Friday (novel)

Last updated
Friday
Friday82.jpg
First edition cover.
Author Robert A. Heinlein
Cover artist Richard M. Powers
LanguageEnglish
Genre Science fiction
Publisher Holt, Rinehart and Winston
Publication date
April 1982
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Hardback and Paperback)
Pages368
ISBN 0-03-061516-X (first edition, hardback)
OCLC 7875946
813/.54 19
LC Class PS3515.E288 F77 1982

Friday is a 1982 science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. It is the story of a female "artificial person", the eponymous Friday, genetically engineered to be stronger, faster, smarter, and generally better than normal humans. Artificial humans are widely resented, and much of the story deals with Friday's struggle both against prejudice and to conceal her enhanced attributes from other humans. The story is set in a Balkanized 21st century, in which the nations of the North American continent have been split up into a number of smaller states.

Contents

Friday was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel [1] and the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1983. [2]

Plot summary

The book's narrator is Friday Jones (often going under cover name Marjorie Baldwin and using both surnames somewhat interchangeably). Friday is a genetically engineered human (known as an Artificial Person or AP) in many ways mentally and physically superior to ordinary humans. There is great prejudice against APs so Friday conceals her nature.

Friday is employed as a highly self-sufficient "combat courier in a quasi-military organization", traveling across the globe and to some of the near-Earth space colonies. She is returning from her latest mission when she is captured, tortured, raped and interrogated by an enemy group. She is rescued by her own people, who tell her that her highly critical mission was successful as her captors failed to find the data she was carrying in her body.

After recovering from the ordeal, Friday takes a vacation to New Zealand to visit her group family, composed of several husbands and wives and many children. In an argument over racism, Friday reveals to her family that she is an AP, and they promptly divorce her.

On the way back to her company's headquarters, she meets and befriends a married couple, the Tormeys, and their extra-legal co-husband, Georges. Friday is their house-guest in British Canada (a country in the Balkanized North America) when a worldwide emergency known as Red Thursday occurs. Various groups claim credit for the assassinations and sabotage, but Friday later learns that it is the result of a struggle between rival factions within the ultra-powerful Shipstone corporation.

With British Canada under martial law, Friday kills a policeman who tries to arrest her and Georges as non-citizens to be interned. The two become fugitives, and Friday travels through the California Confederacy, the Lone Star Republic (where she parts from Georges), and the Chicago Imperium as she attempts to reach her headquarters. After several adventures, she abandons her attempt to make contact with her employer and then finds that the Tormeys are not at their home. An agent of her employer tracks her down and takes her to her employer's safe house. However, Friday's boss soon dies and the organization disbands, rendering her temporarily homeless and unemployed. Her boss has left her money in trust to be used only for the purpose of relocating to an off-Earth colony of her choosing.

Living in Las Vegas Free State, Friday is eventually recruited for a courier job which will incidentally allow her to visit and evaluate several of the colonies she is considering as future homes. However, on an interplanetary cruise ship for her mission, she learns that agents of her new employers are watching her, and that she is a virtual prisoner on the ship. Realizing that her mission is top secret and her employers misled her about it, she fears that they will kill her when it is over. While the ship is in orbit at a rustic colony world, she escapes with the Tormeys, who have been on the run since the policeman's death and happened to be fleeing Earth on the same ship. She is helped and joined in her escape by two of the agents watching her, one of whom was in the group that raped her at the beginning of the story but is now repentant. After evading the ship's crew and the remaining agents, Friday and her friends settle in the colony to lead a quiet life as a group family.

Allusions and references to other works

Friday is loosely tied to Heinlein's 1949 novella Gulf , since the works share characters—"Kettle Belly" Baldwin is Friday's boss, and Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Greene are mentioned as two of Friday's genetic progenitors. The motif of a secret superman society in Gulf, however, is not mentioned in Friday, where the heroine is an artificial person and is not part of a secret society; the principal reason to be secret about her artificial nature is to avoid discrimination. However, Baldwin's bequest to finance her emigration to any planet excludes Olympia, where the "supermen" went at some time between the two stories.

The Shipstone, the extrasolar colonies Fiddler's Green, Proxima and Botany Bay, and the start of the balkanization of North America are again mentioned in the 1985 The Cat Who Walks Through Walls . It is stated that Roger and Edith Stone from The Rolling Stones are now living in Fiddler's Green. The colony name "Botany Bay" appears in Heinlein's juvenile Time for the Stars . (There is a planet called "Halcyon" in Starman Jones , but it is in a different star system from the one in Friday.)

