Rating: 
Summary: pants !
Review: I loved charles sheffields book 'Godspeed Base', so I purchased this one, expecting more of the same. But alas, how dissapointed I was. All this book shows is that you should have sex at 16, should be dishonest, should not trust anyone, should be pessimistic etc, which are hardly the things for juvenile readers to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book for both adults and teens
Review: I picked this book up in the store based on my like of the writing of Charles Sheffield. It sat on my shelf for a few months until I got around to reading it. Now I wish that I had started it sooner. The book is about a young man named Rick Luban, an intelligent person but someone who is not challenged at his school. After getting expelled, he gets that chance to join the school of a asteroid mining corporation. His life will be changed from that point on. What most of the book is concerned with is the education of Rick and his fellow student. Since most of them come from an educational system that does little, if not nothing, to prepare them for life outside of school most of what they are learning seems very basic. This book's view on the science of the future is a nice change from the usual "Hey that piece of equipment could kill us all. Let's go ahead and use it with no fear what-so-ever." Ricks reaction to his first trip into space would probably be my reaction as well. My only complaint about this book would be that some characters seem to act strange, or not how we think they should act. An example would be two characters who for about half of the book dislike and hate each other suddenly become somewhat friendly towards each other. I'm not saying that this ruins the book, only that it seems a bit odd. This book has made a place for itself alongside my other favorite books. This look at the future that humankind makes for
I only wish that there were more books based on the same characters. The ending of the book is good, but I want more. I suppose that it the mark of great writing, that it always leaves you wanting more.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good
Review: The hard sf stuff is neat, the characters are fine, if unremarkable. This is the book you'd expect Pournelle to write (Sheffield I don't know from Adam) But it was a dark, dark day when I read the flap blurb from Orson Scott Card. There are some things you should never learn about an author you love, like the fact that he uses the word "excellence."
Rating: 
Summary: Well written, keeps you on the edge of your seat
Review: The novel higher education is written by two famous and great authors. Rick Luban, a sixteen year old gets himself kicked out of school for a practical joke. He then applies with vangard mining. He will have to face a tough training course, tough teachers (or slave drivers as you can call them) and the odd setting. Yes, there is some stuff that didn't have to be in there (like all the violence)which even without the book still would have been good. Overall I rated this book a nine because it was well written and it kept me up all night reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Putting the Science in the Fiction
Review: There are a large number of science fiction authors who write entertaining fiction. There are a small handful of science fiction authors who write believable science. A depressingly small cross-section of authors can do both at the same time.
It is a rare treat to come across a "hard SF" novel as well-researched and entertaining as "Higher Education". There are no great technological leaps of faith here; everything is clearly explained and plausible. In many "hard SF" novels the tech is so obtrusive it ought to be a character in its own right. "Higher Education" leaves the science comfortably in the background while never losing sight of its importance to the story. Things are explained as needed, accepted as background when not.
Yet the most well-researched and plausible SF novel would read like a college textbook without people to identify with, characters who live in this world and show it to you through their eyes. Sheffield and Pournelle do a terrific job here and make this a great afternoon read
Rating:
Summary: A perfect Heinlein "juvenile" for the 1990s
Review: This book is a perfect evocation of the so-called "juvenile" novels that Robert Heinlein wrote in the 1950s, which got many young readers hooked on science fiction. The book has, however, a 1990s sensibility in the use of four-letter words and bluntness about sex that could keep it out of some school libraries. A right-wing sensibility informs the philosophical core of the novel, but the resultant message is that paying attention in class and working hard for the things that matter are the keys to fulfillment in life - which isn't such message for young people to hear. The girls in the book do work as hard and achieve as much as the boys, but it is at heart a boy's novel. If you liked Starship Troopers, you'll like this book too.
Rating:
Summary: Jerry Pournelle and Charles Sheffield don't mix
Review: This book is written in the best tradition of Robert Heinlein. It is a well written story of a young man thrown from the dubious comfort of a failing public school system into the opportunities and dangers of young adulthood. This is "hard" science fiction. No magic space rays or mysterious alien technology. Everything works. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It brought back memories of the books I enjoyed in high school.
Rating:
Summary: Good sci-fi for young adults
Review: This book is written in the best tradition of Robert Heinlein. It is a well written story of a young man thrown from the dubious comfort of a failing public school system into the opportunities and dangers of young adulthood. This is "hard" science fiction. No magic space rays or mysterious alien technology. Everything works. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It brought back memories of the books I enjoyed in high school.
Rating:
Summary: Good hard sf for teens and adults
Review: This first book in the "Jupiter Novel" series is still the best (with Cyborg from Earth coming in close second). It's a great short sf read for adults, and a good "entry" sf book for teens. Follow the new life of frustrated teenager Rick Luban, kicked out of his medicore school. As it turns out, it was the best thing to happen to him--he's given a chance to prove himself able to meet his full potential and learn more than he ever dreamed. The book does a wonderful job emphasizing the value of working hard and putting an effort into getting a good education (in spite of everything in this case). Yes, as someone has said, there are perhaps some adult themes (for that reason, I would not give this book to anyone under 14 or so--thus only 4 stars since it is advertised for all young adults and doesn't quite fit that in my opinion) but they are fairly tacitful, and fit the context. I wouldn't worry too much, it isn't half as bad as most of those prime time sitcoms on today... All in all, well written with an adventurous plotline that has good values along with a dose of reality for good measure.
Rating:
Summary: Yes, it is right-wing, got a problem with that?
Review: This is the best book I've read in several years. It goes straight from a very believable, present-day setting to an outer-space adventure which is reminiscent of Heinlein. I am deeply disturbed that the realistic portrait of the ghetto makes so many reviewers want to silence these authors.
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