Rating: 
Summary: A waste of space
Review: In JOTP, Gerrold comes up with enough interesting ideas to generate half a dozen SF stories. Unfortunately, the one he chose to write goes out of its way to be as miserable as possible. The main protagonists are a completely disfunctional family, with three sons who try to be as obnoxious as possible. Gerrold stresses this through the first third of the book, tne makes attempts to portray them as more likeable. By the time you get to this point, you would gladly turn them all over to the bad guys, except there aren't any bad guys!The best feature of the book is when the author gets into engineering details of the Beanstalk, which is the milleu in which most of the story occurs. The look into the repurcussions that would result if a completed Beanstalk were severed high up are fascinating. But its a side show, and not enough to support the story. Most disappointing is the conclusion. Gerrold arbitrarily jerks all the characters around to produce a Nero Wolfe style "Let's get all the players into the parlor" climax. But there is no climax, just a [weak] attempt to pin all the threads together. Go read something else :(
Rating: 
Summary: Danger and difficult decisions evolve
Review: In the near future three siblings are caught on different levels, between warring parents and a collapsing society. When their father devises a vacation for them, they don't suspect they're really being kidnapped and that an off-planet goal is the ultimate destination - when they do find out, danger and difficult decisions evolve in this fast-paced science fiction story which is especially strong on building the characters of three very different brothers.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing pastiche of Heinlein
Review: In this novel of a disfunctional family which evacuates a deteriorating Earth, Gerrold begins by writing as if it was a Heinlein juvenile--indeed, Charles, the hero, has been widely compared to the Heinlein juvenile hero. Interesting concepts (such as Gerrold's particular Beanstalk concept) are mixed with science lessons (the physics of same) in a classic Heinlein manner, though the first third of the books. But as the novel slows and approaches an end, Gerrold appears to move to Heinlein as of the '70s and '80s--the sort of novels with a few "good guys" whom you'd better like through thick or thin, and a bunch of "yammerheads". The example of this is Howard the Lawyer, a singularly unsuccessful lawyer with all sorts of unfortunate attributes who we get to laugh at (Gerrold makes it really, really, clear that he hates lawyers in all three books of this series). For some reason, this worthless lawyer, who couldn't win a case if he tried, is hired to represent the interests of multitrillion dollar corporations. But plot shouldn't get in the way of Gerrold getting us to share his petty hates. All is made right through a judge who will only enforce the rules against one side--which is very much a Heinleinian thing to do, but it is not a good lesson for kids. But as we are supposedly rooting for Charles and friends, it may not bother you much. I'm not going to bother to write reviews for books 2 and 3, but book 2 is a combination of The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Have Space Suit--Will Travel--which does little credit to either. Book 3 combines the flashback "high school class" scenes of Starship Troopers with Gerrold's attempt to get to the conclusion on his own. It sort of trickles out for no apparent reason except that there are no more pages. Gerrold always has good ideas. But this time, good ideas just weren't good enough.
Rating: 
Summary: How this book came to be....
Review: Shortly after I adopted my son, we took a trip to Canada. When we got off the plane, the customs agents pulled us out of line and began quizzing my son if I was his real dad and where was his mom? I had previously told Sean he didn't have to answer the questions of nosy people about his mom and helped him come up with a "cover story." So he told the customs agent, "She was kidnapped by space aliens." And because I had told Sean he could say that, I had to back him up. I looked at the agent and deadpanned, "I saw the UFO myself...." This did not help matters. (I finally did explain that Sean was my adopted son and that this was NOT a child-custody kidnapping; but to this day I carry a copy of his adoption decree when we travel.) That incident stuck in my mind, and a while later when I started thinking I wanted to write a beanstalk novel, that coalesced into the idea that this would make a perfect "Heinlein juvenile." Heinlein's stories for younger readers were always about a journey, and almost always about a family. Only I'm not Heinlein and where Heinlein's families always grew stronger, once I started writing, this family just started flying apart.... That's when I realized that this was going to be a different kind of story, and perhaps one that was much more pertinent to younger readers. Charles Dingillian is a middle child suspended (literally!) between a big rock and a much bigger hard place -- he's caught between both his parents, both his brothers, and all the issues of identity that an adolescent can face. Once I got inside his head, I found I liked him very much. He's got some of my bad habits and a couple of my good ones. How could I not enjoy spending time with him? Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: While on vacation
Review: The story is told from the point of view of Charles, a 13-year old whose parents went through a bitter divorce after the father found the mother in bed with someone else (a woman). Charles, his older brother, and his younger brother all go with their father on an extended vacation. As they head toward the Beanstalk which ferries people from Earth to the moon and beyond, the kids discover their father is actually kidnapping them. It's not until they travel partway up the Beanstalk that the authorities stop them after their mother finds out what the father is up to. The three kids must decide whether to return to their verbally abusive mother, to travel with their irresponsible father into the stars, or to choose their own destiny. I agree with one of the reviewers who stated that the characters lack depth and are utterly obnoxious through most of the story. It's only toward the end that I actually cared for any of them, and that was tenuous at best. There's a lot of intriguing things in the story: Earth's denizens' self-destructive behaviors, Charles's older brother comes out as gay, Charles comes of age and discovers he doesn't have to emulate his parents. But the characters nearly ruin the book, but not quite. I am sufficiently intrigued to read the sequel, so I am pleased with the book overall, but it's certainly not perfect. An enjoyable, light read.
