The Number of the Beast

By: Robert A. Heinlein

Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne, Emily Durante, Malcolm Hillgartner, Sean Runnette, Richard Powers, Tom Weiner

Length: 21 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

The wickedest, most wonderful science-fiction story ever created in our - or any - time. Anything can begin at a party in California - and everything does in this bold masterwork by a grand master of science fiction.

When four supremely sensual and unspeakably cerebral humans - two male, two female - find themselves under attack from aliens who want their awesome quantum breakthrough, they take to the skies - and zoom into the cosmos on a rocket roller-coaster ride of adventure, danger, ecstasy, and peril.

Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) was the dominant science-fiction writer of the modern era, a writer whose influence on the field was immense. He won science fiction's Hugo Award for best novel four times.

©1980 Robert A. Heinlein (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“One of the grand masters of science fiction.” (Wall Street Journal)

“The most influential science fiction writer of all time!” (Locus)

“[A story] about two men and two women in a time-machine safari through this and other universes. But describing The Number of the Beast thus is like saying Moby-Dick is about a one-legged guy trying to catch a fish.” (National Review)

Awesome

Great story. I have always loved this author. Rereading for the 4th or so times.

A great read

I loved the book. I was a bit confused at the end but the story was intriguing and had action fantasy and was risque without being raunchy. The characters were interesting and I just plain really liked the book. The connections to other stories authors and such was fun. Many critics didn't like it but for me it was very entertaining.

started good by the end of the book it was a chore

all the blending and characters made this book a total chore. by far the worst book by Robert

I've been waiting for this book in audio format...

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would have waited even longer to have better narration. I'm two hours into the audiobook. I'm forcing myself to continue on, because I haven't experienced this story since my paperback copy went missing back in the early 90s.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I don't mind ensemble readings. The Godfather was quite enjoyable. But this... I don't know if I'll finish it. I like Bernadette Dunn, usually. I don't care much for her reading of Hilda, but in my opinion, her performance is the best of the group. Deety's narrator makes her sound utterly immature and annoying. Her intelligently-written character becomes whiny and annoying. Zeb is read like he is a doddering old man. Jake's character performance is not memorable either way.

Classic late Heinlein.

Would you listen to The Number of the Beast again? Why?

Although I will probably listen to this again, as I usually listen to my Heinlein often, it won't be any time soon. Having four narrators was probably the best way to present the four different viewpoints, but the narrator for DeeTee sounded too much like a little girl and didn't pull off the male voices as well as the other female narrator.

Odd, but fun.

It's fun to spend more time with the Longs. The book is fun but doesn't really get cooking until after part 2 and the start of part 3. I enjoyed the story but felt it ended a little bit too abruptly. Give it a shot!

Great story with great story tellers

Not my favorite Heinlein novel, but still one of the greats. Amazing performance by the cast.

Horrific narration

Would you try another book from Robert A. Heinlein and/or the narrators?

I love Heinlein - and have read this book many times but thought I'd try the audible version - narration was a painful listen! None of them were good. Two of them were AWFUL.

What did you like best about this story?

The story is great - narration really ruins it however

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of the narrators?

*I* could've done it better - can't imagine anyone worse

a bit to far fetched but still entertaining

What did you like best about The Number of the Beast? What did you like least?

cool car, to much unrelated banter

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

DT

Do you think The Number of the Beast needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

it is open ended but i don't think there is much chance of a follow-up

A little to be desired.

This book has multiple reader/performers. Unfortunately, this being a R. A. Heinlein book there are big words that describe technical things the female readers must never have heard of or heard pronounced, leaving their pronunciation butchered.
Hearing one of the characters' proper name mispronounced multiple times made me cringe repeatedly - that being Detee, or D. T. for Dejah Thoris from the old Edgar Rice Burroughs novels. The name isn't Dee Jah it is pronounced Dey zhah. It rankles me to hear it abused over and again.
The same reader mispronounced "Vernier" and a few other words that made me sit upright and nearly spray my tea. Very sad. Sue me, I'm a stickler.
Don't be shocked if you've never listened to Heinlein. His preoccupation with incest, plural - open marriage, and spanking women is prominent once again. There could, if I am not mistaken, be a measured change in the timing of the cadence of the female readers while they read these particular parts, perhaps a hint of the voice actor's apparent revulsion.
The date of the original debut of this book in the Golden Age of Science Fiction can be guessed as Heinlein uses references one has to overlook deliberately to fully move with the flow of the story and not be confused by political and cultural references that never happened. The real world lost interest in the development of space and living in orbit to a point where the events in the book and the dates are completely jumbled. But this is the price to pay for reading one of the grandfathers of science fiction. They were pathfinders that inspired what hasn't happened - yet. We can only hope to live to see humanity on other planets and seeing suborbital flights across the oceans to visit Europe from the Americas in under an hour.
If you expect Heinlein at his normal level of spousal abuse, male dominance, fantastic futures, you will get what you expect.