Stranger in a Strange Land cover art

Stranger in a Strange Land

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Stranger in a Strange Land

By: Robert A. Heinlein
Narrated by: Martin McDougall
Try Premium Plus free

Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $33.99

Buy Now for $33.99

About this listen

Epic, entertaining, blasphemous, this is the most influential and controversial of Science Fiction novels.

Stranger in a Strange Land caused uproar when it was first published as it savaged conventional religious, sexual, and social ideals. Many years in the future, Valentine Michael Smith's upbringing is exceptional. Orphan child to two astronauts killed in space, he is raised on Mars. Twenty-five years later he is "rescued" and brought back to Earth. The initial enthusiasm of the administration in Smith's safe return is soon dampened by the realisation that they cannot control him. Possessed with superhuman skills and a unique philosophy he threatens their society - Smith must be contained.

Then a nurse helps him escape his hospital jail. Their flight becomes a journey of discovery, enlightenment and wonder. But danger is following fast behind, and there will be no escape from the final confrontation.

©1961 Robert A. Heinlein (P)2012 Hodder & Stoughton Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Science Fiction Thought-Provoking
All stars
Most relevant
it's dated now. many of the attitudes are bygone. but it's a great read of a cracking messiah story. I really.enjoyed it over a loooong time.

Great premise and advanced philosophy for its time

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Its many years ago I read this book and this narrated edition is great enjoy it

A wonderful listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I found Stranger in a Strange Land challenged me to think about my own beliefs

As thought provoking today as when it was written,

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is the first Heinlein book I have read (or more precisely have had read to me). This is of slight embarrassment for someone who would loudly and proudly proclaim themselves a committed fan of Science Fiction at every opportunity. I chose this book simply because it was a title quoted as one of his more notable works and because the name intrigued me. Early on it quickly became apparent that Heinlein has some very clear and strong views about humanity, both good and bad. I was slightly put-off by the amount of rhetoric attached to the story, from the pov that it often felt like the dialogue between characters were set up as convenient bookends upon which to espouse his views. That said, I found his observations as striking as they were intelligent. I kind of had to forgive the slightly lecture-like nature of the story-telling because he had so many interesting things to say. While the Story itself was fairly pedestrian, the examination of humanity itself kept me engaged right up until the end, at which point it switched into high-gear, delivering a visceral knockout blow that felt only more powerful because of the slow-burn that got me to that point. When all was said and done, I was really glad I had finally chosen to visit some of his work. He is indeed a master author and story teller, and I look forward to visiting more of his work in the future. ps. My title for this review reflects a small but lingering feeling I have always carried of being a stranger in a strange land. Sadly you don't have to be from Mars to feel that you are visiting a culture you struggle to fully understand or be understood by.

The search for belonging

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Very creative story. I do no regret listening.

There are moments of sexism and homophobia but also I feel like it could be argued the reader is (slightly) encouraged to question this narrative through Mike.

Not a satisfying ending.

Creative

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
when every I finish a great peice of work I am always a little sad that it is over..

I feel that this morning, this was am amazing book. The author really took his time to provide a great masterpiece.

So much better than expected.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved the books, funny old fashion misogynistic characters but it’s of it’s time, slow start but overall entertaining.

The recoding of the audio was all over the place. Listened in car and had to turn the radio down then up then down then up, like a yo-yo, annoying.

Great book, bad audio quality

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Cool story and a nice view of 1960s america (albeit sexist view of women) ruined by lots of pointless conversations about people "grokking" things.

Not for me

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Incredible writer, brilliant story and lots of deep insights into philosophy, human nature, ethics, morality and more.
The author was fantastic also

My first Heinlein book. Blown away

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I read all of Heinlein's novels in my youth in the 70s and early 80s and loved them all. Stranger in a Strange Land being the second or third I encountered and is still one of my favourites. Heinlein's novels had a profound influence on me as a young person. They caused the reader reflect on many important social issues that we are still fighting for now: gender equality, racial equality, freedom of speech, sexual and religious freedom. I presume the audible version is of the original unabridged book that was released in the 90s not the original 1961 book which was edited by Heinlein, that won the Hugo prize as it did seem a little wordy at times. It also occurred to me that Heinlein's main character Valentine Michael Smiths "church" was heavily influenced by Ron L Hubbards Scientology or maybe Scientology borrowed liberally from Heinleins novel... or maybe I'm just old and cynical.

Brilliant! Still relevant 60 years after Heinlein penned it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.