To Sail Beyond the Sunset

The Life and Loves of Maureen Johnson (Being the Memoirs of a Somewhat Irregular Lady)

By: Robert A. Heinlein

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne

Length: 17 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Maureen Johnson, the somewhat irregular mother of Lazarus Long, wakes up in bed with a man and a cat. The cat is Pixel, well-known to fans of the New York Times best seller The Cat Who Walks through Walls. The man is a stranger to her, and besides that, he is dead.

So begins Robert A. Heinlein’s To Sail Beyond the Sunset. Filled with the master’s most beloved characters, this compelling work broadens and enriches his epic vision of time and space, life and death, love and desire. It is also an autobiographical masterpiece—and a wondrous return to the alternate universes that all Heinlein fans have come to know and love.

©1987 Robert A. and Virginia Heinlein, trustees (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Thoughtprovoking…. Considerable wit and energy!” ( Newsday)

Good page turner, but lots of wierd sex

Heinlein obviously had some strong opinions about human sexuality. He airs them throughout this book. Incest is OK (except one shouldn't bear children), for example. If one ignores that stuff, this is a reasonable story. But the sci-fi part of it is thinly developed. Not a bad book, but not great either.

Perhaps it rates in x's and not stars.

Where does To Sail Beyond the Sunset rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Among the top.

What did you like best about this story?

Oh loved the change of perspective to hear from Lazarus's mother. This was a great change from the Methuselah's series.

What about Bernadette Dunne’s performance did you like?

A talented reader who can change voice tones on a dime to meet new characters coming in to the story.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book is extreme and rubs against social norms of present society. Its content may not be new for long time readers of Heinlein work, but new readers may be shocked by the content. This read is not for children or Harry Potter readers.

Any additional comments?

It was great to have this in audio version as I have commute time and little time for sitting and reading paper copies at present.

Sorry to see it finish

They’re all here, Momma Maureen, Woodrow Wilson Smith and the indomitable Pixel. Note that this is, I believe, the final Lazarus Long novel. So you might to start with an earlier book!!

another Heinlein classic!!!

love the way they world as myth is tied into the story of Lazarus mother. along with numerous little life lessons found I all of mister Heinleins' work.

Different ,great read

A fast moving very adult book. Might be shocking to consecutive individuals. A very good read!

Rah, Rah RAH

Another awesome book by the Grande Master!!! Murine Johnson is definitely a somewhat irregular lady.

Final Book by the Best of Authors

This is a pure delight. I learn something new each time I read it, each time I give a lecture on it. Terry Brussel-Rogers Founder of Live the Dream (1987) based on the writings of Robert A Heinlein and other Poly themed material.

The Cycle Is Incomplete!

What did you love best about To Sail Beyond the Sunset?

I freely admit to being a Heinlein addict. This final masterwork does not disappoint,

What was one of the most memorable moments of To Sail Beyond the Sunset?

The beginning...nothing like starting with a bang!

Which character ??? as performed by Bernadette Dunne ??? was your favorite?

Bernadette Dunne allowed me to remember far more of the story than when I read it as a paperback.

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

Yes. Absolutely yes!

Any additional comments?

My only "complaint" is that as a cycle or series this did not feel "complete" without an audio version of the master's other novel, The Number of The Beast. I hope the people at New Frontiers will take note!

It's 2% scifi 98% sex

Really just know what your buying. This isn't starship troopers or methuselah's children. This is a book where 80% of the pages are devoted to romance/sex and it's neither high romance nor titillating.

It's really not a bad novel and a very interesting last novel by a great writer. But just know what you're getting yourself into.

If you didn't like Time Enough for Love you'll hate this. If you did like TEfL you might like this.

Very mixed reaction

On the one hand, I thoroughly enjoyed the story, the lead character and her sexual libertarianism. But every time I was starting to feel respect & affection for Maureen and her free thinking ways, she'd launch into a sophomoric right wing, objectivist rant that bespoke an appalling shallowness of her Weltanschauung and uncritical acceptance of (Ayn) Randian principles. .