About this title: Written towards the end of Heinlein's career, this novel follows the adventures of Friday, an artificial person who longs for a normal life. Unfortunately for Friday, her work as a courier for a man called "Boss" gets her into much more trouble than it is worth.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: Illustrated.
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Date Published: 1983
ISBN-13:9780345309884ISBN:034530988X
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 368 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Edition: Illustrated.
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Date Published: 1983
ISBN-13:9780345309884ISBN:034530988X
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 368 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Date Published: 1983
ISBN-13:9780345309884ISBN:034530988X
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Light edge and corner wear. No marks. Tight binding. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 368 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Good. Spine is well creased. Covers show wear at the edges and corners. Good Grade C average reading copy. Binding is Mass Market Paperback. Pages tanning. Used books may have price stickers. Most orders ship on the next business day. read more
Description: Good. Spine is well creased. Covers show wear at the edges and corners. Good Grade C average reading copy. Binding is Mass Market Paperback. Pages tanning. Used books may have price stickers. Most orders ship on the next business day. read more
Description: Ballantine 30988 1983 1st printing paperback, cover art by Michael Whelan, CONDITION: GOOD, spine slanted & pages a little toned, sound reading condition. read more
Description: Ballantine 30988 (1983) 17th printing paperback, cover art by Michael Whelan, CONDITION: GOOD, general wear, sound reading condition. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Del Rey Books
Date Published: 1983
ISBN-13:9780345309884ISBN:034530988X
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. slight wearing on the spine and on the front cover. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 368 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
"Friday is one of Heinlein's later works. Some of those works can be kinda weird, with Heinlein taking way too much time to explore his feelings on how much more uninhibited human sexuality should be (shades of the swingin' sixties). Friday does explore sex to some extent, but is also an adventure yarn with a female protagonist far ahead of most of the female characters written in the early 80's (the book was published in '82) and poignantly explores what it means to be human and to belong. There's some space travel, but most of the book takes place on a near-future Earth with an America balkanized into smaller states which makes travel difficult when a terrorist attack closes most borders. Reading this book gave me an uneasy feeling. Our country seems so fragmented and eager to strike back against fear that I wonder if Heinlein was prescient. I hope not."
"The was an unwaveringly silly book. The main character is some sort of tube baby uber-womensch. It is filled with threeway sex obviously written by a geek. Heinlein stories are filled with futuristic explorations of sexuality, multiple partner relationships and communal families. Usually he manages it in a strangely tasteful manner that doesn't make you think of ren faire fatties at all. ok well maybe a little. One really interesting thing: it has a fascinating description of an enormous information database which strikes me as a very visionary concept and what the internet sort of became. Written in 1983, which means h beat Gibson to the punch..."
"Heinlein's best, as far as I'm concerned. It deviates from his previous habit of portraying all women as universal "Bond girl" sex kittens, and gives his lead character borderline superhuman intelligence and strength. He also deviates from his previous patterns by NOT using sex as her greatest asset, though he couldn't resist making her sexy. She is just plain capable on a level superior to anyone, man or woman. The premise is that she is genetically engineered. Fortunately he didn't cop out and portray her as super-whore. No Barbarella here, just Ripley, maybe a little Emma Peel thrown in. Not titillating, just a good sci-fi adventure. I hope that's accurate, as I would be very disappointed in myself if it were just another Heinlein and I didn't see it."
"Fairly typical Heinlein I think. One passage described fairly convincingly a system like the internet (although not THAT visionary since the book was published in 1982 and the early nets were already running at that time).
The story's protagonist is an "artificial person", which seems a rather quaint way to describe someone who was born of a genetically engineered ovum. I don't quite understand how in a world where religion has seemingly been banished to off-planet, there would be so many people concerned about "souls" and therefore prejudiced against genetically engineered persons. (I COULD however understand the pilots union's objection to enhanced persons taking their jobs.
Non-binary and non-exclusive sexual relationships again make a prominent appearance, although they are not the primary thrust as in "Time Enough For Love". The main concern seems to be the decay of earth society and the necessity of going off world to find a better life. Can't argue with that."
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