- Paperback: 254 pages
- Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd; New edition edition (10 Sep 1987)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0413157202
- ISBN-13: 978-0413157201
- Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 11.2 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,994,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Rite of Passage
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
In 2198, one hundred and fifty years after the desperate wars that destroyed an overpopulated Earth, Man lives precariously on a hundred hastily-established colony worlds and in the seven giant Ships that once ferried men to the stars. Mia Havero's Ship is a small closed society. It tests its children by casting them out to live or die in a month of Trial in the hostile wilds of a colony world. Mia Havero's Trial is fast approaching and in the meantime she must learn not only the skills that will keep her alive but the deeper courage to face herself and her world. Published originally in 1968, Alexei Panshin's Nebula Award-winning classic has lost none of its relevance, with its keen exploration of societal stagnation and the resilience of youth.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I first read this book more than 20 years ago. I remembered some of the basics of the plot but not too much more. It's the story of Mia Havero, aged 12 when the story begins and 14 when it ends. She's one of a number of priviledged survivors of a catastrophe, caused by unlimited population growth, which destroyed Planet Earth. She lives on a spaceship created in an asteroid, with access to education and technology, while less fortunate descendants of Earth's survivors live on colonies on planets scattered throughout the galaxy. In order to control population growth, the citizens of the Ships are sent down to planets for 30 days after they turn 14, to survive as best they can with some pretty extensive training and a limited amount of supplies and tools. This is the Rite of Passage.
The story is told in 1st person and at times I felt it went into a bit too much detail, but Mia's voice is very convincing and I was impressed that the author -- who I think was in his 20s at the time he wrote this -- could write from the point of view of an adolescent girl so well. The future society he's created is very interesting and the book is a fast, easy read. But it's not simple. It raises a lot of moral questions which, when I read the book for the first time in my teens, mostly passed me by. After rereading it recently, I was left feeling actually quite shocked by the ending. The book is very thought-provoking, and like the best science fiction, it raises more questions than it answers. Highly recommended -- I gave it 4 stars only because I think it could have been a bit more tightly written and/or edited.
The story is told in 1st person and at times I felt it went into a bit too much detail, but Mia's voice is very convincing and I was impressed that the author -- who I think was in his 20s at the time he wrote this -- could write from the point of view of an adolescent girl so well. The future society he's created is very interesting and the book is a fast, easy read. But it's not simple. It raises a lot of moral questions which, when I read the book for the first time in my teens, mostly passed me by. After rereading it recently, I was left feeling actually quite shocked by the ending. The book is very thought-provoking, and like the best science fiction, it raises more questions than it answers. Highly recommended -- I gave it 4 stars only because I think it could have been a bit more tightly written and/or edited.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Other reviewers have told you about the story.
This book is one of the unforgettables, with a permanent place in my library. I re-read it every few years, often finding something new in it.
An outstanding piece of work.
This book is one of the unforgettables, with a permanent place in my library. I re-read it every few years, often finding something new in it.
An outstanding piece of work.
Format:Paperback
One of the Science Fiction Novels that has always stuck in my mind (I'd bought this Paperback Edition to replace the one that was Lost) was Panshin's "Rite of Passage", even though we hear this phrase more and more in connection with the Youth Cultures of today and their Rite Of ... issue's. It's makes good reading and has a good storyline, even though it's in the usual Science Fiction Style, the relevance of which, even today, you can read inbetween the lines and find Modern Day Parallels Alexei Panshin's Award Winning Novel is one which, you'll like it or hate it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A second reading really surprised me
I first read this book more than 20 years ago. I remembered some of the basics of the plot but not too much more. Read more
Published on 5 Oct 2005 by Alianor
The Rite
I borrowed this book from an aqcuaintance a few years ago and have been looking for it ever since. I truly enjoyed it the first time, found it to be an inspired tale and a very... Read more
Published on 5 Sep 2003 by "harry80"
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