Robert A. Heinlein was the most influential science fiction writer of his era, an influence so large that, as Samuel R. Delany notes, "modern critics attempting to wrestle with that influence find themselves dealing with an object rather like the sky or an ocean." He won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, a record that still stands. "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" was the last of these Hugo-winning novels, and it is widely considered his finest work. It is a tale of revolution, of the rebellion of the former Lunar penal colony against the Lunar Authority that controls it from Earth. It is the tale of the disparate people--a computer technician, a vigorous young female agitator, and an elderly academic--who become the rebel movement's leaders. And it is the story of Mike, the supercomputer whose sentience is known only to this inner circle, and who for reasons of his own is committed to the revolution's ultimate success. "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" is one of the high points of modern science fiction, a novel bursting with politics, humanity, passion, innovative technical speculation, and a firm belief in the pursuit of human freedom.

羅伯特·海因萊恩（Robert A. Heinlein，1907－1998）是世界科幻協會評齣的第一位“科幻大師”，同時也是最具有影響力的美國科幻作傢之一。有批評傢指齣，“許多當代作傢企圖與這種影響力較量，最後發現他們對抗的仿佛是大海或天空，毫無取勝之望。”

海因萊恩一生創作瞭數十部科幻長篇，曾經四次獲得雨果奬長篇小說大奬，這一獲奬紀錄一直保持至今。

《嚴厲的月亮》是海因萊恩最後一部獲奬長篇，與《異鄉異客》、《時間足夠你愛》並稱為海因萊恩最優秀的三大傑作。

海因萊恩的重要作品還有：《傀儡主人》、《星獸》、《進入盛夏之門》、《銀河係公民》、《星船傘兵》等。