On a lighter note

[jeriendhal]

I'm re-rereading RAH's Space Cadet, and while most of it's science beyond orbital mechanics has been disproven, I just realized it managed to get one thing right that didn't exist yet when I first read it in the early 80's.

Namely, it starts with Matt standing in line and chatting with his dad on his cell phone (not called as such obviously), with his soon-to-be-friend Tex avoiding talking to his parents by conviently packing it into his suitcase. RAH doesn't go into much more detail beyond noting Matt leaving his phone behind since in orbit it would be beyond a cell tower radio relay station, but what would have been a sci-fi wonder when it was originally published wouldn't be recognized by a new reader nowadays as particularly notable.

Not bad for 1948.

Comments

[selenite.livejournal.com]

I like that one. Thought the politics in it provide some perspective on why Heinlein was surprised by the blowup over Starship Troopers. Space Cadet's government is a lot scarier to me.

[jeriendhal.livejournal.com]

The politics of nuclear weapons was still pretty much in flux at the time the book was written (if not published), the Soviets hadn't even detonated their first atomic bomb yet. I suppose it would have seemed possible back then to keep the genie in the bttle so to speak and turn the nukes over to a theoretically benevolent United Nations sponsored organization.