Friday (book)
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Heinlein_friday_cover.jpg
The book should be a textbook for conspiracy theorists in that it is difficult to guess the who & why of the attempt to overthrow the "governments" which drives the plot. It may well be that Friday herself is the single most important person in determining the direction of civilization or it may not.
Among other things this book is a satire, albeit a sympathetic one, on women's liberation. It begins with the ultimate male chauvinist cliche--Friday is being raped by enemy agents and relaxes and at least pretends to enjoy it. It ends with Friday, the most advanced being in the galaxy, living in an interstellar suburb, baking cookies, and running a brownie scout troop. But of course the reality in both cases is the opposite of what the cliches suggest.
The book is to some extent a sequel to Gulf although since Gulf is set some time after the overthrow of a 1950s style communist world dictatorship while Friday is set in a 1980s future, carefully undated, but within an adult lifetime of its writing, it cannot be called a pure sequel. The technology appears generally more advanced than that implies but the author may know better than us. He certainly predicted a balkanisation of the planet which is becoming apparent.