Friday

Awesome, entertaining, fun, exciting. A strong female lead probably before authors wrote female leads but Heinlein might have feminine issues. lol Lazarus Long.

Heinlein is called the "Grand Master of Science Fiction" for a reason. This book was foundational to my appreciation for the genre.

It's a good read, and probably representative of Heinlein's later, well-rehearsed voice. His polyamorous families are very much in play in virtually any family gathering set of episodes, and trigger alert: there is a rape scene at the beginning.

The basic premise is that Friday is an Advanced Person whose status in society is below that of "real" people. She is physically indistinguishable from a human female, including having Cherokee features. One thing that impressed me about Heinlein is that in her EnnZed family (New Zealand in this book), Heinlein confronts the endemic racism of the white family when a daughter marries a Tongan. As in Africa. They are not averse to Friday's AmerIndian bloodlines, nor are they averse to the Maori peoples; their rationale is that both groups are "first peoples." But for their daughter to marry a Tongan! She is instantly disowned. Friday risks it all, and loses, when she demonstrates her AP self.

The space flight and transportation makes my head hurt, and the continued sexcapades with all of the people she picks up are a bit much. But Friday does struggle with acceptance into humanity and her story is reasonably well told.

Typical fun Heinlein. If you like Heinlein at his adult best then here it is. I frequently wondered where the plot went but it stayed interesting to the end.

"Friday" is typical of some of Heinlein's style used in some of his not so successful books. Heinlein certainly likes his archetypes, as he should. Jubal Harshaw in “Stranger in a Strange Land,” for example, is just another Boss, a mysterious ultra-rich, cynical genius and Mike is the super-powered innocent growing into his own. I appreciate the feelings more when they are mixed with cunning. Friday was extremely intelligent, but her thoughts, while calculated, were contrived. Her mind had the same feel as the rest of her "just-in-time" powers, which is exactly what deadened her internal conflict for me. Her flip-flops between acting like an alien observer to silly humans, and like a human longing to fit in. So, she's a lot like nerds in 80s sitcoms. The problem was her emotional disconnect as an observer is so pronounced that she basically stops appearing human for small pockets of time. When she was raped early in the story, she was able to brush it off with (again, convenient) "mind control" techniques. She didn't walk away from the situation traumatized; although she did have a nearly-murderous grudge.

My point is that even Friday's psychological state is ultimately indestructible, which hurt the only real conflict that seemed to matter in the story. Even the alien mindset thing can be done well if it has an impact on other characters (Dr. Manhattan is a good example again, with whether he's too alienated to care if humanity ends being a big question throughout). I guess Heinlein had to be aware that the character is indestructible to do anything interesting with them; if they're constantly trying to fake the audience out with the character not really being indestructible, they might not even realize what kind of character they've written themselves.

What supports my point of view, by the way, is that in the end, Friday finds "home" but notice that her tension is actually unresolved, because her locus of emotional control is still exterior, rather than one of self-acceptance and "self-belonging." She depends on others for kittens and cuddles, much as she relied on Boss all the way though. She presents the image of a strong, independent woman, but never quite embodies it, despite being in God Mode.

One of Heinlein's later novels, written about 5 years before his death. Its one of my first (perhaps the first) science fiction books I've read. It tells the story of Friday, an enhance clone living in a world of corporate states and laws and societal prejudices against her. She is a courier that starts the novel stranded across the border and tries to get back to her company. Like some of the other Heinlein's I've reread in the past, my memory of the first reading is a little bit better than this time, but its still a favorite. 8/10

