It is only when he is on his way to Mars that he finds out he will have to impersonate one of the most prominent politicians in the Solar System, and one with whose views Smith deeply disagrees — John Joseph Bonforte.

Lorenzo shares the anti-Martian prejudice prevalent among large parts of Earth's population, but he is called upon to assume the persona of the most prominent advocate of Martian enfranchisement.

Writing in 1957, however, Blish says that "The only first-person narrator Heinlein has created who is a living, completely independent human being is The Great Lorenzo of Double Star.

"[2] Galaxy reviewer Floyd C. Gale praised the novel, finding it "an excellent example of Heinlein's ability to take one of the oldest plots in any literature ... and present it as an enjoyable reading experience.

"[3] Admitting "a certain reservation, even disappointment," Anthony Boucher nevertheless concluded that Heinlein was "simply creating an agreeably entertaining light novel, and in that task he succeeds admirably.

[6] The cover illustration by Anthony Roberts[7] for a 1970s UK edition of Double Star was the subject of an unlikely controversy when it was used as the basis of an entry for the 2000 Turner Prize for modern art.