Time for the Stars

By: Robert A. Heinlein

Narrated by: Barrett Whitener

Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Travel to other planets is now a reality, and with overpopulation stretching the resources of Earth, the necessity of finding habitable worlds is growing ever more urgent. There’s a problem though—because the spaceships are slower than light, any communication between the exploring ships and Earth would take years.

Tom and Pat are identical twin teenagers. As twins they’ve always been close, so close that it seemed like they could read each other’s minds. When they are recruited by the Long Range Foundation, the twins find out that they can, indeed, peer into each other’s thoughts. Along with other telepathic duos, they are enlisted to be the human transmitters and receivers that will keep the ships in contact with Earth. But there’s a catch: one of the twins has to stay behind—and that one will grow old—while the other explores the depths of space and returns as a young man still.

©1956 ; 1983 by Robert A. Heinlein; 2003 by the Robert A. and Virginia Heinlein Prize Trust (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“One of the superb Heinlein stories that has excitement, urbanity, humanity, rationality, pace, understanding, and is a joy to read.” ( New York Times)

“Rarely has Heinlein pushed his imagination further…A vivid, stirring experience.” ( Chicago Tribune)

“He showed us where the future is.” (Tom Clancy)

Telepathic quantum entanglement

Robert A Heinlein's Time for the Stars is among his set of juvenile novels. Set in the future where space travel within the system occurs, an attempt for an interstellar journey is proposed. The neat trick is to use twins with telepathic abilities. While the mode of transportation is relativistic (with a spaceship that can attain close to the speed of light), telepathy allows for instantaneous communications. In spite of this ability, there are still issues at peak speeds as well as the aging of the Earthbound pairs. The goal is to hunt for Earth-like planets for future colonization. There's plenty of adventure along the way as well as a near mutiny as the crew slowly dwindles away. Eventually, the telepathic science allows for building spaceships that also allow for instant travel and the crew heads home after nearly a lifetime having passed on Earth. What started as a teen's adventure ends with seeing his Earthbound twin who is now an old man.

As with most of Heinlein's juvenile series, teenagers are the main characters. There's a bit of teenage romance, jealousy, and sibling rivalry along with violent interactions with some intelligent alien life. There is much demonstration of the strangeness of relativity with some routine space housekeeping. This is classic Heinlein for a coming of age tale.

The narration is well done with good character distinction and easy listening pacing.

Revisited 48 yrs later

This is somewhat of a biased review. This was he first sci-fi book that I ever read during my time in grade school. Since that time I have revisited and reread this book several times over the intervening years. It is the book that really got me into sci-fi ending with me working for NASA and now working in the private Space sector. I find that the story behind the book is very sound and realistic and timeless. It is still a great story after all these years and revisits. I was disappointed in the Narration. I felt it was more of a drone. I recognize that the story is from the main character's "diary" but when the main character has discussions with others some better portrayal of voices would have been expected. It almost turned everything into a monotone. Regardless, it is a great book and well worth revisiting and I will probably revisit more times before I move on to the next level.

Brilliant story, Heinlein at his best

What made the experience of listening to Time for the Stars the most enjoyable?

Simply wonderful complete story, from start to finish, Heinlein's style of story telling never gets old, though it sounds like it was set in the 50's, very good ideas and interesting characters. Though the ending was startling at who the main character marries at the end.

What did you like best about this story?

The complex trip through the galaxy, and the honesty at the perils the people had to face.

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

No, but he was good.

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

Oh yes!

Any additional comments?

Good listen, just as good as star ship troopers.

Great Space Opera

This is one of the best space operas I've ever experienced - and the narration was spot-on. My favorite Heinlein book.

Very enjoyable.

Very well written, very well narrated. I would very much recommend this book. Thank you.

Just plain great story telling

Would you consider the audio edition of Time for the Stars to be better than the print version?

Quite possibly. Barrett Whitner sounds perfect as the lead character.

What does Barrett Whitener bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He perfectly captures the personality of the lead character. He could've been almost telling youn a story about himself.

Any additional comments?

I am always a little leary of reading older sci-fi books. You never know how outdated some of the science may be. But Heinlein, like Asimov and Arthur C. Clark, manages to keep to the story and the characters and not get bogged down in pseudo science that is doomed to be outdated someday.
GREAT READ!

This is why I love science-fiction!

If you could sum up Time for the Stars in three words, what would they be?

Epic; Thoughtful; Immersive

Who was your favorite character and why?

In a very real way, there are only two characters that matter: Tom Bartlett and time. I think time was my favorite, and not in a bad way. Barret manages to be self-effacing enough that you can live the amazing trip through him.

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

Several, but they each manage to fade into the background. This is one of the few books I could re-read and be surprised again.

Any additional comments?

Old-style SF, where the plot is essentially an exploration of a facet of science: in this case, the Twin Paradox. Basic, subdue characters let the author concentrate on story over drama.

The text shows some age - always weird to hear of sarsparilla in space tales - but feels reasonable progressive for something written in 1956, which is often a sticking point.

Another Heinlein Classic

I am so impressed with almost all of Heinleins books. This is yet another great story, many young people can learn allot from it.

I can't wait for the next on on my list

So fun except the side of sexism ...

This work has all the fun of space and excitement of adventure, you just keep getting hit upside the head with the "women's place" jokes. It really feels it's age (written in the 50's) when the female characters keep being told to shut their pretty mouths.
I really love the story as a whole and the main character grows and find his voice by the end.

Read this knowing what it is, I true time capsule to a time when adventure was viewed a mans job.

Wonderful book from my youth!

Would you listen to Time for the Stars again? Why?

Time for the Stars captured my imagination when I first read it as a teenager, but I forgot both the name of the book and author. I would even occasionally mention this story in conversations with my wife and friends. I was thrilled to re-discover this novel decades later on Audible, and was not in the least disappointed. I can't say this is my favorite Heinlein novel, but it is very good. The ideas and concepts are fantastic. I definitely recommend!

What other book might you compare Time for the Stars to and why?

In my opinion Heinlein's storytelling, writing, and themes are best expressed "novels for boys" which "Time for the Stars" is just one example. While these were written for teen boys in the 1940s and 50s, I am getting at least as much enjoyment out of them in my 40s and 50s as any teenager ever did.