The End of Eternity

By: Isaac Asimov

Narrated by: Jon Lindstrom

A spellbinding novel set in the universe of Isaac Asimov’s classic Galactic Empire series and Foundation series

Due to circumstances within our control...tomorrow will be canceled.

The Eternals, the ruling class of the Future, had the power of life and death not only over every human being but over the very centuries into which they were born. Past, Present, and Future could be created or destroyed at will.

You had to be special to become an Eternal. Andrew Harlan was special. Until he committed the one unforgivable sin - falling in love.

Eternals weren’t supposed to have feelings. But Andrew could not deny the sensations that were struggling within him. He knew he could not keep this secret forever. And so he began to plan his escape, a plan that changed his own past...and threatened Eternity itself.

©1955, 1986, 2011 Isaac Asimov (P)2020 Random House Audio

Peak Time Travel

One of the most incredible takes on time travel that I've ever come across and I thoroughly enjoy the genre.
The story had plenty of character depth to go with the sci-fi twists and turns.
100% recommend.

Asimov is Legendary

The last sentence of the book makes Eternity into a word the denotes imprisonment and Infinity into one that inspires Freedom. A Beautiful book.

Awesome!

At first it seemed a little boring, the middle of the book is awesome, and the ending is just stunning.

Great story and so many insights from a boom from such long time ago

Even if the book was written so much long time ago, things and thoughts and insights in the story is still relevant. It’s brilliant.

The best time travel story ever written

Stick with it. It takes awhile to get going but it it gets to a point where it stands alongside any science fiction ever written.

Excellent. No need to suspend belief to enjoy.

Gave me a new way to visualize time. Not the expected linear flow from past to future.

Unbelievable this was written in the 50's

Amazing book, a bit slow at the start but stick with it, more than worth it.

Amazing story. Audio quality could be better.

Was excited to learn this story was getting a re-release in 2020 with a new narrator. As an Asimov fan I've found this story interesting with it's unique perspective on time travel, or rather traveling Outside of Time in a similar fashion to his short story "The Winds of Change". Like the short story, those who exist Outside of Time - the Eternals - can make changes to Reality while they themselves remain unaffected in a realm Outside the normal flow of Time known as Eternity. The Eternals are the self-appointed guardians of human history, striving to make Changes here-and-there across the eons in an attempt to bring about the greatest good while those being affected remain ignorant of altered events from one Change to the next. As in his Robot Novels, there are consequences from Being Too Safe - whether it be from overprotective robots or Eternals erasing bumps in the road before people can stumble over them.


The disappointment lies in the audio quality. For 2020 it shouldn't sound like it was produced in the 80s. Maybe they were trying to save space on the download, or maybe it was done that way as a cost saving measure. Then again, some of my favorite Asimov narrations are the Ancient Ones which can only be found on audio cassette, so perhaps they were going for a Classic Analog Feel?


Other Info: Noticed earlier in 2020 that the three Galactic Empire Novels previously available on Audible had Gone Away. Figured it might be due to New Versions Coming, and that guess turned out to be correct. The narrator of this title also narrates "The Stars Like Dust", "The Currents of Space", and "Pebble in the Sky". These "new" titles also became available on September 1st 2020. Am going to guess that the audio quality there will be the same Could-Have-Been-Better as here, but even lesser quality audio is better than Nothing At All. Additionally, it appears Dr. Asimov's memoir "I, Asimov" will be released as an audio book - also narrated by Jon Lindstrom - on November 10th. Counting "End of Eternity", this makes FIVE "new" Asimov titles released in the last three months of 2020!


Extra "The End of Eternity" Trivia: There is also a book called "The Alternate Asimovs" where several familiar tales take a different path. In this book is an earlier version of "The End of Eternity". However, let's just say that in the Alternate version, Eternity doesn't exactly end.


Additional note for the Nice People of Audible: Noticed recently that there are three 2019 narrations of The Foundation Trilogy by William Hope, but these are NOT available in the US due to ?? licensing reasons ?? . I've seen other titles (ex: Lord of the Rings) with multiple versions, so perhaps it might be possible to make the William Hope versions available in the US?

good asimov book, but not grate

The ideas in this book are very good.
the message to the reader is superb.
the plot is fine, not more than that.

One of Asimov's best

Good good good good good good good good good good good good good good morning friend or two to