I Will Fear No Evil

By: Robert A. Heinlein

Narrated by: Anthony Heald

Length: 18 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

As startling and provocative as his famous Stranger in a Strange Land, here is Heinlein’s grand masterpiece about a man supremely talented, immensely old, and obscenely wealthy who discovers that money can buy everything.

Johann Sebastian Bach Smith was immensely rich—and very old. Though his mind was still keen, his body was worn out. His solution was to have surgeons transplant his brain into a new body. The operation was a great success—but the patient was no longer Johann Sebastian Bach Smith. He was now fused with the very vocal personality of his gorgeous, recently deceased secretary, Eunice—with mind-blowing results! Together they must learn to share control of her body.

Once again, master storyteller Robert A. Heinlein delivers a wild and intriguing classic of science fiction. Written at the dawn of the 1970s, this novel is the brilliantly shocking story of the ultimate transplant.

©1970 Robert A. Heinlein (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Magnificent. A science fiction masterpiece.” ( Galaxy)

too slow for my taste

Heinlein is one of the GODS of sci fi and I read some of his work when I was a kid - many years ago. I don't think I read this one and for me "now" it's just too slow - two people talking most of the first 5 hours and then I gave up. An interesting plot but if I were editing it, I would take a blue pencil to a whole lot.

Nice to be read to Awesome

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Awesome Book And Story and Nice to be read to not having to read when you want to have something to help you sleep I love to have a bedtime story!!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Eunice !! She is awesome Death is not the end for her nor her Charm She is Awesome

What does Anthony Heald bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Hearing the emotional impact of the conversation and mind set

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS Stayed up all night to get it all

Any additional comments?

Well done LIke the way download and process went and to have the titles here for us

Wonderful story, but a bit cringe.

I love almost all of Heinlein’s writing, even though his female characters can be caricatures of 1950’s ideas of femininity and sexuality. This story may be the apex of his cringy female stereotypes. This is exacerbated by the producers using the wrong narrator for the story. Don’t get me wrong, the narrator is wonderful and did a fantastic job, but using a male narrator exacerbates the cringe, and makes the whole thing feel very dirty-old-man-ish. I felt dirty even listening to the story. It’s worth listening to, even if it’s difficult at times, but only if you’re a loyal Heinlein fan who isn’t troubled by writings “problematic” by today’s standards.

Not my favorite Heinlein book

The Narrator was excellent, but the story was my favorite of his. still worth a shot if you are into biological science fiction.

Not your typical science fiction: A beautiful and complex story

I was not sure what to expect with this one, but I was blown away with the depth of this story telling. It was a dynamic picture of the many petals on the flower of human existence. The depth of characters was also amazing. Looking forward to hearing the next book.

Not Heinlein's best - but still good

I am an admitted Heinlein fan. I own the entire canon in paper, everything available in e-book format, and everything Audible carries in audio. But this is not his best novel. He wrote it at a low point in his career. The story is still entertaining, but the characters are not his most compelling. So why purchase this book?

Heinlein, as always, provides interesting commentary on our culture. Many of his ideas are coming to pass today. There are creditable observations on how America is moving to a fractured society run by corporate interests and political thugs. Remember that his ideas about the relation of medicine to law were written over 30 years ago. His vision is impressive and thought provoking.

The performance and recording are superb. I was unfamiliar with Anthony Heald until this work. I will seek out his other performances - he's outstanding.

And it's a fun listen. Look, the sex scenes will seem silly. The metaphysical ideas are really out there. But it's still an enjoyable way to spend hours. You won't be bored.

Thank you Blackstone Audio and Audible for adding this masterwork to your collection.

Definitely Heinlein

This book, while well written isn't Heinlein's best. The book has a grand premise and wonderful characters, but seems to be a little to centered on and preachy regarding sex. I'm not a prude and don't mind books with a sexual undercurrent or even theme, but in this case it detracted a little from the masters story for me. Granted Heinlein was rebelling against a rather puritanical society at the time and in that light it is understandable.
However, even with that criticism, this book is a great read. Exploring the psychology of being thrst into a new body, let alone one of the opposite sex is fascinating.
Read it, just don't make it your first Heinlein novel!

classic scifi from a master story teller

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would gladly recommend I WILL FEAR NO EVIL as I read the book 20 years ago and was impressed by the topic Heinlein developed around what would my world look like after a brain transplant and how would I reorganize 'who am I' with my new body.

I was impressed by the reader who has a great range of voices for this story.

I find that I listen to Audible in my car as I do a fair bit of driving (appointments, errands, business meetings,...) and I look forward to some stories more than others. I WILL FEAR NO EVIL is one of those stories that I looked forward to getting back into the car and listening to the balance of the story.

Heinlein's is a legend in sci fi and I find I WILL FEAR NO EVIL is still relevant today as it was when it was written decades ago.

ENJOY!

Amazing Gender Bender with awe inspiring narration

I enjoy some Heinlein novels and this is one of them. I read it many times, but I never enjoyed it half so much as when I listened to it. My hat is off to Anthony Heald, who juggled a LOT of characters and made us love them all. For the time in which it was written, I'm eternally surprised that the subject matter didn't shock folks, as it's 85% about sex. Regardless, "I Will Fear No Evil" is a fanciful, intelligent tale and Anthony Heald is a narrating genius!

Descent

I read this book 30 years ago and found it interesting. While I remembered the premise of the book, a lot of details escaped me. I don't think I enjoyed quite as much as I did as teen, I still enjoyed it.