Loved it. The development of the main character is very well done, and his strangeness is very well described. I would have given it 5 stars, but I really have to subtract 1 star for the absolutely disgusting remark of one of the women (!) who states that in most cases, if a woman gets raped, it is partially her fault. Really?!? Eugh... It's such a shame, because I really liked almost everything else. ( )

Disappointing. But with some interesting ideas. I thought it would be "utter classic" and more like Asimov, but it's more of a VERY 60s70s hippie (very sexy, very sexist) idea of SF. Which made it kinda interesting read as a period piece. Not that it's set in the 60s/70s but has very much of that era's ideas of what SF future would be (esp. RE free love) and I think that's why it must've been a phenomenon upon release. ( )

Interesting premise, but incredibly sexist (in a way that feels like it might've been progressive for its time, but still gross). It was also pretty handwavy with the magic system, and the Martians weren't really compelling in that we didn't really hear much about them. Mike was supposed to be doing things in a Martian way, but Martians were ungendered and most of his interactions were gendered so it wasn't really clear how Martians interact with one another. Also ignored was what physical form they took, how Mike survived on Mars, and several other issues that made the set up not really feel well thought through. The group marriage bit was interesting but portrayed creepily. ( )

Heinlein's rear view mirror of the culture as seen by the man from mars seemed so mind expanding to me in the 70's at the age of 15; now, at 55, the patronizing man-splaining can barely be endured, but I persisted because Michael Valentine Smith is a beautiful character, making angelic choices. ( )

A disappointment. I understand why it caused a stir upon publication, but I don't think it aged well.

Heilein's intent was by turns obvious and opaque. Maybe his quasi-religious/metaphysical themes seemed more original to readers of his day, but even allowing for that - all the other stuff - the paternalistic chauvinism borderline misogyny, the laser focus on sex (he get points for expressing both homophobia AND homoeroticism in one book, though,) the ideas about gender, the Americentrism,) not to mention the dated ideas about science, space, and the future - is distracting from his Big Message.

Even so, my biggest complaint is that the book was simply dull.

Perhaps I just do not grok it fully.


Big Spring, Texas
Libby Ebook - Nashville Library
June ( )

One of the classic sf novels, this impressed me when I read it long ago and is on my list to reread. ( )

Strong, sensitive story about a 'stranger' who comes to earth and finds how to live here.
I later learned that many fans of Heinlein did not like this novel, which helped me understand why I couldn't really get into any of the other books of his that I tried to read. ( )

The original version rocks, but don't waste your time on the unabridged version...it proves that the job of the editor is often monumental and under-appreciated.

Good sci-fi; as good as Dune, most PKD, Neuromancer, Asimov. Maybe a little stiffer than all those names besides Asimov but not to an annoying extent. Worth reading.

AB ( )

I'd give this book more stars if I could. A powerful sci-fi book that will never become outdated. Michael literally owns Mars but the real power of this book is the way it tackles religion and politics. You can't help but to come away from this book questioning your politics and religious foundations. You Grock? ( )

Read this as a teenager in the 70s, didn’t remember it very much. Read it again for my book club, now the big uncut version. Mostly didn’t love this book - don’t like his style of writing, and felt I was being lectured to. But some of the ideas were very creative. Seemed amazingly dated - maybe any SciiFi from the early 60s would be the same, I don’t know. ( )

I read most of this one. Pretty good. I grok it! ( )

A human born in Mars and raised by Martians travels to Earth. He trusts people he deems his "water brothers" to the point that he would commit suicide if they told him, he has superpowers like adjusting the way he perceives time, making anything disappear, etc.

