The Number of the Beast

By: Robert A. Heinlein

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne, Emily Durante, Malcolm Hillgartner, Sean Runnette, Richard Powers, Tom Weiner

Length: 21 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

The wickedest, most wonderful science-fiction story ever created in our - or any - time. Anything can begin at a party in California - and everything does in this bold masterwork by a grand master of science fiction.

When four supremely sensual and unspeakably cerebral humans - two male, two female - find themselves under attack from aliens who want their awesome quantum breakthrough, they take to the skies - and zoom into the cosmos on a rocket roller-coaster ride of adventure, danger, ecstasy, and peril.

Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) was the dominant science-fiction writer of the modern era, a writer whose influence on the field was immense. He won science fiction's Hugo Award for best novel four times.

©1980 Robert A. Heinlein (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“One of the grand masters of science fiction.” (Wall Street Journal)

“The most influential science fiction writer of all time!” (Locus)

“[A story] about two men and two women in a time-machine safari through this and other universes. But describing The Number of the Beast thus is like saying Moby-Dick is about a one-legged guy trying to catch a fish.” (National Review)

Classic from the Master

This is a classic Science Fiction novel from one of the Masters of Science Fiction, Robert Heinlein. It is slightly dated due to technology changes but still quite valid. Interesting point is that a new novel is about to be released based on notes and writings from Heinlein himself that starts the same way this novel does, but then diverges to a new and different 2nd half of the novel. I am looking forward to this new release... meanwhile I am revisiting the classic. I never get tired of this story, but be aware, this is not a Young Adult novel, it has some quite adult themes througout.

Can I move there, too

This book is well worth the time it takes to finish it. The narration is top-notch, which brought one of my favorite Heinlein books to amazing life. If you're a fan, this is a do not miss.

A great book performed well

Would you consider the audio edition of The Number of the Beast to be better than the print version?

As a fan is the written word I was not sure how I would like a group performance, but i was pleased and enjoyed it as much as I did when I first read this long ago.

What other book might you compare The Number of the Beast to and why?

It is difficult to compare this book to others but it is a spirited journey through this and many other states of reality.

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

I am unsure if these performers have narrated any other books I've listened to but I would recommend their work. A wonderful listen. At

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Breakfast on Mars, dinner in OZ and still time for the stars.

Any additional comments?

Robert Heinlein is always a great piece of entertainment.

best Heinlein book that I have just finished!

of course I love it, I have Time enough for Love! great author good read

Story told from the female memory and perception.

Let's talk about how to rate a book!
1 Star is awful (and to be diss'ed and shunned and spread as thus through out the Audible Universe!): Couldn't be PAID Enough to finish book.
2 Stars is poor (and not worth the credit or the listen): Finished book ONLY because it was Free and Won't buy the next book.
3 Stars is OK (the usual listen I encounter on Audible): Meh, it's ok; may or may not have got the next book just meh.
4 Stars is good (given only to interesting and well-written books): Good book, bought next book, and enjoyed series.
5 Stars is great (I rarely give this rating): This is your crack! You are collecting the Author's Complete Work's & listen to them again & again & again & again... Examples are Asimov, Crichton, Heinlein, Tolkien, etc.

Great listen

Great book. Narration is good. Original ideas, thought provoking, funny, and enjoyable start to finish.

one of my favorites

i must preface this review by saying that Heinlein is my all-time favorite author. this book is narratively a mess, and I love every uncomfortable, disjointed, anarchic, self-indulgent second of it. my only real complaint is in the performances. this book is told in point of view chapters from each of the four main characters. in particular the female who reads for DT ends up sounding weak and insipid a lot of the time which does not fit the character at all. if possible I recommend the audio version read by George Guidal his single performance managed to capture the wit and charm of the style so much better.

Not his best

Started off fast with good concepts Became repetetive in theme and way too long for my taste.

A Favorite Ficton Story

Loved the adventure transmitted by the voices! I couldn't wait to hear more. Thank you.

Good book, but some voices were irritating

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The book itself rotates perspective between the four main characters. For the audio, they handled this by having four voice actors, one for each perspective. And so the actor reading as Jacob, for example, would voice the entire chapter written from his perspective, including doing his impression of Hilda's voice when she is speaking, etc. Then when it's a Hilda perspective chapter, you have that voice actor doing their impression of everyone's voices. The total effect was irritating for me, and might had been confusing as well had I not previously read the book in print. It would have been better if they had either:

1) had each of the actors do their own dialogue in all chapters, and have the actor whose perspective the chapter was do all of the non dialogue.

Or

2) just had one person narrate the entire book.

What three words best describe the narrators’s voice?

While the male voices were fine, the female voices often came across as overly ditzy or sexual, which detracted from the book as a whole.