Rating: 
Summary: Classic Space Opera
Review: I first read this book many years ago as a teenager (was it Asimov who said the Golden Age of Science Fiction is thirteen?), and have read it again several times since then. It's even better with age. It's a classic, unapologetically politically-incorrect tale of a human child who claws his way to the top in a universe after the downfall of the Terran Empire. If you like classic Heinlein (not the bizarre self-indulgent stuff he cranked out in his last years), you'll love this book.
Rating:
Summary: Would make a great movie
Review: I read this many years ago a a teenager, I felt that it spoke to the yearning that many of us have to "do" something important with our lives. Over the years I have revisited this book several times until, during a move, it was lost.
Looking this book after a space of about 20 years I can more easily see its flaws (ethnocentrism), but in spite of that I believe that if anything this was an honest attempt to tell a good story.
This is one story that is begging to be made into a movie, I hope that someday it is and that the focus is maintained and the special effects are done as well as they can be with today's technology.
Rating: 
Summary: A Book for a Lifetime
Review: Like other reviewers, I first read this book in my teens in the late 60's. It immediately clicked with me and I've reread the book at least once every five years since.We don't know what's happened to humanity, but its legacy is a proud one. And embryos with human genes are prized above all others. Roan is 'purchased' as an embryo, brought to term and raised by his adopted parents, and spends his life seeking his roots. His trials and adventures appeal to teenagers and teenagers-at-heart with questions of 'Who am I?', 'Where did I come from?', 'Why am I different from everyone else?', 'What makes me unique?'. Roan's parents bankrupt themselves for the opportunity to purchase a son that may actually be human. As a boy living a poor, integrated neighborhood (with all forms of aliens), Roan experiences poverty, prejudice, fear, and dreams for a better life. A traveling, galactic circus gives Roan a chance to experience a new life, where friendship, love, loyalty, and competition give him a chance to develop and forge new relationships while exploring the possibilities of his heritage. After a pirate attack on the circus, Roan learns to exercise some control over his environment and to become a leader. Roan ultimately traces his lineage back to Terra, where he acts to replace the decadent descendents of humanity with a race that will one day reclaim its place in determining the destiny of the galaxy.
Rating:
Summary: A Book for a Lifetime
Review: Like other reviewers, I first read this book in my teens in the late 60's. It immediately clicked with me and I've reread the book at least once every five years since. We don't know what's happened to humanity, but its legacy is a proud one. And embryos with human genes are prized above all others. Roan is 'purchased' as an embryo, brought to term and raised by his adopted parents, and spends his life seeking his roots. His trials and adventures appeal to teenagers and teenagers-at-heart with questions of 'Who am I?', 'Where did I come from?', 'Why am I different from everyone else?', 'What makes me unique?'. Roan's parents bankrupt themselves for the opportunity to purchase a son that may actually be human. As a boy living a poor, integrated neighborhood (with all forms of aliens), Roan experiences poverty, prejudice, fear, and dreams for a better life. A traveling, galactic circus gives Roan a chance to experience a new life, where friendship, love, loyalty, and competition give him a chance to develop and forge new relationships while exploring the possibilities of his heritage. After a pirate attack on the circus, Roan learns to exercise some control over his environment and to become a leader. Roan ultimately traces his lineage back to Terra, where he acts to replace the decadent descendents of humanity with a race that will one day reclaim its place in determining the destiny of the galaxy.
Rating:
Summary: One the most outstanding Books ever wrote,About science fict
Review: This is a book i read many years ago.It has alway's stuck in my Mind as one of the greatest stories i have ever read.It has everything a good story needs. A beginning ,middle and a great ending. It fulfils all areas of the life of the main Charector ,and the supporting charectors.It never leaves you hanging on what or how or where they became a part of the story or why. I have bought about 4 copy's of this book in my lifetime so far.Everytime i lose one or wair one out.One young mans fight for survival,the history of mankind and the people and races he helps along the way.Including the human race. As our real forfathers did.It shows great kindess and justices ,even to the enemy's of his and mankinds.The words Duty,Honor<Justice,Love Kindness,And Humility Are all part of this story. If ever you read this it will be part of you forever. E.M.(DOC) Smith
Rating:
Summary: Great science fiction from my youth
Review: This is one of the few books I read more than once as a teenager. In fact, I was reading it on February 9th, 1971 at 6:01 a.m. when the big Sylmar earthquake hit. What a rude way to have a good book interrupted. Anyway, it's a great science fiction book and it doesn't always cause earthquakes.
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