Time for the Stars

Probably was one of my least favorite in Heinlein's "Scribner's Juniors" "series". Like the others it's really a stand-alone story amongst a series of similar tales. (Young adults leading scientific adventures).

This one is about two teenage twin boys finishing school and invited to a symposium by the "long range foundation" a private non-profit company that can focus on funding endeavors that don't have to make investors happy with quick returns, nor be at the will of fickel politicians, they can work on projects that will be years, decades or centuries before a return, if any occurs.

The project the LRF is now working on is to deal with the overpopulation of the planet. The 1954 written book is very concerned that in the future (maybe 200 years from now?) the world population is unsustainable with **over 4.5 billion people** (never mind that 75 years from when ti was written we are doing just find with 8 billion).

In order to explore what planets beyond or solar system may be suitable for habitation they need to find a way to communicate back to earth that is faster than the near light speeds of the ships. Ta-da the proof of telepathy that distance cannot substitute, primarily available between identical twins.

A little far-fetched but certainly interesting. I appreciate how Heinlein brings about theoretical ideas including those like over taxing large families etc.

Some of the story is pretty unbelievable though, like giant sea monster attacks in space, that could have been prevented with encoded messages from light years away being approved to be sent 2 days earlier.

The ending was anticlimactic to say the least, but all and all I still liked it.

A juvenile sci-fi that has weathered the change in technology well. The storyline is based on quantum ideas without ever using that term. The events of the story and characterization are totally consistent with a youth ready to take wing. The end was believable but a bit of a let down. That is why I didn't give it 5 stars.

I think of all of the classic science fiction writers, Heinlein wears the biases of his time on his sleeve more than anyone else. In most of his books, there's always some passages that make me cringe a little bit but that doesn't stop the story from being awesome.

I love the setup for this story and the follow-through. What a great way to approach both telepathic abilities and FTL travel. This is a great adventure story that does a great job at having a lot of the action occur off the page, without seeming anticlimactic.

Overall, an excellent book that doesn't suffer from Heinlein's usual problems with endings (although some might not be happy with it). While it might be considered a juvenile, it's probably better suited to teenagers given some of the things that happen in the novel.

The book is the journal of a boy who has a telepathic link to his twin brother. He and a number of other telepaths (who can only telepathically talk to specific people, usually their twin) are signed on a spaceship as "special communicators" since their telepathy ignores the speed of light. The book makes good use of the "twin paradox" in which the one who stays home ages while the other is still young. This plays a significant part in the book. One could argue that this book was written to explore that idea further.

It's mentioned early in the book that the odds of surviving are low and so one can definitely expect that characters are going to die at times in the book. It is for this reason that I'd avoid sharing this book with younger readers. There are definitely traumatic moments, so I'd say it's roughly for teenagers and maybe slightly younger (10-12).

Thoroughly enjoyable older SciFi story that omits technology details that would have dated it. Think I might keep this one for a reread.

This was a Heinlein young adult novel I hadn't read before, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, it definitely showed its age in places, including gender relations. However, I remind myself the social mores are on a pendulum and who knows what the future will hold.

I loved the idea that telepathy affected how physics worked. I also liked seeing how the main character matured during the course of his adventures. While the ending gave me a bit of a twinge, I did the math and decided it wasn't so bad after all.

I'm not sure I would suggest this for young people today as they don't have the historical/cultural background. I would strongly suggest this for adult science fiction readers who don't mind a young protagonist.

Good, but still quite sexist. Marching on through the 1950s...

The science doesn't seem terribly dated. The pseudo-science is fun, as is the adventure. The politics are minimal; the sexism is horrible but clearly not malicious. I can't recommend it - but if you want to read it or remember it fondly, I support you.

This novella was obviously geared toward juvenile readers, and is dated now in so many ways - but it is a fun read nonetheless.

Tom and Pat Bartlett are (illegal) bratty identical twins on an overcrowded Earth of the future. When testing reveals psychic abillities, they are hired for a space exploration program which utilizes their special talent to allow simultaneous communication between space craft and Earth. Tom travels through space at near light speed, having many adventures; meanwhile Pat remains on Earth and grows old as the decades pass.

I read this book as a teenager and have always remembered it. Something about the use of twins and telepathy appealed to me. I didn't remember its name or author though but with the wonders of Google now I was easily able to identify it. Luckily my public library has a copy. And I really enjoyed rereading it. It's still a really good story although I'd completely forgotten the end where technology has overtaken the explorers.
And I was completely astonished by the short section in the middle where the psychology of what the unconscious mind can do if it doesn't want something is discussed between the psychologist and one twin. Incredibly apt for my life at the moment.

I am simply going to use what is on the front cover: "One of those superb Heinlein stories which have excitement, urbanity, humanity, rationality, pace, understanding, and which are a joy to read." NYT

Time for the Stars by Robert Heinlein is a story about twins, telepathy, and space travel. The LRF, Long Range Foundation, decided to send several ships into space at just under the speed of light. Twins were used for communication; one twin was on the ship, the other stayed on Earth to relay information back to the Foundation telepathically. The objective: Explore space to find Earth-like planets for later colonization. The downside: the twin who stayed on Earth would age 3 times faster than the twin in space.

Re-reading old Heinlein stories has made me remember why I fell in love with science fiction in the first place. The old timers were masters at the short story. Reading Time for the Stars, which is less than 200 pages, is like reading a much longer novel. The character development is outstanding and the story line had me hooked within the first 10-20 pages.

I would highly recommend anyone of any age to read this story. What you must keep in mind is the time period in which it was written as there are quite a few macho-isms.

