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Tunnel in the Sky Robert A Heinlein Books

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Tunnel in the Sky Robert A Heinlein Books

When I was a kid, I started reading Robert A. Heinlein's wonderful science fiction stories. I don't know how much the themes of the books shaped me, but I know they helped me gain and maintain an interest in science and technology. He's a great story-teller, certainly one of the best, sci-fi or otherwise. His later books became much less appealing as he turned to a more adult audience. (As I remember one relative saying, RAH became a dirty old man.) Even though many of his novels are purportedly for young readers (teens, not little kids), their appeal holds at least for this middle-aged reader. The first RAH book I read was Tunnel in the Sky, when I was probably 10 or 12. Elliot is 11, so I thought I'd read it again and see if I still like it enough to pass it on. I do!

Rod Walker will be graduating from high school soon, but first he has to pass the final exam in survival class. On test day, he and his classmates will be deposited in an isolated area and will be expected to use the course's lessons and their limited equipment to survive, whatever the climate or surroundings. They'll get to the mysterious destination via a planetary gates, a sort of portal through which on can simply walk from one place to another, whether across the continent or across the galaxy. RAH does spend some time on the physics and discovery of the gates. That's a real strength of his: even when he introduces seemingly fanciful technologies, he provides a scientific rational or foundation, making it almost believable.

The survival test starts out as expected, but when there's no gate at the appointed coordinates in the appointed time frame, Rod and his classmates realize they may be stuck for good, wherever in the universe they may be. Like the English schoolboys in The Lord of the Flies, the kids have to figure out how to create a society together. Rather than let themselves fall into chaos, the kids in The Tunnel in the Sky are determined to maintain civility--and civilization. It was refreshing to see that when these older teenagers wanted to have sex and live together, they actually had the "mayor" perform a wedding. And cursing was strictly prohibited, in order to retain decorum.

Once they got through the gate to the new planet, Tunnel became not so much sci-fi as classic teen survival literature like The Cay, Hatchet, or Lord of the Flies. I love the message of the need for an ordered society, self-reliance and cooperation. The kids' experiments in self-governance are instructive and present the question, how would we structure society if the slate was wiped clean and we were starting fresh on a new planet?


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Tunnel in the Sky Robert A Heinlein Books Reviews

I am beginning to think that a selection of Robert Heinlein's juvenile science fiction books should be required reading in every Middle School class. Even though the science in these stories is outdated, in some cases badly so, and the social mores reflect the period in which they were published, the 1950's, although that may not actually be a bad thing, I think the young reader can still learn a lot from Heinlein's stories. They may not be able to learn much about science or space travel. Events have overtaken Mr. Heinlein in that respect. They will, however, learn quite a lot about virtues that will never go out of date. They will learn from Heinlein's heroes the importance of self-reliance, honor, courage and rational thinking. They will learn that doing the right thing, even at the risk of their lives is better in the long run. Reading Heinlein may even help young readers to resist the politically correct brain washing and mediocrity they are exposed to in our public schools. I can imagine one of Heinlein's older, wiser instructors telling a contemporary student that the universe does not care about his fragile self-esteem and that it does not hand out ribbons just for showing up.

Tunnel in the Sky, published in 1955, is typical of Heinlein's juveniles. It features a strong, intelligent young man, Rod Walker, as the protagonist. Rod wants to join the movement to colonize other planets, accessed through gateways that transport travelers instantly across the galaxy. In order to be a colonist, Rod must take and pass a class on survival taught by the famous explorer "Deacon" Matson. For the final exam, the class, along with similar classes from other schools, is to be dropped on an uninhabited planet for ten to fourteen days. Whoever manages to survive passes. Unfortunately, something disrupts the gate and the students are stranded. They must manage to survive for far longer than they had expected.

