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Star Maker  By  cover art

Star Maker

By: Olaf Stapledon
Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
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Publisher's summary

One moment a man sits on a suburban hill, gazing curiously at the stars. The next, he is whirling through the firmament, and perhaps the most remarkable of all science fiction journeys has begun. Even Stapledon's other great work, Last and First Men pales in ambition next to Star Maker which presents nothing less than an entire imagined history of life in the universe, encompassing billions of years.

©2012 Olaf Stapledon (P)2012 Audible Ltd

What listeners say about Star Maker

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

meditative classic

this is not a slam bam scifi, but rather a more meditative, philosophical piece. the opening is poetic in style and description. then there is the visits to other worlds and peoples section which I enjoyed more when it dealt with differing types of potential creatures and would have liked to see more of this, like Sagan's Cosmos, but this is a very early work and so kudos to Stapledon for stretching ideas beyond bug eyed monsters. this middle gets too political though, showing how these cultures seem to follow similar histories and it may be that he was satirizing human politics. the end is excellent with the meeting with the star maker, though again, not a shoot em up type of finish. overall i thought there was much to ponder and you can see the influence on Clarke's Childhood's End and 2001 and much more beyond. I will keep going with the Stapledon's available.

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25 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Literally (literally) awesome

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

Blew my mind like few books I've ever read.
Speculative scifi novel? Metaphysical philosophy? Surreal dream-journey? Epic prose-poem?
yes, yes, yes, yes.

And it was published in 1937! Seriously amazing. Stapledon is an under-appreciated genius.

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The greatest book I've ever read...

...and this performance does it justice. This book is truly the vision of a genius.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Couldn't Get Into This One

The sad truth is that I ended up using this audiobook to fill the silence while I worked on other things. It couldn't keep my attention and I do not remember what it was about.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Dull with no plot

This book is like The Silmarillion, except for alien/religious sci-fi. There is no plot, only history and more existential angst than Nirvana could have ever hoped to imagine. The author would wiggle out of explain in the details of cool alien technology by saying he didn't have time or could not understand it. While a few novel concepts were introduced, it was mostly hackneyed and frustrating in my opinion. I don't recommend it.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Difficult to multi task with this story

Some moments were thought provoking, others dragged on, but I'm satisfied to have completed it

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Ideas Abound.

Throughout this wonderful book "Star Maker", I recognised many tropes which today seem commonplace among SciFi literature.

What the Star Maker actually is, and the pure prevalence of life in the books' Universe, have been common among similar books which I have read in the past, but not done in this highly entertaining format of writing.

I expect that quite a few of the common Science Fiction tropes originated with this book, and the author.

Or, if they did not originate with this and him, then he is the most influencial SciFi writer to put these tropes onto paper.

There is a LOT of dated science here, but all concepts were up to date with mid 1930's astronomy and physics.

I cannot say that the heavy "Spiritual" ideas in this book were of much interest to me for a good portion of the book, being an Atheist; But the theme was used very well in the context of the books' universe.

Tropes that I was actually expecting to see along the line sidn't show up; surprising me silly. Such as, halfway through the book it seemed lime it was going for the "Universe Egg" trope.

All in all, dated scientifically, like most old SciFi, and a wonderful read, or rather listen.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Interesting but tedious

Read like a cross between a text book and scripture. Many parts were very interesting. I can see how many sci-fi writers who followed would have been influenced by this work. No story to speak of - not in the traditional sense. With the benefit of many decades of thinking and written works since this book was first published, many of the ideas expressed - or rather, introduced - by author no longer "hold water".

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A true cosmic perspective

I loved this book, it explores some of the biggest and most fringe possibilities of existence within a logic frame. A masterpiece

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A Timeless Story

If you could sum up Star Maker in three words, what would they be?

Awesome, Expanding and Remarkable

What was one of the most memorable moments of Star Maker?

At the conclusion of the book the author wrote one of the best explanations of mankind's consciousness in relationship to all other potential forms of Being.

What about Andrew Wincott’s performance did you like?

I believe that he made the story come alive and I found that his voice never bothered me.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No single moment stood out however, the expanded state that was created within me grew steadily as I absorbed the story. I was constantly being challenged to reset and potentially accept the ideas that the author presents in the book. I loved this experience and recommend it to all.

Any additional comments?

Just because the book was written over 70 years ago don't think that it is dated. I would suggest that everyone allow themselves the experience of looking into the immense possibilities that exist and enjoy removing the self limiting thoughts and beliefs.

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3 people found this helpful