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- For other uses of the term see: Red Planet (disambiguation)
Red Planet (1949) by Robert A. Heinlein, is his fifth novel, and like many of his early works, is ostensibly for young adults, but remains readable and interesting for grownups. The book is set on a Mars that's rather like Edgar Rice Burroughs's Barsoom, with canals, hardy vegetation, and an ancient Martian civilization. Humans have established two main colonies, North Colony and South Colony, and they migrate between them, following the Martian summer.
Spoiler Warning: Plot details and/or information about the ending follow. If you wish to enjoy the work first, stop reading here and return at another time.
Jim and Frank, both teenagers and good friends, are going away to boarding school for the first time. Jim insists on bringing along his pet bouncer, Willis. Willis is a native of Mars, sort of a furry volleyball with the amazing ability to reproduce any sound he hears, including entire conversations. At the school, Jim soon runs afoul of the headmaster, Mr. Howe, who confiscates Willis, intending to sell him to the London Zoo. After Jim and Frank rescue Willis, the bouncer replays a conversation that reveals that Howe is in league with the colonial administrator, and that they plan to prevent the migration from happening in order to save money, even though this will create great hardship for the colonists. Jim and Frank escape the school and set out across the dangerous Martian landscape in order to get the word out. Along they way, they meet several Martians, learn some handy survival skills from Willis, and fight some deadly fauna. These are some of the most enjoyable passages, as the two young men ice-skate down the frozen canals, have adventures, and see wonders.
The last third of the book concerns the colonists' attempt to force the migration issue, a conflict that escalates into outright revolution. Heinlein uses the action to examine themes of independence from strong government and the rights of individuals to determine their own lives—themes that he visits in many of his novels, especially Farnham's Freehold (1965) and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966). The latter is another story of revolution, set on Earth's moon.
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