Friday

368 pages

English language

Published Sept. 5, 1997 by Ballantine Books.

ISBN:
978-0-345-41400-7
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
37185221

View on OpenLibrary

(47 reviews)

Engineered from the finest genes, and trained to be a secret courier in a future world, Friday operates over a near-future Earth, where chaos reigns. Working at Boss's whimsical behest she travels from far north to deep south, finding quick, expeditious solutions as one calamity after another threatens to explode in her face.... Fabulous Heinlein world of fascination and intrigue.

8 editions

Solid social sci-fi

The fiction is okay, not Heinlein's finest – but the social aspect feels eerily relevant today. Just two quotes (the novel is from 1982!):

"Pick one. A theocracy ruled by witchburners. Or a fascist socialism designed by retarded schoolboys. Or a crowd of hard-boiled pragmatists who favor shooting the horse that misses the hurdle. Step right up! Only one to a customer!"

"Only in California will you find the clear-quill, raw-gum, two-hundred proof undiluted democracy. The voting age starts when a citizen is tall enough to pull a lever without being steadied by her nurse. <...> Three years ago a grassroots economist noticed that college graduates earned, on the average, about 30 percent more than their fellow citizens who lacked bachelor's degrees. Such an undemocratic condition is anathema to the California Dream, so with great speed, an initiative was qualified for the next election, the measure passed, and all California …

Review of 'Friday' on 'Goodreads'

This is perfectly enjoyable, but neither his best nor his worst. As he tended to do later in life, this novel ties back to earlier work of his. Kettle Nelly Baldwin from the short story Gulf reappears as Friday's "Boss", for instance. As for Friday herself, she is an Artificial Person, created by genetic engineering, and the genes involved include those from "Mr. and Mrs. Joe Greene", also from Gulf. She has enhanced abilities, and has been working for Baldwin's organization as a "combat courier". The setting is a Balkanized future North America where the nations we know have been broken apart into smaller splinters. One of the big themes of this book is the prejudice against Artificial People (APs), which Friday faces in various ways. She is attacked, goes on the run, and eventually makes it back to her organization, only to have The Boss die and the …

Review of 'Friday' on 'Goodreads'

This is my first Heinlein read and I'm not sure how to describe it. Scientifically fascinating (star charts and impressive detailing of the future) and sexually disturbing (in a good way as far as the family structure goes, but maybe not so good due to the rape and its less than serious consequences). While the plot seems a little aimless, I'm still pondering the concepts about artificial humans, interplanetary governments, and gender stereotypes that Heinlein explores in this book.

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