Assignment in Eternity

By: Robert A. Heinlein

Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot

Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Robert A. Heinlein is widely and justly regarded as the greatest practitioner of the art of science fiction who has ever lived. Here are two of his greatest short novels:

Gulf, in which the greatest super-spy of them all is revealed as the leader of a league of supermen and women who can’t quite decide what to do with the rest of us. And Lost Legacy, in which it is proved that we are all members of that league - or would be, if we but had eyes to see.

This collection also contains two great stories, a pair of the master’s finest: one on the nature of being, the other on what it means to be a man.

©1981 Robert A. Heinlein (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“The word that comes to mind for him is essential. As a writer - eloquent, impassioned, technically innovative - he reshaped science fiction in a way that defined it for every writer who followed him.... He was the most significant science fiction writer since H. G. Wells.” (Robert Silverberg)

“He made footsteps big enough for a whole country to follow.... We proceed down a path marked by his ideas. He showed us where the future is.” (Tom Clancy)

The Master of Science Fiction

Opens the minds of all of us to Growth. Freedom. & reaching our HIGHEST potential! A good read with entirely paletable lessons to learn.

Early Heinlein

Robert A Heinlein's Assignment in Eternity is a collection of four novellas, some which are quite brief. While published as a collection in the 50's, the material represents his work from the late 30's and 40's. The tales explore various themes which Heinlein more fully fleshed out in later full length novels. The themes include progressing beyond the current accepted limitations of man, moving through a multiverse, tapping into unused human mental potential and the nature of being human.

This is early Heinlein that displays his capacity for ideas and concepts that more fully developed would result in later works that are regarded as not only his finest efforts, but became the defining stories of science fiction in the early part of the 2nd half of the 20th century.

The narration is excellent with superb character distinction and smooth pacing.

great and thought provoking stories

really good stories, but the audio switches between barely audible and quite loud often. no complaints with the material or voice actor

Disappointing

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Flesh out stories more. Not so much preaching

Would you recommend Assignment in Eternity to your friends? Why or why not?

No. Not a good read/listen

Which character – as performed by Bronson Pinchot – was your favorite?

none

Could you see Assignment in Eternity being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Won't happen!

Any additional comments?

Have been reading Heinlein all my adult life (over 40 years) and this is about the worst story that I have read by him.

I was really excited when I saw a Heinlein story that I had never heard of or read. The experience was very disappointing.

While this was written in the early years it just did not measure up to other stories from that time frame.

Yes to Heinlein Fans! Maybe for Others . . . 😱

5 is excellent.
4 is good.
3 is OK.
Heinlein fans will enjoy this, especially considering it was published in 1953 and the short story contents were previously written from 1941 and later.
Thematically the short stories consider intelligence and humanity and occasionally the plot action suffers from overlong rumination.
I am a Heinlein fan and have been since the late 1950's -- however I would consider only a couple of these shorts amount his better caliber of works. 😱

Good stories, but dated

This is a collection of Heinlein’s stories written in the mid-1940s. Heinlein liked to speculate on scientific & philosophical questions popular in his day.

What if there were humans more evolved than most of the rest? What if, as was thought at the time, most folks only used a small percentage of their brains? What would happen if they learned to access the unused parts?

The stories don’t stand up today. There’s usually a maximum of one woman in each one. Heinlein did try to make his female characters more than set decoration, with limited success.

RH was forward thinking about race, but subtle racism still sneaks into his prose, not to mention ideas that skate right in the edge of eugenics, without quite going over the line.

And EVERYONE smokes.

Must have for any Heinlein Fan.

If you could sum up Assignment in Eternity in three words, what would they be?

Heinlein Early Years

What did you like best about this story?

The roots to many later novels by the grandmaster. You can see the development of the concepts that run through many of his later works.

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

Awesome Characterization!! I had already feel in love with his narration of Glory Road!! I loved the life he gave to many old favorite characters.

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

I doubt that Hollywood will touch any of these stories as is. Look what they did to Starship Troops and Puppet Masters.

Any additional comments?

I keep hoping that Expanded Universe would be converted to Audio. This was a good additional to the audio library of Heinlein work.

Good book for it's age.

The book is a bit dated, but not too much. Heinlein had good ideas for his day.

You know… this book really sucks.

It is neither a short story collection nor a book. With at least 10 unrelated “main” characters. All 5 books / sections / chapters are good. It is RAH. But… they are defiantly unrelated. The narration is excellent.

some of Heinlein's early work

This collection of short stories is unpredictable and is for true science fiction fans. These early books are not Heinlein's best but still play well 65 years after publication. Some are better than others but they all show more imagination and creativity than most authors have.