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Stranger in a Strange Land

By: Robert A. Heinlein
Narrated by: Christopher Hurt
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Publisher's summary

Stranger in a Strange Land is the epic saga of an earthling, Valentine Michael Smith, born and educated on Mars, who arrives on our planet with “psi” powers—telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, telekinesis, teleportation, pyrolysis, and the ability to take control of the minds of others—and complete innocence regarding the mores of man.

After his tutelage under a surrogate father figure, Valentine begins his transformation into a kind of messiah. His exceptional abilities lead him to become many things to many people: freak, scam artist, media commodity, searcher, free love pioneer, neon evangelist, and martyr.

Heinlein won his second Hugo Award for this novel, sometimes called his “divine comedy” and often called his masterpiece. This Blackstone audiobook is the “as published” version, read from an Ace paperback published in 1987. The full, uncut text was not made available until 1991.

©1961 by Robert A. Heinlein (P)1996 by Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

  • Hugo Award, 1962

Featured Article: The Most Stellar Sci-Fi Authors of All Time


Science fiction is a genre as diverse as you can imagine. There are stories that take place in deep space, often depicting teams exploring or running away from something; stories that focus on life at the most cellular level, such as a pandemic tale; and stories that take place in times that feel similar to our own. Depicting themes of existentialism, philosophy, hubris, and personal and historical trauma, sci-fi has a cadre of topics and moods.

What listeners say about Stranger in a Strange Land

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    5 out of 5 stars

A Scifi classic.

Should be a part of all SciFi fans library!
My only complaint is that it should be re-recorded with a female voice actor as well.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent and interesting classic sci-fi

I appreciated Christopher Hurt’s reading of this great sci-fi classic. If you like science fiction, this is the audio equivalent of a page-turner. Normally I never listen to audiobooks except for long trips, but this one had be listening even on short grocery runs, and sometimes even just in my living room in the evenings. Highly recommended.

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10/10

Loved it.
I find this book to be a masterpiece for my time.
life feels great when we emerge back into a world of hope.

the feeling I carry with me from this novel give me hope that the exploration of life is endless.

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The Real Life Church of All Worlds

It is the first legally recognized Neo Pagan church in the United States inspired by and founded shortly after the publishing of this book. You can learn more about it by going to its Los Angeles Nest Livethedream.org. or calling 800-LifeMates (543-3628).

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

Hurt hurts.

Decent story. Somewhat engaging. Performance sub-optimal: far too fast. Play at 80% speed for best results.

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  • Overall
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great story and excellent narration

My mother-in-law recommended this book to myself, after a night of drinks around the fire with family. We all were confessing our favorite books and she selected this “Stranger in a strange land.” After listening to Hurts expression of Heinlein’s vision, I was very pleased and deeply introspective. It was authored in a different time, admittedly misogynist at times, but the overall theme was profoundly progressive even by today’s standards. Unexpectedly, it also made me completely aware of how i had so incredibly mistaken the person my mother in law is. I highly recommend this narration and the story. Drink deeply.

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impeccable and interesting

Interesting, from start to finish. The voice over is vivid. The writing easy to follow and descriptive..

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Wonderful literally work and reading

Truly worthy of its reputation as the best piece of science fiction ever written. Where else would you find an eloquent discussion of Rodin’s sculpture - and have it fit perfectly into the story.

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Beautifully written

The best in all categories Heinlein is a master as beautifully designed
as Rodan sculptures .

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Very Enjoyable

I read this book years ago, and liked it. This audible version makes the book even more so. The reader seems to make the characters three dimentional. I highly recommend this audible book

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