Grab Your Edition Двойна звезда Assembled By Robert A. Heinlein Presented As Interactive EBook
Of the Heinlein novels I have read, this one is my second favorite after sitelinkThe Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.
I have always been a fan of the "idea" portions of Heinlein's stories but sometimes have found the actual plots a bit dry.
Not so with this one which I really liked from both an idea and plot perspective,
In brief, the story revolves around a talented, but unemploted, actor named Lawrence Smith recruited to portray a popular politician after he has been kidnapped by political rivals.
I really like both Smith and politician he impersonates named John Joseph Bonforte, Both characters come across as true heroes in the classic sence of the word, This plot dealt quite a bit with politics which I really enjoyed as well maintaining excellent pacing and tension throughout.
I also thought the very last line of the book was classic, Highly Recommended!!
Winner: Hugo Award Best Science Fiction Novel, Brian Aldiss, in Trillion Year Spree, says this is Heinlein's most enjoyable novel, Who am I to fault his judgment It is, indeed, a lot of fun: pathetic, failed actor Laurence Smith stage name, "Lorenzo Smythe" is hired to impersonate John Joseph Bonforte, leader of the Expansionist party, and the Solar System's most important politician.
Bonforte has been kidnapped, and for complicated reasons there is an appointment he must attend no excuse will be acceptable if he fails to turn up on time.
So Smythe is drafted in, proceeds to learn Bonforte's mannerisms and background story, and starts his unusual new job.
The first public appearance goes fine, and no one suspects a thing, Then he has to do another one, and then yet another, Pretty soon he's living Bonforte's life for him, I don't want to give away too much of a fun plot, but the basic message is that politicians, even good ones like Bonforte, are fakes.
Any halfway competent actor with a few weeks of prep time could step into their shoes, and they would do just as well.
I think Heinlein was unusually prescient here, When he wrote it, remember that there was no Reagan or Schwarzenegger, And even now, the book has some punch left, Politics is less and less about ideas, more and more about appearances you need a good script, and the ability to project your character in a convincing way.
For a couple of weeks in, it looked like Sarah Palin had a decent shot at becoming Vice President and maybe, later, President, largely on the strength of her "hockey mom" persona.
It now seems that that was largely a construct, but I believed it at the time, even though I didn't like it.
In England, it appears that we're going to get David Cameron as our next Prime Minister, He's a Conservative, and he's campaigning on a platform of helping the poor and the environment it's difficult to believe it's any more honest than Dubya's "compassionate conservatism".
But that's not the important thing, He interprets the role imaginatively, and he looks convincing if this were the Oscars, I'd be tipping him for a statuette, and most voters are viewing the election in pretty much that way.
Heinlein had a point.
update:
Still for me one of Heinlein best novels!
Me ha gustado mucho Estrella Doble, la he disfrutado con la misma intensidad con la que disfruté de las otras obras de Heinlein que he leído hasta ahora.
La novela recibió el premio Hugo en,
Lorenzo "El Gran Lorenzo" Smythe, un actor desempleado, es contratado para representar al líder político del Partido Expansionista: John Joseph Bonforte, querido y odiado por muchos en el Sistema Solar.
Como doble de Bonforte, Lorenzo tendrá que estudiar todo sobre él y presentarse en eventos de gran importancia para defender los ideales del partido y luchar contra la oposición.
Una ceremonia en Marte, una Asamblea en la Capital Imperial la Luna, naves espaciales y todo lo que se puede esperar del gran maestro Heinlein.
La vida te puede llevar por caminos inesperados, no Creo que esta novela es un claro ejemplo de ello.
O lectura facilă și amuzantă, Stea dublă este povestea lui Lawrence Smith, un actor șomer care acceptă să joace rolul unei mari personalități politice timp de câteva zile și se trezește fără voia sa în miezul unei întregi conspirații oculte.
. .
Cu toate că nu este o capodoperă a originalității sau a răsturnărilor de situație, cartea asta mia plăcut destul de mult datorită stilului ironic și personalității personajului principal folosirea persoanei întâi și felul în care Smith Smith cel îngâmfat îmi vine în minte când mă gândesc la el își plânge uneori de milă, modul hotărât în care declamă că nu va mai continua șarada ca apoi să se lase înduplecat toate acestea îți creează senzația unei complicități și te fac sa îți dorești un final fericit al întregii situații.
Printre ideile interesante: egalitatea dintre rase umane și nonumane în acest caz, importanța menținerii imaginii politice publice în detrimentul esenței și implicațiile pe care le are abordarea unui rol pentru fiecare actor.
Lumea acceptă o anumită cantitate de reformă, după care se mai odihnește, Dar reforma rămâne, Lumea nu vrea cu adevărat schimbare, nici un fel de schimbare iar xenofobia are rădăcini adânci.
Dar progresăm, dacă trebuie dacă vrem să ajungem la stele,
Before I begin, I'd like to thank you all for choosing to read this review today, It is you who actively participate in the Goodreads community that are the pulsating heart of this great country,.
Insert your country name here, Without your efforts, intellectual life everywhere would be sure to stagnate, This has always been my position, and I am a man with firm convictions, never changing my mind about anything.
Just yesterday, a young, impoverished child asked me how I was going to help improve this country if I am elected Czar.
