Rating: 
Summary: A nice tribute, but not up to Varley's usual standard
Review: I love John Varley's other work, and Red Thunder is certainly a skilful tribute to Space Family Stone and some of Heinlein's earlier work, but it was not up the the standard of Varley's earlier novels.
If you are an admirer of John Varley then I recommend you try Red Thunder, but don't expect another Steel Beach or Millenium.
Rating: 
Summary: Welcome Back John!
Review: When Varley burst on the scene in 1974 he instantly became my favorite sci-fi author. I still think "The Black Hole Passes" is one of the best short stories I've ever read. Well, maybe second to "The Last of the Winnebagos."
But as the decade turned, Varley began to lose me -- the Titan trilogy was twee, with way too much wizardry and not enough science. Millennium, Steel Beach and Blue Champagne had their moments, but were nowhere near his potential. And to tell the truth, I never even finished The Golden Globe.
So it was with considerably lowered expectations that I began Red Thunder, but I was soon flabbergasted to see the old John back in form after his devastating brush with acclaim. Oh, the novel may read a bit like a Heinlein juvenile, or my personal description "Huck Finn in Space," but these are hardly derogatory descriptions are they. He kept the pace exactly right, the characters imaginatively and believably drawn, the science plausibly glossed-over, and the arc of the story predictable without seeming overly automatic. One could quibble about certain scientific assumptions -- thrust in space, navigation by sight, lack of shielding at 3 million mph -- but these would be beside the point.
The point is, this story was classic Varley, with all the humor, good nature, wit and clever plotting that caused me to fall in love with him 30 years ago.
It's good to have you back, John.
Rating: 
Summary: A Fast Read, but Weak in Areas
Review: As with the Titan, Wizard and Demon books this Varley novel was a fast read for me, which was a plus. If a book doesn't have me interested by page 50, I usually move on to something that isn't wasting my time. With that said, I almost gave up about page 100. I'm glad I kept reading.
Things I disliked about this book:
1) Story development was very slow for the first 200 pages. This book was about building a homemade spacecraft, and I wanted the book to get to the point where the characters even began talking about it, but this took FOREVER! By page 120, I was struggling to turn pages.
2) Silly humor. While I'm not against subtle humor in books, the first 100 pages was a bit much for me. It seemed as if Varley was a bit forced, and the humor bogged the book down instead of moving it forward.
3) Too much trite and useless character interaction and detail in the first 200 pages. The story moved slowly. I suggest Mr. Varley read some classic novels that are under 200 pages and see how characters were developed.
4) The man behind the technology that allowed this spaceship to be built, Jubal, was dropped like a hot pancake in the last 150 pages. Barely a mention of him. Jubal carried the book for me in the first 200 pages, and without him, the book became almost a different story in the last 40%.
5) The astronaut, Broussard was a very dry character.
6) At one point, Varley makes Manny (the character telling the story) inject a note that a "coon ass" was not a rip on Blacks. Manny was Cuban, Alicia and Dak were Black, and they were strong characters. Varley could have done away with alot of his need for political correctness by removing some of the stereotypes he gave his black character, Dak. He could have changed dialogue just slightly and avoided the need to use "tolerance speak" to make sure the reader understood he wasn't a vicious, minority-hating, rich white man. Fiction is fiction. Fiction is not politics.
Rating:
Summary: A good read, too much sex
Review: I'm afraid I must agree with some of the other reviewers. Characters somewhat cardboard, but there are some real moments. I'm afraid the people are way out of the ordinary in their actions and interests, though: I've known many tremendously talented, capable people. Most were quite ordinary.
I really do think there was too much sex.
It was fun to read, though, for relaxation.
Rating: 
Summary: Extremely disappointing
Review: I liked the Wizard Trilogy, the short stories, Ophiuchi Hotline and the others a lot and they stayed with me as examples of solid SF. Then I read Steel Beach and I thought "wow, this is some good stuff, that Varley has really hit his stride". Later I read Golden Globe and it was so great I actually read it right through again before I returned it to the library. So I was very excited to see Red Thunder.
One word: Yawn. We have every cardboard caricature character in there from the smart-but-poor-and-alienated teenager who has inexplicably landed the hot rich girlfriend to the has-been astronaut they befriend to the idiot-savant heart-of-gold jolly-old-elf. It's 411 pages long but I only got to about 145 and just gave up. I think they were about to build a rocket but I really couldn't bring myself to care (especially as some other reviewers claim that the stuff I've already read is the best part!). Very disappointing book from the author of the exciting and idea-rich Steel Beach and Golden Globe.
I can see how people are comparing it to the Heinlein juveniles and I can kind of see their point. Unfortunately this book is so bad that it actually makes me think the juveniles weren't as good as I thought. I thought there was an undefinable *something* that made the semi-wooden Heinlein juvenile characters work, but it might be just the fact that I read them at an earlier age or that I expect less from an older book.
Rating:
Summary: just terrible
Review: The Amazon.com reviewer, Cynthia Ward, is almost correct that this novel is patterned on Robert Heinlein juvenile novels. This is a considerable understatement. This book is essentially an updated version of Heinlein's Rocket Ship Galileo. Strip away the contemporary window dressing and the story is that of a group of talented, and somewhat alienated teens, developing a space craft and beating opponents of America to another component of our solar system. This is Rocket Ship Galileo. Varley has also used several of Heinlein's typical plot devices. Many years ago, an intelligent critic commented that almost of Heinlein's heros are "practical men," intelligent and capable individuals with useful skills but usually not scientists or intellectuals. Several of his novels, notably the juvenile novels, are bildungsromans featuring the maturation of a practical man under the guidance of an older mentor. He used this device in some of his adult novels, including his best book, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, in which the maturing practical man is a sentient computer system. This plot device this the central instrument of character development in Red Thunder. Varley even imitates some of Heinlein's characteristic stylistic methods, including first person narration and the somewhat smart alecky tone of the narration. Varley is a competent writer and his prior books show that he is capable of considerable imagination. He can certainly do better than knockoffs like this.
Rating:
Summary: Not a Happy Camper
Review: John Varley is one of my favorite authors. I like his work so much, I actually bought this book before reading the reviews here. That was a mistake. This is juvenile fiction that's not even fit for juvenile's to read (i.e., too much sex). Some of the reviews compare this work to Heinlein's early, juvenile fiction, days. It just doesn't compute. Heinlein's early works were 1) interesting, and 2) not just for juvenile's but also boy-scoutish (i.e., clean). Varley's "Red Thunder" is neither. I can understand Varley's sexual themes in "Steel Beach" and "The Golden Globe:" he's writing about advanced, bored societies at an adult level. But, here, he's just going on and on about, essentially, the live's of a small group of late adolescents. Heck, it takes him over half the book to get to a point where the characters actually start to get ready to do what they're going to do. Note that I said "start to get ready," not "start:" the half-way point is when they actually get a glimmer of what they're going to do. What a bore.I suppose Varley figured he needed a bit of juvenile fiction to round out his audience base. Unfortunately, he would have been better served by cutting out the first 150 pages of the book and deleting all the sex. If he wanted "character" (hah) development with these kids, he should have ignored their poor, downtrodded lives and developed their characters while they actually did something that furthered the plot. Stay away from this book.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Heinlein
Review: Classic '60's Heinlein, only more so. Anyone expecting anything else, need not apply. I couldn't put it down.
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