The Fredösphere

I'm rereading Have Space Suit, Will Travel by the incomparable Robert Heinlein.  It was particularly instructive to revisit him just after finishing one of Andre Norton's plodding novels.  Heinlein must contrive a way to get his starry-eyed teenager into space.  He describes a contest, the winner of which gets a trip to the moon.  Then Our Hero proceeds to loose the contest -- but somehow ends up on the moon anyway. 

Heinlein's plot and characters are so strong, you don't really care that he throws in one fat, ugly coincidence to keep things moving.  In other words, Norton's opening chapters are a pain you must endure to arrive at the reward at the end of the book, but Heinlein gives you pleasure from the first page.

The typical Heinlein book features a sharp, cynical libertarian outmaneuvering clumsy authority.  Is it a Mary Sue?  (Or, as some would have it, a Gary Stu?)  Some people say so -- read this post, then search the comments for "Heinlein."  (See also Mixolydian Mode.)