Book - Heinlein - The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

Post by **GORDON** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 7:34 pm

I saw a used 1st edition hardcover cheap on amazon, so I snagged it and just reread it.

This is a spoiler discussion, as much as you can spoiler a book from the 60's, so ye be warned.

Mike the computer... "dies" at the end.

Or did he? Prof de la Paz suggested in the book that the biggest enemy to their revolution, after it is done, would be Mike. So did he really randomly die at the end, leaving Manny feeling lonely? Here's some options:

1. He really did take too much damage in the attack, and some threshold for consciousness was crossed and he lost it.

2. Professor de la Paz killed him.... they did, after all, have lots of discussions behind the scenes of the story, according to Manny's first person account.

3. For the same reason, the Prof may have convinced Mike to kill himself once he was no longer needed to throw rocks at Earth.

4. Maybe Mike didn't die, just agreed to remain silent, permanently?

So.

Does anyone care?

Post by **thibodeaux** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 8:15 pm

Have you not read The Cat Who Walks Through Walls?

Post by **GORDON** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 8:21 pm

Nope.

Post by **TPRJones** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:13 pm

Srsly?

Go read it, you'll get an answer ... well, mostly. The final answer comes in To Sail Beyond the Sunset, I guess.

All his later books tend to blur everything together like that.

Edited By TPRJones on 1218507297

Post by **GORDON** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:48 pm

Okie dokie.

Was one of my options correct?

Edited By GORDON on 1218509318

Post by **TPRJones** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:49 pm

Do you really want me to answer that?

Post by **GORDON** » Mon Aug 11, 2008 10:51 pm

From everyone's responses I'm guessing #4, or a shade of #4.

Post by **thibodeaux** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 12:40 am

Also, you can't read TCWWTW first; it won't make sense. Trust me on this. You gotta read these, in order:
- Methuselah's Children (novella usually found in one of the "Future History" collections)
- Time Enough For Love
- The Number of the Beast

Then you can read TCWWTW, and if you still like Heinlein after that (it's iffy), read To Sail Beyond the Sunset.

Post by **thibodeaux** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 6:52 am

Oh, you also need to read The Rolling Stones before Cat.

Post by **TheCatt** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:44 am

I've only read the moon

Post by **TPRJones** » Tue Aug 12, 2008 1:32 pm

I like 'em all a lot, although of those Moon is my favorite with Cat a reasonably close second. Time Enough and To Sail are probably the two that are the hardest for most people to like, on the whole. But I think even the worst of Heinlein is still some of the best stuff around.

Post by **GORDON** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 4:16 pm

Optioned for a movie.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vi....-778949

Post by **TPRJones** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 4:26 pm

I'm sure they'll completely ruin it.