Rating: 
Summary: Controversial but entertaining exploration of ideas.
Review: Clearly one of the most controversial novels by Robert A. Heinlein (author of Starship Troopers, Space Cadet, Stranger In A Strange Land, The Puppet Masters, etc.), pushing the envelope of political correctness a quarter of a century before that phrase was coined.
A typical American family is plunged into the future in a nuclear attack - bomb shelter and all. Survivalism is just the beginning of this engrossing novel; the strange society they discover in the future challenges the reader's sense of decency and tolerance.
A short version of this novel, as cut and revised by Frederik Pohl, appeared in Worlds of If Magazine, 1964. It's easy to see why Pohl censored it; this is the full text. But to call Heinlein racist absurdly ignores his whole body of work - some 30 other novels. This novel explores ideas - including cannibalism; but no one has called the author a cannibal.
Rating: 
Summary: Two books in one
Review: First half: A family plus a few extras go into a bomb shelter and are saved from armeggedon. But when they emerge from the shelter they find themselves in a strange land with no other people. Not sure where they are, they begin to form a civilization and set upon the road to the propegation of the species.
Second Half (and just when I was getting into the first half): some "Chosen Ones" of a futuristic civilization show up and make them all slaves, with the exception of the black man, because he is a "Chosen One" too. (based on his skin color) Now the story is about a man trying to rescue his family from opressors.
I liked the first half, and the second was ok, but they don't work that well together. For me, this is sort of typical of Heinlein. For a comparison, check out "Stranger in a Strange Land." Starts out one story and changes completely. Of course Heinlein also uses the book as a platform to preach his societal ideals, which could be called his trademark. And, for good measure he throws in some cannabalism. (This is another good comparison to "Stranger in a Strange Land", in which Heinlein basically endorses cannabalism.) For me, its 3 stars, not his best but not a bad read either.
Rating: 
Summary: heinleins racism
Review: I am a longtime reader of Heinlein, this time he went off the deep end. Why did he waste a whole novel to show that he was an anti-black racist? Was he a member of the Klan?
Rating: 
Summary: Dated and disgusting; but not without merit.
Review: I am a sucker for any type of post-apocalytic story. Farnham's Freehold is this type of story. I really liked this book and also disliked it at the same time. Hugh and his family; wife, son, daughter, servant and a friend are caught by a nuclear surprise. They survive in Hugh's shelter; and are catapulted to a world in the future where all 'white' society has been obliterated, and black rule over whites. Slavery, studding, torture, castrating and cannabilism are the norm in this society.These situations are not sensationalized but they are shocking. Problems with book: 1. Not much character depth: The most truthful characters are Joseph the servant, and Hugh himself. The other characters are as followed: the drunken wife, a mama's boy, a daddy's girl and a sexy friend of daddy's girl. 2. Not scientific. I can buy how Hugh builds a well stocked shelter. I can buy how they got catapulted to the future. I can't buy how only black society survived. Certainly, the Chinese (more technologically advanced than Africa in 1962) or the Japanese would have survived also. 3. Disturbingly written. Cannabilism and torturing are disturbing actions. But they way in which it is written seems to be more shocking than the acts themselves. Good points of book: 1. Stunningly adroit fable of racism. Slavery has visited every society, including the kinder, gentler and more responsible Masters. 2. Use of drug 'Happiness' to keep slaves happy and docile. Very reminscent Huxley's soma. Wise foreshadowing on how some believe illicit drugs are used to keep down the black man and other underclasses. 3. They way Hugh and Joseph are written. Hugh is over the top, a man who will do whatever it takes to survive while still having a moral compass. Joseph is everyman who is doing what he must to survive. The roles of Hugh and Joseph have flipped. Although Hugh is a fair and loving boss; Hugh does not even blame Joseph when he is placed in a position of authority. If you read this book as SF you will be slightly disappointed. If you read this book as a satire you will be impressed. If this seems dichotomous, I don't care. I said I was a sucker for post-apocalyptic stories.
Rating:
Summary: Truly a work of art on post armageddon survival.