This may be Heinlein's response to Lord of the Flies published the previous year. Unlike the younger children in William Golding's tale, the high school and college age youths do not descend into savagery. They build a colony with a government. They attempt to recreate modern technology as much as possible and by the time they are rescued they have begun to smelt iron and to domesticate the native plants and animals. The young colonists do have trouble with students who refuse to do their share of the work and with dangerous animals, but they manage to overcome their difficulties. After their settlement is destroyed and their first mayor is killed by migrating animals, Rod becomes the new mayor. There is some talk of moving to a safer location that Rod had discovered earlier but he refuses to consider it, stating that they are men and they will not be moved by a bunch of dumb animals. Instead, they develop ways to defend their settlement by the time of the next migration.

I should say something about Heinlein's supposed racism in this book. At the beginning of the story, Rod visits a gateway to watch pioneers going out to colonize new planets. First, there is a long line of Asians, poverty-stricken refugees being forced by their authoritarian government to travel to a new world. They are followed by proud pioneers from North America. I do not believe that Heinlein intended to make any sort of statement about the relative merits of Asians and Americans but was extrapolating a likely future based on circumstances at the time of publication. In 1955, most of Asia was desperately poor and overcrowded and it seemed likely to remain so for generations. I should note that it is hinted throughout the book that Rod is African-American, though at the time of publication Heinlein was unable to say so outright.

I enjoyed reading Tunnel in the Sky when I was in fifth grade and enjoyed it no less rereading it as an adult. Robert Heinlein knew how to keep his readers interested.
I love all Robert A Heinlein books, and this one is very enjoyable, as always, although I love some of his books even more, hence the four star rating. As Heinlein does with books in the juvenile series, sex isn't mentioned; people get "married" and have babies, with no mention of details. I love the twist on Lord of the Flies premise, with children of being lost in space because of a super nova and having to survive on an unknown planet, the culture shock at the end when the protagonist returns to "civilization"..a detail many might not of considered.
This is one of Heinlein's best books. Written for teens (when my son read it about age 13 he thought it was one of the best books he'd ever read) but adult readers can enjoy the story very much. The story focuses on the usual Heinlein teenager, in this case Rod Walker, who is a callow, All-American youth who wants adventure and gets it. He and a group of students are sent through a wormhole portal to another world to complete their survival-school training. When they find themselves stranded and no way to get home, they have to build a community to overcome the dangers that the alien planet presents them with.
When I was a kid, I started reading Robert A. Heinlein's wonderful science fiction stories. I don't know how much the themes of the books shaped me, but I know they helped me gain and maintain an interest in science and technology. He's a great story-teller, certainly one of the best, sci-fi or otherwise. His later books became much less appealing as he turned to a more adult audience. (As I remember one relative saying, RAH became a dirty old man.) Even though many of his novels are purportedly for young readers (teens, not little kids), their appeal holds at least for this middle-aged reader. The first RAH book I read was Tunnel in the Sky, when I was probably 10 or 12. Elliot is 11, so I thought I'd read it again and see if I still like it enough to pass it on. I do!

Rod Walker will be graduating from high school soon, but first he has to pass the final exam in survival class. On test day, he and his classmates will be deposited in an isolated area and will be expected to use the course's lessons and their limited equipment to survive, whatever the climate or surroundings. They'll get to the mysterious destination via a planetary gates, a sort of portal through which on can simply walk from one place to another, whether across the continent or across the galaxy. RAH does spend some time on the physics and discovery of the gates. That's a real strength of his even when he introduces seemingly fanciful technologies, he provides a scientific rational or foundation, making it almost believable.

The survival test starts out as expected, but when there's no gate at the appointed coordinates in the appointed time frame, Rod and his classmates realize they may be stuck for good, wherever in the universe they may be. Like the English schoolboys in The Lord of the Flies, the kids have to figure out how to create a society together. Rather than let themselves fall into chaos, the kids in The Tunnel in the Sky are determined to maintain civility--and civilization. It was refreshing to see that when these older teenagers wanted to have sex and live together, they actually had the "mayor" perform a wedding. And cursing was strictly prohibited, in order to retain decorum.

Once they got through the gate to the new planet, Tunnel became not so much sci-fi as classic teen survival literature like The Cay, Hatchet, or Lord of the Flies. I love the message of the need for an ordered society, self-reliance and cooperation. The kids' experiments in self-governance are instructive and present the question, how would we structure society if the slate was wiped clean and we were starting fresh on a new planet?