Time for the Stars

By: Robert A. Heinlein

Narrated by: Barrett Whitener

Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Travel to other planets is now a reality, and with overpopulation stretching the resources of Earth, the necessity of finding habitable worlds is growing ever more urgent. There’s a problem though—because the spaceships are slower than light, any communication between the exploring ships and Earth would take years.

Tom and Pat are identical twin teenagers. As twins they’ve always been close, so close that it seemed like they could read each other’s minds. When they are recruited by the Long Range Foundation, the twins find out that they can, indeed, peer into each other’s thoughts. Along with other telepathic duos, they are enlisted to be the human transmitters and receivers that will keep the ships in contact with Earth. But there’s a catch: one of the twins has to stay behind—and that one will grow old—while the other explores the depths of space and returns as a young man still.

©1956 ; 1983 by Robert A. Heinlein; 2003 by the Robert A. and Virginia Heinlein Prize Trust (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“One of the superb Heinlein stories that has excitement, urbanity, humanity, rationality, pace, understanding, and is a joy to read.” ( New York Times)

“Rarely has Heinlein pushed his imagination further…A vivid, stirring experience.” ( Chicago Tribune)

“He showed us where the future is.” (Tom Clancy)

One of Heinlein’s best juveniles

Originally posted at Fantasy Literature

Time for the Stars is one of my favorite Heinlein Juveniles, and I like his juveniles better than his books for adults, so I guess that makes Time of the Stars one of my favorite Heinlein works. It’s got everything that makes his stories so much fun to read, especially for kids. Likeable heroes, sweet relationships, real emotions, a touch of romance, a bit of physics, spaceship travel and exploration of distant planets. (And also, as usual, there’s a hint of incest — romance with a cousin — and a few complaints about taxes. It is a Heinlein novel, after all.)

In Time for the Stars, twins Tom and Pat join an experimental scientific study to see if telepathy might be a viable way for Earth to communicate with her exploring spaceships. It’s thought that if telepathy could work for anyone, it would be identical twins. Tom and Pat are excited to be involved, but they know this means that one of them will get to explore space while the other one has to stay home to be the other end of the telepathic line. This fact has a lot of ramification for the brothers. First of all, the boys have to decide who gets to go. Second, the one who leaves will probably never see his family again. Third, the boys will now age at different rates because of relativity, so even if the one who leaves ever comes back, he will be much younger than his twin.

All of this gives Time for the Stars an emotional texture that makes this story feel weightier than your average YA SF adventure. Also, Time for the Stars is not just a story about exploring space — it’s about family, friendship, loneliness, love, guilt, and the power of the human mind. In fact, I think Heinlein spends more time exploring the brain than exploring distant galaxies.

Time for the Stars is an entertaining and moving YA space adventure that will probably please most adults as well as kids. I listened to Barrett Whitener narrate Blackstone Audio’s version. I thought his voice, tone, and cadence were perfect for this emotional story.

Heinlein always entertains, often educates.

I'm so glad most of Heinlein's juvies are available on audio. I hope they record the rest of them soon.

A Chance to See Your Life's Work

This may be one of the most interesting of Robert Heinlein many interesting books. How does space travel affect time for different people, is there a special connection between twins, and many other fun topics. It does get a little slow at some points but overall a very enjoyable read or listen.

A great Heinlein youth novel

Would you listen to Time for the Stars again? Why?

Yes, it's an easy listen and it's one I wouldn't mind listening to while working.

What other book might you compare Time for the Stars to and why?

It's similar to other Heinlein you novels. Starman Jones, which is probably my favorite and Citizen of the Galaxy.

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

It was a solid performance.

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

It had a pretty neat concept, a nice mixture of hard and soft sci-fi

Any additional comments?

Just a good light read

masterpiece

As teenager i admired Heinlein, but as i as i gat near my 40's the magic was a little bit lost.
This book was a breeze of a fresh air for me. I loved it and the narrator made superb work, so it was a joy to enjoy Heinlein again.
and as usual with Heinlein, it is an teenager appropriate.

Another great Robert Heinlien novel

I haven't read this book in 30 years. It's held up quite well, With well developed characters And great action scenes.

Slow and slightly painful

I’ve enjoin Heinlein for 30 years. I know that not everything will be a Stranger in a Strange Land or Moon is a Harsh Mistress…but this was monotonous. Both in plot and in the performance. I felt like I was listening to 5 hours of whining from a teenager in 1956.

Luckily, it was a 22 hour car trip and I got a second chance with the other book I bought.

Great story that took me back when I first read it!

The narration was excellent. It remained true to the quality of writing. The characters were solid and believable. Thank you

Another Heinlein Classic

I am so impressed with almost all of Heinleins books. This is yet another great story, many young people can learn allot from it.

I can't wait for the next on on my list

So fun except the side of sexism ...

This work has all the fun of space and excitement of adventure, you just keep getting hit upside the head with the "women's place" jokes. It really feels it's age (written in the 50's) when the female characters keep being told to shut their pretty mouths.
I really love the story as a whole and the main character grows and find his voice by the end.

Read this knowing what it is, I true time capsule to a time when adventure was viewed a mans job.