Starman Jones

As a fan of Heinlein's "Juveniles" I particularly enjoyed this book - it's one of my favorites.

It is one of his space ship stories (rather than being planet based). If you are a fellow fan, then you should enjoy this book too.

If you're not a big fan, then you need to know that it does have his usual level of meticulous and copious scientific and mathematic detail, which may annoy some. It also has one of his willful female characters whom I, as a woman, found mildly irritating.

The narrator is adequate. I didn't find that he either improved or detracted from the story. Those who are very sensitive to the narrator should definitely listen to the whole sample before deciding.

This one was a great read! It didn't follow the typical boy is an idiot, boy discovers he has amazing powers, boy winds up winning the girl, the fame and the world, bla, bla, bla... that so many scifi/fantasy stories do. For an older book, it seemed up to date enough to me to hold my interest. In fact, I found myself impressed that Heinlein wrote such a contemporary story so long ago. I enjoyed it very much and will look into more Heinlein books.

Starman Jones! I loved this book when I was a young boy back in the 60's! I found this book in a public library as I needed to write a book report. I was not much of a reader then, but I was totally engrossed by this book at the time.

Until now, I did not remember that it was written by Robert A. Heinlein who is such a famous and prolific science fiction writer. Other books: "Have Space Suite, Will Travel", "Strangers in a Strange Land", "Starship Troopers"... and many, many more.

Having re-read it after 40+ years, I sill enjoyed it (with the understanding, that this book was written for teenagers).


For more information on "Heinlein juveniles" genre books that you may also like (and find at Audible). Do a Google search on "Heinlein juveniles".

I originally read this book in High School. I bought it now because I remembered it being a good read. I have to admit I enjoyed it as much now as I did then.

For me this is an old favorite that I can now enjoy over and over when I have the spare time to listen.

Perhaps I need to stick to the classics! This is an excellent example of being able to tell a story without the use of profanity. If there was any, I dont remember them. Mr Garcia was a very good narrator also. There was not alot of action like one might want but my attention was held and my profanity mental meter did not peg every other paragraph. Mr Heinlein and others like him should teach the others this ability. Good job!

I agree with all the reviewers here who've said that this is a great story. But I would also like to add that Paul Michael Garcia's narration is one of the best I've ever heard from Audible. For me, the bar was set by Stefan Rudnicki with Ender's Game. Mr. Garcia with this book is a close second. He nailed it.

There were many times listening to this story that I could "feel" the influence of Heinlein on the Star Wars stories. Loved the characters ... marvelous addition t the genre.

I consider the print and audio equally good.

Sam, ex marine, finagling, 'sidekick'.

Spoiler alert!


Yes, when Sam gave his life to save Max and Ellie.

The Heinlein Juveniles (minus Podkayne of Mars) are, for me, the very finest of YA writing and this particular story is certainly in the top five of these fine books. It as been a favorite of mine since I first read it in the late 50's early 60's. I reread it every few years and am very happy to have it well performed in audio.

This story was gem. I loved the character, the 'future' that was created in the story. My only problem was the story ended just as it was getting really interesting.
Well worth a listen.

I liked that his voice was stiff and formal as I picture the main character.

This is my first Heinlein read and I now realize that I have been missing out. Some people were saying that this is a bad first book to start with Heinlein, but I have to disagree. This makes a great stand-alone novel and was a solid 5 star listen. The book seemed appropriate for adults and young adults.

Starman Jones is about a farmer boy born into a society where guilds control all the professions. Some guilds require lineage and have very expensive apprenticeships. All Jones has wanted to do since he was young was be an astrogator and go into space. Unfortunately for Jones, he is poor. When his uncle died without informing him whether had a recommendation to a guild he is unsure whether this goal may be obtainable. When circumstances place Jones in a position where he must run it seems obvious where his path must lead. With intelligence and an eidetic memory as guide he sets out to be more than just a poor farmers boy. In the process of his journey he meets a shady homeless man named Sam. When these two team up, the trouble starts, and they find themselves in an adventure across the galaxy.

This story was quite a ride. We get a look at a futuristic planet and society that encompasses the galaxy. There are multiple planets in this timeline where space travel is possible, but requires great mathematicians to course correct between worlds. You get some scientific jargon but it is completely fun and easy to follow. Plus, you are truly drawn through the whole mess of events with two opposite and engaging characters. I thought the ending was a little rushed and convenient when some characters were explained off in order to allow our main character a chance to be a hero. We get a short mention and brief exploration into different alien cultures, but there certainly was enough left open to write a sequel if this author had chosen. But really, I just wish this book were longer. If you are ready to suspend disbelief and enjoy a classic science fiction novel then give this book a try.