Literary significance and reception

The 1982 Library Journal review said that Heinlein "returns to an earlier style of brisk adventure mixed with polemic in the saga of special courier Friday Jones." [3]

Dave Pringle reviewed Friday for Imagine magazine, and stated that "I was prepared to like this novel—advance notices and reviews have all trumpeted the fact that it is Heinlein's best in many years—and indeed it moves well, but I found it left a curiously bad taste in my mouth." [4]

John Clute in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction says of it (and the following Job: A Comedy of Justice ): “Two late novels […] were hailed with some relief by Heinlein admirers despite not equalling the drive and clarity of his best work.” [5]

Charles Stross has stated that his 2008 novel Saturn's Children is an homage to Friday. [6] [7] [8]

Jo Walton wrote of Friday in 2009 as "The worst book I love": "It's a book about passing, about what makes you human. ... What's good about it now? The whole 'passing' bit. The cloning, the attitudes to cloning, the worry about jobs. The economy. It has an interesting future world [...] and as always with Heinlein it's immersive. [...] And it's a fun read, even if it's ultimately unsatisfying. What's wrong with it is that it doesn't have a plot. [...] Heinlein's ability to write a sentence that makes you want to read the next sentence remains unparalleled. But the book as a whole is almost like Dhalgren . Every sentence and every paragraph and page and chapter lead on to the next, but it's just one thing after another, there's no real connection going on. It has no plot, it's a set of incidents that look as if they're going somewhere and don't ever resolve, just stop. [...] It sets things up that it never invokes, most notably Olympia and the connections back to the novella 'Gulf.'" [9]

Dave Langford reviewed Friday for White Dwarf #39, and stated that "Friday has a good future background, where all-powerful 'corporate states' on the lines of IBM think nothing of nuking pockets of undue sales resistance; lots to annoy even the least committed feminist (being raped is fine, thinks heroine Friday—if only the guy doesn't have bad breath); and a plotline with all the forceful thrust of overcooked spaghetti." [10]

Awards and nominations

Friday received nominations for the following awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Cadigan</span> British-American science fiction author (born 1953)

Patricia Oren Kearney Cadigan is a British-American science fiction author, whose work is most often identified with the cyberpunk movement. Her novels and short stories often explore the relationship between the human mind and technology. Her debut novel, Mindplayers, was nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award in 1988.

The Prometheus Award is an award for libertarian science fiction given annually by the Libertarian Futurist Society. American author and activist L. Neil Smith established the Best Novel category for the award in 1979, but it was not awarded regularly until the newly founded Libertarian Futurist Society revived it in 1982. The Society created a Prometheus Hall of Fame Award in 1983, and also presents occasional one-off Special Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert A. Heinlein</span> American author and aeronautical engineer (1907–1988)

Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accuracy in his fiction, and was thus a pioneer of the subgenre of hard science fiction. His published works, both fiction and non-fiction, express admiration for competence and emphasize the value of critical thinking. His plots often posed provocative situations which challenged conventional social mores. His work continues to have an influence on the science-fiction genre, and on modern culture more generally.

<i>2010: Odyssey Two</i> 1982 science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke

2010: Odyssey Two is a 1982 science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke. It is the sequel to his 1968 novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, though Clarke changed some elements of the story to align with the film version of 2001.

<i>The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress</i> 1966 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress is a 1966 science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein about a lunar colony's revolt against absentee rule from Earth. The novel illustrates and discusses libertarian ideals. It is respected for its credible presentation of a comprehensively imagined future human society on both the Earth and the Moon.

<i>Job: A Comedy of Justice</i> 1984 SF novel by Robert A. Heinlein

Job: A Comedy of Justice is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein published in 1984. The title is a reference to the biblical Book of Job and James Branch Cabell's book Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice. It won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 1985 and was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1984, and the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1985.

<i>Foundations Edge</i> 1982 novel by Isaac Asimov

Foundation's Edge (1982) is a science fiction novel by American writer Isaac Asimov, the fourth book in the Foundation Series. It was written more than thirty years after the stories of the original Foundation trilogy, due to years of pressure by fans and editors on Asimov to write another, and, according to Asimov himself, the amount of the payment offered by the publisher. It was his first novel to ever land on The New York Times best-seller list, after 262 books and 44 years of writing.

<i>Time Enough for Love</i> 1973 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein

Time Enough for Love is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, first published in 1973. The book made the shortlist for the Nebula, Hugo and Locus awards for best science fiction novel of that year, although it did not win. It did win a retrospective Libertarian Futurist Society award: the Prometheus Hall of Fame award for 1988.

