Rating: 
Summary: Heinlein's last great standalone adventure!
Review: Robert Heinlein spent the last twenty-five years of his life and career much as he spent the first twenty-five -- pushing the envelope of what Science Fiction was and could be. This ruffled a lot of feathers, as Heinlein didn't keep rewriting "Methusulah's Children" time and again, but instead experimented with the form. These experiments were most clearly seen in "Number of the Beast," "Job," and "Friday." And "Friday" leads the pack as a good read that works on deeper levels if you go to look for them.
What is "Friday" about? Well, you could say it's about the adventures of the lead character, Friday "Marjorie Baldwin" Jones, a Courier and Spy in a balkanized future that should frighten people. You could also say it's about the implications of Cloning Technology, from years before sheep replication. You could also say it's about the meaning of family and the search for belonging. And you can draw a clear allegory from it as it addresses Prejudice in all its irrational ugliness. Friday is an Artificial Person. Gene-engineered to be at the peak of humanity (and beyond). But AP's are hated. Denied of souls by the churches. With ugly myths that spring up about them.
And one of the truly great subtexts that forms in the course of "Friday" is Friday's deep seated belief in her own inferiority, even as she snorts at her oppressors. Friday's own acceptance of herself, mirrored by finding a place where she belongs and a life she likes to lead, fuels this book's spiritual core.
And, if that sounds boring to you, there's also lots of sex, violence and death. And Scientologists, Hare Krishnas and fundamentalists get involved in a three way war with Canadian Mounties caught in the middle. This has something for *everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Love is all around
Review: There are people who proclaim this as their favorite Heinlein book above all others . . . and I can see that simply based on the narrator, spunky Friday. She's earnest, loving, sensitive, just looking for a family and a need to belong. However, it's sure not mine. I liked it sure but after reading several other late period Heinlein novels I just got struck with a feeling that I've seen this before. The good stuff first: Friday is a courier working for an organization where she doesn't know what they do or why they do it . . . she's also an "artifical person" essentially genetically engineered and there's this weird prejudice against APs for some bizarre reason, since you obviously can't tell them apart. Sort of like the X-Men, the nornal looking ones at least. And that's pretty much it. The book starts out with something resembling a plot but quickly dissolves into a meandering, if entertaining mess . . . all showcasing what Heinlein must have thought as the perfect world. And in his perfect world there is sex. Lots of it. And it's obviously a perfect world from the mind of a male because every woman is bisexual (and I mean every!), every male is heterosexual, everyone sleeps with everyone for really no good reason ("Hey, you're hot, let's have sex!" "Okay!"). Friday is gangraped in the beginning and really doesn't seem to care all that much. The plot becomes fairly episodic as Friday careens from one odd situation to the next with only the most tenuous connections linking them . . . the world Heinlein creates predates the rumblings of cyberpunk by a few years but it still feels too antiseptic . . . but plot twists come literally out of nowhere, and impossible coincidences abound, as well as absurdities (come on, every loyal enemy agent instantly switches sides because Friday asks them really nicely?). Somehow Heinlein manages to keep you reading, even as you can't fathom why Friday is doing the things she does, she says she wants to settle down but then goes back to work, and when she goes back to work she claims she wants to settle down. Even worse is Heinlein's obvious to do things simply for the sake of shock value, I'm not talking violence, I'm talking brash societal commentary that comes from literally nowhere, the character just makes his point and moves on, like a good little mouthpiece. Don't get me wrong, this is an entertaining book, except for the digressions into sex and love and why everyone should do it, most of it is at the very least interesting even as it's going nowhere. It's like watching a car just riding around a very small circular track, fun to watch for a while but eventually you want something to happen. The fact that he manages to make all of this coherent and readable attests to his genius, even if this isn't the best example of it. New readers might find some new stuff here but those of us who have been through Stranger in a Strange Land, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Time Enough for Love, and I Will Fear No Evil (especially that one!) will find that we've been here before and there's only so much you can say about a one note concept (free love) anyway before it gets tedious. But don't fret, new readers, the man has done better than this. Far better.
