Space Cadet by Robert A. Heinlein | Book Review

★★★★

4 Stars | Young Adult | Fiction | Science Fiction | Adventure

Military Training in Space

This novel follows the journey of four young adults, though mainly focuses on one, as they train to be cadets of the Patrol in the year 2075. Though this was not a fast paced read, I found it quite fascinating. The author describes many things in detail to help the reader envision what these cadets go through to become a commissioned officer in the Patrol. Some parts even reminded me of the military entrance processing stations (MEPS) and basic training. It was a nice reminder of those days. I also enjoyed the lack of artificial gravity in the story, so we got to see how the cadets dealt with traversing their training facility while floating. 

There was only one small thing that threw me off when I read, the author’s inconsistency when using military time. In one instance he would say ‘fourteen thirty,’ which is correct usage, but then in another section he would say ‘twenty-one o’clock,’ which isn’t correct. There were also a couple small mechanical mistakes that I saw while reading, ‘face’ instead of ‘fate’ and ‘scientifcially’ instead of ‘scientifically’ but nothing worth the removal of a star since not every mistake can be caught. 

The only reason I removed a star was I personally didn’t connect with the characters emotionally on any level. Yes, a couple remarks made me chuckle, but I wasn’t so enthralled that I couldn’t put the book down. It was only a 221-page story that I should’ve easily finished in 2 days, 3 max, but I didn’t. It was slow going even though I liked what I read. 

Even though this one didn’t grab me emotionally, I look forward to reading another book by him that I already own, Stranger in a Strange Land, as well as one I have on my list to get in the future, Starship Troopers (yes, the one the movie was made from), to see if they will. 

I could read this book again and it will stay in my personal library for my children to explore in a few years as well. ​

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