Rolling Thunder

I really liked the first two volumes in this series. I almost always finish books but I didnt finish this one. Its slow and the heroine is really annoying. I also didnt like the author lecturing on current political issues. I read SF to get away from those... Varley writes great short stories, Id recommend his collections without hesitation. The original Red Thunder was refreshing. This installment is just weak.

This was, by far, the most disappointing book in the series, and one of the worst endings to a series I have had bad fortune to read. Varley can be an amazing author, but this time he fails miserably.

Loved the book and the series. Wish there were more books in the series.

The characters are thin, but the real problem is with the plot. Its full of magical devices that nobody but the inventor can understand, and he can pull new ones out of his hat whenever theres a need. A disappointment.

Quire a few others have noted that in his Thunder series John Varley is continuously referring to Robert Heinleins novels. But what I havent seen so far is the notion, which struck me after the second book of the series and seems still more pertinent after the third, that what Varley is doing here is reimagining Heinleins entire sequence of juveniles for another age. From 1947 through 1962, Heinlein wrote a total of 14 juveniles. The first dozen were published by Scribners; they rejected STARSHIP TROOPERS as too adult and this effectively ended the series, although a final junvenile, PODKAYNE OF MARS, was published tree years later. The Heinlein novels. although all stand alone, in fact describe a sequence of future events. The first of them, ROCKET SHIP GALILEO, gives an account of the first trip to the Moon; later ones introduce Mars, Venus, Jupiters moon Ganymede and the Asteroid belt; after that, the novels make the leap to the stars, initially in early explorations, later on in the series into a galaxy largely explored by mankind. In this respect, PODKAYNE OF MARS is a throwback to the earlier part of the sequence. What strikes me is that Varley is more or less writing the same sequence of stories, beginning on Earth, going on to Mars and, in the newest book, envisioning future trips to the stars. I hope he continues there. These novels are very close in feel to the Heinlien stories, but firmly placed in the context of a future bleivable in the present. Heinlein was never able to let his characters actually have sex, as Scribners editors wouldnt allow it; instead he made fun of their prejudices by making his main characters so naive that even early 1950s teenagers must have gotten the point (in TUNNEL THROUGH THE SKY, the hero lives for a month in a cave on an alien planet with a girl without realizing that she isnt a boy; when another boy happens along, he knows it within minutes). I note that someone else commenting on these books feels that their sexual openness should bar them from any childs reading list; this to me seems pure idiocy. Kids today grow up watching ads, TV shows and movies depicting sex openly and continuously; Varleys novels accept it as part of life. I find that commendable and if anything adding to their merit as superior juvenile science fiction. The Heinlein project was in a sense unique. Almost no other major sf author made a similar effort to write at the top of his or her form for young readers, possibly with the exception of Andre Norton and Ted White. Varleys novels are in my view the best sf juveniles to be published over the last at least three decades; if there is anyt writing around today more prone to make younger readers advance from Harry Potter to science fiction, Ive yet to find out about it.

This is book 3 of 4 in the series and introduces Jubals bride. While this is important, other events are left hanging. Podkaynes connection to Earths invaders is left unanswered here and in book 4. Perhaps book 5 is coming?

This finished Varleys Heinlein homage to the teen books. My only issue was how he forced all the titles of those books into the last 2 chapters.

This book is the third book in a series that started with an unlikely group of people, including a Cajun ex-astronaut and his genius brother, who beat the Chinese in being the first humans on Mars, using a radical new technology even its inventor doesnt fully understand. Lieutenant Patricia Kelly Elizabeth Podkayne Strickland-Garcia-Redmond, a third-generation member of the Martian pioneer family, narrates the story. She goes by only one of her many names, Podkayne. She says shes never read Robert A. Heinleins Podkayne of Mars because she doesnt care much for science fiction. Shes 18 as the book begins, a third-generation Martian whose grandparents were among the first to reach Mars. Shes in the Music, Arts and Drama Division of the Martian Navy, and as the book opens, shes enduring Earth gravity (Mars has a gravity thats 38% of Earths) in Pismo Beach, California weeding out people who want to emigrate to Mars. But soon Podkaynes on her way back to Mars because her great-grandmother, close to dying, has elected to go into a time-suspending bubble. After her extended family sees off their matriarch, Podkayne heads off to Europa, one of Jupiters moons to entertain Martian Navy personnel and scientists there and at other scientific outposts in the Jovian system. Shes a singer/songwriter/composer, and teams up with other musicians in Podkayne and the Pod People. It seems a safe enough, and even creative, way to spend her mandatory time in the service. Safe, that is, until shes in the wrong place at the wrong time. John Varley uses the breezy, informal and often humorous style of Podkayne to tell of sweeping events that shape the history of Earth and Mars. Its a troubled history, and global warming on Earth turns out to be only part of the trouble. Podkayne is very articulate, but shes no rocket scientist, so things get explained pretty much in laymans terms. Shes an entertainer, and events propel her to the heights of fame, something Varley appears to have learned a lot about during his years in Hollywood. Podkaynes journey through the part of her life told in the book takes several unexpected turns, eventually taking her further than shed ever imagined.

Lots of old school action , interesting characters , and a wonderful job of world building . Harkens back to the old days of R. A Heinlein .

I love this series. I was hooked with the first book and havent been able to put any of them down.