Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
A tale beloved by many fans of Robert A. Heinlein, Podkayne of Mars tells the story of a young Marswoman and her interplanetary adventures with her uncle and her genius brother. Told largely through Podkayne's diaries, the story details her travel to Earth with her two companions. Podkayne has definite plans on what to do and how to do it, but not everything is as it seems. She is suddenly thrust into the middle of life-or-death situations when the liner they are traveling on makes a stop at Venus. Heinlein was originally asked to change the controversial ending, and he reluctantly did. But he felt the original ending better suited the story and was never satisfied with the modified "safer" ending. This edition restores the book to how Heinlein originally wrote it. It also includes a letter to his agent decrying the changes asked for by his original publisher.
Synopsis
A beloved book from one
of the greatest writers of science fiction ever, restored with its original ending
what was changed by the original publisher.
The
Podkayne of Mars follows a teenage girl named Podkayne "Poddy" Fries
and her younger brother, Clark, who leave their home on Mars to take a trip on
a spaceliner to visit Earth, accompanied by their great-uncle. Podkayne is a
bright, adventurous sixteen-year-old whose ambition is to become the first
woman deep-space pilot.
The trip suddenly becomes extremely
dangerous when they take an unexpected detour to Venus, and she gets involved
in a volatile diplomatic and political situation involving her uncle.
The book is a first-person narrative consisting of the diary
of Podkayne Fries, a 15-year-old (Earth years) girl living on Mars with her
parents and 11-year-old brother Clark1.
The book explores
themes such as gender roles, family relationships, and politics and has been
noted that Heinlein's portrayal of Podkayne as a strong-willed and independent
young woman was ahead of its time.
Heinlein was extremely
unhappy with the change in the ending the publisher insisted upon when it was first
published. This edition restores the original ending Heinlein wanted.