This seemed a little dated even for a Heinlein "juvenile" from 1956. It may have been somewhat intentional on the author's part, or not. It just doesn't seem to have held up as well as some of Heinlein's other books from this time. It is set sometime in the future when we have developed interstellar space travel, but society and roles seem very 1956. Still, there's a bit of charm to these older early Heinlein tales. The story idea has some interest, exploring the time dilation effects that result from a near light-speed ship that leaves earth, and life on a ship. The entire story is built off of the idea (preposterous to me) that many sets of twins are telepathic, and telepathy obeys no laws of physics so that faster than light communication is possible between sets of twins. Twins, thus, can talk across the universe, instantaneously. So one twin heads out into space and one stays home as the radio receiver, or they are paired between ships, so that the peeps back home know where habitable planets are discovered by the spacefarers. It was quite readable though, and improved quite a bit from what I thought was a weak beginning. As the story went along I got a lot more interested, and I liked the ending even if it seemed a little rushed in the wrap-up. I don't think this is spoilery since these ideas are laid out in the first 30 or so pages of the book.

Time for the Stars was written by Robert Heinlein for juvenile readers in the 1956. However, it has continued to remain in print for over 50 years and it is certainly being enjoyed by adults. This reader was totally captivated by its very interesting premise, and by Heinlein’s excellent writing and story-telling skills. The tale takes place in the future when Earthlings had traveled beyond our solar system attempting to find “Sol-type solar systems” with “Earth-type planets” suitable for colonizing to relieve Earth’s desperate overpopulation problem. Large space ships (torch ships) that accelerate gradually to extreme (but sub-light) velocities carry a large crew on these long journeys. Radio communication between these space ships and Earth is impossible because radio waves travel too slowly. However, a unique program to use telepathic twins, who can communicate with each other instantaneously at any distance, was adopted to solve the communications problem. Several pairs of twins were used by each ship to ensure a continuous communication link with Earth. One twin from each pair would stay on Earth, while the other twin from each pair would serve on the space ship. The telepathic pairs would transmit any and all necessary information between the ships and Earth. Of course space exploration is concomitant with difficulties, consequences and dangers. The journeys last for many years, but due to the relativity effects resulting from the extreme travel velocities of the torch ships members of the crew age more slowly than people age on Earth. Therefore, the twins on board the featured ship in this story age about 4 years during their journey, while their siblings on Earth age about 70 years. Exploring the potentially habitable planets also proves dangerous because of toxic environments or dangerous inhabitants. The book initially focuses on one pair of twins, who have just graduated from high school. Then the story follows the twin that is chosen for the voyage, and the reader is treated to his amazing adventure through space and several solar systems. Eventually, the brother who stays at home grows old and feeble, and maintaining their link becomes difficult. Heinlein gives the reader a feel for life on ship and the environments of the planets that are explored. He also does a nice job with the science of the ship and space travel, without overburdening the reader. Yes, the details sometimes pull the reader back in time, such as the mention of microfilm for records, which certainly would not be used in this future time frame. However, it is should be no surprise that Heinlein presents a very interesting and very satisfying story for the reader. I recommend this novel to anyone who likes science fiction. Hey, we should all read these classic gems.

This is one of Heinlein's "juveniles"--that is marketed towards teens, and published in 1956. So yes, it's dated in several respects, but still enjoyable. The premise is that the "Long Range Foundation" is trying to expand from an overcrowded earth to the stars, but without Faster-Than-Light (FTL) travel, communication is a challenge. Fortunately it's found that some humans, especially twin pairs are telepathic. So while Pat Barlett stays on earth, his twin Tom is on one of the starships traveling to the stars. But given relativistic physics, for every year that Tom spends on the ship, Pat is aging decades on Earth. Much of science fiction depends on positing FTL travel because it doesn't want to deal with the consequences of Einstein's theory. Those that do however often make for thought-provoking poignant stories. For instance, Joe Haldeman's Forever War. I wouldn't put this book on that level--or for that matter do I think it matches Heinlein's best books such as Starship Troopers or The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. But worth reading if you're a science fiction fan? Absolutely!

Lots of stars for when I loved it as a child, not so many on re-reading. Interesting view of how the future was envisioned in 1956 -- Heinlein envisioned an overpopulation crisis in which the world struggled to cope with a population of 5 billion!

An excellent read both for young adults and adults alike! Heinlein's idea of twin telepathy becoming the be-all and end-all of interstellar communication was fascinating and thought-provoking. The catch? One twin stays on earth and grows old, the other doesn't seem to age at all. I can't help wondering if I were in this situation if I would want to stay on Earth, living in the lap of luxury, or go off to sample a universe-worth of adventure, only to return to find that almost everything and everyone that I knew is gone...

A bittersweet tale of interstellar travel that gets caught by scientific progression. Built for a time when speed of light with communication by telepath is state of the art, by the time the ship is too crippled to go on virtually instantaneous interstellar travel is possible. The survivors arrive home to be viewed as quaint anachronisms of a primitive time. Well written, this one is a real page turner, although it suffers from the "quick wrap up" that is featured in so many other Heinlein books -- 200 pages of set up and 5 pages of conclusion somehow feels a bit unbalanced. All in all, worth the read. I did not want to put it down.

Heinlein manages to weave a number of strong points together in this novel- the science part of this book is interesting, but not overbearing. The storytelling is top-flight, and manages to weave various intriguing ideas together. Like Ender's Game, Time for the Stars manages to provoke interesting ideas about social interaction without sublimating the plot.