The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

By: Robert A. Heinlein

Narrated by: Lloyd James

Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

In what is considered one of Heinlein's most hair-raising, thought-provoking, and outrageous adventures, the master of modern science fiction tells the strange story of an even stranger world. It is 21st-century Luna, a harsh penal colony where a revolt is plotted between a bashful computer and a ragtag collection of maverick humans, a revolt that goes beautifully until the inevitable happens. But that's the problem with the inevitable: it always happens.

Winner of the 1967 Hugo award, this novel marked Heinlein's partial return to his best form. He draws many historical parallels with the War of Independence, and clearly shows his own libertarian political views.

©1965 Robert A. Heinlein (P)1999 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

• Hugo Award, 1967

"Adrenalizing, mind-stretching, conviction-testing...unmatched by any contemporary!" (Theodore Sturgeon)

Reasonable adaption, but pauses in funny places

Fidelity is reasonably good; just a little muddy. I was surprised to find that this recording dates back to 1999.

Lloyd James is a competent enough reader, but his interpretation of the primary character (Mannie) was a bit jarring at times. I could handle the Russian accent; but he paused at times he should have kept reading and vice versa.

His Russian accent for Mannie put a new spin on the character for me; along with the French accent for Stu LaJoie. Never really heard those accents in my head while reading the novel, even though I knew that Heinlein had intended it that way.

Prof's manner of speaking was a bit too drawn out. Wyoh was fine, but I would have liked a bit more femininity in the voice. Mike's voice was done as expected.

Was surprised (and pleased) to hear the English accent for the Authority chairman; made a nice touch and really differentiated him from the other characters. James also does Oriental accents well.

Chapter divisions on my iPod were not marked according to the chapters in the book.

As this was my first Audible audiobook, I was pleased to find that there were some stops built into the book; and even more pleased that the iPod remembered where I had left off when I switched to music.

Dazzling political sci-fi

If you like Sci-Fi mixed with politics, this is a great listen. It reminded me in many ways of _Dune_, which framed political intrigue and social commentary within a sci-fi story line. Having some historical perspective on this piece makes it even more interesting. This was originally published in 1966, before the first moon landing--before I was born. The exploration of politics so left as to be right is as interesting as the subtle and comic development of an artificial intelligence from child-like naivete to nearly omniscient wisdom. The narration is very good, especially considering the abrupt changes in accent necessary to separate the characters. Highly recommended.

A Fair Dinkum Thinkum

This is the history of how the lunar penal colony - the only prison that didn't need guards - and how it revolted against the combined might of Earth and became a free nation. The recollections of Manuel Garcia O'Kelly tell the story of how the Lunar Authority's computer, who he nicknamed Mike, became self-aware and developed a sense of humor. And how Mike and Manny and Wyoming Knott and Professor Bernado DeLaPaz started the revolution that freed the Moon.

This is Heinlein at his best. A wonderful story, a self-aware computer (remember this was written in early 1960's when computers were huge boxes with less memory than your phone has today), a very recognizable future based on assumptions that still might be possible today, and characters that you can recognize and empathize with.

And it has one of the most plaintive lines in all of science fiction. "Are you listening Bog? Is a computer one of your creatures?"

The narrator is wonderful and is able to capture the essence of a variety of different characters. However, I must pick one little nit. In all the times I read this story (and they are too many to count) I always heard the line "no hu-hu" as sounding like an owl (hoo, hoo). It is always done as laughter in this version (ha ha) and it just didn't seem correct.

You won't find a better science fiction story, so hurry to add this to your library.

Great story and excellent narrator!

This is one of Heinlein's best short novels. The characters are very real but are taking part in a future event - the revolutionary war to free Luna from the tyranny of Earth. Heinlein's talent to make heros out of ordinary people is just plain fun in this story. The narrator has a very expressive voice and a wide range of accents and ways of speaking that mimics the different characters in a very believable and enjoyable way. A good way to get yourself through the work day!

A Marvelous interpretation!

Heinlein's story is a classic, and this reading elevated it to engrossing entertainment. The wonderful variety of voices given the characters brought them to life and allowed the listener to understand thier motivations and identify with them. I have never listened to a reading that so enhanced a novel!

Great but dated story, mediocre narration

Would you consider the audio edition of The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress to be better than the print version?

Not in a million years.

What did you like best about this story?

Great story about David slaying Goliath with the help of the central computer.

What three words best describe Lloyd James’s performance?

Uninspired, poorly directed.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, but it was one of my favorite books as a teenager.

my favorite Heinlein

This is my go-to book when I want to listen to something, but don't want to get into a new story. It never fails, no matter where I start, or how many times I've heard it or read it, I still get caught up in the story all over again.

Great entertainment

Great story. Not too much of a complex, detailed SciFi, but nevertheless very interesting.

Accent of the characters is at first kind of shocking and unexpected, but you learn that it very much adds to as you listen on

Immersive Sci Fi

Like the Forever War and Hyperion, this work leaves the reader scratching their head in the beginning because the author wastes no time with explanation. I love it. Everything is eventually explained through exposition.

Narration is excellent as well. Probably the best single speaker narration I have encountered.

#Witty #Mindbending #Clever #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

Classic sci-fi, but seems a bit dated these days

It was written in the time when ground lines were it, AT&T reigned supreme, IPhone was in the distant future and stranger than reality. Yet the computer Mike and his personality was prescient although we are still not there in terms of Generalized AI. The narration was great, I liked the different voices.

How society could be structured in a place where women was scarce was very interesting, although Heinlein did not actually make these women to be modern, they were still stuck in the kitchen.

The book reflects Heinlein's belief in self-reliance and libertarianism to the core. Won't give more away to people who haven't read the book.

Sutapa