Orphans of the Sky -

Robert A. Heinlein

Ace Books

1963

128 páginas

4h 16m

ISBN-10: 0441639135

Orphans of the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein - A fix-up consisting of the novelette "Universe" (1941) and the novella "Common Sense" (1941). First published in 1963: Ancient myths told of a place called Earth, but the modern world knew it was nonsense. Science knew the Ship was all the Universe, and as long as the sacred Converter was fed, lights would glow and air would flow through the miles of metal corridors. Hugh never questioned these truths until a despised mutie showed him the Control Room and he learned the true nature of the Ship and its mission...

[About the Author] Robert A. Heinlein, four-time winner of the Hugo Award and recipient of three Retro Hugos, received the first Grand Master Nebula Award for lifetime achievement. His worldwide bestsellers have been translated into 22 languages and include Stranger in a Strange Land, Starship Troopers, Time Enough for Love, and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. His long-lost first novel, For Us, the Living, was recently published by Scribner and Pocket Books.

Resenhas (1)

4 (Muito bom)

The Universe is Five Miles Long, and Half a Mile Wide!

Orphans of the Sky is the first depiction of a Generation Ship: A huge spaceship that travels at a speed slower than the speed of light, since it takes hundreds of years for the ship to arrive at its destination, the original crew dies out and is replaced by their descendents. The term "generation ship" comes from the fact that the generation that enters the ship and the one that leaves are not the same. OBS: If the voyage is long enough there may be any number of intermediate generations i.e. people who would leave their whole lives inside the ship, never seeing a planet!

The story begins in a strange society with a bizarre religion (as if it were possible a religion that is not bizarre LOL) that considers the ships routines and protocols sacred. Furthermore a considerable part of the ship is inhabited by very aggressive mutants and is clear that everyone has no idea about Earth, the Ship, the mutants, or pretty much anything! This is actually a great perk of the book: both the protagonist and the reader (you) starts ignorant about the "universe" (as its presented in the book), and both learn together the story about what has happened in the ship.

The book is very short, totaling only 128 pages, but I think it could be shorter. There are a few action scenes that some people may find appealing, but to me I was only interesting in the Generation Ship dynamic, so I would have cut out a bit of fat here and there...

All in all it's a great book, extremely original and intelligent, and since it takes no more than four hours to go through it, if you are just a little interested than you should read it!