Sample

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Stranger in a Strange Land

By: Robert A. Heinlein
Narrated by: Christopher Hurt
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $21.80

Buy for $21.80

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

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

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6,477
  • 4 Stars
    2,527
  • 3 Stars
    1,187
  • 2 Stars
    384
  • 1 Stars
    205
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5,998
  • 4 Stars
    1,802
  • 3 Stars
    539
  • 2 Stars
    88
  • 1 Stars
    58
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5,277
  • 4 Stars
    1,751
  • 3 Stars
    938
  • 2 Stars
    358
  • 1 Stars
    190

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Best ever

I first read this many years ago and several times since then. I believe it is the best book Heinlein ever wrote and it only got better with Audible....excellent



Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Amazing! Give it a try.

Incredibly enlightening! The narration is superb and the story is one of Heinlein's best. Loved it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

it was just ok

seriously just ok..
....darn
DJs HD quickly die boring shoots self
did
dujd.dudj didn't sad
duudm djd didb djjd djd djd dhd rge

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Before the Martians there was Robert A. Heinlein..

A strong Like..
Even better than thou art god..
Somewhat as good as ever ..
Parallels the passion of Christ, with interplanetary signification ..

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

I read it when it was published.

Would you consider the audio edition of Stranger in a Strange Land to be better than the print version?

No, to both. The original and the Revised/extended version.

What did you like best about this story?

The concept

Have you listened to any of Christopher Hurt’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

? and ?

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

The moment that it connected to "The number of the beast" or "The cat who walked through walls" or "Friday".
Anyone who has read RH will understand,. Anyone who has not read all of RH's books should.

Any additional comments?

This author is the one that started me reading in earnest. I read all of his stuff with Edger Rice Burroughs mixed in. Audible has let me expand my "reading"
now I cook,clean,research,mow--You get my drift? .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

One of the GREATEST books written in the 60's.

The book that set the tone for the 60's! GREAT! Narration was very good. Better than trying to read the book when you have problems with your vision.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Excellent!

You’ll be hooked into after the first chapter. Michael Valentine Smith, the man from Mars, learns how to adapt to his new life on Earth. This book is FASCINATING!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

This book is not unabridged

It's a wonderful amazing story but this version is so heavily edited entire segments are missing I'd be much happier with this purchase if it didn't claim to be unedited but it's Pretty Abridged

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

An ending I didn't see coming!

Stranger in a Strange Land was recommended to me by an acquaintance 12 years ago. I only just recently got a chance to read it. I can see why Heinlein said the world wouldn't be ready to read it back in the 40's when he initially had the idea for this book. What an amazing book to make you see outside the box. Jubal is my new hero lol I wish I had his backbone lol

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Paradigm Shifting

This book offers a lot to reflect and reconsider when thinking of personal and social ideologies. I roccomend reading or listening.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!