And I said checks notes on palm lower taxes by wagging warwagging war Oh, uh, sorryWAGING war, . . on evil countries full of terrorists, I also prioritize putting children first, and also putting the environment and our future first,
It is my pleasure to discuss Double Star this afternoon, Double Star is a terrific book of mine, and I've known it for several weeks, Honestly, I can only say nice things about it, Having won the Hugo in, . . some year it is a book with the greatest of accolades to its name,
It's the story of an actor asked to play the most challenging and dangerous role of his life: representing a politician during a ceremony that, if it isn't conducted exactly right, could mean death.
But after the ceremony, the politician isn't yet ready to return to his duties, and the actor is hired for another job.
Witty and fastpaced, Double Star is very fun, and I can't honestly say whether I liked this or Starship Troopers better.
Yes, I can. I liked this one better because at the end of the day, the message here was, "Politicians can be replaced by decent actors without anyone noticing," whereas the message in Starship Troopers was "Woo Haa! Go team!" While I give full credit to those willing to serve in the armed forces of , and I'm aware that they are the pulsating heart of this great country, and without them, nobody would protect our borders from those dangerous terrorists and immigrants, I relate more with the former message.
It is truly a shame that so many of our representatives seem to simply say what they think people want to hear, but unfortunately, some people are stupid enough that they can get away with it.
Not you people, though, you people are the foundation that this country is built upon, It's time we take back this country from bland, insipid politicians, and put someone with real positions on the issues back in office! And I have positions! On the issues!
I believe that our children shouldn't take drugs, and education is important! Unlike youknowwho, who wants to undermine all the values that you hold dear! Say no to socialism and fascism! And vote like a patriot! Vote for our future! Vote for me! Click "yes" below, and take a stand for values! You like values, right
A couple of years ago I attended an event at which Connie Willis spoke about her research for Blackout and All Clear.
She referenced numerous romantic comedies and several war movies in addition to her factual historic research, I don't recall that she brought up many works of fiction, but Double Star was one of them, and it stuck in my mind as something I wanted to read.
Between the Hugo win and the subject matter, I thought it would be worth a try,
Willis said that Double Star was inspired by the story of M, E. Clifton James, who was sent to North Africa and Gibraltar in Field Marshal Montgomery's place in order to confuse the Germans.
She borrowed these events in her own depiction of the intelligence war, Heinlein's version is less madcap than the Willis version, and possibly less madcap than the true story, given that James was an alcoholic and a smoker and was missing a finger! and Montgomery was not.
Double Star is fast paced and somehow manages a light tone despite the serious subject matter.
The Great Lorenzo nee Lawrence Smith is an out of work actor when he is plucked out of a bar to perform the role of a lifetime: impersonating the kidnapped Expansionist leader John Joseph Bonforte.
At the beginning, the actor's character is painted somewhat broadly, He spends a lot of time talking about his own acting chops, and it takes the reader a while to trust that he is actually as good as he says.
This journey mimics that of Bonforte's inner circle, who agree to the deception out of desperation, but have little confidence that it will work.
Most of this shortish novel takes place over the span of a few weeks, It manages to flesh
out the political situation fairly quickly, and with enough depth that there is a sense of what is at stake in the impersonation gambit.
The character development of the support players is a little lacking, but Smith is fully realized, as is Bonforte in a more oblique fashion.
It's interesting to see Smith's own fears and prejudice and strong personality twist to conform with the role he is forced to play.
On the whole, I think this book has aged well, but as usual with midcentury SF, I had some issues with the characterization of women.
Smith learned his profession from his father, but doesn't seem to have had a mother to speak of, Bonforte's assistant, Penny, is intelligent, but also moody and petulant and subject to fainting spells, She is also deep in unrequited love for Bonforte, Thankfully, she is only threatened with a spanking once by a coworker, If it had been twice I would have been tempted to put the book down,
I'm glad I didn't put it down, I was impressed by the taut plotting and the contained timeline, I'd be very curious to find out where the breaks were in the original Astounding serialization, The willhebefoundout moments dripped with suspense, and Smith's personal journey was well depicted, This is a worthy Hugo winner, and I'd place it near the top of my personal bestofHeinlein list,
در بین علمیتخیلیهایی که تا به حال خوندم این یکی بسیار متفاوت و جذاب بود. فضاسازی و شخصیتپردازی ستودنی هستن و داستان سریع و پرتنش مخاطب رو به وجد میاره. خیلی دوست دارم روزی چنین داستانی بنویسم.
پ. ن: شاید تنها ایرادی که بشه به داستان گرفت همگام نبودن پیشرفت فناوری با زمان وقوع داستانه زمانی که سفرهای بین سیارهای به راحتی سفرهای بین شهری امروز شدهاند و صحبت از تمدنهای بیگانه و فناوریهای فوقپیشرفته است وجود بایگانی کاغذی عظیم و دفترهای قطور کمی عجیبه. ''He must have been dead, a hole burned through his belly you could poke a fist through, before he hit the floor.
''
A hell of a good time,
Double Star is a borderline psychedelic scifi political thriller that feels years ahead of its time,
It touches on ideas and themes that would later be beautifully developed on by Philip K Dick,
Yes, it's Heinlein preconfiguring PKD,
And it's as good and mad as that sounds,
I guess it can be a bit predictable at times, but I can't honestly consider that a flaw.
Double Star is such a fast paced, brilliantly written romp that you can't help being sucked into its rhythm, and the story being somewhat predictable just gives the book a sense of comfyness that helps with the literary hypnosis.
I had a fantastic time with this one,
Double Star is an intensely readable pulp scifi thriller, .