In een verre toekomst wordt de Amerikaanse samenleving uit elkaar gerukt door revoluties. 'Vrijdag' is een typische Heinlein-heldin: ze is jong, mooi en intelligent, maar ook vlugger en dodelijker dan de meeste mensen, want ze is een kunstmatig geschapen persoon. Ze is geheim-agente voor een mysterieuze vereniging, geleid door De Baas, die haar volledig manipuleert. Het boek is een aktieroman: als haar afdeling uitgeroeid wordt, probeert Vrijdag te overleven. Er worden heel wat facetten van deze toekomst-maatschappij belicht: de comsumptiemaaatschappij, het leger en het regeringsbeleid worden gehekeld. Heinleins stokpaardjes komen tevoorschijn: multi-sexuele rollen, het pioniersinstinct en het overleven van 'de best geschikte', wat allemaal leidt tot de uiteindelijke ontdekking van Vrijdags lotsbestemming. Een degelijke plot soms wat verward, satire en kritiek leuke ideeen en veel aktie. Heinleins beste boek sinds jaren.

Hmm. First read this book when it was originally published, a bit over half my life ago. I think I liked it better then. It shares some characters with Gulf, which I need to reread as well.

The story's OK, though it's really just a string of events.

I'm still reading this. Plot is the usual Heinlein mish-mash of technology (some out of date now, some on the verge, some yet to come), plus assorted sex (mentioned but w/o details), but some of the political insights are frighteningly pertinent to out current situation.

All of the things that make vintage Heinlein cringe-worthy without the benefit-of-doubt of having been written in the fifties. Kind of a fun story, but gets tedious at times, and needs a deus ex machina or two to rescue the main character.

I read this book a long time ago so I don't remember too much about it. From the inside cover: Friday is her name...She is as thoroughly resourceful as she is strikingly beautiful. She is one of the best interplanetary agents in the business. And she is anArtifical Person...the ultimate glory of genetic engineering.

I remember I liked the premise of a female action figure and it seems to me that Winnipeg even gets mentioned in it (not the only time this happens in his books. I wonder what the connection was?)

A fantastic sci-fi story with several twists and turns I wasn't expecting. I enjoyed the exploration of relationships and communication, even if Heinlein's goal wasn't actually to show how these things were plausible.

A fast-paced sort of action/suspense/spy novel about Friday, a trained and enhanced courier for an interplanetary agency, a product of genetic engineering. Friday has a polyamorous family unit apart from her dangerous and lucrative career, but when they learn that she is an A.P. (artificial person), they reject her summarily, and she barely makes her way back to the safety of her agency when the various Western Hemisphere independent states break an uneasy truce. When her Boss dies and the agency is broken down to be sold piecemeal, Friday embarks on the Great Tour of mankind's colonies in other star systems (as a paid agent -- the only way she can afford to leave Earth), and finds that she has been a dupe in a scheme that can only result in her death.

Heinlein has written better novels, but this is thoroughly enjoyable, and Friday, with above-human strength, speed and intelligence, is a likable and sympathetic character who persistently underestimates her own worth as a result of human bigotry and ignorance.

I enjoyed the book a lot more than I expected to though it is flawed in places. There are almost too many plot threads making for a chaotic first half of the book. Heinlein used a very chit-chatty voice for telling the story of Friday's quest for a family and sometimes it works and a lot of time it doesn't. I did like the near future world he describes where the major countries have fallen apart into smaller feudal countries: such as California, Texas, Chicago, British Canada, and so on. The second round of revolutions though becomes too much of a distraction.

I monstly liked this book. The elements I liked, I liked a lot: a strong heroine with amazing abilities, what's not to love? Interesting living arrangements and technology.

What I didn't like:
- the way a rapist becomes a lover in the end
- how Friday, like aaaaaall women, ends up wanting to be a mother.
But then, it's Heinlein. He's not known for his feminist views. Viewed as an adventure novel, it's pretty much fine.

Nothing to see here folks, move on... move on... Heinlein has done all this before, and better. The only new thing here is his affection for cats. Perhaps he'd mentioned it before somewhere, but quite possibly I'd never noticed it in those earlier books because they were full of distracting things such as engaging plots, original characters and interesting scenarios. If you'd set out to read everything Heinlein had ever written you'd be very satisfied with this book, and particularly happy that you had finished it. Not recommended otherwise, especially if you had a mind to preserve your good opinion of Heinlein based upon your reading of his earlier work.