<i>Farnhams Freehold</i> 1964 SF novel by Robert A. Heinlein

Farnham's Freehold is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. A serialised version, edited by Frederik Pohl, appeared in Worlds of If magazine. The complete version was published in novel form by G.P. Putnam later in 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne McCaffrey</span> Irish science fiction writer (1926–2011)

Anne Inez McCaffrey was an American writer known for the Dragonriders of Pern science fiction series. She was the first woman to win a Hugo Award for fiction and the first to win a Nebula Award. Her 1978 novel The White Dragon became one of the first science-fiction books to appear on the New York Times Best Seller list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Varley (author)</span> American science fiction author (born 1947)

John Herbert Varley is an American science fiction writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Stross</span> British author

Charles David George "Charlie" Stross is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy. Stross specialises in hard science fiction and space opera. Between 1994 and 2004, he was also an active writer for the magazine Computer Shopper and was responsible for its monthly Linux column. He stopped writing for the magazine to devote more time to novels. However, he continues to publish freelance articles on the Internet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan D. Vinge</span> American science fiction author (born 1948)

Joan D. Vinge is an American science fiction author. She is known for such works as her Hugo Award–winning novel The Snow Queen and its sequels, her series about the telepath named Cat, and her Heaven's Chronicles books. She also is the author of The Random House Book of Greek Myths (1999).

<i>Footfall</i> 1985 science fiction novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle

Footfall is a 1985 science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. The book depicts the arrival of members of an alien species called the Fithp that have traveled to the Solar System from Alpha Centauri in a large spacecraft driven by a Bussard ramjet. Their intent is conquest of the planet Earth.

<i>A World Out of Time</i> 1976 novel by Larry Niven

A World Out of Time is a science fiction novel by Larry Niven and published in 1976. It is set outside the Known Space universe of many of Niven's stories, but is otherwise fairly representative of his 1970s hard science fiction novels. The main part of the novel was originally serialized in Galaxy magazine as "Children of the State"; another part was originally published as the short story "Rammer". A World Out of Time placed fifth in the annual Locus Poll in 1977.

The science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) was productive during a writing career that spanned the last 49 years of his life; the Robert A. Heinlein bibliography includes 32 novels, 59 short stories and 16 collections published during his life. Four films, two TV series, several episodes of a radio series, at least two songs and a board game derive more or less directly from his work. He wrote the screenplay for Destination Moon (1950). Heinlein also edited an anthology of other writers' science fiction short stories.

<i>Forty Thousand in Gehenna</i> 1983 science fiction novel by C. J. Cherryh

Forty Thousand in Gehenna, alternately 40,000 in Gehenna, is a 1983 science fiction novel by American writer C. J. Cherryh. It is set in her Alliance-Union universe between 2354 and 2658, and is one of the few works in that universe to portray the Union side; other exceptions include Cyteen (1988) and Regenesis (2009).

<i>Old Mans War</i> 2005 novel by John Scalzi

Old Man's War is a military science fiction novel by American writer John Scalzi, published in 2005. His debut novel was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2006.

<i>Saturns Children</i> (novel) 2008 novel by Charles Stross

Saturn's Children is a 2008 science fiction novel by British author Charles Stross. Stross called it "a space opera and late-period [Robert A.] Heinlein tribute", specifically to Heinlein's 1982 novel Friday.

<i>Ancillary Sword</i> Science-fiction novel by Ann Leckie

Ancillary Sword is a science fiction novel by the American writer Ann Leckie, published in October 2014. It is the second novel in Leckie's "Imperial Radch" space opera trilogy, which began with Ancillary Justice (2013) and ended with Ancillary Mercy (2015). The novel was generally well-received by critics, received the BSFA Award for Best Novel and the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, and was nominated for the Nebula and Hugo awards.

References

  1. 1 2 "1982 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  2. 1 2 "1983 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  3. "Friday (Book)". Library Journal . 107 (10): 1013. 1982-05-15. ISSN   0363-0277.
  4. Pringle, Dave (June 1983). "Book Review". Imagine (review) (3). TSR Hobbies (UK), Ltd.: 36.
  5. "Entry : SFE : Science Fiction Encyclopedia". www.sf-encyclopedia.com.
  6. "Interview—Charlie's Diary". Antipope.org. August 27, 2010. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  7. "Saturn's Children by Charles Stross". Bookmarks . November 2008. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  8. Willis, Jesse (April 26, 2010). "Review of Saturn's Children by Charles Stross". SFFaudio.com. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  9. "The worst book I love: Robert Heinlein's Friday". 14 June 2009.
  10. Langford, Dave (March 1983). "Critical Mass". White Dwarf . No. 39. Games Workshop. p. 29.
  11. "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1983 Locus Awards". Archived from the original on 2012-07-18. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
  12. "Prometheus Award for Best Novel – Nominees". Archived from the original on 2008-05-09. Retrieved 2008-05-15.

Sources