Robert A. Heinlein - Tunnel in the Sky

I've read some of Robert Heinlein's books in the past, so when I saw this online, I instantly bought it... and here is why you should to!

Minor Plot Details and Layout of the Story
After reading three pages of this book, I gathered this is a story about a futuristic school where survival is an important course. The author dives right into the dialog and action, so there is little to no boring opening description. You gather info about the characters and the situation as you read. The effect is that you get into the story through the character's friendships. No one says "there is a school that looks like this, and in walks Rod who is this person.." Instead, you meet two average-sounding boys, and through their words and actions, you learn that they are actually in a futuristic time.

This also adds realism to the story because the entire intro could be about any two kids talking about any final exam. It gives the impression that "survival" is just a normal run of the mill course, and they are preparing for their final exam. Other sci fi tails would have you whisked away from a normal story into a sci fi one as the characters discover something futuristic. However, R. Heinlein prefers to gently place you into another time period where these futuristic qualities are basically normal. (Much the same in his other book "Door into Summer")

You are able to relate to the characters because their lives are just like ours. You have to read between the lines to catch the subtle differences between the book's world and real life. For example: There are 2 students worried about their final exam. That sounds just like the real world. Now turn the final exam into a test of survival where you only pass if you stay alive and suddenly you see the book's world is a little more crazy then ours. Like I said, you have to think of these things as normal in order to relate to the story. Only then can you really get into it!

As you keep reading it may seems like a pretty average student's life, until you get to a line like this: "When he stepped out of the tube from school, he should have turned right." The tube?? hmmm... interesting! Chapter one does throw in some twisted things and objects and makes you do a couple of double takes as you read, but don't worry! Chapter two will straighten everything out with some 'scientific' details of the time period and how they got to the point where they are using 'gates' to jump from one state to the next, or more importantly, one planet to the next.

The last chapter I'll discuss (so as not to ruin the story) is Chapter 3. We still don't quite get the importance of this survival test, and we have only slightly learned about this main character, Rod. It's about this time that the author lets us know what's going on. Here is the gist of it: Rod is a high school senior who is taking this survival class because he has to if he ever wants to be a lawyer or any other profession where he'll have to leave the planet at times. The test is for him to survive, anywhere they put him, for a couple of weeks. He is plopped into some random area, some random planet, all alone, and forced to figure out if he can survive.

This plot turns quickly from a sci fi, technology-filled story into a completely technology free Survival story. Rod has NO technical inventions. He doesn't even seem to have a flashlight! He doesn't know where he is, but he knows his life depends on using what he learned in class. The story basically begins here. Rod must live in conditions most of us would stay away from at all costs (unless of course we had a full-blown camera crew with us at all times!)

Can he survive? What about the other students? Where is he at anyway? I'll leave that for you to find out. I'll tell you one thing though, Rod's story is NOTHING like Survivor. Rod only has his food, water and a hammock, and no one telling him what to do or the way out! It quickly became apparent that this is not your typical sci fi story. The author isn't trying to impress you with gadgets and inventions. Instead he is going for our own basic fear - the unknown. Being left alone in a world where the only goal is Survival! There's no million dollar prize in this story!

The Author
I mentioned some of R. Heinlein's writing properties already, but here's some more info. In the books I have read, he seems to take an everyday normal situation and just add a little bit of advanced technology. The story will be about a time that will probably not exist for a while, but it doesn't feel like it's that different, or that far in the future. He shows how people don't change. Technology changes, the world changes, but people still are the same. People still go to school, still work, and still need money. They still take final exams, and still want to be lawyers and doctors, and they are still afraid of the dark!

His style is casual. You will usually find out most of the story through the dialog and just a little extra from the descriptions he writes. The chit-chat between characters gets you to understand so much about what is going on. It is written in second person. The story is completely focused on Rod and the author explains what Rod is thinking and feeling as the days go on, but doesn't really dive into what other people are thinking or feeling. You just have to guess what those others may be thinking.

R. Heinlein wrote this book in the 50s. I had originally thought it was the 70s, but then learned it was the 50s, so apparently he was even more ahead of his time than I thought! To see such technological advances in a story that was written way back then is amazing. He had to dream all these up and we STILL don't have more than half the technology that he wrote about. He was very much ahead of his time, and this adds to the fantasy of the story.

Genre
This is obviously sci fi, but I would also put it in a category similar to "Lord of the Flies" where Survival is the main theme. I don't know what genre Lord of the Flies was considered, but I definitely see aspects of that in this story.

It also seems to be somewhat of an uplifting or fantasy story. Although he is in bad situations, you do get to feel proud of Rod when he accomplishes something in the story. You feel for him because he is just like any teenager. I know that most of us have been nervous about a final exam before. You feel like you are part of the story and start to dream about what you would do in the same situation.

For Who?
This book is for anyone over the age of 14. I say that because there are scary situations and some more mature things going on. After all, it's about an 18 your old, so little kids don't need to be reading it. If you like: Sci Fi , Suspense, Excitement, Distant Lands, Drama, and Strange Creators, then this book is for you!

Conclusion
It is only 214 pages, and a small paperback. It would only take a few nights to read. I think that almost anyone would enjoy this story. If I haven't made it clear, you can relate to the characters which makes it all the better. I remember a time when teachers sprung surprise exams, with only one day to study, and we could make a cheat sheet! Now change that cheat sheet to weapons and make the exam on Survival and you've got Rod's life!

Do you want to find out what happens? Then go get this book! It's probably at the library, otherwise it will only cost you 5-10$. It is definitely worth the purchase as it's a good read on cloudy days! When you are done with it, you can pass it down to younger generations.

Also recommended: R. Heinlein's Door into Summer