Rating: 
Summary: Hang on, baby -- Friday's coming
Review: This late-period Heinlein novel is at least better than the one it followed (_The Number of the Beast_). Most of it is fun to reread. The protagonist here is an Artificial Person (AP) named Friday Jones, who works as a courier for the organization headed up by Hartley 'Kettle Belly' Baldwin (last seen in the 1940 short stort 'Gulf'). Friday's very cool all around but she has a little self-esteem problem owing to the fact that much of the world thinks APs aren't genuinely human. Well, of _course_ they are; they're genetically engineered to be able to outperform us ordinary mortals in strength, speed, and intelligence, but they're human (genetically and otherwise) all the same. And that's really the heart of this novel -- Friday's long and sometimes excruciating journey to _belonging_. (In this respect, the novel very nicely _undoes_ all of the Uebermensch crap Heinlein wrote in the early 1940s.) That's the heart, but the novel has a couple of spots on its soul. As other readers have noted, Friday's response to her rape (and her rapist) is more than a little jarring, and I don't think it's possible to explain it away as a result of her upbringing and genetic enhancements. And I could have lived without the several pages of astrogation and starcharts (although I do enjoy Heinlein's little doodle of a centaur). The sequence of events starts off well enough, but it sort of rambles and meanders. Oh, well; most of it is interesting, anyway, although the secret-agent intrigue peters out partway through. And there are memorable characters -- nothing quite at the level of the Long family, mind you, but still some pretty interesting people. Plus there's some extremely cool stuff in the background. Heinlein the prognosticator scores especially well here, creating a fictional analogue of the Internet (in 1982) and setting his tale against a backdrop of corporate infighting and political Balkanization that is almost never, but should be, credited in histories of cyberpunk. I like it -- at least well enough to reread it fairly often. I wouldn't recommend starting with it if you're new to Heinlein, though.
Rating:
Summary: Friday is another Heinlein winner
Review: If you've read Heinlein before and liked what you saw, Friday is a fun tale following the path of a genetically engineered courier / secret agent. It's an entertaining read, just the thing for taking a step away from the here and now for a while. If you're unfamiliar with Heinlein, a warning might be in order. Heinlein has been called a misogynist or a lech by some, and this novel is an example of his work that might prompt such an assessment. At several points the story voices the author's attitudes about sex and gender relations. (A blurb on the back from the New York Times Book Review reads: "... she can think better, fight better and make love better than any of the normal people around her.") A quote from one of the principal characters sums up what seems to be Heinlein's view: "Geniuses and supergeniuses always make their own rules on sex as on everything else; they do not accept the monkey customs of their lessers." To be sure, this element does not dominate the story, but some might find it to be a turn off. I prefer to believe that Heinlein simply refused to constrain his imagination to technological visions of the future.
Rating:
Summary: FRIDAY is not a testament to today's PC environment.
Review: After reading the reviews by several of the readers of this book, I came upon one in particular that raised my ire, so to speak. I feel that I must point out that the Political Correctness of our modern era was not a factor in the period of RAH's life. To try and denounce the book based on modern cultural imperatives is to take away the factors which made the story what it was, decades-old science-fiction. In other words, feminism did not carry the weight then that it does now. If the feminism of today existed in the fifties, sixties and seventies, then (to attach anti-feminism to favorite TV shows) Star Trek would have had strong female characters during the original series, and Lost In Space would have been a much different show. Through "Friday" Heinlein exposed us to world where the walls of "good-taste" of today's society had been torn away, and a moralism of a more liberal sort had been put in it's place. In the time during which Heinlein wrote "Friday", this particular writing style was still highly progressive and confrontational. Heinlein is not asking the reader to, as a male, treat women with anything less than respect, nor is he asking women to allow themselves to be dominated by men. Heinlein is simply asking you to put away your reality, and while you're reading, accept the fantasy that he is presenting you with, for your entertainment. If one looks at Heinlein's novel with the desire to parse it out according to one's own views then you get what you deserve. But don't sit down and read Shakespeare, Lady MacBeth may have been a strong woman but would still have yeilded her will to MacBeth. Heinlein did not write any of his books yesterday, therefore we should not attempt to view them with today's ideas in mind. If you wish to understand Heinlein's point in his novels, then you must accept the fact that his views were affected by a different time than ours. For those of you who haven't read "Friday", I recommend it highly, and hope that you enjoy every page. If you are fifteen now, and read the book today, don't be surprised if your view of the book changes in five, ten, or even fifteen years. Just as sure as your views of the world will change, so will the world around you, but the words of a deceased writer are eternally etched in stone, and we have no choice but to enjoy them as they written. ---Dave Earney
Rating:
Summary: The World's First REAL Superheroine
Review: Once upon a time on an Earth gone straight to hell, there is one really nice, very pretty superheroine who (alone among all her associates) has it all together. As sweet to her adversaries as to her friends, she trots about the ganaxy delivering contraband intel for a 'boss' straight out of Central Casting. With every modern convenience at her disposal, she's still faced with the very human problems of fitting in among normal people, balancing work and down time and stopping to smell the roses in a Bladerunner-esque world ruled only by money, fance gismos and mercinary expediency. To those who say there's no plot here, I respond: There doesn't need to be! The action is always fun, as well as warm and soft (you're supposed to read it that way despite all the standard backdrop required of any sci-fi tale worth its salt). What's really sweet is that in Friday's world, there's no REAL violence (Don't be too literal about the actual words on the page, which are only there as pro forma window dressing). In fact, what makes this the best of the best is that Friday is fully as nice to her adversaries as to her colleagues. If you're a guy, you'll start fantasizing early on about being sent out against her -- (this is how Heinlein gets you involved, another mark of a great read). Like any good protagionist, Friday grows up along the way (though this part's a little underdone). Indeed, the only real problem I have is: How does she end up so well balanced in a world which clearly isn't? One more thing: There's really no climax, and the ending is an ANTIclimax which doesn't fit the rest of it -- almost as if Heinlein had to force himself to give this really sweet superhero a rest, figuring he couldn't serialize her, which I guess he really couldn't. Understandable; I sure don't want to let her go. Imagine more Friday exploits for yourself. An A+ for sure!