The first part of the book gripped me and I found the lens through which the Valentine, the Martian, saw the world interesting and hilarious. However halfway through (65%), the adventure turned into a boring series of discussions about politics, religion and human relationships. ( )

did not like it. at some parts i thought it was sexist. also did not identify with the main character. ( )

It was required reading, along with George Osawa's "You are all Sanpaku" at Joe Sage's Macrobiotic Sound Current Ranch. A free-love, or open marriage commune in 1969. While I found the book interesting and in league with some of my own cherished ideals, my life at the time was far more of an adventure, distracting me from focusing much on the written page. Unfortunately, Joe was less of an altruistic loving Martian and more of a raging tyrant who spoiled our Eden. I've written about it in my book, "Spirit Quest 1969..." so check it out, more on that quest to follow.
While I'm more of a nonfiction fan, finding that true stories told from the heart are more exciting and revealing of our human situation, I'd recommend this sci-fi read to anyone. ( )

Good lord this is a tedious book! 4/5ths of it is pontification, through dialogue between characters, of (mostly) religion, politics, and sex/women.
The "discussion" of religion talks of the similarities of the scriptures through society and how polarizing and harmful they are to the psyche of mankind.
The politics (the least discussed) focuses on the presumed rights on group has on another.
The sex topic, of which fully half of the book focuses, is misogynistic - wrapped in an almost soft-porn discussion of how important it is for women to be attractive and attentive to men. All men. At any time or place. Here is a quote, spoken by a female character (Jill-Part 3, xxiv): "Nine times out of ten, if a girl gets raped, it's at least partly her own fault. That tenth time--well, all right. Give him your best heave-ho to the bottomless pit. But you aren't going to find it necessary." There are also may descriptions of how wonderful it is for a woman to display her nakedness before men because that is when she is at her fullest self worth. SMH I had forgotten how Heinlein depicts women.

The story itself is rather thin. Group sent to Mars to investigate and set up of colonization. Contact lost. Years later a 2nd group goes and discovers a human baby had been born and raised by Martians. Now a young man (early 20's?) is brought back to Earth. Government cover-up having to do with an huge wealth he has inherited from his parents; he is taken away from government custody by people who believe he has the right to be his own person. He learns very quickly due to psychic abilities curated through is life with Martians. Blah blah blah as he goes through "adventures" leaning about human life and society. Starts a "church" to spread learning of Mars among humans in order to bring true happiness and acceptance - this occurs mostly though orgies and the like. A lot of beautiful naked women being available to men.

Really disappointed in this book. What is strange is how I am sure I read it a couple of times in previous decades and I think I liked it. But what the heck. To each their own.

I do not recommend this book as a serious "science fiction" read. It is generally an almost-soft-porn depiction of how this author thinks life should be between men and the women who serve them. ( )

I remember next to zip about this except that it was very popular when I was a teenager - including w/ me - & that it introduced slang like "grok". I vaguely recall this being a sortof 'hippie' SF - maybe it was full of communes & orgies & suchlike. This is the last Heinlein I remember liking. I think he might've just deteriorated into writing more & more incest fantasies disguised as SF after this & losing alotof his SF edge. ( )

A classic any sci-fi fan should read. Super super story. ( )

"..affect him, if possible with pity and terror . . . or, if not, at least to divert the tedium of his hours with a chuckle or an odd idea."

I grok it but that doesn't mean i have to like it. So this started off as sci-fi, wanders into political satire, with that quick witty (somewhat sexist) dialogue of a Noir, before meandering towards a superhero story with utopian leanings.

I would never recommend this to anyone with an interest in sci-fi. Heinlein has the remarkable ability to take interesting sci-fi concepts and suck the fun out of them. His flying cars and aliens just arn't all that important to the story. Think of it like the 'Futurama' cartoon, science fiction is the aesthetic rather than the content, if you see what i mean. He paints in sci-fi but the picture becomes something else.

Anyway the writing here is pedestrian but not awful and the story is interesting but not exciting. My main physical complaint is that so many chapters involve people just sitting around talking. The conversations being fairly inane discussions of the human condition and taboos. The characters arn't too bad, you may notice some similarities between this and the film 'Charlie Wilson's War' :) .

However this is far more a case of personal taste than professional criticism. I didn't hate it, it did divert the 'tedium of some hours' but i may be removing the other two Heinlein books i had on my to-do list. ( )

Does This Classic Hold Up?

