I Will Fear No Evil

By: Robert A. Heinlein

Narrated by: Anthony Heald

Length: 18 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

As startling and provocative as his famous Stranger in a Strange Land, here is Heinlein’s grand masterpiece about a man supremely talented, immensely old, and obscenely wealthy who discovers that money can buy everything.

Johann Sebastian Bach Smith was immensely rich—and very old. Though his mind was still keen, his body was worn out. His solution was to have surgeons transplant his brain into a new body. The operation was a great success—but the patient was no longer Johann Sebastian Bach Smith. He was now fused with the very vocal personality of his gorgeous, recently deceased secretary, Eunice—with mind-blowing results! Together they must learn to share control of her body.

Once again, master storyteller Robert A. Heinlein delivers a wild and intriguing classic of science fiction. Written at the dawn of the 1970s, this novel is the brilliantly shocking story of the ultimate transplant.

©1970 Robert A. Heinlein (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Magnificent. A science fiction masterpiece.” ( Galaxy)

SciFi Sex Change Brain Transplant Soap Opera

It like Days of Our Lives set in an alternate present day situation. The parallels with today's society from a past futuristic perspective at incredible.

An old horndog's swinging fever dream

A bit rough. Heinlein fell seriously ill immediately after writing this draft so it does not have his usual polish. It reads like a stream of consciousness which for many parts it actually is.

free love

This is not Heinlein's most famous novel, but perhaps it should be better known. I find Heinlein's style to be magical but I can't explain exactly why.

The main focus of the novel appears to be sexual open-mindedness. I guess this was a shocking concept to most people in 1970, and I guess this is still shocking to most people in 2012.

I like the warning about overpopulation. The problem was already bad in 1970 and has gotten worse since. I am happy when authors try to open the eyes of the public to this threat.

The narration is very good.

John Christmas, author of "Democracy Society"

Ok I guess

If you could sum up I Will Fear No Evil in three words, what would they be?

The story was pretty good. It seemed to have some gaps which I guess is attributed to the Unabridged version. The narrator's voices were ok, he just was pretty weak in the female voices. :)

Who was your favorite character and why?

I guess the Johan for his ability to adapt.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Anthony Heald?

Not sure

Another HIT for Heinlein!

If you could sum up I Will Fear No Evil in three words, what would they be?

Usual robust males, independent women Heinlein book, but in this the man becomes a woman, in body at least because of a brian transplant.

What other book might you compare I Will Fear No Evil to and why?

A Stranger In A Strange Land (the expanded version) because it is about alternate, seldon considered ways of looking at and living life.

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

no, but I love the way he reads and the way he separates characters by voice

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

LOVED this book when I read it 30 years ago, love it still

Any additional comments?

Buy any mainstream Heinlein book, and you won't be disappointed.

Not one of Heinlein's best stories

What made the experience of listening to I Will Fear No Evil the most enjoyable?

The narrator did an wonderful job of giving each character a distinct voice and keeping them separate, even when the lines came machine gun style.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

As we approach the end of our lives, we all wish to live it with our greatest loves close to us. But honestly, the ending becomes almost ridiculous.

Narrater was great!

I would have given the performance 6 stars, if I could. He brought the book to life.

soft porn

if soft porn is what you like, this is great. if not, don't bother. it's SF, but only technically.

Love the premise, but the sex-with-all overtone was way overdone!

Love the premise of this story, but I grew tired of the sex-with-all overtone was way overdone!
This overtone, sex with anyone/everyone, went too far when it seemingly included minors!
I read this book the first time in my late teens and I couldn't put it down! My mind was in a very different universe, being the victim of childhood sexual abuse, and I guess I thought life just worked that way…which screwed me up (in my way of thinking about sex back then, in general) in all my relationships!
I couldn’t put the book down, back then.

Soft-core porn gets boring

If I wanted sexist soft-core porn, I'd buy some. And like most porn, chapter after chapter gets boring. Hardly qualifies as science fiction. As in all his later books, Heinlein's women are all the same, defined by their biology. They're all stunningly brilliant and equally beautiful but they all want to have sex and babies as their major, if not only, fulfillment. Almost the only action in the story is an adolescent boy's wet dream. Only a couple of scientifically interesting ideas alternate with his retro-conservative politics and judgmental opinions straight out of 18th century myths about "John Wayne" men and compliant women who are hot to trot and just want to get laid.