John Varley, All Is Forgiven
Okay, it wasn’t really you, it was me. My fault.
I didn’t like “The Golden Globe”. I slogged through it and finished it more out of a sense of loyalty (for “Titan”, “Wizard”, and “Demon”, which I loved), but I thought the damn book would never end.
I thought that “Steel Beach” kicked the shizzle - or whatever the kids are saying nowadays - and so I’ve been meaning to take a new look at “The Golden Globe”, which takes place in the same universe.
In the meantime, I’m reading “Red Thunder”. It (and he) have been called Heinleiny, or words to that effect.
It rocks. It’s about some kids, an ex-astronaut, his genius cousin, and a lost official American mission to Mars (to try to beat the Chinese expedition). They basically build a spaceship in their backyard and take off to Mars themselves.
I’m at the bit now where they’ve taken off, Earth has dwindled to a pale blue marble, and they’re about to be interviewed by CNN.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I yowled with glee as the story progressed. Plain goddamn wish-it-was-me, keep-it-coming, they’re-really-gonna-do-it, jeezes-I-really-wish-it-was-me glee.
I definitely owe “The Golden Globe” another try.