Review: I have been reading RAH's works since 1961. I was about nine years old when I picked up "Starship Troopers" at the library. Little did I know that this man would become a central figure in my literary world for years to come. From then on I was hooked on his books. When I had read all of the Heinlein books at the library, I began to prowl the local used paperback book stores looking for his SF treasures. I even rode a bus for two hours once to another city because one store had a copy of "Methuselah's Children". I was eleven then. My old man had a field day on my rear end when he found out about that one. It was worth it. Anyway, "Farnhams Freehold" is an excellent example of what a true survivor must do, whether they like it or not, to get by. I liked the book as a child because it was an adventure! I liked it as I grew older because of Hugh's tough no nonsense attitude when it came to everyone's well being. Hugh was smart eno! ugh to knuckle under while he was a slave so he could gain the trust of his captors. In todays world that is called sucking up. He had his reasons though and used this ploy to his, the twins and Barbara's advantage. I would recommend this book to anyone who isn't thin skinned and a whiner.
Rating:
Summary: 4.9 Stars
Review: I recently read Heinlein's Stranger In A Strange Land, liked it, and decided to read some more of RAH's works. So I went to the bookstore looking for The Number of the Beast, the Heinlein I had decided to read. I didn't see it on the shelf, but I did see a book called Farnham's Freehold. As I had never heard of this book before, I took it off and looked at it. The strange cover (as if the title wasn't strange enough) intrigued me, as did the subheading "Science fiction's most controversial novel". Hmmm... Then I read the summary on the back of the book and decided to buy it. And then I read it. What can I say? I liked the book. But it's not for everyone. It is very light science fiction (but then so are most (all?) of Heinlein's), but the overall story itself is complex. It shows a future world where blacks are the predominant race, and whites are slaves. Lots of other things too; cannibalism, free love (Heinlein for you), racial slurs, and constant reference to women as "sluts". Etc., etc., etc. However, all this is in here for are reason. This book is more satire, than sci-fi. It is a bit like 1984 or Brave New World at times, like other Heinlein works at others, but in the end, definately in a class of it's own. Don't go into this book expecting to read another Strange In A Strange Land, or Starship Troopers. It's not. It's different. Not something for everyone, but possibly everything for someone.
Rating:
Summary: Ick
Review: I'm giving this one three stars just because there are some interesting speculations in it about the future of a postapocalyptic world (and because I share the lead character's highly positive view of the United States, as Heinlein clearly does as well). But this one ranks near the bottom of my own list of Heinlein's novels.
For one thing, he wrote this one smack in the middle of his Nuclear Rant Period, and he's very heavily into Soapbox Mode here. This was a time in Heinlein's life when he got (let's put it gently) deeply annoyed at anyone who suggested that massive nuclear buildup wasn't the way to handle the alleged Soviet threat, or that maybe surviving a nuclear holocaust might not be such a terrific thing. (Indeed, he built a bomb shelter at his Colorado Springs home -- _before_ Colorado Springs was anywhere near a likely nuclear target; NORAD didn't exist yet.) His surly attitude (not to mention his tub-thumping sermons about the Benefits of Military Service) informs this entire novel.
For another -- and it's probably a consequence of the first problem -- _not one_ of the characters in this book is even remotely likeable. Joseph, the 'houseboy', is as close as we come to a decent human being, and even _he_ turns out to be sinister and menacing before we're through. It's hard to take sides between Hugh Farnham and his son Duke; the dad's a jerk and the son's a whiny wuss. Hugh's wife Grace is no prize either, and their daughter Karen -- apparently intended to be sweet and innocent -- just comes across as spoiled. And Barbara never gels as a character at all.
For a third thing, even the stuff some readers _like_ about late-period Heinlein isn't well done here. For example, some readers have commented on Heinlein's apparent approval of incest. That shouldn't be news; _all_ of Heinlein's works stand in part for the proposition that moral standards are relative to time and place, and there's quite a bit of (authorially approved) incest in his later works. Nevertheless, _here_ it just doesn't work: in the context of _this_ family (hardly one of Heinlein's freewheeling horny-redheaded-genius open marriages), Karen's remarks to Hugh on the subject just sound out-of-place and weird.