Certain things age well with time, sometimes even improve, and that includes many novels. Others, not so much, especially when polemics wear the cloak of science fiction. In the case of Stranger in a Strange Land, the overall themes challenging the mores of the time (and this time, too), that of critiquing societal sexual strictures (advocating free love), religious hucksterism (supporting secularism), disparaging money (through its cavalier use), and the aspiration of humankind for reaching its full potential, even perfection (with troublingly harsh methods), still resonate with many. In other words, it’s as much countercultural now as when it appeared in 1961; after all, there continues to be plenty to rebel against. The not so much parts, among them the slangy and long speeches (Jubal, the great speechifier), the palpable sexism, and the eugenic approach to a better humanity, still will offend many readers. And the added words (around 60,000 by third wife Virginia Heinlein’s reckoning) in the Uncut Edition only magnify these obstacles to enjoying the novel’s many agreeable yearnings.

Regardless of its weaknesses, the novel struck a cord in an America leaving the conformist 50s and on the cusp of major social revolution as the country crept into Vietnam and the countercultural revolution of the latter 60s. It became a New York Times bestseller, the first science fiction genre novel to earn a place on that list. And it assumed a place as a sort of bible to the discontented. This is what holds up in the novel nearly sixty years out from first publication. It calls into question what many regard as the glue binding society, conformity as imposed by organized religion and by government, suggesting that there may be better ways to live. Heinlein didn't dictate that ideas expressed in the book were the better way, just that they were bold enough to break the mold into which we found, and yet find, ourselves cast. Consider it the opposite of Dr. Pangloss’ regular refrain, this is the best of all possible worlds, a channeling of Leibniz’s Theodicy in a phrase and brunt of Voltaire’s sarcasm.

Now, if you have never read the novel and elect to do so, you might find the shorter original more enjoyable, even though reports say Heinlein preferred the original manuscript version (but then what author doesn’t love the sound of his own words). If you read it years ago when you were younger and remember it fondly, you, too, might like the original. But, if you are a Heinlein fan, you’ll want to read Stranger in a Strange Land as he wrote it. ( )

DNF'd on September 14, 2021, 314 pages into my 438-page copy. My book club was the only reason I made it as far into this as I did, and our discussion left me with zero interest in reading the last 124 pages. The sexism was annoying but bearable, up until Mike became a "man" and ran off with Jill, who seemed to have morphed into a completely different person. Also, I had to laugh that this author who was clearly trying so hard to write a world that broke every taboo still somehow couldn't envision homosexuality as natural and acceptable.

I seem to be hit-or-miss with Heinlein. I have read and enjoyed Starship Troopers and The Glory Road; however I couldn't finish Job: A Comedy of Justice and was not impressed with Stranger in a Strange Land (SISL) ... It is simply NOT good Science-Fiction (even if it is a fair piece of satire).

The book is divided into five (5) parts ...

Part One [His Maculate Origin] was a good Sci-Fi plot that I actually enjoyed ... the premise being that of a lost human boy raised by non-humans (in this case Martians) along the lines of Tarzan of the Apes and The Jungle Book (which is thought to have been his original inspiration for the story). Next to nothing is actually revealed about Valentine Michael (Mike) Smith's time with his adoptive people, but the story keeps humming along with a little political intrigue and mystery. Unfortunately the plot begins to sink after this until it practically disappears by the end. The koolest concept here has to be the 'Fair Witness' characters ... A very limited version of human machine proxies that could easily be the precursor to the better developed Mentats of the Dune saga.

Part Two [His Preposterous Heritage] introduces what is arguably the true main character in the story and Heinlein's alter ego, Jubal Harshaw, who proceeds to introduce 'Mike' to all the ills of human society. This wasn't all that bad a satire actually, even when Jubal waxes on the sermon a bit too much (it had the feel of watching re-runs of "Abbott and Costello', 'I Love Lucy' or 'The Dick Van Dyke Show.') Mike really takes a back seat here so that Jubal can pontificate at will, but the humor of it all was still mildly entertaining. Presumably Jubal's female secretaries provide the strong gender examples that Heinlein is noted for ... They are also incredibly shallow and boring (or as presented in one discussion thread ... They differ by a haircut). There is absolutely NO character development for anybody except Mike from here on out; and as far a Mikey is concerned, all of his character development happens all at once as he is 'wondrously converted from Tarzan/Mogli into the next Messiah of humanity. We also get two main plot items ... The term 'grok' which became a cult classic in the late 60's and the revelation that Mike has a super power to go with his naiveté that just about blows any plot discipline out of the water for the remainder of the story.

