Review of Double Star by Robert Heinlein

In 2012 the Library of America released a two volume set American Science Fiction: Nine Classic Novels of the 1950s. Naturally, I checked who had been chosen and how many I'd read. At the time it was about half, and so I set a goal to read all in order to comment on the set. Twelve years later I've finished all nine. I will save my comments on the two-volume set for a separate post, but here are my comments on the last but not least of the nine, Robert Heinlein's Double Star (1956).

Double Star is the story of a rogue actor who finds himself in a bizarre situation imitating a politician. Lorenzo Smythe is a down-on-his-luck performer who knows his skills are excellent but can't seem to find the sponsors he needs to become properly famous in the galaxy. That is, until he is approached by a small group of men who want him to pretend to be the famous Mars politician John Bonforte. Kidnapped and held hostage, Bonforte's associates do not want the show to stop, and so they are able to convince Smythe to step in for just one speech. One speech becoming a television presentation becoming a... eventually things come to a head and something must give in Smythe's double life.

If anything, Double Star is a sharply written thriller with an atypically (for Heinlein) developed protagonist. Realistic may be too strong a word, but certainly relatable, perhaps even sympathetic. His devil-may-care attitude at the beginning may put the reader off, but slowly, as he takes on more of Bonforte's role, becomes a more rounded presentation. Surround the man's story with the mystery of Bonforte's disappearance, Martian intrigue, snappy prose, and you've got a readable story.

The novel is readable, but by today's standards can be, and sometimes is, a bit trope-y. The Martians are cartoon alien and wield deadly laser wands. Space works with some sense of rigor (extra gravity in space flight, for example), but does not have some of the basics readers have come to know and expect. But it must be remembered that in the 50s, Heinlein was offering something people wanted. Where a portion of readers today look to check boxes for DEI, etc., Heinlein's readers wanted spaceships, inter-planetary travel, etc. Sf has evolved, and will (thankfully) continue to evolve.

In the end, Double Star is a true classic 1950s, Silver Age science fiction novel. It attempts to transcend its era, however, in two ways. First, it offers something a bit more than a 2D main character—not fully 3D, but something between. Second, it parallels the role politicians play in representing society's views with that of an actor—the two far from opposite. Heinlein does not beat dead horse, instead letting the evolution of plot and main character do the story's talking. Is this literary sf? Probably not, but the story provides more to appreciate in theme and substance than the majority of its peers. Is it among the nine best sf novels of the 50s? Don't know yet. Still reading.