Rating:
Summary: Freaky Friday...
Review: Friday is a courier. She's also a bio-engineered 'enhanced' human, who kills indiscriminately, fights like batman, and has a libido Captain Kirk would be proud of. At first, I had difficulty getting into this audio book. Mostly because the male narrator's voice (what were they thinking? Could it really be that tough to hire a FEMALE narrator?) Was about as emotionless as a computer. Also, I was put off by Friday's character. She... Seems to be a sexual fantasy rather than a person. After I overcome my aversion to Friday's personality, I found myself strangely compelled by Friday's world. While this novel is by NO means Heinlein's best, I was hooked anyway. Friday is a sympathetic character. I loved her relationship with boss, her friends, and comrades in arms. My only disappointment in this book, was I felt that Friday's love interest Percival was not very well developed. I also felt, that Friday failed to grow as a character and there were parts where Friday seemed to wander from relationship to relationship without much point. (I would've much preferred Friday have a few successful relationships rather than the DOZENS, which seemed to be portrayed). Overall, I enjoyed this novel. Friday was a compelling character whose life and story was well worth listening too. Especially after the first few chapters. Word of caution, however: because of graphic violence, and rampant sexuality I would NOT recommend for sensitive or young readers.
Rating: 
Summary: Mind-Numbing
Review: This book bit. I got this book thinking, "hey, Heinlein!" but it appears after reading that I should have been thinking, "hey, shoot me!" There is no plot to this novel--the grand resolution is that super-sexy courier Friday becomes a primitive farmer. At first Friday seems to be on a mission; she seems to matter, but when she's ordered on a vacation she proves herself a true overworker by forgetting that she even has a job and goes gallavanting across future Earth in many boring and trashy escapades. Friday doesn't have a story--though Heinlein tries every once and a while to pretend it's so; it's just one long vague, boring, orgy. There seem to be elements of Heinlein's better books in Friday--the Beanstalk, Luna City, and the mysterious organization that Friday works for (for a little while, at least). But don't read this book for them--read the OTHER books like Stranger in a Strange Land, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Starship Troopers, Tunnel in the Sky (the point is that there are others!)...Friday isn't worth your time because it's completely pointless. You care about the character because Heinlein is (to some extent) a master, but when you get right down to it, she doesn't DO anything except fornicate! There are many better books out there, and there are even better Heinlein books out there, so read them instead of yet another addition to the brain-dead pile.
Rating:
Summary: Great... if you have a patience...
Review: I read this book after it was recommended on some message boards I used to visit. They were saying how James Cameron (Titanic) must of gotten some of his ideas for Dark Angel from this book. So I decided to take the people's advice and read it, I was curious to see what it was about. To tell you the truth it was the first science fiction book I read. I avoided sci fi like the plague, sticking with Fantasy. At first, I couldn't read it. I found that the beginning was really boring and hard to stomach. Sure there were some good parts but a lot of it was boring, and so I stopped reading it for a long time.
Then one day, for whatever reason, I picked up the book again and started reading. After the halfway mark I was hooked. Don't judge this book on its beginning, it's a great book once you get halfway through. It's interesting and entertaining with a fast plot that kept me hooked, I couldn't put it down. So was it worth the read? Ya, it was. It was totally worth it once you get past the beginning...
Rating: 
Summary: Somewhat unfocused, but enjoyable read
Review: I don't think Friday is up to par with Heinleins works, but it's still a decent book, and fun to read. It is a bit rough, as others have mentioned. Friday is a courier, and is one of the best. She is specially trained to react with deadly force when her subconsious trigers her to do so to protect herself and her messages. These mental diciplines allow her to react with indeffrence and tactical stratigy to a gang rape, and other indignities. She's also a genitically engineered person, and is considered by most to be an un-person, even by herself. Her upbringing was one which taught her she was unworthy of being considered a real human, and so could never understand, or fit in with, real humans. In her journey she is finally able to come to terms, years later, with her status, and realise she really is human. But, her self-degridation is painfull to read at times. This is also a treatice on racism. Although I found the level of racism to be unrealistic, I have a hard time beliving that racism would progress to this extreem condition in the future. There is a high level of casual sex in this book as well, though not in detail. Friday sees sex as a fun activity, to be used to let off steam, to give a 'thank-you' to someone who has done her a favor, or even to not be rude by refusing. An interresting read, some food for thought, but not one of the 'greats' of Heinlein. The main theme of the story is Friday trying to find a place to belong, where she can be accepted for herself. In the end, I think this shows the humanity in all of us. Don't we all just wish to find love an acceptance for who we are?
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