The Green Hills of Earth is a fantastic story by the American writer Robert Heinlein . First published in 1947. The title used the name of the song mentioned in Catherine Moore ’s short story “ Shambleau ” (1933) [1] , and the song itself (quoted by Heinlein) was composed by Henry Kuttner and Katherine Moore for the story “Quest of the Starstone” 1937 year.
| Green hills of the Earth | |
|---|---|
| The green hills of earth | |
| Genre | science fiction |
| Author | Robert Heinlein |
| Original language | English |
| Date of first publication | 1947 |
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Content
Story
The story is about Riesling, the Blind Singer of Cosmic Roads.
Riesling, an ugly and rude sailor on spaceships flying all over the solar system, lost his sight as a result of an accident in a ship’s nuclear reactor. Landed on Mars with minimal allowance, Riesling did not lose himself. He discovered his talent in singing and playing the accordion and for twenty years traveled all the planets of the solar system except the Earth, singing the songs of his composition. He gained universal fame and became his own for everyone: he was home to any spaceport, any crew - was his crew; no skipper could refuse him to board the ship.
New times have come, the rules of space transportation forbade free riders like Riesling to travel in space, and he had to make his last voyage - to return to Earth. However, during a space flight with the reactor, an accident occurred that killed the sailor who served him. Riesling, despite blindness and past years, applied unspent skills and saved the ship, while receiving a lethal dose of radiation. But, dying, he sang his most important song in life, describing the planets of the solar system and ending with a verse:
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Interesting Facts
In honor of the hero of the story, the Rhysling Award, named in the USA by the Association of Science Fiction Poetry for the best poems of the year, is named [2] .
Publications
- Robert Heinlein The man who sold the moon. Green hills of the Earth. - M., St. Petersburg: Eksmo-Press, Terra Fantastica, 2002 .-- 540 p. - 8100 copies. - ISBN 5-7921-0534-0 , 5-04-010158-9.
Notes
- ↑ Moskowitz, Sam (1967). Seekers of Tomorrow . World Publishing Company. p. 312.
- ↑ SFPA Rhysling Award Archive
Links
- List of publications by The Green Hills of Earth at ISFDB
- Green Hills of the Earth on the Fantasy Lab website