BOOK REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION: THE ORPHANS OF THE SKY BY ROBERT A.HEINLEIN

Today I'll shall review Orphans of the Sky , a science fiction novel by Robert Heinlein (available at open library site).  This novel started its life as two novellas titled Universe (1941) and Common Sense (1941). These two were first published as a novel Orphans of the Sky in 1963. I've read this novel some time ago, but it is still quite fresh in my mind. Scroll down to read my review for this novel.

READ MORE OF  MY HEINLEIN REVIEWS:

NOVELLAS: WALDO    MAGIC INC.

NOVELS: PODKANYE OF MARS ,   SPACE CADET  ,  THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST ,   BEYOND THIS HORIZON , STARSHIP TROOPERS, THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS

IRONY THAT RINGS TRUE

 Orphans of the Sky describes an extremely primitive human society living inside of a space ship. The glorious irony of this idea deserves praise. Knowledge is fragile. Indeed, history has proved that to us a number of times. Many great civilizations disappeared completely, taking their technological advances and learning with them. There is still so much we don't know about  the well known ancient civilizations. What can we even say with certainty about those ancient civilizations we are hardly familiar with? 

It's an ironical but at the same time sobering thought. If you think about it, most people who advocate the 'flat Earth' theory have had pretty standard and normal education. Nevertheless, they choose to believe in something that isn't true. So, why would a primitive human society be a stretch? The way human kind seem to be heading, it seems like a plausible probability. 

A SOCIETY THAT LIVES INSIDE A SPACESHIP BUT ISN'T EVEN AWARE OF IT

Orphans of the Sky describes a society that lives in a space ship but does not know it. Divided into two classes, scientist and farmers, the organized part of the crew society is horribly ignorant. Besides this so called civilized society, there are also mutants who live in an ongoing state of war with the rest of the crew.

A SPACESHIP THAT SPINS TO IMITATE GRAVITY

 Hiding in the vast spaces of the ship, the mutants are a constant treat. I must say that I quite liked the concept of the novel. Moreover, from a scientific point of view, this book has aged pretty well. The idea of a ship that spins to imitate gravity is scientifically correct and Heinlein makes good use of it. The contrast between the ship, that is described as extremely technically advanced and the 'morons' inside is startling. The so called scientists are more learned than farmers but none the smarter for it. They have no idea what space or space travel is and they are slaves to religious dogmas. The wonderful irony of a scientist preaching dogmas! For that alone, this book would be worth of a recommendation. 

Take a look at this quote and the emotional interpretations 'scientists' make of real laws of science: “Two bodies attract each other directly as the product of their masses and inversely as the square of their distance.' It sounds like a rule for simple physical facts, does it not? Yet it is nothing of the sort; it was the poetical way the old ones had of expressing the rule of propinquity which governs the emotion of love. The bodies referred to are human bodies, mass is their capacity for love. Young people have a greater capacity for love than the elderly; when thy are thrown together they fall in love, yet when they are separated they soon get over it. 'Out of sight, out of mind.' It's as simple as that. But you were seeking some deep meaning for it.”

TECHNOLOGY IS NOT 'A FIX IT ALL'

Ultimately, technology is a tool. A tool is only as useful as the person that uses it. If we don't use technology correctly, what use will it be? Technology is not a magical pill that will take away all the problems we have as humans. Unless we grow and learn as individuals and as a society, we will be either enslaved by technology or by our own weaknesses. This is something I have been thinking about quite a lot lately. Technology isn't bad as such, but it cannot save us from ourselves. 

Nowadays we can see that many people are passive consumers of technology. They think they are smart if they have a smartphone. Life doesn't work like that. Using technology isn't making us smarter. The more easier technological gadgets are, the less skill it takes to use them. So, by using a laptop or a smartphone, you're really not doing anything for your development, are you? If you play games on a laptop you won't have the same skills as if you use your laptop to do research for your Phd. Your emotional, social and intellectual capacities don't expand  or develop more if you use technology. They might in fact stagnate if you use technology in inappropriate ways. 

