The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinleinby Robert A. Heinlein
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 40 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
People recommend it as a prescient, influential science fiction novel about lunar society and machine intelligence. Critics call it ridiculous, and find its libertarian ideals naive.
People recommend it as a prescient, influential science fiction novel about lunar society and machine intelligence. Critics call it ridiculous, and find its libertarian ideals naive.
16 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 81%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 4.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Prescient about AI and society
“Both books delve a bit into the physiological changes but also the socio-political ramifications of humanity in space”
Comment from 6 Aug 2026 in “Mars dust is toxic. How will future astronauts deal with it?” “Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress implicitly predicted this”
Comment from 29 Jul 2026 in “Kalshi attacks a Wisconsin law banning election bets as 'voter suppression'” “I've been shocked at how prescient it is”
Comment from 26 Aug 2026 in “AI Is a Harsh Mistress” Thought-provoking on machines and souls
“The best take was in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, in the intro when the narrator protagonist asks if machines can have souls”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “MIT Technology Review has confirmed that posts on Moltbook were fake” “It's also about an AI built of vacuum tubes and vocoders if you want a taste of the tech level.”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “Alignment is capability” Strong Heinlein work, excellent re-read
“it's all about Heinlein - Stranger in a Strange Land, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Starship Troopers etc”
Comment from 7 Apr 2026 in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division” “it was phenomenal, I'm sure an excellent re-read”
Comment from 27 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” “Perhaps his best work IMHO.”
Comment from 27 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” Foresightful and worth reading
“What an incredibly foresightful work - I have not read that, I will tho.”
Comment from 13 Mar 2026 in “NASA's DART spacecraft changed an asteroid's orbit around the sun” “I just finished this yesterday.”
Comment from 26 Aug 2026 in “AI Is a Harsh Mistress”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Libertarian ideals seem naive
“libertarian ideals like that book die the first time they meet an organized group of bears”
Comment from 19 Nov 2025 in “Mysterious holes in the Andes may have been an ancient marketplace” Ridiculous but influential for its era
“Ridiculous book but understandably influential in its era.”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Rice Theory: Why Eastern Cultures Are More Cooperative”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| The Moon is a Harsh Mistressby Robert A. HeinleinThis page | 13 | 3 | 81% | 7 | — | Approved |
What people said
13 of the 17 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“one of the most socialist books I read at an impressionable age”
“I just finished this yesterday.”
“I've been shocked at how prescient it is”
“Both books delve a bit into the physiological changes but also the socio-political ramifications of humanity in space”
“Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress implicitly predicted this”
“it's all about Heinlein - Stranger in a Strange Land, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Starship Troopers etc”
“What an incredibly foresightful work - I have not read that, I will tho.”
“The best take was in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, in the intro when the narrator protagonist asks if machines can have souls”
“Ridiculous book but understandably influential in its era.”
“Perhaps his best work IMHO.”
“it was phenomenal, I'm sure an excellent re-read”
“It's also about an AI built of vacuum tubes and vocoders if you want a taste of the tech level.”
“libertarian ideals like that book die the first time they meet an organized group of bears”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.