#105 in Classics
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
- 360
- Pages
- about 7 h
- Reading time
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About the book
It is the late 21st Century and the Moon has been colonized -- as a giant, open, prison. Every aspect of life is overseen by the Federated Nations "Lunar Authority"; until one day when a self-aware Super-Computer, a Jack of all Trades Technician, an Anarchist Professor, and a beautiful Blonde Revolutionary decide to change their world. The conspirators' plans go along beautifully...for a while. TANSTAAFL! There ain't no such thing as a free lunch! Robert A. Heinlein was the most influential science fiction writer of his era, an influence so large that, as Samuel R. Delany notes, "modern critics attempting to wrestle with that influence feel themselves dealing with an object rather like the sky or an ocean." He won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, a record that still stands. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress was the last of these Hugo-winning novels, and it is widely considered his finest work. It is a tale of revolution, of the rebellion of the former Lunar penal colony against the Lunar Authority that controls it from Earth. It is the tale of the disparate people -- a computer technician, a vigorous young female agitator, and an elderly academic -- who become the rebel movement's leaders. And it is the story of Mike, the supercomputer whose sentience is known only to this inner circle, and who for reasons of his own is committed to the revolution's ultimate success.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.0 across 715 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 83% of the weight and the score stays at 8.0 — the Classics average of 7.7 barely moves it.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.0 | 87 | 12% |
| Google Books | 8.0 | 9 | 1% |
| Hardcover | 8.0 | 619 | 87% |
Reader voices
The most-liked reviews on Hardcover (credited to their authors).
“I absolutely loved this book! My only complaint is that it ruined my sleep schedule! I stayed up till 3 am finishing it! Reading the moon speak took me a while to get the hang of, but it worked well for the story. I can…”
“Great novel, great story. Penal colony revolution on the moon? Heck yes. The world building is very interesting as well, the way the society on the moon functions makes sense given the circumstances. Their homegrown system of "laws" and justice system and the change of…”
Frequently asked
How long is The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress?
It has 360 pages — shorter than 67% of the ranked books in Classics.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Classics — with scores between 7.9 and 8.0, closest to this book.
