have dreamed possible in fact.
I think I would have liked this book a lot as a boy. Have Space Suit – Will Travel is a good little adventure. The story isn’t too complicated but Heinlein adds some very interesting technical details. These details will bore anyone who is not at least a little interested in space exploration though. Heinlein obviously knows a thing or two about how these space suits function. In 1958 people had reached altitudes where suits are required to survive but the fist man in space would have to wait another three years for lift-off. Heinlein had hands on experience in developing the early models and he uses this in his writing. I doubt Oscar is anything like what they use on the International Space Station these days but many of the principles Heinlein describes obviously still apply.
That is not to say the book isn’t dated a bit. Kip’s domestic life is horribly conservative in a way. Another thing that I noticed as well is the importance of Pluto in to the story. Recently Pluto was relegated from planet status to an new class of satellites called dwarf planets. The distinction is lost on me but I am sure it makes sense to astronomers. Several more bodies large enough to be called that have been discovered past Neptune’s orbit. I haven’t come across anything that takes this new classification into account yet but surely someone must have already.
Have Space Suit Will Travel is one of Heinlein’s juveniles, a term I don’t like any better than young adult but at least it describes the age group he’s aiming at right. I think he pretty much succeeds in writing a book that will appeal to the 1950s boy wanting to travel to the stars (it certainly inspired George R.R. Martin, he mentions this book several times in his Dreamsongs collection). I probably don’t look at it like a 1950′s boy but I did think it was an interesting read. I’m not sure it would do quite as well today’s youth though. The moon has been explored and has, to an extend lost it’s mystery. I very much doubt the technical detail would appeal to the Harry Potter generation. The final part of the novel is rather philosophical, dealing with the noble and darker sides of human nature. Quite a heave theme for such a book. Still, if you like classic science fiction you’ll not want to miss this one.
