Don Harvey is a young man working on a ranch on Earth who is about to depart for the colony on Mars to join his scientist parents. On instructions, he first visits an old friend of his parents, Dr. Jefferson, who cryptically bestows upon him a cheap trinket ring wrapped in paper with a request that he deliver the package to his father. Soon after, Dr. Jefferson is taken into custody and dies under mysterious circumstances.

Rumblings are in the air regarding a possible war for Venusian independence, but despite being born in space to a Venusian mother and Earth father, Don Harvey has little interest. His focus is on rejoining his parents on Mars.

That focus changes when a group of Venusian soldiers take control of the space station orbiting Earth, lighting the spark that sets fire to the impending war.

Suddenly Don Harvey is not going to Mars as he supposed–no one is. He is being shipped off to Venus to become embroiled in a war that he wants no part in, perhaps never to see his parents again.

Between Planets is a Heinlein juvenile that was first serialized in magazine form in 1951 and was published in hardcover later that same year. Like all of his juveniles, Robert A. Heinlein infuses plausible scientific ideas in an educational manner into his fiction in a manner that is interesting and adds to the momentum of the story. While doing so he also weaves in threads of political thought, offers up solid characters with good moral fiber who find themselves in circumstances in which they must rise to the occasion, and he makes sure to include elements of the fantastic.

In this case, one of his science fictional story elements includes the race of “dragons” who are the true inhabitants of Venus. Over the years the men and women who have relocated to or been born on Venus have come to be accepted by the Venusian dragons as welcome inhabitants, and for their part humanity reveres and respects the beings who have allowed them to call Venus “home”. Don is well-versed in the original whistling language of the dragons, having been taught at a young age by his parents. This skill comes in handy more than once during his unplanned adventure.

It is an understandable mistake to see the word “juvenile” and make the assumption that these books lack the weight or sophistication of “adult” fiction. There are several aspects of these stories that made them (and I contend still make them) great introductory works of science fiction for young readers, but there should be no conclusion that these stories are written down to younger readers. Instead, Heinlein writes up to young people, expecting them to have the capacity to absorb difficult concepts and to be stirred to think about political and social situations by telling them a compelling story.

Between Planets is a fun adventure story. Friendship, companionship and even a little romance provide seasoning to the story. Readers may guess at how the story will end, but that does not lessen the tension as Don Harvey finds himself over and over leaping out of the proverbial frying pan into the fire. As the war for Venusian independence begins, it is easy to find oneself just wanting to read one more page, or perhaps two. I read the greater part of Between Planets in one sitting as I reached a point where I was not interested in being distracted by any other form of entertainment and instead wanted to discover what would be Don Harvey’s ultimate fate.

Heinlein’s “dragons” are a fun fictional race. As Travis S. Taylor reminds readers in the afterward to this Baen edition, though we had more knowledge about Mars in 1951 than we had when Edgar Rice Burroughs was penning the adventures of John Carter, it was not much more in comparison to what we know today. And we knew very little about our cloud-covered sister planet. 1951 remained a time of ignorant bliss for the average man in which we could imagine life on other planets. When I read books like Between Planets, my experience is enhanced as I feel a sense of sympathetic nostalgia in musing about what life was like then and the impact that works of science fiction that are now considered classics had on readers of the time. When you read Between Planets, and first meet Sir Isaac, and later other Venusians, you cannot help but wish that such an implausible race could actually exist.

I read Between Planets as part of the Definitive 1950s SF Reading Challenge and I am happy to have chosen it for my 1951 entry. Next up is a re-read of The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester.

My Rating: 8/10 An adventure worth taking

The cover for this Baen edition of Between Planets is the work of Hugo award winning artist Bob Eggleton. It is a fun cover, in large part because it so accurately represents Heinlein’s description of the Venusian dragons. I appreciate the way that Eggleton emphasizes the science fictional nature of the story by including a rocket blasting off in the distance. It could be easy to assume the book might be fantasy otherwise.

I have mentioned it before, but it bears repeating: kudos to Baen books for keeping classic works, like those of Robert A. Heinlein, in print. I appreciate the fact that I can walk into many brick and mortar stores and find works like those of Heinlein on the bookshelves.