It's many years in the future, the exact year cannot be certain. There is a certain mystery in the air. The human race has spread over the entire galaxy, and with it, new challenges and tribulations have appeared. Slavery is common on the planet Jubbul, an Earth colony many light years from home. The boy, Thorby, is nothing unusual up on the chopping block. For all accounts, it's an ordinary everyday occurrence...until the beggar buys him.
What transpires next is something no one ever could have imagined. It turns out Balslim the cripple, the man who purchased him, is not at all what he seems. Rather, he's much more than that, a writer and a sage, a stout teacher, and wise beyond even his advanced years. Balslim takes Thorby in as his son, and as a result, the boy flourishes.
It isn't long before Thorby realzes that Balslim is something of a spy, and before you know it, he's transferred onto the starship Sisu due to an unpaid debt. The resulting adventure is beyond Thorby's wildest dreams. What will he make of it? What adventures lie ahead? No one knows for certain!
Robert A. Heinlein was one of America's most celebrated science fiction authors. Born in 1907, over the course of his life he reshaped the science fiction genre many times with his works. He was one of the first science fiction authors to break into a mainstream audience, and his works greatly raised the expectation for quality of writing across the genre. He was also an entrepreneur who gave much of his time and wealth to charity. He also won several acclaimed literary awards.
Citizen of the Galaxy is a thrilling adventure tale that shouldn't be missed by any reader, especially not one with a love of science fiction.
"I like Heinlein because many of his books deal with government, citizenship, responsibility...though placed in a science fiction setting these subjects are very real to me today....I find it fun and very sobering to find the ideals of what I believe are truth projected into wonderful stories."
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Tim (5 out of 5 stars)