In Podkayne of Mars, Heinlein skillfully combines the traditional interests of the genre—technology, foreign worlds, and alien creatures. His descriptions of the space vessel and its operations are technically detailed. He depicts futuristic societies on Mars, a pioneer world, and on Venus, a civilized but corrupt planet that is run like a business by the Corporation. Its citizens are "stockholders," and their capital, Venusberg, is a bustling metropolis of casinos, lavish shops, and bizarre nightlife.

When aliens make their appearance, they are not appealing creatures; one is a nasty, humanlike Venerian addicted to drugs, and the other is a small, furry mammal called a "fairy" because it can fly. The fairy looks cuddly but is actually quite dangerous.

Throughout the story, the exotic settings and creatures remain subordinate to human elements, however. For all the strangeness of their future worlds, Heinlein's characters act like common people...