Higher Education

Sheffield, Charles, and Jerry Pournelle. Higher Education. Jupiter No. 1. Tor, 1996.
In Higher Education, Sheffield and Pournelle channel early Heinlein juveniles (now YA) better than anyone ever has. Rick Luban is a smart kid who is not a good fit in a modern urban schoolroom. When a practical joke goes badly awry, he is given a chance to train to mine asteroids in a strict bootcamp environment. What elevates the book above most similar young adult science fiction is the attention to the science of asteroid mining that Sheffield and Pournelle bring to it. Would that more YA scifi writers would pay as much attention to the science in their novels. I last read this book in 2015, and it holds up well six years later. 4 stars.

The thing about most dystopian fiction is that it is fundamentally pessimistic. The individual characters may have a happy ending, but the world as a whole is still fucked.

Higher Education -- and most of the Jupiter novels, for that matter, present a future Earth that is as dystopian as any '90s cyberpunk novel. But the story isn't content with accepting the inevitability of dystopia. It believes that only can individual people become better, but that these people together can lay the foundation for a better world.

My reaction to reading this novel in 1997. Spoilers follow.

This book was a pleasant, if not great, read and, I suspect, a great deal like Robert Heinlein’s juvenile novels of which I’ve only read Starship Troopers and, a long time ago, The Rolling Stones. It’s the story of a youth learning adult responsibilities and a lot of math and science – the authors deliver some good minor science lessons in passing including one on why rings around planets can’t be solid. The plot of corporate espionage and sabotage was, if my memory is correct, added from the novella of the same name. (In it protagonist Rick Luban finishes training and his employer tries to recruit him for training Earthside and the novel ends with a similar pitch but show more after more training. I liked the airlock warning signs on not forgetting to check your suit.)

The main flaw is, given the supposedly even more decadent, ignorant, and violent schools of the future, Rick Luban and the other delinquent of his school seem way too tame in their behavior and lack of profanity to be the problem children of tomorrow. They seem like problem children of the fifties. The future of the novel – aristocratic politicians ruling an overregulated welfare state – is obviously Pournelle’s and reminiscent of his Exiles to Glory which features a similar plot of a student being forced off Earth by circumstances and finding a new life is space though that character was an engineering student in trouble after defending himself from gang. Both novels feature government insiders (a teacher in Higher Education and a policeman in Exiles to Glory). show less

I found this to be a better than average space adventure with an element of cultural satire about public education and rampant litigation. The plot unfolds a bit abruptly in places, and the characters are not exactly believable, and some of the conflict seems contrived mainly because one of the authors or editors thought the story needed constant conflict, but it's an interesting read for the science and the satire.

All four of these are basically the same plot, with similar themes. They're engaging, but not awesome, imo. Probably best for teen boys. Possibly dated by now. The first is the grittiest. My favorite is Putting Up Roots. This is the most cliched. All are recommended if you happen to find them at your library or friend's house, none if you have to buy them.

They do *not* need to be read in order. The significant characters do not carry over, nor does the plot. The world that is being built is developed further in each, but an understanding beyond what is included in each book is not necessary.

The writing is unexpectedly fresh and clean, with some gems. From The Billion Dollar Boy, "Shelby woke up bit by bit, body before brain, memory show more before mind."

(Review copy-pasted to each of the four.) show less