Mindswap

By: Robert Sheckley

Narrated by: Tom Weiner

Length: 4 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Interstellar travel to alien worlds is too expensive for Marvin, a college student in need of a good vacation. And so he signs up for what he can afford: a mind swap, in which his consciousness is swapped into the body of an alien life-form.

Unfortunately, Marvin finds himself in the body of an interstellar criminal—a body that he has to vacate, fast. But that criminal consciousness has stolen Marvin’s earthly body. Now Marvin has to find a body on the black market just to stay alive!

Travel with Marvin from world to world, each one crazier than the last, as he keeps finding far-from-ideal bodies in awful situations.

©1966 Robert Sheckley (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Sheckley has long been considered one of the genre's leading humorists.” ( New York Times Book Review)

“Always he crackles with ideas.” (Kingsley Amis)

“Witty and ingenious…A draught of pure Voltaire and tonic.” (J. G. Ballard)

Swap your brain and lose your body

R. Sheckley masterly ridicules psychology, history, cosmology and philosophy. Mindswap is a witty lampoon, a pastiche not meant to be taken seriously. In a Sheckleyan world anything can happen, verging on the absurd. Well, but doesn't our life seem absurd at times?
Perhaps, the idea behind Mindswap is that you can't take life (and reality) too seriously with its twists and turns. If you plunge into the unknown, don't try to explain things, take advantage of an alternative reality and have fun. I did!
But if it's your first encounter with Sheckley's waggish humour, I'd suggest Immortality Inc. and The Status Civilization for a start.

wow what a mind f*#%

it really seems as if Douglas Adams may have written this as an early rough draft for hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy. Very similar concepts, similarly beyond the prosaic standards. Of course, completely unrelated authors. Definitely a fan of Robert Sheckley, though the book might have benefited from a tiny bit more focus and continuity in my opinion.
The narration is excellent, especially considering how difficult the text is, with its numerous unique characters and esoteric transitions.

Laugh out loud funny

I loved this book. The narrator was top-notch, all the voices added to the humour of the story. Towards the end, I sort of lost the hang of the story, did not know just what the hell was going on. But that doesn't take anything away from the book. I had no idea Sheckley was this good.

the most wonderful nonsensical Sci-fi book

surreal sci-fi comedy like hitch hikers guide. superb narrator makes nonsensical statements sound totally natural.

Author self-indulgence

After a good start the story becomes a vehicle for the author's self-indulgence at the expense of a story you want to follow. The idea was good, but the word play at the end was heavy handed.

Beyond

Listening to Mindswap is like a mind meld with an historian, philosopher, sociologist, political analyst, satirist,psychiatrist, detective and humorist. Enjoy!

So Good, So Weird

Any additional comments?

I recently discovered Sheckley and instantly fell in love with his writing style. I finished Mindswap in less than a day. I couldn't stop listening to it.
The characters are well developed, original, funny, and weird (in the best sense of the word). The story is wildly unique and switches genres like nothing I've read before. It is a fast paced. humorous, and strange story that will keep you listening.

One of my favorites

I read this book first as a teenager, liked it a lot then and still like it now.

Great Story With a REALLY Weird Ending

Any additional comments?

This is NOT a book in which you can explain "how it ends" to another person.

I mean...

Sheckley is an amazing science-fiction author.
The book itself is amazingly put together....up until about the 29th chapter.
After that, it gets BEYOND insane.
I wish I could explain to you what exactly takes place, or maybe where the "problem" in the book begins, but it is SO far beyond my vocabulary that I think it would be futile.

All I will say is that, if you are a fan of Robert Sheckley's other works, then be sure to check this one out. But if this might be your introduction to Sheckley, maybe check out "Dimension of Miracles" or "Immortality Inc." instead.


9.0 / 10.0

The story is okay

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
I would of like the story more if it had a better ending. The explanation was a blur to listen to as an audiobook. Perhaps the conclusion requires a re-read to follow Schekley's logic at the conclusion.

What was most disappointing about Robert Sheckley’s story?
It was unlikely the protagonist would see people from his past during his journey without a better explanation.

What does Tom Weiner bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
His reading is more interesting than my silent voice in my head.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Mindswap?
The long journey of the protagonist to find a women with whom he had brief connection.