In this book we see example of a caste that calls itself 'scientists' but doesn't know anything about science. They are not aware of the fact they live in a spaceship. The only reason why they can operate some of the spaceship equipment is because it was designed to practically operate on its own. This concept of people using technology but ultimately not knowing anything about it and remaining just as ignorant as they would be without technology is something I quite like. It's a warning we should take to heart. No matter what technology surround us, it is our skills that make all the difference. 

Here is a little peak into the plot cited from Wikipedia: "The gigantic, cylindrical generation ship Vanguard, originally destined for "Far Centaurus", is cruising without guidance through the interstellar medium because long ago, a mutiny killed most of the officers. Over time, the descendants of the surviving loyal crew have lapsed into a pre-technological culture that is marked by superstition, and have forgotten the purpose and nature of their ship. Since they come to believe the "Ship" is the entire universe, "To move the ship" is considered an oxymoron, and references to the Ship's "voyage" are interpreted as religious metaphor. They are ruled by an oligarchy of "officers" and "scientists." Most crew members are simple illiterate farmers, seldom or never venturing to the "upper decks," where the "muties" (an abbreviation of "mutants" or "mutineers") dwell. Among the crew, all identifiable mutants are killed at birth.The story centers on a young man of insatiable curiosity, Hugh Hoyland, who is selected as an apprentice by a scientist. The scientists ritualistically perform the tasks required to maintain the Ship, such as putting trash into its energy converter to generate power, and remain ignorant of their true functions.On a hunt for muties, Hugh is captured by them. He barely avoids getting eaten by the microcephalic dwarf Bobo and instead becomes the slave of Joe-Jim Gregory, the two-headed leader of a powerful mutie gang. Joe and Jim have separate identities, but both are highly intelligent and have come to a crude understanding of the Ship's true nature."

So, what happens next in the book is where things get really interesting.  While the majority of the spaceship population is clueless about the fact they are in a ship, there is one individual who seems to know a bit more- and some who are about to learn more. Quote from the book: “An apostate scientist, a kidnapped scientist, a dull peasant, a two-headed monster, an apple-brained moron -- five knives, counting Joe-Jim as one; five brains, counting Joe-Jim as two and Bobo as none -- five brains and five knives to overthrow an entire culture.”

NOT THE BOOK FOR YOU IF YOU WANT A STRONG FEMALE LEAD

This novel is an interesting and engaging read in many ways. However, this is definitely not a book to read if you are looking for strong female characters. With a small and not that relevant exception of one mutant lady, ladies play no part in the events.

In fact, the physical and verbal abuse of women seems to be extremely common in the "civilized" part of the ship. We never do learn exactly how women are treated in the mutant community but we can assume it is not good. With the exception of one mutant character, they are not exactly portrayed as caring or intelligent individuals. Mostly, mutants seem a wild bunch. So, we can assume that ladies like the mutant knife maker are exceptions to the rule (the writer stresses that her dwelling is a respected taboo among the mutants because of her occupation, i.e, it is not herself that yield respect but the work she does). At any rate, all the significant characters, both the positive and the negative ones are men.

THE ABUSE, THE VIOLENCE AND THE HORRIBLE TREATMENT OF WOMEN

A fair warning : this book is quite violent. Heinlein does not dwell much on descriptions of violence, but violence is a big part of the story. The novel isn't graphic in its descriptions of violence. However,  violence is basically a part of the story. Cannibalism, violence and murders are common place occurrence in this book. These themes might (and probably do) reflect the primitiveness and ruthlessness of the society imagined and described. Therefore, the violence does make sense to the story. Nevertheless, these things are still disturbing to read about.  If you are very sensitive to violence, you might want to skip this one.

WAS HEINLEIN IMPLYING THAT A SOCIETY CANNOT BE ADVANCED WITHOUT WOMEN BEING AN IMPORTANT PART OF IT? 

I can swallow the 'all men caste' and forgive Heinlein for lacking any strong female ones taking into consideration that the society described is a primitive one. Furthermore, Heinlein might have done it on purpose to send an important message. Maybe Heinlein is even implying that any society where women are not respected is automatically a primitive society. In that sense, Heinlein might be sending a positive message about the importance of women in the society. This writer often features strong female characters in his works. The fact they are missing in this novel might be an indication of the backwardness of the society described. So, I don't really think the lack of strong female characters is necessarily a minus. BUT....

