Talk:Tunnel in the Sky

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0You know, by the time someone finishes a plot summary with this much detail, the only thing missing will be RAH's beautiful prose! I like the book too, but at that point, I recommend just reading it; it's not that long. --Brion VIBBER


 * LOL, good point. --Ed Poor, Tuesday, June 11, 2002


 * Wrote a rather more appropriate plot summary. Needs independent editing; also wikification. If you Americanise it (fair enough; American topic) do so consistently. Acanon 00:14, 19 Sep 2004 (UTC)


 * I've gone over this article and attempted to make the style more straightforward and bring more focus to the ideas. I disagreed with some of the interpretation in the old version. For instance, the book does not promote moral relativism. If anything, it promotes moral absolutes; the accidental pioneers build a society with the same virtues and vices as frontier America. I also don't think the book was meant as a negative commentary on modern society. There is nothing particularly wrong with Earth's society as depicted in the book. It's portrayed as being quite healthy. The news media get a bad rap at the very end, but the book does not portray them as representatives of their whole society.--Bcrowell 03:56, 28 Apr 2005 (UTC)

The "Look out for Stobour" (sp? It's been years) red-herring in this book has been referenced in other works. It might be worth mentioning in the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Special:Contributions/ (talk)

I feel that the heavy editing of the plot summary on Dec 29 06 was detrimental to the article. If nobody objects, I am going to revise it to look more like it did before that edit. I'll check back in a week. Phasmatisnox 19:31, 13 May 2007 (UTC)


 * On the whole I agree. I've reverted this change and some others - e.g. I didn't see anything implied about the colour of the lead character and the original clause about women in sci-fi is better supported by the reference in its original state. If there's a source for it or if it's obvious to everyone but me then it can be put back in, of course. Haukur 19:41, 13 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Great, well done. Phasmatisnox 05:54, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

Aoujou Nambien (similar Chinese Australia)
In the Cordwainer Smith Instrumentality of Mankind series, Australia is covered with the ruins of the Chinese continental city of Aoujou Nambien. However, it's doubtful whether the Chinese "conquered" Australia in Smith's universe (probably the Australians migrated off-planet). AnonMoos (talk) 03:47, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

who appointed Ms Rydra Wong to decide whether Chinese conquest of Australia does or doesn't merit attention?
the reason why I ask is because she removed the relevant section completely. Heinlein's views on China are quite salient in that book, so has Ms Wong decided to sanitize them? 76.24.104.52 (talk) 15:54, 10 November 2009 (UTC)


 * You seem to have entirely misunderstood both my edit and the stated reasoning. Heinlein's views on a great many things may have had an effect on the plot and theme of this novel. That does not, however, make even a short discussion on this subject (or potentially scores of others) appropriate in the Wiki article for this particular novel. That was what I meant by "this [subject] bears, or deserves, no special attention. -- Rydra Wong (talk) 00:35, 11 November 2009 (UTC)

It is not really implied that Rod Walker is black
I tried a couple times to remove the irrelevant and questionable statement that it's implied Rod is black, but someone is bound and determined to leave it in. In fact, there is virtually no evidence in the story itself that Rod is black (or any particular race). And the reason given in the footnoted article -- that Caroline is black (Zulu) and therefore Rod must be black, because in the 50s interracial relationships were not acceptable -- logically leads to Jackie and Carmen being black (each of them kissed Rod), Jimmy and Bob being black (they married Jackie and Carmen, respectively), Grant being black (because Caroline was thinking of marrying him), Deacon Matson being black (because he married Rod's sister)... it seems that pretty much every character in the book is black. Which makes it odd that Rod's father would be referred to as "healthy and browned" after being cured of his illness. But, whatever -- if it's so important to somebody to have this statement in the article, I won't stand in his/her way. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bus114 (talk • contribs) 01:54, 4 February 2011 (UTC)

I am appalled at this implication -- the basis on which people make this inference is because Rod "marries" a black woman. That is racist too. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.130.201.32 (talk) 16:27, 27 May 2011 (UTC)


 * More to the point there is a whole argumentative section about it which looks very like original research. Francis Davey (talk) 21:28, 24 September 2012 (UTC)


 * I've removed the OR. P.S. Rod doesn't marry Caroline. Clarityfiend (talk) 00:49, 25 September 2012 (UTC)

I am also unconvinced by the arguments. They only remote indication Rod might be black, is in the final chapter where Rod tells his sister Helen that Caroline Mshiyeni possibly looks like her... and at that, resemblances are not necessarily colour-linked. Ptilinopus (talk) 03:29, 4 October 2019 (UTC)


 * In chapter 4 when he meets Jack, Rod is referred to as dressed in tan, scratches, torn and filthy shorts, and a few scars. Later Jock McGowan calls him “cholo” a derogatory name for someone of Mexican or Mexican/Indian descent. Rod was not black, and it’s preposterous to make that assumption based on his friendship, comradeship with Caroline. Read the book and quit making up false information 2601:3C3:4100:6840:FC2B:204F:3E5C:82AB (talk) 16:33, 5 August 2023 (UTC)

the Anxiety of Influence/ Hunger Games, Battle Royale and Tunnel in the Sky?
Influence, as critic Harold Bloom explained in the 1970s, is far subtler than simple copying. Tunnel does not read like an imitation of Lord of the Flies (which was good enough to win its author the Nobel Prize for Literature) but a corrective of it. Hunger Games is almost too close to the Japanese publishing phenomenon Battle Royale, but so often sounds more like Tunnel-- which the author is unlikely to have read.Profhum (talk) 05:12, 13 July 2015 (UTC)

First Stargate?
Was this the first SF story to employ the wormhole/stargate mode of interstellar travel? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 63.246.190.10 (talk) 16:43, 7 June 2020 (UTC)