Rating: 
Summary: An Awesome Book!!!
Review: "Tunnel in the Sky" is one of Robert A. Heinlein's juvenile science fiction novels, which he wrote to target the young adult audience. People may think that since this book is targeted at juveniles that it is not a good read for adults. That is untrue and this wonderful novel can be enjoyed by an adult as well as a juvenile. The book takes place in a 1950's or so time where interplanetary travel happens by many people of the public every single day. People move through the planets by going through gates, where they are transferred to a plantet that can be millions of miles away in a matter of seconds. This is a very ineteresting idea that Heinlein brings forth. Rod Walker is a high school teen that is enrolled in a survial course at his school. For the final exam he and his peers are asked to travel to another planet to stay for a maximum of ten days and survive there. Rod goes and at first is lost and has absolutely no clue where any of his friends are. He eventually meets up with a student from another school and they start a colonization on the planet that they ended up on. The instructors of the course were supposed to get the kids but you will learn at the end of the novel why the kids were never retrieved. This novel shows how government forms and how it works among the people that are governed over. In the book, a whole new civilization is started on the planet and at first everybody works together to make a habitable living area and to get enough food for everybody. The colony that is formed starts of with just two people and grows to a very large amount of students that were taking the final exam for the survival course. There are elections to elect people to govern over the people of the colony and this book can show how people can start a new life when they need to. Heinlein is a very interesting author to read and it fascinated me how he was able to put in very important messages, such as the importance of working together and believing in yourself, in a fun read. This is not only a science fiction novel but it is also a book on adventure, friendship, and hark work. This is a wonderful science fiction novel that is worth reading. I look forward to reading more of Robert A. Heinlein's novels in the future. This is a miraculous read that shouldn't be passed up. Happy Reading!
Rating:
Summary: It's certainly boring . . .
Review: . . . giving all of these Heinlein books such high ratings. His earlier books may not have been groundbreaking, thought provoking contraversy causing science fiction, but you know what, by and large they were far more entertaining. When Heinlein isn't so concerned with pushing forward a particular viewpoint or treading a topic for about the tenth time, he easily shows why he was and is still considered the master. This book's a good example, Rod and his classmates are finishing off a survival program and the final exam is to drop them on some random planet for up to ten days and see how long they last. Except something goes wrong of course or there'd be no book. Heinlein sets up Rod as a brainy guy who has to really work to adapt his classroom knowledge, his vision of the future earth is as fascinating as always and the concept of the "gates" linking different planets is a great idea that's almost tossed off as a plot device here, lesser authors would have labored over it for pages. The real meat of this story is barely SF, Rod and those he comes across must band together and form some sort of community, for however it might be before help arrives to come and get them. Some of the characters are obvious Heinlein mouthpieces but you should expect that by now and he really keeps the lecturing to a minimum, the emphasis is on the swift plot and the various accidents and trials that stand between the crew and a functioning community. The women are even portrayal almost fairly for once, although he still has this habit of wavering between tough as nails take no prisoners renditions and "whatever you say, dear" type girls, but you can probably make a similar argument for the guys. And anyway, in a story like this, the focus is more on the story itself and Heinlein succeeds on every level, delivering a story that is not only thrilling and exciting but also possessing just enough realism to really engage the reader. Even the ending adds some interesting twists, and in the name of pure fun, you really can't do much better than this.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite Heinlein book
Review: ...(unfortunate acronym!) is the book that introduced me to Robert Heinlein and science fiction many, many years ago. This is a good survivor story -- and I like survivor stories -- but what really made me sit up and pay attention was Heinlein's casual introduction of radical technology into the story. Rather than space ships, Heinlein's future has "gates." These are matter transmitters. One steps through a "gate" and instantly finds himself transmitted to his destination. This was a mind-blowing concept to me at the time -- and still is. What I enjoy most about Heinlein is his skillful incorporation of science and technology into adventure stories: moving roadways in "Let the Roads Roll;" a fourth dimension in "There was a Crooked Man;" weapons and jet-packs in "Starship Troopers;" and the magic carpets in "Glory Road." Nobody has ever wrapped a story around a technology as well as Heinlein. He wrote some of the worst books I've ever read, and some of the best. ... is one of the best.
Rating:
Summary: Thanks Grandad!
Review: 24 years ago my grandad gave me this book. It was my first Heinlein. I can't remember how many times I've read it but I'm on my third copy. It's a simple tale of survival. Like Starship Troopers, family and friends play an important role and the way the characters develop is inspiring. I've read and re-read all of Mr Heinlein's published works, he is so easy to read. I hope this classic tale does not fall under some action movie director's axe like Troopers. The story is perfect as it is and does not need to be re-told.
Rating: 
Summary: True Science Fiction.
