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The Space Merchants
- Narrated by: Dan Bittner
- Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
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-
Story
Two of science fiction’s most renowned writers join forces for a storytelling sensation. The Last Theorem is a story of one man’s mathematical obsession, and a celebration of the human spirit and the scientific method. It is also a gripping intellectual thriller in which humanity, facing extermination from all-but-omnipotent aliens, the Grand Galactics, must overcome differences of politics and religion and come together...or perish.
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2 master writers=1 great story
- By Gary on 12-27-13
By: Frederik Pohl, and others
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Gateway
- By: Frederik Pohl
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman, Robert J. Sawyer
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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When prospector Bob Broadhead went out to Gateway on the Heechee spacecraft, he decided he would know which was the right mission to make him his fortune. Three missions later, now famous and permanently rich, Robinette Broadhead has to face what happened to him and what he is...in a journey into himself as perilous and even more horrifying than the nightmare trip through the interstellar void that he drove himself to take!
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A human-focused SF classic
- By Ryan on 12-05-13
By: Frederik Pohl
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Man Plus
- By: Frederik Pohl
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris, Robert J. Sawyer
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Roger Torraway watched in horror as the monster lurched, toppled over and died. Project Man Plus had gone suddenly and drastically wrong. The race to colonize Mars was too important, too costly, and America was already too committed, for plans to be scrapped. They would have to make a new Martian. And Roger Torraway was it, candidate for the endless surgery, operation after painful operation, that would enable him to survive on that faraway planet.
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More timely now than ever
- By Sandy R on 06-28-10
By: Frederik Pohl
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Gateways
- Original New Stories Inspired by Frederik Pohl
- By: Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, Ben Bova, and others
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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It isn’t easy to get a group of bestselling SF authors to write new stories for an anthology, but that’s what Elizabeth Anne Hull has done in this powerhouse book. With original, captivating tales by Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, Ben Bova, David Brin, Cory Doctorow, Neil Gaiman, Joe Haldeman, Harry Harrison, Larry Niven, Vernor Vinge, Gene Wolfe, and others, Gateways is a SF event that will be a must-buy for SF readers of all tastes, from the traditional to the cutting edge; from the darkly serious to the laugh-out-loud funny.
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Spectacular.
- By Steve Reid on 08-21-15
By: Greg Bear, and others
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The Boy Who Would Live Forever
- By: Frederik Pohl
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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The Boy Who Would Live Forever has a sense of wonder and excitement that will satisfy those who loved Gateway and will delight new listeners as well. In Gateway, long after the alien Heechee abandoned their space-station, Gateway (as humans dubbed it) allowed humans to explore new worlds. The Heechee, alarmed by the alien Kugel whose goal was to destroy all organic lifeforms, had already retreated to the galactic core, where they now lived in peace.
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It's long
- By Jeff Shultz on 08-04-16
By: Frederik Pohl
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The World at the End of Time
- By: Frederik Pohl
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Wan-To was the oldest and must powerful intelligence in the universe, a being who played with star systems as a child plays with marbles. Matter occupied so tiny a part of his vast awareness that humans were utterly beneath his notice.
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puts the science back into fiction
- By John on 04-30-14
By: Frederik Pohl
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The Last Theorem
- A Novel
- By: Frederik Pohl, Arthur C. Clarke
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Two of science fiction’s most renowned writers join forces for a storytelling sensation. The Last Theorem is a story of one man’s mathematical obsession, and a celebration of the human spirit and the scientific method. It is also a gripping intellectual thriller in which humanity, facing extermination from all-but-omnipotent aliens, the Grand Galactics, must overcome differences of politics and religion and come together...or perish.
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2 master writers=1 great story
- By Gary on 12-27-13
By: Frederik Pohl, and others
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Gateway
- By: Frederik Pohl
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman, Robert J. Sawyer
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When prospector Bob Broadhead went out to Gateway on the Heechee spacecraft, he decided he would know which was the right mission to make him his fortune. Three missions later, now famous and permanently rich, Robinette Broadhead has to face what happened to him and what he is...in a journey into himself as perilous and even more horrifying than the nightmare trip through the interstellar void that he drove himself to take!
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A human-focused SF classic
- By Ryan on 12-05-13
By: Frederik Pohl
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Man Plus
- By: Frederik Pohl
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris, Robert J. Sawyer
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Roger Torraway watched in horror as the monster lurched, toppled over and died. Project Man Plus had gone suddenly and drastically wrong. The race to colonize Mars was too important, too costly, and America was already too committed, for plans to be scrapped. They would have to make a new Martian. And Roger Torraway was it, candidate for the endless surgery, operation after painful operation, that would enable him to survive on that faraway planet.
