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This book is a sort of "kinder and gentler" version of Starship Troopers. Our hero, Matt Dodson, joins the "Patrol" and elite interplanetary UN force backed up by A-bombs that keeps the peace. The first half of the book describe the trials Matt goes through in his efforts to be accepted by the Patrol. It's interesting to watch Matt go through the weeding out process, and then, once he's accepted, surviving the rigors of the "academy in space"--training takes place in a space station in orbit where Matt is expected to learn so much that they have to hypnotize him to get everything into his brain! In the second half of the book, Matt goes out on a training mission and we get to see what life is like working on a spaceship. But when a rescue mission goes wrong Matt and his friends are stuck on an unexplored section of Venus, where with no equipment or outside help they have to get a derilict spaceship working in order to get home. Like most of Heinlein's early characters, Matt is squeaky clean and doesn't drink, smoke, or cuss, and most of the other characters, except for a good-naturedly hedonist named Tex, are equally bland. But if you can get past that it's an interesting story of adventure in space and being marooned on Venus. | ||||||||||||||||||
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