Farmer in the Sky
- 221
- Pages
- about 4 h
- Reading time
- Retro Hugo Award for Best Novel
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Our view
“Farmer in the Sky” is a sturdy Heinlein juvenile about a teenager whose family emigrates to Ganymede while the moon is still being terraformed. First serialised in a scouting magazine, it turns life on a frontier still in the making into a coming-of-age story. Some readers find it a little dated but still enjoyable. At just over two hundred pages, it works for newcomers to science fiction as well as adults returning to Heinlein.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Farmer In The Sky is a 1950 science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein about a teenaged boy who emigrates with his family to Jupiter's moon Ganymede, which is in the process of being terraformed. Among Heinlein's juveniles, a condensed version of the novel was published in serial form in Boys' Life magazine, under the title "Satellite Scout". The novel was awarded a Retro Hugo in 2001.
Reading order · Heinlein juveniles
Full order & progress →- Rocket Ship GalileoStart here
–Not ranked yet - Space Cadet
7.67.6 / 10 - Red Planet
7.67.6 / 10 - Farmer in the SkyThis book
7.67.6 / 10 - The Rolling Stones
–Not ranked yet - Starman Jones
7.77.7 / 10 - The Star Beast
–Not ranked yet - Tunnel in the Sky
–Not ranked yet - Time for the Stars
7.67.6 / 10 - Citizen of the Galaxy
7.67.6 / 10 - Have Space Suit—Will Travel
7.57.5 / 10
Where the score comes from
The sources average 6.8 across 57 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 28% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Science fiction average of 7.8. That is how 7.6 comes out. A further +0.10 comes from the small bonus for major awards.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 6.7 | 9 | 16% |
| Hardcover | 6.8 | 48 | 84% |
Frequently asked
How long is Farmer in the Sky?
It has 221 pages — shorter than 91% of the ranked books in Science fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
The same shelf — Science fiction — and a score of 7.6, the closest to this book.