Review: A MUST read for science fiction fanatics around the world. Fast paced and suspenceful, this book wll capture you as it did me. This book is the exact definition of the genre: Sciece Fiction. I read this book over the christmas holidays, and literally, I could no put this book down. But there was one point which consequently lost that fifth star, the ending. he ending I thought did not work well with the rest of the book. The plot was intense while they fought of a horde of pack hunting aliens, but then humans came and just sent everyone home. But still my greatest regards go to Henlein, for writing this masterpeice of a book.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasantly Surprised
Review: After giving up looking for Heinlein's Starship Troopers in a number of second hand bookshops (I'm having a financial crisis), I eventually plumped for this book. However, much to my surprise, it was excellent. A sort of fusing together of Lord of the Flies and sci-fi, Tunnel in the Sky is a thrilling read, with some excellent characters. I also liked the way that the themes shifted throughout. ............................... give it a look.
Rating:
Summary: Survivalist Hi-jinks with a Libertarian Viewpoint
Review: Although I am not a rabid fan of Mr. Heinlein, considered by many to be the grandmaster of science fiction, I do believe that Tunnel in the Sky is one of his better efforts. The book, which apparently was originally slated for the juvenile market, tells the story of Rod Walker, a bright young man on the verge of graduating from a futuristic high school. In the book's future, the Earth is a vastly overcrowded planet, and teleportation has supplanted the internal combustion engine and its (hell)spawn as a form of mass transportation, especially over great distances. In the book, teleportation also presents a solution to Earth's bloated population: all the excess people were 'teleported' to new worlds surrounding distant stars, and as such they became de facto colonists. It turns out that the young Mr. Walker aspires to be an explorer of these new worlds, or at least involved in some way with their governance and/or exploration. As one of these 'Space-Age' pioneers, he could participate in establishing a beach-head for humanity in some far-flung area of the universe, scout the terrain to get the lay of the land, and give the all-clear for human habitation and colonization. Under this system, he could even a group of colonists to a new world. However, in order to do this, Rod must first pass a survivalist's exam. Before embarking on his challenge, to which his parents vehemently object, he gets more than a little helpful advice and a few useful life skills from his older sister, a futuristic sort of Amazonian warrior, and a schoolteacher named the 'Deacon' (an apt title for he preaches quite a lot) who thinks fondly of Rod, calling him 'a hopeless romantic born into an age of practical men'. I think Heinlein wrote this yarn as an extended lesson on good citizenship for minors. I especially liked the insights the 'Deacon' had on the human animal, and the advice that Rod's sister gave him with regard to the choice of a knife over a nuclear-powered Ray Gun in the bush. Awesome weapon power often breeds over-confidence, and can become a substitute for using one's brain, and powerful weaponry is absolutely useless against a thinking and determined adversary (certain dunderheads running strategic operations vital to our nation's well-being should take note of that particular lesson!). In the end, the exploration bug gets into Rod's blood, and his fate is sealed. Unlike more than a few Heinlein novels, which tend to be preachy and over-bearing, this little gem passed on some very useful insights and life lessons. It would have been nice if Heinlein had written an encore, so that we could catch up with Rod in the future, to see what kind of man he had become as a result of his fateful choice.
Rating:
Summary: El Mejor (the best)
Review: An amazing book that is both adventurous and fascinating. It touchs people of all ages. I read it as a child and now that I'm older it still is in my mind. It's universal theme is what appeals so greatly to everyone: survival. Everyone wants it and can relate to it many different ways. Heinlien's choice of setting makes it even more fantastic and enjoyable. It should have 6 STARS.
Rating:
Summary: One of Heinlein's best -- ever.
Review: Except perhaps for _Citizen of the Galaxy,_ this is Heinlein's best juvenile, and one of his best novels of any sort. Rod Walker is in high school, preparing himself for some kind of career in the Outlands -- the newly-discovered, newly-settled worlds now so close at hand through hyperspace gates. That means a bare-hands survival course with a final exam in which the class is dumped on an empty planet to survive however for a week or so. But something goes wrong with the gates, and nearly a hundred high school and college students are stranded on their test-world, perhaps forever. Setting up a new society, virtually a new civilization, won't be easy, but it gives Heinlein the opportunity to show the reader how *he* thinks it ought to be done. This is well-written, thoughtful adventure and the author avoids (for the most part) the syrupy overwriting of which he was often guilty in his later work. The portrait of Rod learning to cope, finding himself, and discovering what makes him happy, is very, very well done.
Rating:
Summary: You always remember your first !!
Review: Growing up, my parents were constantly on my back to read more. They couldn't stress the need to read ... anything. It didn't matter. While on a bus trip, by myself, from Toronto to Vancouver at the ripe old age of 16, four hours into the trip, I was bored. At the next stop, I searched for something to read. I know my father was smiling from afar. Anyways, I noticed a book with an interesting concept. I took the plunge and was IMMEDIATELY hooked and haven't looked back since. I owe my ability to escape into the worlds painted by fabulous authors all to R. Heinlein and A Tunnel in the Sky. You won't regret it.
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