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More timely now than ever
- By Sandy R on 06-28-10
By: Frederik Pohl
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Gateways
- Original New Stories Inspired by Frederik Pohl
- By: Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, Ben Bova, and others
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
It isn’t easy to get a group of bestselling SF authors to write new stories for an anthology, but that’s what Elizabeth Anne Hull has done in this powerhouse book. With original, captivating tales by Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, Ben Bova, David Brin, Cory Doctorow, Neil Gaiman, Joe Haldeman, Harry Harrison, Larry Niven, Vernor Vinge, Gene Wolfe, and others, Gateways is a SF event that will be a must-buy for SF readers of all tastes, from the traditional to the cutting edge; from the darkly serious to the laugh-out-loud funny.
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Spectacular.
- By Steve Reid on 08-21-15
By: Greg Bear, and others
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Gun, with Occasional Music
- By: Jonathan Lethem
- Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Gumshoe Conrad Metcalf has problems - not the least of which are the rabbit in his waiting room and the trigger-happy kangaroo on his tail. Near-future Oakland is an ominous place where evolved animals function as members of society, the police monitor citizens by their karma levels, and mind-numbing drugs such as Forgettol and Acceptol are all the rage. In this brave new world, Metcalf has been shadowing the wife of an affluent doctor, perhaps falling a little in love with her at the same time.
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SF SLAMS into a hard-boiled, noir pulp!
- By Darwin8u on 04-18-12
By: Jonathan Lethem
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More Than Human
- By: Theodore Sturgeon
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki, Harlan Ellison
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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In this genre-bending novel, among the first to have launched sci fi into literature, a group of remarkable social outcasts band together for survival and discover that their combined powers render them superhuman. Together, they may represent the next step in evolution - or the final chapter in the history of the human race. As they struggle to find whether they are meant to help humanity or destroy it, Sturgeon explores questions of power and morality, individuality and belonging.
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Must listen
- By Dion on 01-16-10
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The Drowned World
- By: J. G. Ballard
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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First published in 1962, J.G. Ballard’s mesmerizing and ferociously imaginative novel not only gained him widespread critical acclaim but also established his reputation as one of the finest writers of a generation. The Drowned World imagines a terrifying world in which global warming has melted the ice caps and primordial jungles have overrun a tropical London. Set during the year 2145, this novel follows biologist Dr. Robert Kearns and his team of scientists as they confront a cityscape in which nature is on the rampage and giant lizards, dragonflies, and insects fiercely compete for domination.
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EGO AGAINST ID
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 11-05-16
By: J. G. Ballard
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Dhalgren
- By: Samuel R. Delany
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 34 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Bellona is a city at the dead center of the United States. Something has happened there...the population has fled. Madmen and criminals wander the streets. Strange portents appear in the cloud-covered sky. And into this disaster zone comes a young man - a poet, a lover, and an adventurer - known only as the Kid.
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A classic I return to every few years
- By kwdayboise (Kim Day) on 04-08-17
By: Samuel R. Delany
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Expanded Universe, Vol. 1
- By: Robert A. Heinlein
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Robert A. Heinlein has been hailed as one of the most forward-thinking science fiction writers of all time, and Expanded Universe (presented in two volumes) offers the perfect collection of his works to provide listeners with true insights into his uniquely creative mind.
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Old friends spoiled by poor narration
- By Gary on 06-07-21
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Time Out of Joint
- By: Philip K. Dick
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings
- Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Ragle Gumm has a unique job: Every day he wins a newspaper contest. And when he isn’t consulting his charts and tables, he enjoys his life in a small town, in 1959. At least, that’s what he thinks. But then strange things start happening. He finds a phone book where all the numbers have been disconnected, and a magazine article about a famous starlet named Marilyn Monroe, whom he’s never heard of. Plus, everyday objects are beginning to disappear and are replaced by strips of paper with words written on them, like "bowl of flowers" and "soft-drink stand".
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Mediocre Mother to Gravity's Rainbow and the Truman Show?
- By Darwin8u on 06-13-15
By: Philip K. Dick
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Between Planets
- By: Robert A. Heinlein
- Narrated by: Andrew Eiden
- Length: 6 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Don Harvey is a citizen of the Interplanetary Federation - yet no single planet can claim him as its own. His mother was born on Venus and his father on Earth, and Don himself was born on a spaceship in trajectory between planets. When his parents abruptly summon him away from school on Earth to join them on Mars, he has no idea he's about to be plunged into deadly interplanetary intrigue. But the ship Don is traveling on is unexpectedly diverted to Venus, where the colony has launched a revolution against Earth's control.