There, Jayme, you want embarrassing admissions? I read this book like ten times in high school.

For the dirty parts, obviously, which were pretty much all of them.

Once again, a testament to our ability to grow up more or less normal even despite the weird shit we were exposed to during puberty. This lady's nipple totally gets sawed off.

Heinlein's classic tale of a combat courier and her adventures is no less thrilling upon multiple readings. The political and social implications of his futuristic society are well-thought out and bear the unmistakable Heinlein stamp. If you're a fan of his other works, you'll like this one. If your morals are conservative and your politics are anything other than libertarian, you probably won't like it.

Typical Heinlein fare, with his particular mix of liberal (social issues) and conservative (governance) attitudes and his style in full force. A fun, feisty heroine with a strong voice (if one not wildly distinctive from other Heinlein protagonists), a rotating cast of friendly supporting characters, convincing world-building, some social commentary (prejudice is illogical, unpleasant, rude, and dumb), and enough goings on to distract one from the fact that somehow while there is a lot of movement, there isn't much of a plot. Fun and absorbing, if not one of his most bestest. If you like Heinlein, you'll like this.

She is trained in physical combat and weaponry, incredibly strong, fast, and determined never to fail at her job as a combat courier. She is also sexy, loving, and beautiful (though she'd argue the latter). Her name is Friday...and she's an artificial woman. Simply put, Friday was created in a lab. Thus, while her appearance is completely human, she doesn't fully grasp human emotions, reactions, and customs.

Our story begins with Friday returning from a secret courier mission assigned by her employer, known only to her as "Boss" (until about 3/4 into the story, but no spoilers). However, she is betrayed by one of their own, captured, tortured, and gang-raped until she is rescued by operatives.

However, Friday doesn't appear to sustain much, if any, emotional damage from the experience. She is enraged, but not distraught, nor does she seem to suffer the deep trauma and shame that most rape victims experience. I'm not sure if this was due to her training and conditioning or if Heinlein merely downplayed that to keep the story moving.

Friday is almost immediately ready to get back to work but Boss insists that she take downtime. The next several chapters of the book follow Friday as she takes a vacation and ends up signing on to join an extended family in New Zealand. However, when they learn that she is artificial, the head of the family turns on her and breaks Friday's contract.

From there, Friday tries to return to Boss back in California but is sidetracked by terrorist attacks and petty wars between nations. While traveling through Canada, she finds herself taken in by a semi-ballistic ship captain named Ian. He brings her home and introduces her to his wife, a fiercly strong-willed woman named Janet, and her other husband, Georges. Instantly, Friday bonds with Janet, with whom she nearly makes love. She also bonds with Ian and Georges, with whom she does make love.

As the acts of terrorism force states and nations to close borders, Friday finds it ever challenging to return to HQ, taking on many identities, jobs, friends, lovers, and a few near-fatal adventures along the way. When she finally reaches Boss again, in a completely new secret HQ, he takes her off courier duty and places her in academic study, which is disrupted by events outside her control.

Friday then finds herself out of work, but not out of options. She takes one last courier job off-world, one that changes her life drastically and forever.

In the mind-boggling, incredibly detailed world that Heinlein lays out for us, sex comes free and easy. I lost count of how many lovers (men or women) that Friday slept with through the course of the story. However, Heinlein's writing is never pornographic, never erotic. It is merely suggestive and, at times, comedic.

National boundaries no longer exist as we know them. Many of the states are now sovereign countries as are the provinces and territories in Canada. New Zealand and British Canada are the best nations on Earth though society at large is in decay. There may even be another pandemic plague on the horizon. Polygamy and homosexuality are common and as accepted as the green of grass and the blue of sky. Artifical persons, however, not so much.