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Summary: From The author of "The Trouble With Tribbles
Review: Thirteen-year-old Charles feels as if he and his brothers are possessions that his divorced parents battle over. His mother loathes his father because she believes her three progenies ruined her career as a singer. His father detests his mother for her infidelity. Now his mother wants to terminate her former spouse's visitation privileges. However, the court awards him custody of his children for one month each year. He takes Charles, Douglas, and Bobby to Mexico where they catch a train to Beanstalk City. There they ride an elevator that reaches beyond the atmosphere and serves as the jumping off point for the moon and other space colonies. Initially, the Dingillian siblings think they are enjoying a family adventure, but the older two brothers (Charles and Douglas) soon believe their father plans to abduct the trio. Though a bit unsettled and frightened, they realize their father wants to make up for his past indiscretions and broken promises to them. However, they soon feel like pawns again when they learn their father is involved in a plot to change the world order. That latest betrayal shatters the sense of well being leading the boys down a course that will alter their lives forever. Anyone who likes the works of Norton or Star Trek's "The Trouble with Tribbles" should immediately jump on JUMPING OFF THE PLANET. The tale is set in an alien, high tech environment, but deals with human problems caused by the divorce wars. David Gerrold has created a trio of memorable characters who deserve to continue as stars in an ongoing series. Anyone who enjoys a thought provoking science fiction tale will fully relish Mr. Gerrold's latest novel. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Superb Characters, Dependable Action
Review: This book *is* good. The characters became real people in my mind, and I cared for them, and I built parallels between their experiences and mine. You don't have to be 13 years old, like the protagonist, to enjoy the nuances of this story. The driving, and climbing, and adventure/escape sequences are well handled. The description of Barringer Crater, AZ, is so life-like, that the rest of what follows, including the beanstalk, seems to inherit the same exxence of reality. The futurology was a mix of the far-off and the frighteningly near. I'd no sooner read about the "flow-through" economy in the book, essentially a world-wide welfare program, then I saw in the news that Pres. Clinton has proposed a school lunch program for whatever parts of the world on't have one already. Spooky. I rate this as a must-read book. I hope the sequel doesn't take too long to appear. One more thing: the publisher should put out a companion CD with the music mentioned in the story!
Rating: 
Summary: Before the Chtorr
Review: This book is hard to classify but if you have read Gerrold's War Against The Chtorr books you will be familiar with the style. The story concerns three brothers spending a visitation with their father. He suggests a trip to the Moon and, against all previous behavior patterns, actually seems to follow through on the idea. Getting to the Moon involves using a space elevator located in Ecuador at Sheffield Clarke. This is one of two currently in operation. But nothing is quite so simple. Mom thinks Dad is trying to kidnap the children. Where did Dad get the money? What about all of the strange characters who are interested in the family? Needless to say, it gets quite complex. The whole story is seen through the eyes of the middle son (Charles or Chigger). Because of this, events and characters often seem more incidental than they really are. The story is also fleshed out with loads of discussions on planetary economics, physics, biology, etc. There are also complications from the overcrowded Earth. Plagues are starting to spread over vast sections of the planet and there have been reports of giant pink caterpillars that can eat horses (Chtorr?). Kids may star in this book, but it is really aimed at the thinking reader. This is not a fluff piece or an action yarn. But it is very entertaining and a good first piece to the series.
Rating:
Summary: A great book
Review: This is a really good story about a boy coming of age in the midst of a bitter custody dispute. It reads like the best of Robert Heinlein's works, but updated for what passes for a family these days. The characters and motivations are painfully well written. Don't start this book if you have to be someplace soon. It's hard to stop reading.
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Of course, it would have been really nice if the publisher hadn't given away the climax of the book on the back cover.
Rating: 
Summary: Jumping of the planet
Review: This story by David Gerrold was set in the 21st century and our planet(earth) is way too crowded. The main character Charles Dingillian and his three brothers are offered a trip to the moon by their father.But he is actually kidnapping the boys from their BI-sexual mother. The way to travel is through "the beanstalk". The mixing of the life on the moon with earth causes a disaster. This science fiction is full of new and clear pictures of the technology in the future.
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