Rolling Thunder

As so often with a Varley novel-starts slowly and builds gradually. Have put this one aside for now and will finish sometime in the future. THNX! Wc

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.

John Varley has written another endearing book. This is a worthy addition to the two previous books in the series. This time the book centers around Podkane, who is the next generation of the the heroes in the first two books. Pokane is nineteen and is serving her mandatory term in the Martian Armed Forces. After putting in about 6 months on Earth, the Mars-born Podkane is assigned to Europa. She is assigned to the Entertainment section of the Martian Armed Services. She forms a band and and tours the bases in Jovian system. All the main characters from the first two books are back and are living on a thriving Mars. The book is written in the first person and the writing is superb. The ending of the book is unexpected and paves the way for future sequels. Podkane is of course named by her parents after a heroine of a Heinlein juvenile. In the last chapter of the book Varley cleverly sneaks in the names of many Heinlein juvenile books.

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.

I was looking forward to reading this title after having enjoyed the previous two titles in the series so much. Unfortunately I was somewhat disapointed with the whole book. I found it difficult to get into the viewpoint of a young woman telling the story and basically whining and complaining through the first half. The book undulates, rather than rolls and there is very little thunder. Maybe in the crash scene but that is about it. So many great ideas, from the black spheres, to compressors, even the creatures on the Jovian moon are not fleshed out. There are too many long passages giving mind numbing details about minor aspects of Jovian moons and other solar bodies. The action and adventure that made the first two such a rollicking ride are missing. The new character is far less interesting and even the original ones are played down. Its obvious that there is a fourth book planned but I will probably not be along for the ride.

Wonderful retro-invocation of Heinleins juvenile novels, with the protagonist even named for one (see

I am a huge Varley fan, though i have to admit the Thunder/Lightning series hasnt been my favorite. However i found Rolling Thunder to be a great read, as if the series has been leading up to this point, and setting the stage for the next and final book in the series. If you liked the Gaea trilogy, Ophiuchi Hotline or Golden Globe i think youd really like this one.

Not finished reading it, but am looking forward to returning to it.

I resisted Varleys Thunder series for a long time, mostly because I thought the initial premise was plain silly. Little did I realize that if Heinlein were writing YA fiction in the 21st Century he wouldnt be able to out do what Varley has produced with this title and its two predecessors. I started in the middle (still need to read the first one) and loved it, just finished this one and loved it more. I was totally smitten with Varleys Podkayne and the innumerable references to Heinleiniana, including Manny Garcia and Kelly Strickland (Manuel Garcia OKelly-Davis, anyone?), a little brother named Mike (Mycroft, perhaps), a genius name Jubal (Broussard, not Harshaw), a farmer in the sky, a (possible) tunnel in the sky, the Red Planet, between planets, and citizens of the galaxy. Me oh my! And, yes, I agree with Varleys Podkaynes assessment of Heinleins Podkayne -- what a mean old man! Richard Jasper Oneonta, NY

Book 3 of the series was the weakest. Red Thunder was good, and Red Lightening the 2nd in the series was the best, in my opinion.