Farmer in the Sky
by Robert A. Heinlein · first published 1950
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Farmer In The Sky is a 1950 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein about a teenaged boy who emigrates with his family to Jupiter's moon Ganymede, which is in the process of being terraformed.
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Farnham's Freehold was the book that made me lose a lot of respect for Heinlein. I started reading him as a 13-14 year old - books like "Have Space Suit, Will Travel", "Farmer in the Sky", and "Starman Jones" - and ate them up. I got older and my dad recommended "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and "Starship Troopers"; I really liked reading him alongside Asimov, who did such a great job…
on “Why a Post-Nuclear World Would Look Nothing Like “Mad Max”” ↗Farmer in the Sky by Robert Heinlein [1] The Complete Robot by Isaac Asimov [2] The Wrong Unit [3] wasn't a bad little humorous tale. Pretty much anything by Timothy Zahn (sans Star Wars novelisations) [4] or Robert…
on “Ask HN: What are the best Sci-Fi books you've ever read?” ↗…surprisingly good read. https://www.goodreads.com/series/61746-the-rho-agenda Quantum Night was something a bit different from Robert Sawyer. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25734179-quantum-night Farmer in the Sky is one of those books I re-read every few years. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50851.Farmer_in_the_Sky And Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard would probably have to be rated my favourite for the…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2016?” ↗Three books I tend to re-read every 3-8 years are: Farmer in the Sky[1], The Chrysalids[2] and Dune[3][4]. Read them as a teenager and thirty years later still re-read. Others I’ve re-read recently are: * Camouflage [5] * The Green And the Gray [6] * The First Fifteen…
on “Ask HN: Which book have you re-read recently?” ↗My top three would be: Dune by Frank Herbert (only the first book, dislike the rest of the series) Farmer in the Sky by Robert Heinlein The Crysalids by John Wyndham I've probably read these three books at least twice a decade since the 80s when I was a teenager. The Complete Robot from Isaac Asimov would be a close…
on “Ask HN: What is your comfort book?” ↗There are several books I've read at least once a decade since my teens, if not a bit more often. They are: The Chrysalids by John Wyndham, Farmer in the Sky by Robert Heinlein, and Dune by Frank Herbert. Just the first book though. I really disliked the rest of the series. Honourable mention must also go to The Tripod Trilogy by John Christopher: The White…
on “Ask HN: What book have you re-read 3x or more?” ↗If you're on a Heinlein kick, try and catch Farmer In The Sky. It's about the only one of his I re-read every few years or so. Don't know why.
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗Early Heinlein e.g. Have Spacesuit - Will Travel, Farmer In The Sky, The Rolling Stones or for non-juveniles, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress have lots of science. Later works, less so.
on “Isaac Asimov: The Last Question” ↗…(and by now have a lot more than just these surface level observations to base that on). ADDED: And this was a major theme of Heinlein in his '50s juveniles, most directly his 4th, published in 1950, Farmer in the Sky, but also see his last really good book, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress in 1966, where it was plot significant that the moon colony (or was it colonies?) grew wheat and shot it back to the Earth using a…
on “The Mega Rich Have Found an Unlikely New Refuge” ↗Nearly every other one? I'd recommend The Moon is a Harsh Mistress which is a romp imho, and also happens to be a better insight into his personal politics. Also, Have Spacesuit Will Travel, Farmer in the Sky, Stranger in a Strange Land and mostly everything by Heinlein, though there was arguably a bit of a drop in quality towards the late end of his career.
on “We have jetpacks and we do not care” ↗The general idea is nothing new. Quoting Heinlein's "Farmer in the Sky" (1950): > We were busy with inoculations and blood typing and immunizations and I hardly got to school at all. When I wasn’t being stuck or being bled, I was sick with the last thing they had done to…
on “Invisible Ink Could Reveal Whether Kids Have Been Vaccinated” ↗