The Man Who Fell to Earth

By: Walter Tevis

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Thomas Newton is an extraterrestrial, one of only 300 left on his home planet. Using his superior intelligence and skills, Newton amasses a small fortune and a business empire, but soon must battle unexpected foes: the CIA, alcoholism, loneliness, himself. An utterly absorbing psychological study of one man's struggle to survive on 20th-century Earth.

©2007 Walter Tevis (P)2007 Recorded Books, LLC

Life

Interesting book . Had difficulty viewing the time period. Didn’t think I would get emotional but I did. Wish the ending was more satisfying . Overall 4/5

Great sci fi at its best

Loved the story and really enjoyed this narrator's performance. A classic production. Well thought out story with great depth to the characters.

Is it true?

This left me wondering if it is true because so many details about Mr Newton. I didn't follow the TV show that well. 🤔👍

Masterful Science Fiction

It was fascinating to read the original story by Walter Tevis that the David Bowie movie and the recent Showtime Series was based on and see the many liberties the filmmaker took with the narrative. Some of the changes were for the better and in many cases I felt that some were for the worst, it was hard not to see the characters in my mind’s eye from the book as they were cast in the movie, which was a good thing as I could never imagine anyone better than Bowie as the alien from another world. It was a delightful listen made all the more so by George Guidall the reader, who did a truly outstanding job reading the book. He was able to conjure up a very believable distinctive voice for every major character in the novel, so that at times it was almost like a Radio Drama, thus adding tremendously to the enjoyment factor overall. Highly recommend.

Good, solid story

What did you love best about The Man Who Fell to Earth?

This book was written quite awhile ago, but it's still worth listening to. It's a kind of fable about the human condition, well told, with a classic story structure. Some of it is dated, but it still has a lot of great moments.

Unique work by an underrated writter

Marvelous. A truly singular story well told. Full of wonder, compassion, and humanity. It will stay with you.

Great Psychological Science Fiction

This book was rather interesting and not what I expected. Alien nature is explored in a human way.

a deserved classic not just of SF

Walter Tevis is a great and overlooked writer, look at his work: Man Who Fell.., Mockingbird, Hustler, Color of Money, Queen's Gambit. I wish all of his work was available on audio so he could be more widely appreciated. He is an excellent writer, both stylistically and thematically with some wonderful imagery and symbolism. This is one of Guidall's better narrations, before he got too enamored of his own voice, and though I'd like to hear another version by someone, I can and have listened to this numerous times. & I always find a little more in it than I remembered. think about characters who fall to Earth, Superman, Christ, Lucifer, and of course Icarus and then think about an existential take on that idea and you'll see much more in this. i was struck this time by the anti-superman idea and a loss of identity theme and remembered a line from Vonnegut's Mother Night, "we must beware what we pretend to be, lest we become what we pretend to be."

Not really what I expected

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

This book is okay. I was expecting it to be more science fiction, but most of the book was spent detailing boring capitalist ventures, and describing three of the characters' decent into alcoholism. I was mostly just bored.

Very good read/listen to.

This is outstanding for its time. I really enjoyed the narrator as well. Good flow to the story it keeps your attention. A must read for the 40 something science fiction enthusiast, for a sample of the beginning of sci fi writing.