 THE ONLY THING I DO NOT GET

However, there is one thing I do not get. It is not the main characters or the protagonist as such. The characters themselves are developed well enough all things considering. The "heroes" are quite credible and their development makes sense. They really are a good balance of the good and the bad. The negative characters are well portrayed too. There is even one Machiavellian villein that is extremely credible. On overall, the characterization is not badly done.

WHY ONLY ALAN?

What I found troubling is that among the "heroes", the only guy who treats his wife with some respect is Alan, who also happens to be the most stupid of the bunch. Literally, he is the only one who thinks of saving his wife when their lives are in danger, the other "heroes" seem to abuse their wives and could not care less. I can understand that this society is very primitive and ruled by religious dogmas, but if our heroes were brave enough to fight that society I do not understand why they keep being so brutal. It seems more logical for them to change their attitude at least a little bit, I mean they undergo some big character changes. It all comes down to this:  I can understand the lack of female characters but not the fact that none of the protagonist (except Alan!) seem to give the unfair treatment of women a single thought. If it was all of them, then I would just assume that the society is so primitive they don't know any better (even if they consider themselves 'civilized'). 

MAYBE ALAN IS MORAL FOR A REASON

It is only Alan that is decent, a guy that is so proud at himself for being able to count above ten. He is so stupid he does not comprehend anything of what is going on, but curiously enough he is the only character to have a fully developed moral sense. Others have their strikes of generosity and virtue but Alan is the only one who is brave in his loyalties and quite selfless. Interesting choice to make him the moral vertical.

A WORK OF FICTION IS ALWAYS OPEN TO INTERPRETATIONS

Maybe the message that Heinlein wants to send that ultimately our intelligence is not the most important thing- it's the choices we make.  Unless Alan's virtue is an illusion. Honestly, some things do not quite make sense in this novel. It could be that the writer wanted to make them ambiguous. It is entirely possible that I'm overthinking some of the concepts and taking this novel too seriously.  As readers we should try to understand that it is essentially a work of fiction representing a primitive future society and not a book that gives guidelines about how to treat women. ( Well, at least I hope that is what it is. ) As a work of fiction, it works pretty well. Any work of fiction should always be open to interpretation. Sometimes we find new meaning in books, sometimes questions. Sometimes some aspects of books don't age well, but that doesn't mean we should give up on vintage reads.

A NOVEL THAT WAS GROUNDBREAKING FOR ITS TIME

In many ways, this novel was groundbreaking for its time. When you read vintage Science Fiction, it is easy to forget how original its ideas were for its time. This novel in particular is one of the first examples of a generation spaceship concept. This concept is so familiar to us now, having been explored in numerous books, films and series, making it easy for us to neglect to give credit to those 'early' writers who came up with such cool concepts. I'm certainly glad I've read this novel. In my view, it is not one of Heinlein's best or most profound works, but it is not without its merits.  If you consider the themes this novel explores and the concepts it introduces, you are tempted to conclude that it is a very thought provoking book. 

FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS NOVEL

Some aspects of the Orphans of the Sky struck me as little odd. At times, I wasn't sure what kind of message was the writer trying to send and if any.  On the other hand, I was really impressed with its implication of future society that is anything but advanced. Often we think that technology protects us and makes us more advanced, but it is not necessarily the case. Unless we as human kind continue to grow and learn, we might very well turn into a primitive society. Technology won't be able to help us in that case. 

On overall, I did enjoy this novel. Was it my favourite work by Heinlein? Definitely not. If you want to read something truly profound and life-changing by this writer reach for Stranger in a Strange Land or The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.   To whom would I recommend this novel? Mostly to lovers of science fictions and fans of Heinlein, but also to anyone who appreciates a good story.  If you want something that is well plotted and written, imaginative and provocative but not really in-depth or too serious, this is a book for you. If you are not overly sensitive to violence, do give it a read. It is an interesting and thought provoking work.

As always, thank you for stopping by. Take care!