• The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

  • By: Robert A. Heinlein
  • Narrated by: Lloyd James
  • Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (10,795 ratings)

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The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress  By  cover art

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

By: Robert A. Heinlein
Narrated by: Lloyd James
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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)

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 The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

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  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Loved it in 1965. Still love it today.

I've never met a Heinlein story that I didn't like. But this one is probably my favorite. I'm in the middle of a COVID-19 pandemic and this was a wonderful break from the pandemic and the very contentious political situation with Donald Trump trying to declare himself emperor of the United States. Read it. You will not be disappointed.

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Best Narrator I know

I really like the narrator of this book. Many voices to him. You really get into this book.

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In the top 3 on my list

so well written. I've heard this more than 10 times since I've owned it and every time I get sucked in completely. The building of this lunar culture and speech patterns is really fantastic. Some stories are timeless.

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Great Story

I love this recording. performance is perfect and story is amazing. It shows it's age at times but is still very fun and thoughtful speculative fiction.

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Love the story and the narration

The narrator does a great job of differentiating the voices and accents so it’s clear who is who. This made it much easier to follow the flow of events. Heinlein remains a great storyteller as always

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Awesome

I loved the plot, the characters, and the performance. I will probably listen to this again in the future.

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one of my all time favorite books

I listen to this about once a year or so. I always find something new that I missed in prior readings

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great Heinlein book the narrator excellent

this is a great Heinlein book but the narrator made it even better his many voices makes it a joy

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Took a week to put this out of my head

Loved it. Very immersive. Excellent narration with good character impersonations. Would listen to it again.

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fascinating premise

the story was great and captivating. the narration was an interesting mix of accents and styles.

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