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Like a breath of fresh air
- By MikeFarr on 03-28-17
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The Demolished Man
- By: Alfred Bester
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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In a world policed by telepaths, Ben Reich plans to commit a crime that hasn't been heard of in 70 years: murder. That's the only option left for Reich, whose company is losing a 10-year death struggle with rival D'Courtney Enterprises.Terrorized in his dreams by The Man with No Face and driven to the edge after D'Courtney refuses a merger offer, Reich murders his rival and bribes a high-ranking telepath to help him cover his tracks. But while police prefect Lincoln Powell knows Reich is guilty, his telepath's knowledge is a far cry from admissible evidence.
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It needed the visuals of the paper book.
- By Traci L. Brennan on 05-15-18
By: Alfred Bester
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The Puppet Masters
- By: Robert A. Heinlein
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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First came the news that a flying saucer had landed in Iowa. Then came the announcement that the whole thing was a hoax. End of story. Case closed. Except that two agents of the most secret intelligence agency in the US government were on the scene and disappeared without reporting in. And four more agents who were sent in also disappeared. So the head of the agency and his two top agents went in and managed to get out with their discovery
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Great book, distracting narration
- By Jon on 04-25-22
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Footfall
- By: Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
- Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
- Length: 24 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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They first appear as a series of dots on astronomical plates, heading from Saturn directly toward Earth. Since the ringed planet carries no life, scientists deduce the mysterious ship to be a visitor from another star. The world's frantic efforts to signal the aliens go unanswered. The first contact is hostile: the invaders blast a Soviet space station, seize the survivors, and then destroy every dam and installation on Earth with a hail of asteriods.
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Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle at Their Best
- By Flatlander on 06-24-10
By: Larry Niven, and others
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The Stars My Destination
- By: Alfred Bester
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Marooned in outer space after an attack on his ship, Nomad, Gulliver Foyle lives to obsessively pursue the crew of a rescue vessel that had intended to leave him to die.
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STILL AMAZINGLY GOOD AFTER 62 YEARS
- By charles watkins on 02-19-18
By: Alfred Bester
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His Share of Glory
- The Complete Short Science Fiction of C. M. Kornbluth
- By: C. M. Kornbluth, Timothy P. Szczesuil - editor
- Narrated by: Steve Baker
- Length: 43 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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His Share of Glory contains all the short science fiction written solely by C. M. Kornbluth. Many of the stories are SF "classics", such as "The Marching Morons", "The Little Black Bag", "Two Dooms", "The Mindworm", "Thirteen O'Clock", and, of course, "That Share of Glory". His Share of Glory includes all of Kornbluth's solo short science fiction, fifty-six works of short SF in all, with the original bibliographic details including pseudonymous by-line.
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chapter names
- By Evan Goldsborough on 02-18-20
By: C. M. Kornbluth, and others
What listeners say about The Space Merchants
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Ben
- 03-04-13
Good build...peters out.
Is there anything you would change about this book?
The author built an intriguing and terrifying world and could have used it to build a better story. The book ended suddenly and left me wondering what would have happened next.
What about Dan Bittner’s performance did you like?
Very good.
Was The Space Merchants worth the listening time?
Not really. I was disappointed. I expected a better read.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 08-05-22
Not bad. Just not how I remember it.
This was on my college Science Fiction Literature reading list in the late 70's. Written in 1952, the technology is dated. It has always been a book I wanted to re-read. The Audible version got me all of the way across Montana.
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- Jim "The Impatient"
- 07-20-13
You a New Crumb?
YOU DON'T GET PULLED TO VENUS, YOU GET PUSHED.
Turn off your Hypnoteleset, get your pot of Coffiest from your nightstand and listen to me rather your a Star Class or a Consumer. I am a slow reader of hard backs, so I can count on my fingers the number of hard copy books a have read more then once in the last 30 years. This book I read at least three times. I had a copy of this on cassette and I listened to it numerous times. I am so glad it is out in a new audible format. This should be on your top ten list of classic Science Fiction.
