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)

The Twin Paradox Brought to Life.

When I started reading this I had forgotten this was a book intended for younger readers (it was part of Robert Heinlein’s “Juveniles Series”). I can’t pretend to know whether kids these days would still like this sort of sci fi tale, but I’d imagine that they would.

The focus of the book is not interstellar action and derring do, although there is a bit of action towards the end. The book is partly about relationships, primarily twin sibling relationships. It's also about man’s efforts to explore and discover his world/universe.

The ending was somewhat more profound than I had expected it to be. Also interesting, the plot also brings the twin paradox to life.

I recommend this book if you are interested in vintage sci fi or, perhaps, the themes of discovery and sibling relationships.

[Spoiler alert: ] The book is a product of its time, and ends with the main character marrying his great-grandniece. That, I'd suggest, is a bit icky by today’s standards.

Another RAH Classic

This is one of my favorite RAH books and I was so excited to see an audio of it! Now they just need to make an audio of Tunnel in the Sky. But Time for the Stars is one of RAH best books it tells the age old story of two twins separated by the affects of relativistic space flight.

My First Favorite

Any additional comments?

Eons ago when I was a young lad, this was the first Heinlein book I read and it has long been a favorite, even decades later. It doesn't matter than the science it behind the times, it's still a good story and a good adventure. In addition, Barrett Whitner has become one of my favorite Audible narrators and he does an excellent job with this one.

Sci Fi old school

Would you try another book from Robert A. Heinlein and/or Barrett Whitener?

Yes

Would you be willing to try another book from Robert A. Heinlein? Why or why not?

Yes, simple and pleasurable old school science fiction. Boy makes good!

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Slightly dry but not annoying

Was Time for the Stars worth the listening time?

Yes, moved along very fast

Another well-performed Heinlein

Such an easy listen and a story that harkens to Time Enough For Love. I just wish it were longer.

I was disappointed by this audio interpretation.

What did you like best about Time for the Stars? What did you like least?

Robert Heinlein is one of my favorite writers and Time for the Stars was one of my favorite childhood books.

What didn’t you like about Barrett Whitener’s performance?

While his reading was competent enough, Barrett Whitener completely missed Heinlein's voice and made Tom sound like a sad sack through the whole book. Heinlein is known for his smart, sassy, self-reliant characters. I kept finding myself repeating lines in my head with the proper inflection. It was distracting and disappointing.

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