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Heinlein juveniles AI simulator
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Heinlein juveniles
The Heinlein juveniles are the science-fiction novels written by Robert A. Heinlein for Scribner's young-adult line. Each features "a young male protagonist entering the adult world of conflict, decisions, and responsibilities". Together, they tell a loosely connected story of space exploration. Scribner's published the first 12 between 1947 and 1958, but rejected the 13th, Starship Troopers. That one was instead published by Putnam. A 14th novel, Podkayne of Mars, is sometimes listed as a "Heinlein juvenile", although Heinlein himself did not consider it to be one.
The intended market was teenaged boys, but the books have been enjoyed by a wide range of readers. Heinlein wanted to present challenging material to children, such as the firearms for teenagers in Red Planet. This led to "annual quarrels over what was suitable for juvenile reading" with Scribner's editors.
In addition to the juveniles, Heinlein wrote two short stories about Scouting for boys and three short stories featuring Puddin', a teenaged female protagonist, for girls.
When Heinlein returned to writing after World War II, he sought to diversify beyond "the pulps". In 1946, Heinlein told his agent that his "own propaganda purposes will be best served by writing a series of boys' books". This would simultaneously broaden the audience for science fiction and also put Heinlein into a steady, lucrative market. Heinlein had already had success as a writer of short fiction for the sci-fi pulp magazines; the juveniles established him as a novelist for major publishers.
To prepare for the task, he analyzed samples of several popular series for boys, probably including Tom Swift, "Roy Rockwood", and Carl H. Claudy's stories for The American Boy magazine. By September, Heinlein's agent was able to report that the YA editor at Scribner's, Alice Dalgliesh, had liked Heinlein's draft of the first book. He had also shown her a list of contemplated sequels. In early 1947 Heinlein signed the contract with Scribner's for the first book and was having the revised draft typed; by midsummer, he had planned the second book. Heinlein went on to submit a book per year to Scribner's for a dozen years.
Reviewers are divided on whether Starship Troopers should be listed with the others. Science fiction writer Jo Walton argues that it "is best understood" as one of the juveniles. Other reviewers limit the juveniles to only the books actually published by Scribner's.
The novels are "stand-alone"; they do not share any characters and do not form a strict chronological series. The later novels are not sequels to the earlier ones. They nonetheless tell a story of space exploration. James Gifford wrote "It is not often recognized that [the juveniles] are a reasonably consistent 'Future History' of their own".
Jack Williamson wrote: "The books, taken together, tell an epic story of the expansion of mankind across the planets of our own Sun and the stars beyond. ... a generally consistent story of the future conquest of space. The first, Rocket Ship Galileo, begins in a backyard shortly after World War II, with three boys testing a primitive rocket motor. The last, Have Space Suit—Will Travel, ends with the triumphant return of its young hero from the Lesser Magellanic Cloud... Nobody has written a more convincing and inspiring future human epic."
Heinlein juveniles
The Heinlein juveniles are the science-fiction novels written by Robert A. Heinlein for Scribner's young-adult line. Each features "a young male protagonist entering the adult world of conflict, decisions, and responsibilities". Together, they tell a loosely connected story of space exploration. Scribner's published the first 12 between 1947 and 1958, but rejected the 13th, Starship Troopers. That one was instead published by Putnam. A 14th novel, Podkayne of Mars, is sometimes listed as a "Heinlein juvenile", although Heinlein himself did not consider it to be one.
The intended market was teenaged boys, but the books have been enjoyed by a wide range of readers. Heinlein wanted to present challenging material to children, such as the firearms for teenagers in Red Planet. This led to "annual quarrels over what was suitable for juvenile reading" with Scribner's editors.
In addition to the juveniles, Heinlein wrote two short stories about Scouting for boys and three short stories featuring Puddin', a teenaged female protagonist, for girls.
When Heinlein returned to writing after World War II, he sought to diversify beyond "the pulps". In 1946, Heinlein told his agent that his "own propaganda purposes will be best served by writing a series of boys' books". This would simultaneously broaden the audience for science fiction and also put Heinlein into a steady, lucrative market. Heinlein had already had success as a writer of short fiction for the sci-fi pulp magazines; the juveniles established him as a novelist for major publishers.
To prepare for the task, he analyzed samples of several popular series for boys, probably including Tom Swift, "Roy Rockwood", and Carl H. Claudy's stories for The American Boy magazine. By September, Heinlein's agent was able to report that the YA editor at Scribner's, Alice Dalgliesh, had liked Heinlein's draft of the first book. He had also shown her a list of contemplated sequels. In early 1947 Heinlein signed the contract with Scribner's for the first book and was having the revised draft typed; by midsummer, he had planned the second book. Heinlein went on to submit a book per year to Scribner's for a dozen years.
Reviewers are divided on whether Starship Troopers should be listed with the others. Science fiction writer Jo Walton argues that it "is best understood" as one of the juveniles. Other reviewers limit the juveniles to only the books actually published by Scribner's.
The novels are "stand-alone"; they do not share any characters and do not form a strict chronological series. The later novels are not sequels to the earlier ones. They nonetheless tell a story of space exploration. James Gifford wrote "It is not often recognized that [the juveniles] are a reasonably consistent 'Future History' of their own".
Jack Williamson wrote: "The books, taken together, tell an epic story of the expansion of mankind across the planets of our own Sun and the stars beyond. ... a generally consistent story of the future conquest of space. The first, Rocket Ship Galileo, begins in a backyard shortly after World War II, with three boys testing a primitive rocket motor. The last, Have Space Suit—Will Travel, ends with the triumphant return of its young hero from the Lesser Magellanic Cloud... Nobody has written a more convincing and inspiring future human epic."