"Thou Art G-d" saith the Man from Mars ...

The rest is a complete Grokk.

Part Three [His Eccentric Education] was an attempt to develop Mike a little further so that he learns the 'art of the con' that is apparently required to make a go of any religion. Mike needs this, because he wants to harness such shams to 'trick' humans into accepting his rather dubious views on human society (which social change has now exposed as mildly sexist and homophobic).

Part Four [His Scandalous Career] Here is where Jubal comes back on stage in order whip the reader with guilt to make it easier to accept Heinlein's free love society. That is really all that you find here. We get such gems as: "I can at least see the beauty of Mike's attempt to devise an ideal human ethic and applaud his recognition that such a code must be founded on ideal sexual behavior ..." Really? Even if accepted as true, Heinlein completely FAILS to explore this concept other then to say that it is obviously good. To support his claim, he gives us a voyeuristic look into his 'Nest' (aka Harem) where such physical contact is open, natural and without jealousy BECAUSE everyone is an equally great looking sex god following the true path to happiness. The problem? We the reader get NO insight into how Mike's disciples change their thinking. They just do ... Possibly because they now see the inherent 'rightness' of the concept once it is properly explained to them (the only instance we get of that is between Jubal and Ben Caxton and that is left unresolved at the end of the encounter).

Part Five [His Happy Destiny] After such a stinging rebuke of Christianity (specifically) earlier in the story, it seems surprising the Heinlein would so blatantly force the 'Passion of Christ' upon his protagonist here; and with very little rationale other then some need to highlight one of his more hypocritical definitions of 'grok' that includes consuming the physical body of a person in order to truly know him. Add to this a complete moral bankrupcy where it is okay to cheat, steal and kill as needed and I do not see any appeal what so ever to Heinlein's proposed utopia. Sure ... I get the fact that the story is not supposed to be realistic (it is supposed to be satire) and that it was not intended to be a guide to a practical utopia, but that just doesn't save the later half of the story from being so preachy and simpleminded that it not only obscures the "important questions" about contemporary social mores (specifically sex and religion), it actually fails to entertain with its long-winded monologs defending the 'rightness' of the title character's views on the subjects. While Heinlein may not have intended to provide convenient answers to the questions he thought he was raising, that is in fact what he did, displaying a remarkable ignorance of basic human psychology that ultimately dooms his 'social commentary' to failure. ( )

I first read this back in high school, where it had a strong positive impression on me. Reading it again, I was primarily aware of the persistent, unpleasant chauvanistic paternalism of the main characters. The women are all gorgeous, smart, intuitive, witty -- and happily subordinate to the men in their lives. Blech!

Beyond that, the story of Michael Valentine Smith and his idealistic, Martian-influenced vision of what human beings are capable of in terms of both mental powers and staggeringly open hearts, continues to be intriguing.

I'm glad I re-read it, but it's no longer a favorite of mine. ( )

A Martian Named Smith. I'm very glad I obtained the "uncut" edition of this book, although when I did finish reading it, I found I was missing reading the book immensely. Hopefully Heinlein's other books will be as good. Futuristic, with brilliant discussions between characters. Apollonian and Dionysian (Nietzsche), Lobund Laboratory, and Armattoe are just a few of the references that spurred my interest. The news articles which appeared at the start of some chapters became more appealing as the book advanced, like reading the gossip columns to learn about a society's culture. Heinlein's explanation of the asteroid belt tickles me. The innocence of Mike ("I am only an egg"), his introduction to human life, his rise to leadership, and sacrifice all made the story wonderful. I grok Mr Smith has discorporated, but sorry the story had to end. ( )

Having loved Starship Troopers (the movie), this one was always only my list to read. The story, thought of by Heinleins Wife, is simple -- take The Jungle Book, but make the man from Mars. The story went in unexpected places -- to politics, metaphysics, sex and commune lifestyles. I see why this one was such a big hit in the 60s. ( )