The book's introduction references Robert Heinlein's juvenile SF novels, and this is indeed reminiscent of the genre. A great read for those of us adults who liked Heinlein's juveniles when we were kids. I wouldn't find it suitable to give to my pre-teen grandchildren, though, because of the chapter -- I found it gratuitous, non-plot-related, it was probably inserted as humour -- in which 11 year old Kip (who has doubtless been watching too many adult videos as well as carefully observing his uncle's antics) asks his AI implant whether his female friend, also 11, will expect him to have sex with her. The AI considers this at length and offers several reasons why the little girl would not likely expect sex, before adding that sex with an 11 year old girl is illegal. This is not a direction I want to send children's minds in. So do read the book, it's excellent -- somewhat reminiscent of After Long Silence which I also liked -- but for the youngsters... well, there are the actual Heinlein juveniles, but sometimes I wish Heinlein didn't have his moments of being mid-20th-century sexist! ( )

a young boy, with an implant, who is the unknown heir of a huge interplanetary conglomerate, foils a plot to take over his adopted world and discovers native intelligence. This was EXTREMELY reminiscent of Heinlein's juvenile scifi. I enjoyed it but it lacked depth. It was good for what it was. ( )

Kip, the young heir of one of the planet-controlling corporations of a future humanity, has been in hiding on a planet the residents call Purgatory and unaware of his true identity most of his life. His parents, major stockholders of Great Western Enterprises, were killed in what amounts to a VERY hostile corporate takeover attempt over twelve years before. Not sure who was behind the attempt, his guardian, his parents’ former bodyguard, keeps him hidden until he becomes old enough to vote his shares.
This novel intentionally mimics the ‘juvenile’ science fiction story from the 1950’s through 1970’s, especially the Heinlein juveniles. Today, such books might be called ‘Young Adult.’ It’s an enjoyable enough read, although the plot is predictable and the main characters are fairly cliché. The supporting characters and aliens are imaginative, though. I especially liked Gwen, the AI program Kip’s mother created to watch over him and to whom he communicates via a chip in his head. The genetically modified dogs are great sidekicks -- smart but not unbelievably smart. The starswarm alien is quite interesting.
My biggest disappointment with the story was that it wasn’t believably futuristic. There are no speculative leaps in either culture or technology. Essentially this is a contemporary adventure story for kids with some cool aliens and ray guns thrown in. Politically, economically, and culturally, this is mid-Twentieth Century America. They use helicopters, tapes to record data, air conditioning is not ubiquitous, they play Warcraft and reference Star Trek the Motion Picture -- well, I suppose I’m okay with the last thing. Star Trek is timeless. But a believable portrayal of a future humanity, this is not.
It’s a fine, light read for a rainy day. I found the one I read at the library, and if you see it at the one you frequent, go ahead and pick it up. It’s not a ‘keeper,’ though.
( )

I'd never read a solo Pournelle, but I really enjoy his collaborations with Niven, so I thought I'd give a singleton a shot. I'm also really bad about not reading blurbs about a book first, so I didn't know what to expect going in.

This book was heavily geared towards kids/young adults. What I really liked about this book is that it wasn't some kid that's all misunderstood, and the SPECIALIST KID EVAH! that so many other kid's books are (I'm looking at you, Card). Because this doesn't speak as strongly to the "oh woe is me, no one gets me, and really I'm the most awesomest ninja superstar ever, if only the world would recognize me!" emo type, I doubt it will ever be as popular.

This is not a deep or difficult read at all. It's fun and it move along at a nice fast clip, but you still get invested in the characters. What I further appreciate is that even as a juvenile book, it does not talk down to its audience.

Kip is a kid, growing up in Starswarm Station - a remote biological/life study station on another world. He has a few hiccups with a local bully kid, but is overall not traumatized or a loner or anything seriously horrible. He is an orphan, but he's got a cool uncle, an awesome dog, a good friend, and a chip that talks to him in his head. He's not alone or miserable, he's just a (mildly special) kid. He ends up being rather important (you know, with a "destiny"), but Pournelle doesn't hit you over the head with some special destiny stuff and heavy foreshadowing, so it's OK that the kid ends up kind of important. You figure it out pretty quickly, and thankfully, Kip has to be useful, not just special. It all just works and is rather low key.

Now, my favorite part of the book has to do with the alien life forms. There are two that we explicitly deal with, one is the starswarms - some kind of submerged aquatic life form, the other are the centaurs, which are... um.. centaurs-y. And without going into details, I like how Pournelle themes the alien life around neural nets and transference of chemical information. Go you, Pournelle. A bonus cookie just for making that awesomely interesting and playing with alien life in a fun, easy, and interesting way.

Not a bad book at all. I would recommend it especially to anyone with kids. ( )

I'd never read a solo Pournelle, but I really enjoy his collaborations with Niven, so I thought I'd give a singleton a shot. I'm also really bad about not reading blurbs about a book first, so I didn't know what to expect going in.

This book was heavily geared towards kids/young adults. What I really liked about this book is that it wasn't some kid that's all misunderstood, and the SPECIALIST KID EVAH! that so many other kid's books are (I'm looking at you, Card). Because this doesn't speak as strongly to the "oh woe is me, no one gets me, and really I'm the most awesomest ninja superstar ever, if only the world would recognize me!" emo type, I doubt it will ever be as popular.

This is not a deep or difficult read at all. It's fun and it move along at a nice fast clip, but you still get invested in the characters. What I further appreciate is that even as a juvenile book, it does not talk down to its audience.

Kip is a kid, growing up in Starswarm Station - a remote biological/life study station on another world. He has a few hiccups with a local bully kid, but is overall not traumatized or a loner or anything seriously horrible. He is an orphan, but he's got a cool uncle, an awesome dog, a good friend, and a chip that talks to him in his head. He's not alone or miserable, he's just a (mildly special) kid. He ends up being rather important (you know, with a "destiny"), but Pournelle doesn't hit you over the head with some special destiny stuff and heavy foreshadowing, so it's OK that the kid ends up kind of important. You figure it out pretty quickly, and thankfully, Kip has to be useful, not just special. It all just works and is rather low key.

Now, my favorite part of the book has to do with the alien life forms. There are two that we explicitly deal with, one is the starswarms - some kind of submerged aquatic life form, the other are the centaurs, which are... um.. centaurs-y. And without going into details, I like how Pournelle themes the alien life around neural nets and transference of chemical information. Go you, Pournelle. A bonus cookie just for making that awesomely interesting and playing with alien life in a fun, easy, and interesting way.

Not a bad book at all. I would recommend it especially to anyone with kids. ( )