From the author of Friday and Rocketship Galileo comes this classic tale featuring the grand master of science fiction’s most remarkable heroine. Podkayne Fries, a smart and determined maid of Mars, has just one goal in life: to become the first female starship pilot and rise through the ranks to command deep-space explorations. So when she is offered a chance to join her diplomatic uncle on an interstellar journey to distant Earth via Venus, it’s a dream come true—even if her only experience with diplomacy is handling her brilliant but pesky younger brother, Clark. But she’s about to learn some things about war and peace—Uncle Tom, the ambassador plenipotentiary from Mars to the Three Planets Conference, is traveling not quite incognito enough, and certain parties will stop at nothing to sabotage negotiations between the three worlds.
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"It's like Candide. A naive and spunky young woman accompanies her brother and uncle on a cruise ship from Mars to Earth while a sinister scheme slowly unfolds around her. Written in first-person so that her naivete and optimism blind the reader to those dark machinations until the abrupt end."
— JLA (4 out of 5 stars)
“Heinlein's skill...makes this story a delight.”
— New York Herald Tribune“Narrating the excerpts from Poddy’s diary, Emily Janice Card adopts the confident tone of a teenager who aspires to be the first woman starship captain. She talks about her brother with the condescending tone of a slightly older sister who feels the burden of looking out for a sibling who finds her superfluous. In the portions of the story told by Clark, Card smoothly delivers the attitude of one who bears the burden of being smarter that anyone else he knows.”
— AudioFile“An interplanetary plot and a moral append a highspirited entertainment for all ages.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)" ( A Rapariga de Marte ) "
— Babete, 3/9/2011" This book is what started my lifelong love of science fiction. I didn't get to read the original endning until I was an adult, and I prefer RAH's original ending to the 'happy ending' of the 1963 version.<br/><br/> "
— Podkayne, 3/3/2011" One of my favourite books in high school. "
— Sally, 2/21/2011" The first book my uncle ever loaned me. "
— Ashley, 2/17/2011" The four stars are for the original, much downer ending. The happy ending would get two. "
— Erik, 12/7/2010" this is the book that got me into sci-fi and more Heinlein...after this one at age 10, I read all the juvenile ones and by 15 started the adult ones. "
— Michele, 11/22/2010" I read this when I was a child...and I wanted to be a starship captain, too! "
— Kersten, 10/14/2010" I have the special edition with both endings (ISBN 0671721798) which I really enjoyed. "
— Petra, 9/24/2010" It was a great concept but it took too long to develop. Then when the action began to get really interesting, it just fell apart at the end. Finally, this book could not keep my attention. I found myself always looking up and around the room, when reading. "
— Jason, 7/31/2010Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) is widely recognized as one of the greatest science fiction authors of all time, a status confirmed in 1974 when the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America gave him their first Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement. A four-time Hugo Award winner, he is best known for such works as Starship Troopers, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, and the sensational bestseller Stranger in a Strange Land. Several of his books were New York Times bestsellers, and his worldwide bestsellers have been translated into twenty-two languages.
Emily Rankin is an audio narrator and winner of two AudioFile Earphones Awards.