This one belongs next to _Expanded Universe_ on the shelf of books that could well have turned me off to Heinlein if I'd started with them. It's not without merit -- again, there's some interesting social commentary and speculative future history, and I can't fault the patriotic intent -- but for my tastes the merits are far outweighed by the flaws.
Rating:
Summary: Heinlein on race relations . . . or not
Review: Is this science-fiction's most contraversial novel? I'm not sure if I could call it that, there's plenty here to raise eyebrows but I can probably think of three or four SF books that exacted the "contraversial" feeling from me more than this book. It's typical Heinlein and if you just left it at that, longtime Heinlein fans would probably know exactly what I was talking about. For those not so blessed, let me explain then. Heinlein generally takes an idea that's a little on the edgy side (here blacks taking over the world after the whites wipe themselves out) and runs with it, having his characters functioning as little more than mouthpieces arguing his points over and over. If you're into it, you'll forget the lack of extensive plotting and delve into the idea . . . if not then you've got a hard road in front of you. Farnham and his family take cover in a fallout shelter to avoid a nuclear war . . . the resulting war somehow propels them two thousand years into the future where the Chosen race (guess who?) has taken over and all light skinned folks are used as slaves (among other things, but you'll discover that when you read the book) . . . Farnham gets dropped into this and being the practical self made man that he is, adapts himself while thinking of ways to get out, while Joseph, a young black man who worked for him, sees little problem is taking advantage of the situation, while remaining essentially decent (sort of a "shoe is on the other foot thing" but Heinlein wisely stays away from too much of that line of thinking). They are about the most well rounded characters, though Farnham is a typical Heinlein protagonist, always thinking, uses his wits, an unshakeable core of his own morality, stuff like that. Joseph is much the same way. The women fall into two catagories, either simpering useless wimps (Grace) or mindnumbingly devoted sex kittens, smart and loyal. Right. Some of the stuff shown here will definitely make you wonder how much he believed in and how much was pure shock value (and it wouldn't be a Heinlein book without a discussion on sex, this time revolving around incest, but I'll let you discover that one for yourself) but overall it's a swift tale that contains a bunch of ideas that are worth thinking over, mostly how slavery is bad no matter who does it, among other things. Gear yourself up for it before you read it, because he's not going to make it easy, keep your head above water and you'll make it through, it is a strong novel and not one of his absolute best but maybe strong enough to make the second tier of greats.
Rating:
Summary: Not his best
Review: This and Glory Road were the last two Heinlein novels I really liked. Afterwards Heinlein changed his style and many would agree not for the better. One problem with this book is that it does not flow as well as his earlier works partly because Heinlein takes up too many pages with thinly disguised preaching about society and how it should be run. Bear in mind that Heinlein was essentially of the Campbell school of thought about science fiction: take an idea and derive its logical conclusions and consequences and present them in story form. But no matter how one tries, when the subject is about economics, society, and people rather than about physics, chemistry, and engineering, personal opinion and bias is bound to creep in. The bias in this book shows very clearly that Heinlein, although progressive in some areas of thought, was definitely a prisoner of his time in others.
Rating:
Summary: Not Heinlein's best.
Review: This book was a quick paced, fast read, but not Heinlein's best. The main characters aren't particularly likeable. Hugh Farnham is an arrogant, bellicose bully, his wife is a middle aged idle lush, son Duke is an equally arrogant, racist mama's boy, and little Karen wants to make Daddy her partner for procreation. Barbara is somewhat likeable, although she comes off a bit trampy, and the houseboy Joseph is about the most decent guy in the household/fallout shelter. The basic plot of the book is that nuclear war between the USA/USSR destroys most of the population in the Northern Hemisphere. Over generations, the darker skinned races of Africa and South Asia gain power, creating a matrilineal society where whites and lighter skinned races are slaves. RAH made some keen observations in this book, the one I liked was a reference to black peasants and small farmers known as "poor black trash". Just as "poor white trash" were in economic competition with slaves and black freedmen in the antebellum/Jim Crow South, so poor black farmers compete economically with white slaves in this future. This book was written in the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War. Reading books such as this and "Tramp Royale", it becomes clear that Heinlein was always a man of his time. This was an enjoyable book, would have liked it better if the main characters weren't as repugnant.
|