SHE WAS JUST A TOOL
This is a world taken over by advertising agencies and by corporations. Some may think it goes a little too far. I say it is spot on and is happening right now. Just before I listened to this, there was a story on the news about retail stores using cameras and face recognition to follow customers through the store and to keep track of where in the store consumers spend most of there time. This was written in 1952. One of the products talked about was called Pregnot. The pill was not approved until 1960. Another product was the Bolster Bra. Have you seen the padding in push up bras at Victoria Secret? Did you think 20 years ago that half naked women would be modeling panties and bras on TV? In the book, cops will not come investigate a crime unless you subscribe to them. Is there not places where you can not get firefighters to come out unless you subscribe to them? Are you one of the millions of people who must have caffeine in the morning, either through coffee or cola? Isn't one of the more recent books to come out, called Sugar and Salt, and doesn't it talk about how much sugar and salt is put in food, because it is addictive. One of my favorite parts of the book, is when they talk about congress. People are not represented by States. The congressmen represent companies, such as Yummy Cola. Don't many people believe that lobbyist from special interest groups and large corporations, own many of our congressmen? The president is just a figure head in this book with no power. The president is born to his position. How much power does today's president have? Until Obama didn't most of our presidents come from the same powerful families? The book has hypnotelesets and people go into a trance when they watch it. I have seen people do the same thing in front of modern television. In the book people sign a contract on the length of there marriage. Remember in 1952 it was very hard to get a divorce. How long do most marriages last today and how many times do most people marry? A big part of the book is the wide divide between Star Class (conservatives) and Consies (liberals). Is there not the largest divide today between the two?
SPLIT A SHOWER, BUD?
Pohl and Kornbluth did not get everything right. Like the Science Fiction writers of there day they thought space travel would be common place and they believed in overpopulation. Regular people don't travel to the moon or Venus and overpopulation is not what they tried to convince us it would be. Also like most writers of that time, Pohl was a huge liberal. Some of today's readers may not be able to get over there bias in that area.
The narrator did an excellent job and really got into the spirit of the book.
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22 people found this helpful
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- John Loden
- 05-06-12
a SciFic classic done really well
I picked up this scifi classic as a way to begin filling in my knowledge of works from the past that inform the genre's current status and to see what things have dropped out. Pohl's work, like Bester's, is tough to read/listen to because the central character is not the usual hero figure. That said, Pohl's vision of the future from the fifties appears to be more accurate than Asimov's, and so maybe we are a lot more like his characters than Asimov's.
The performance of the story is quite good, making the story quite followable and giving nuance where it's called for.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Stepping True
- 05-28-21
Entertaining Pohl Adventure. Not ‘Star Class.’
I was looking forward to listening (reading) another entertaining work of Frederick Pohl. Yet, the story is quite dated and a bit problematic in today’s world.
Also, the story has a weird and slow start. Once it gets going, it’s good. Yet, it skips over plot points that it took ‘pages’ to develop.
Recommended if you are a fan of Pohl.
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- Cool Capitalist
- 02-02-22
Funny satire, not much else
It's great satire of capitalism etc. the plot leaves something to be desired. the protagonist does develop and change, but just sort of all at once - it doesn't feel justified, really. finally, the ending seemed abrupt
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- Joel D Offenberg
- 03-25-12
Classic satiric sci-fi
Pohl & Kornbluth's Space Merchants takes place in a not-so-distant future where the world is ruled by advertising agencies. It's a very satirical take on the commercial world and its possible future, in which corporations and governments don't manage advertising---the advertisers manage the corporations and governments.
One agency has won the contract for the planet Venus --- find the colonists, create commercial enterprises, and essentially make the biggest buck possible. Opponents include competing agencies and the "Consies" (conservationists).
The plot is interesting but the value of the story is in the satire and humor value. It's not a laugh-out-loud book, more of a OK-that's-our-society-taken-to-the-max kind of humor.
Bittner's reading is pretty good...maybe a little more editing in the sound booth was needed, but OK.
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8 people found this helpful
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- subtitles
- 05-26-15
Good classic SCI-FI with a nod of things to come.
What made the experience of listening to The Space Merchants the most enjoyable?
I've been mining classic SCI-FI for a little while now, and I found the Space Merchants very refreshing. A good story set in the future, zero sexism of the era, and a fascinating look at the future from a 1950's perspective.
What did you like best about this story?
The issue of classism being addressed in the past, and in the future at the same time.
Which scene was your favorite?
Star Class!
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
It definitely kept me going, and I enjoyed getting back to it when free time allowed.
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1 person found this helpful
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- KChurch
- 03-14-22
Solid Work
Solid corporate distopia that mostly keeps up an impressive pace. Interesting lead character whose character development could be better integrated with events. World building is pragmatic and detailed; the author may have a background in corporate sales. Recommended, but not passionately.
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- Håkan
- 01-29-13
great recollection
Where does The Space Merchants rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Among the better ones. I've listened to Good fact and this is Good fiction.I read the novel in the sixties and couldn't remember it. This was better.
What other book might you compare The Space Merchants to and why?
I like SF and Fantasy. Some of them had the theme "you can sell anything with adequate promotion."
What three words best describe Dan Bittner’s performance?
Quite Good really.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I listen 30-45 min sessions.
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2 people found this helpful