Stranger in a Strange Land (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Robert A. Heinlein
- First Published: 1961
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Science fiction
- Time of Work: After World War III, in the near future
- Setting: Bethesda, Maryland; the Poconos; and Las Vegas, Nevada
- Genres: Long fiction, Science fiction
- Subjects: United States or Americans, Politics, Sex or sexuality, Murder or homicide, Twentieth century, Authors or writers, Extrasensory perception or powers, Extraterrestrial life, Future, Other worlds, Religion, Law or legislation, Fantasy, Antichrist figures, Rites or ceremonies, Earth, Utopias, Mars, Water, Heaven
- Locales: San Francisco, CA, Las Vegas, NV, Mars, Bethesda, MD, Poconos, PA
Characters Discussed
Valentine Michael (Mike) Smith, the protagonist, who was born on Mars of two human scientists but was reared by Martians. “Rescued” and taken to Earth in his mid-twenties, he appears weak and underdeveloped, but his grave eyes reveal his intense curiosity and desire to behave “rightly.” Trained by the Martian “Old Ones,” he is, at least mentally, more Martian than human and has alien concepts of social and moral relationships. Because water is so scarce on Mars, for example, to share it with another creates an unbreakable bond of trust and...
[The entire page is 1113 words long]
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