Title: Farmer in the Sky (aka Satellite Scout)Author: Robert A. Heinlein
Pages: 290
Publisher: Baen Publishing Enterprises (New York), 1950, full version 1953.
This story was originally serialized for the magazine Boy's Life and was originally called Satellite Scout. It was released in 1953 in an extended novel form in 1953 and won a retro Hugo Award for best science fiction story of 1951. Retro because the Hugo Award did not start until 1953 and they went back to 1946 with the first set of awards. This would be Robert's first Hugo but not his last. This is Heinlein's sixth publish juvenile novel (in its final form) and one of his best.
The plot centers around a young man William 'Bill' Lermer as he and his family become colonists to one of Jupiter's moon's Ganymede. Like all of Heinlein's juvenile novels it is a coming of age story that shows a young boy becoming a man. Bill is a boy Scout and throughout the book scouting becomes a central theme. As Bill heads to and settles on Ganymede, he deals with a multitude of issues involving family, farming, colonization in space and the challenges of life. Throughout the story he struggles with one question: Do I stay or do I go back? There are several plot twists and discoveries that help Bill answer that question.
Technologically, Heinlein had yet to engage the problem of actual colonization of a different world by mankind and so this is his first attempt and it is a good one. My copy had an analysis of the technology and methods involved by physicist Dr. Jim Woosley who say basically two things: 1) For what Heinlein knew in 1950 he did a great job extrapolating but 2) knowing what we know now about Jupiter and Ganymede the story loses some credibility. In any case some of his predictions about other technology like microwaves and such are pretty good.
Socially, Heinlein shows his rugged individualism coupled with free community and a distrust of central authority. He also seems very interested in showing the benefits of frontier society on humanity.
Stylistically, this is a great story. It is well written and entertaining from start to finish. Even when he is giving some of the science of things he does it with a dose of humor and never lectures too long. As always, Heinlein's characters are real with strengths and flaws and family interactions realistic.
Rating: 4 and one quarter stars. One of Heinlein's best juvenile novels with a good story and a realistic feel even if flawed by poor understandings caused by modern findings about Jupiter and Ganymede.
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