Tunnel in the Sky
by Robert A. Heinlein
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Book Summary Information
Author: Robert A. HeinleinEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-03-15
ISBN: 1416505512
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Pocket Books
Book Reviews of Tunnel in the Sky
Book Review: A Final Exam Gone Wrong
Summary: 4 Stars
"Tunnel in the Sky" is another one of the so-called "juveniles" Robert A. Heinlein wrote in the 1950's for Charles Scribners Sons. As I have explained in other reviews, virtually all of these novels remain in print. Actually none of them has ever gone out of print. None of them are sold for the juvenile market anymore either.
In this future, we have the Ramsbotham Jump, the `tunnel in the sky'. To travel long distances or even between stars, you simply walk through a gate and you're at your destination. Earth has colonized other worlds not with starships but with old-fashioned wagon trains driven through Ramsbotham Jump gates.
The point about the wagon trains is important. To the best of my knowledge, Heinlein was the first to point out distant colonies on other planets won't have a necessary high-tech industrial base for years. That takes a lot of people and a lot of specialties. Consequently, rather than air cars and ray guns, life will initially be draft animals, home-spun and no electricity.
Rod Walker is a high school senior taking an advanced course in survival. You only pass or fail this course. There is no middle ground. The final exam consists of Rod and his classmates being transported by gate to another world. They can take whatever equipment (including weapons) they want. Once they are through the gate, they can partner with whomever. They must be able to survive in any environment, on any planet for a period of not less than two and no more than ten days.
In order to pass, you must survive. On the other side there are no rules. You don't know what animals are dangerous. You don't know what plants are dangerous. Nor do you understand the extremes of the environment or anything about the eco-system.
Look at it like this, if you were from another planet, would you know a rattlesnake was dangerous? Would you be able to tell the difference between a dog barking a greeting and one threatening attack? You might even think a scorpion is cute. Or you'd be terrified of a rabbit.
In this test, there is one danger not born at the exam site. Remember there are no rules. It is perfectly legal for students to prey on other students. By `prey' that means up to and including murder.
So what happens? The time for recall comes and goes. It slowly dawns on Rod and the other students that wherever they are; they are stranded light years from Earth. They do not know what happened. They do not know if they will ever go home again. No doctors, no ready-made meals, no chance for re-supply.
They do know they must survive.
This book is about civilization. It's about how people act without it and why it is necessary. We all live in comfort and security. But it took a lot of suffering for that to occur. Rod, his classmates and the students from other classes have to build civilization from scratch. That is not just creature comforts. There is also the rule of law and it's enforcement.
Personally I never warmed to Rod very much. His most charming trait is he's stubborn. At times he's not too bright. But he never loses his moral compass and first and foremost he survives.
While this isn't Heinlein's best work, it is still better than must books in the genre.
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