Families are managed more like corporations, their foundations seemingly driven by finance first, love second. Heinlein is known for presenting ingenious social commentary in his stories and that is prevalent in Friday. Although the term "internet" is never used explicitly, the information and communication technologies described in the story are prescient.

Overall, Friday is an engaging read, drawing you into a society that, to be honest, may not be too far in our own future.

This was a bit of a different book for Heinlein, but I enjoyed it. It is also one of his later books, maybe that had something to do with the differences. It is a bit of a takeoff on the Robert Louis Stevenson character of 'Friday'.

My favorite of all the Heinlein books I have read, which is saying a lot.

For me, it is the characters that make this such a special book. It's one of only two Heinlein books that I have in my bookcase.

Men authors should not write from the viewpoint of a oman. Heinlein has just shown as in this tome why this is so. I doublt many women are as horny and sex crazy as Friday, nor can i understand how i klept going. several times I lay the book down and gasped a sigh of relief. I struggled through it, however, and guarantee you it has slowed me down in pursuing another heinlein book for awhile. Turgid, messy, and without depth, this is below the quality i remember in "Stranger."

This is Heinlein at his worst. The protagonist is an artificially made person who works for an organization that has her as a courier. She thinks of herself as subhuman, and in many parts of the world she would be regarded as such if she were recognized as one. As usual, she is really super-human. As usual, there is a benevolent, god-like father figure to whom she relates and, as usual, when her world blows up, she finds, after trials and tribulations, "family" that accepts her. There is a large focus on sexuality and various methods of family organization, and a rape scene. What happens between her and the rapist later in the book is what makes this a one-star for me.

This is Heinlein that I am reluctant to recommend because he indulges in his delight in encouraging free sex to an extreme. There are also rape and torture scenes. Nothing too strong for an adult, but I would not had this one to a teenager.

I read this back in Junior HIgh when I was first discovering science fiction and was well into my Heinlein phase of this.

At the time I enjoyed it, and I still do enjoy parts of it, but even back then I had problems with the sex and how the characters main identity seemed to be her sexuality and conforming to what others (more often men than women) wanted from her in regards to sex. She was supposed to be this tough, independent superwoman and in the end it all came down to her willingness to sleep with anyone at any time.
And the less said about the rape the better, as I got older and began to understand more, I lost all respect for Heinlien as a person for that scene, and it's colored everything else I've read by him since.

As much as I enjoyed it at the time, I can't give it a good rating based on the handling of the rape and his warped views on women and independence as a whole

An enjoyable read. Representative of Heilein's latter works. Lots of mentions of Australia and New Zealand.

I really enjoyed the first and last part of this book--where we follow Friday on her courier missions. The sexuality was a big turn-off for me. I got my fill of "polyamorous social group structures" in "Brave New World". Unlike Heinlein, I don't look at sex as "the greatest thing ever", in fact, far from it in my opinion. Even though Heinlein does not go into any detail with the sexual situations of Friday between men, women, groups of men and women, APs, etc... I find myself slightly sickened by what is mentioned and I did vomit a little at the ending. I went in well knowing of Heinlein's sexuality, and his style, so I'll shut up. I could not help but think through it all that this is where Rare got their "Perfect Dark". I love that 64 game! Heinlein really did make me hate Friday's "S Family". One huge disappointment was that Friday did not get the money back the family swindled from her and Anita (#1 antagonist) did not get what was coming to her. I enjoyed the diagrams of Lupus and Centaurus and the technical explanations of the hyperspaceship's planned course! Boss would be proud. I'd kill for Janet's hideaway! I must say the most sexually deviant person in the book is Betty--what a slitch!

Run of the mill Heinlein book--strong female character--adventure. Not my favorite of his books, but I enjoyed it anyways.

Heinlein was gifted in being able to comment on current social issues without being obvious about it. Friday is an artificial person and a top secret currier. But, the very world she fights for doesn't recognize her rights as a living being. Fantastic futuristic story that subtley chastises prejudice against those that are different. Though not as good as "Stranger in a Strange Land," still a five star read.