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Alexei Panshin
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Rite of Passage Hardcover – 1 Jan. 2004

by Alexei Panshin (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars 186 ratings
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From dust jacket: "Written in the Heinleinian tradition of social upheval amid advancing technologies, this classic tale of inocence lost as a far-flung humanity struggles to survive on alien worlds remains as daring and relevant as it was when first published in 1968."
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  1. Language
    English
  2. Publisher
    Science Fiction Book Club
  3. Publication date
    1 Jan. 2004
  4. ISBN-10
    073945000X
  5. ISBN-13
    978-0739450000
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Science Fiction Book Club
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 1 Jan. 2004
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ First SFBC Science Fiction Printing
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 073945000X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0739450000
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 363 g
  • Customer reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 186 ratings

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Alexei Panshin

Alexei Panshin

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4.3 out of 5 stars
186 global ratings

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • John Ferguson
    5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 October 2021
    Verified Purchase
    I first read this book when I was 16 in the year it was first published and thought it was one of the best ones I had read. At that time I was in the throes of reading every SF and Western book I could get. I think the quality of this book, for both the story and writing, stands up there with books by Heinlein, Van Vogt, Asimov, Clark and more recently, Chaney and Brazee… I thoroughly enjoyed reading it again.
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  • Latenighter
    4.0 out of 5 stars Communities living in spaceships
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 February 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Having deposited colonists on over a hundred planets in a dash to preserve humanity when the Earth has been destroyed by over-population, the spaceships have continued to travel between these primitive colonies, trading their superior knowledge for things they need from the colonists. To avoid over-population on the ships, it is the custom to drop 14yr olds, separately, on whichever planet is nearest, with camping gear and weapons, and pick up survivors after a month. Dangers include wild animals, resentful colonists, and loss of the call-button which indicates each child's location to the pick-up ship.
    Rite of Passage describes the life of one girl on the ship, culminating in this life-changing test.
    I enjoyed the story but occasionally got the feeling I was being preached at, hence only 4 stars.On the other hand, it's a good book, perhaps after another reading I might give it 5 stars.
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  • S. McHugh
    5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most important SF novels of the 20th Century
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 July 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Often this book is one Science Fiction-loving parents get their tween-aged kids to read. A great help in making your way through adolescence.

    As well as that it has an ironic side-story to tell about America and the rest of the world as seen from the USA.
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  • J. Kinory
    3.0 out of 5 stars Overrated
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 May 2017
    Format: Paperback
    A very overrated book. Part of the reason for so many people falling all over themselves to praise it, may be their fascination with the fact that a man is writing in the first person about a teenage girl. However, this is irrelevant to the quality of the book.
    The reason for the Trial remains completely obscure. The ship can control its population very easily by limiting the birth rate, which it does anyway. There is no need to send teenagers down to planets to get killed, and the whole concept makes little contextual sense in such an effete, degenerate society. There are other social arrangements that seem at odds with the overall 'ship' plot, and others are left unexplained for lack of detail.
    The story is enjoyable enough to read, but the exploits of a couple of kids, overcoming so many physical dangers and so many well-trained soldiers and thugs, are pretty silly, more appropriate to a children's adventure magazine to what purports to be a serious science fiction novel.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Valdy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant story told from the point of view of a ...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 October 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Brilliant story told from the point of view of a young growing up and the changes in her life and views, but not a book that cannot be read by boys.
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  • Nicholas Smith
    4.0 out of 5 stars Worthy winner
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 January 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I'm continuing to make my way slowly through the list of Hugo and Nebula award winners and this was the winner of the Nebula prize for 1969. I enjoyed it a great deal and having struggled with some of the late 60's new wave novels, to have a book with characters and a plot was welcome. However, this book was slight in terms of ideas and the teen coming of age style story has been done rather to death since and this, perhaps unfairly, meant that this felt somewhat unoriginal. That said, it was not a struggle to read and I was engaged throughout. In general this felt like a worthy prize winner and has reenergised me for the next winner.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars A great read for young adults of all ages
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 May 2016
    I first read this book when I was a teenager, the same age as the book's narrator, Mia. I loved Mia's story of life and adventures onboard the asteroid spaceship, and how her world changes as she gets older. When Mia turns 14 the story becomes more serious, and the themes more adult, as Mia goes through Trial and eventually returns to the ship as an Adult.
    When I first read the book, I found it a real page-turner; and it still is forty years later. It's still a great adventure story, but this time around I appreciated more the social and ethical issues addressed by the book. I don't claim this to be some great literary or science fiction masterpiece, but it's a very entertaining read. I highly recommend this book for young adults of all ages.
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  • Manda
    5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 July 2013
    like others I read this book about thirty years ago and its memory has stayed with me ever since. I have recently ~ on my teenage daughter`s insistence ~ read the Hunger Games trilogy and was immediately reminded of Rite of Passage. I am delighted to be able to get hold of this book again and am looking forward to re reading it ~ and insisting that my daughter does too!
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • 400
    5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book I've loved for decades
    Reviewed in the United States on 8 May 2015
    Verified Purchase
    This was my favorite book when I was in college, going through my own, delayed right of passage. I bought it again, with some fear that it would not hold up, but it certainly did. The writing is beautiful, the world creation fascinating and plausible, the characters vivid and real, with a lively plot.

    I believe this is positioned as a "young adult" book, but I would think seriously about giving it to a young team. Not for the violence and sexual content, which is mild, but the book builds to a deep ending that should at least be discussed.

    But it is a beautiful, entertaining, thoughtful book.
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  • JOSE GONZALEZ BUENO
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in Spain on 10 June 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Arrived fast, and the book was as described. It was carefully packed, in fact the best packing I get. Recommended.
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  • Oederland
    5.0 out of 5 stars Einer der besten SF Romane aller Zeiten !
    Reviewed in Germany on 2 September 2013
    Verified Purchase
    Ein sehr schönes Werk. Wo andere SF Romane mit Technik Kauderwelsch langweilen, präsentiert der Autor eine bizarre Welt so überzeugend, das der Leser mit dem handelnden Charakter, einem Mädchen mitfibert. Schlüssiges Konzept, hervorragende Sprache, stringente Handlungsführung, Spannungsbogen, wie aus dem Lehrbuch. Wenn sämtliche SR Romane diesen Standard erfüllten, läge diese Literaturgattung nicht am Boden. Gäbe es doch 6 Sterne !
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  • Michel
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on 23 November 2014
    Verified Purchase
    great read loved it from start to finish
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  • DJ Parnell
    5.0 out of 5 stars Complexity hidden by simplicity
    Reviewed in Australia on 18 May 2021
    Verified Purchase
    We have here a simple account of a simple premise - the young must undergo a rite of passage to emerge as adults. But the telling of it introduces us to complex issues and morality. Even though it is set in the far future and totally fictional, there are echoes of Dylan's "The Times Are A Changin" and allusions to present day conflicts, such as Israel and Palestine, and USA vs the World.
    The main protagonist, Mia, changes from a fiesty girl to a much more complex woman.
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