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Friday
Friday
Author: Robert A. Heinlein
FRIDAY...is a secret courier. She is employed by a man known to her only as "Boss:' Operating from and over a near-future Earth, in which North America has become Balkanized into dozens of independent states, where culture has become bizarrely vulgarized and chaos is the happy norm, she finds herself on shuttlecock assignment at Boss se...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780345309884
ISBN-10: 034530988X
Publication Date: 7/12/1983
Pages: 368
Rating:
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 174

3.8 stars, based on 174 ratings
Publisher: Del Rey
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

vavoice avatar reviewed Friday on + 158 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
I KNOW I read this book when it was hot off the presses!! I can remember the brown cover, and I read it shortly after (before?) reading NUMBER OF THE BEAST. But this time round, every word was new to me!

FRIDAY is a sort of 'coming-of-age' novel, about a young woman who isn't quite what she seems, and how she comes to terms with her status in society. Of course, it wouldn't be Heinlein without political essays, highly probable inventions, cosmology, and LOTS of free love. Other than that, there really wasn't much of a plot. I was reminded of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. As Friday wandered from one vignette to the next, she seemed to come away with just a little more knowledge, and another lover or two. I would have to rate it below his earlier novels, but still worth reading.
Kibi avatar reviewed Friday on + 582 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
I Could Fall In Love With This Gal..., January 1, 2006
Reviewer: K. David Krueger (Stayton, OR USA)

Heinlein has long been one of my favorite authors, and I was pleased that "Friday" didn't let me down.

"Friday" is an artificial person. She was bred in a laboratory from the finest genetic material available, and she works for a free-lance intelligence agency as one of their top couriers. Raised to believe she is less-than-human, Friday is constantly assaulted by "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune", driven from situation to situation in an adventure that is as much a tale of her discovering her worth as a human as it is a futuristic spy thriller.

My wife takes exception to a couple of items about how "the Dean of Science Fiction" wrote his women, at least in this case. She (my better half) feels that Friday doesn't react as a real woman would to some situations... well, one in particular. Personally, I think he created a character that is interesting, often charming, professionally tough-as-nails, emotionally vulnerable, and quite lovable. And given the premise of her origins, I find I can accept how Friday behaves. (Then, I'm not a woman.)

Heinlein has created a character that the reader can not only cheer but empathise with... highly appealing on a number of levels.

I can re-read this novel every year or two and still be just as effected as the very first time. It's a story that feels like visiting an old friend. That's good writing.
reviewed Friday on + 95 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This is about one of Heinlein's strong female characters. A good read!
reviewed Friday on + 62 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
It was a good read, I admit, kept me going through the whole book. But like most times when Heinlein tries to write a woman's inner thoughts, it comes across more as what a guy fantasizes a woman thinks about: Sex, sex, and, oh, yeah, saving the universe.
reviewed Friday on + 459 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Friday is a secret courier. She is employed by a man known to her only as "Boss." Operating from and over a near-future Earth, where chaos is the happy norm, she finds herself on assignment at Boss's seemingly whimsical behest. From New Zealand to Canada, she keeps her balance nimbly with quick, expeditious solutions to one calamity and scrape after another.
Read All 18 Book Reviews of "Friday"

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drlaura avatar reviewed Friday on + 45 more book reviews
From the 1st three paragraphs it's classic Heinlein - enjoyably drawing you into the lead character's world, while simultaneously providing descriptive information about that world. You know it's a future Earth, and you know they have at least advanced travel technology....
Friday is a specialized courier - she can deliver whatever important messages there are and avoid detection or capture.
Her adventures during a time of turmoil, and her personal struggles to 'find and be part of a family' are really well described. Heinlein slides in a bit of sociological lecturing - Friday is an
AP, artificial person aka 'test-tube' baby who never had 'real parents' and she lives with a constant awareness of a society prejudiced against her... including her intelligence and her superior physical skills.
This one deserves to be more widely read.
retiredrosie avatar reviewed Friday on
Well written novel by one of the foremost science fiction writers of our time.
janisbeth avatar reviewed Friday on + 34 more book reviews
Fun futuristic sci-fi incorporating thoughts about computer security and Heinlein's unusual ideas about sexuality. A good read.
reviewed Friday on + 4 more book reviews
I did not enjoy this as much as some of his others. This one felt R rated and the sexual promiscuity was really distracting.


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