7.4 /10 1 Votes
Language English Publication date 1996 OCLC 34029753 Country United States of America Followed by The Billion Dollar Boy | 3.7/5 Goodreads Series Jupiter series ISBN 0-312-86174-5 Originally published 1996 Genre Science Fiction Publisher Tor Books | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Media type Print (hardback & paperback) Similar Works by Charles Sheffield, Jerry Pournelle books, Jupiter books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Higher Education is a 1996 science fiction novel by Charles Sheffield and Jerry Pournelle. The book is part of the Jupiter series and was published through Tor Books.
Contents
Plot introduction
The novel starts in a future dystopian earth where the United States has become a woefully inefficient bureaucratized nation. The public school system is primarily interested in promoting self-esteem rather than learning. For example, the vast majority of public high school graduates are illiterate, and end up in "the pool"; an endless crowd of unemployable youths depending on government assistance or crime for survival. The book is told from the perspective of the main character, a high school student named Rick who quickly finds himself expelled after a practical joke goes wrong.
Plot summary
Since expulsion means that Rick's family will no longer be able to claim their welfare bonus, Rick begins looking for a job. One of his former teachers encourages him to get a job for the Vanguard Mining corporation, whose primary financial interest is in space mining of asteroids in the asteroid belt. The book follows his progress through an initial grueling examination period on Earth, initial training on an asteroid in a high orbit of Earth, and through an apprenticeship on another training facility in the asteroid belt. After proving himself, Rick is recruited to join a secret program to infiltrate and subvert Earth's education systems away from its current initiative-deadening pandering to the lowest common denominator.
Characters
Reception
Critical reception was mostly positive, with Booklist listing Higher Education on its Editor's Choice list for 1996 and named it a "Top 10 fantasy novels for young readers." Kirkus Reviews gave Higher Education a mixed review, writing that fans of the authors' previous works would enjoy the novel but expressing frustration that the female characters were "either girlfriend material (Deedee Mao), corporate saboteurs (Alice Klein), or space sluts (Monkey Cruse, "rumored to have run a professional sex service"). Those stereotypical characterizations, the melodramatic plot, and the dialogue turn the adventure into a space soap opera.".