The wickedest, most wonderful science fiction story ever created in our—or any—time
Anything can begin at a party in California—and everything does in this bold masterwork by a grand master of science fiction.
When four supremely sensual and unspeakably cerebral humans—two male, two female—find themselves under attack from aliens who want their awesome quantum breakthrough, they take to the skies—and zoom into the cosmos on a rocket roller-coaster ride of adventure, danger, ecstasy, and peril.
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"My best friend (at the time) gave me this book in tenth grade and said, "Here, read this." It was the first Heinlein novel I read; I had never heard of the author before. It was a great story and I was hooked from the first words, although I remember being a bit confused toward the end when some of Heinlein's characters from other books appeared. Since two of the main characters were named for characters in the Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars novels, reading this book led me to investigate those as well. This led to me writing a comparative study of science fiction through the twentieth century in eleventh grade English! Ahhh....good times. I recently unpacked the very book my friend gave me over twenty years ago and I'm looking forward to reading it again."
— Allyson (5 out of 5 stars)
“[A story] about two men and two women in a time-machine safari through this and other universes. But describing The Number of the Beast thus is like saying Moby-Dick is about a one-legged guy trying to catch a fish.”
— National Review“[Has a] charming finale.”
— Kirkus Reviews" This one's tricky! It may bite you on the ass ... "
— Ned, 2/11/2014" Interesting notions about the nature of reality and the possibilities that exist. Standard Heinlein weirdness applies. "
— Peteralee1, 1/30/2014" Disjointed, slow plot. Tries to tie all his books together, but feels forced. Fun Heinlein wordplay, but overall not an enjoyable read. "
— Shawn, 1/15/2014" One of the worst books I've ever read. The plot was BAD. It had Heinlein's "oh, so risque" view of sex. Maybe in the 50's, his view of sex was risque. It was just monotonous to read about. This and one other of his books kind of killed me of any desire to ever read Heinlein again. A couple of his other books had previously given him my "read anything he writes" status. "
— Charles, 12/29/2013" Self indulgent, both on Heinlein's part and mine. You've got to be a fan to love every part of this book. "
— Scott, 12/17/2013" One of the few books I have actually given up on. This book is one tedious argument about who the fuck is gonna drive the spaceship. Ugh. FAIL. "
— brandon, 11/12/2013" Love the way Heinlein brings physical love into his novels without actually describing the act of making love. This is the second time of reading this, it's one of my keepers "
— Sue, 11/3/2013" A lot of words to produce such fluff. The SF aspect of the story is merely the backdrop for a rather unimaginative road trip by a group of sexually liberated folk. Readers probably found this groundbreaking stuff had Heinlein written it in the late 1950s. For my sensibilities, it falls between the cracks. The story does not strike true as either a grand comedic romp or a hard space biopic. The novel is the worst of both. "
— Pangs, 11/3/2013" One of my favorite audiobooks. I love the way this was written, each chapter is told from the point of view of one of the four main characters. Another great Heinlein work but then aren't they all? "
— Pamela, 10/23/2013" Number of the Beast by Robert A. Heinlein (1986) "
— Roman, 8/30/2013" It had so much potential, and some parts were really great. But I have come to hate 3/4 of the main cast and the exploration was so.... Dry. I'll give it a 3/5 for the few good parts it had.... Oh well "
— Anthony, 8/22/2013" Ugh. Ludicrous, masturbatory, and not at all fun. Classic late Heinlein. "
— Peter, 8/17/2013" couldn't stand this book, so much gratuitous sex (and way too much of that is incestuous) and horribly cheesy too "
— Ruth, 8/14/2013" Like so many others have said, this book is tiring and obnoxious. I've read a few Heinlein books, mostly because my father is a huge fan, and I really enjoyed Stranger in a Strange Land, but this one is just plain unfortunate. Just don't bother. "
— Gina, 8/6/2013" What if all the worlds written about in books existed in other dimensions...including Oz? "
— Jess, 7/5/2013" I'm finished with this, FINALLY. Took some time, as whenever I turned around there was math EVERYWHERE. Was quite awesome though, regardless. Had Jubal Hershaw in it, and one of the greatest characters I've come across thus far, Mr. Lazarus Long! "
— Jared, 6/12/2013" My all time favorite science fiction book. I have reread it at least 5 times. "
— Yostgrade7, 3/13/2013" Plodding. Zzzzzzzzz. "
— Chuck, 3/10/2013" Truly one of his worst. "
— doug, 2/27/2013" Kind of a fun book, in that it explores a bunch of fictional worlds, but it's deep in the period where Heinlein was just phoning it in. Lotta fanciful ideas. Lotta sex. Not a ton of substance anymore. "
— Brady, 12/30/2012" Ok, I didn't finish this; it had something to do with the preoccupation with perky nipples. "
— Steph, 12/18/2012" I love this book. An intense read of sexy mathematical creative genius. "
— Aleisha, 10/12/2012" This was my first Heinlein book - and it hooked me on the Grandmaster and SciFi forever... Multiple universes, almost infinite possibilities? Rejuve, time travel, links to all my favorite classic stories? Whew! I need to re-read this... "
— Michael, 8/18/2012" Like THE CAT WHO WALKED THROUGH WALLS, Heinlein's attempt to combine characters from other stories. He also drew in literary favorites. His means was intriguing, but a bit far-fetched. Pace of story was good, but ending was disappointing. "
— Robert, 7/15/2012" Heinlein was senile :-( "
— Matthew, 7/13/2012Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988) is widely recognized as one of the greatest science fiction authors of all time, a status confirmed in 1974 when the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America gave him their first Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement. A four-time Hugo Award winner, he is best known for such works as Starship Troopers, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, and the sensational bestseller Stranger in a Strange Land. Several of his books were New York Times bestsellers, and his worldwide bestsellers have been translated into twenty-two languages.
Bernadette Dunne is the winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and has twice been nominated for the prestigious Audie Award. She studied at the Royal National Theatre in London and the Studio Theater in Washington, DC, and has appeared at the Kennedy Center and off Broadway.
Emily Durante has been narrating audiobooks for over ten years and is also an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning audiobook director. She has been acting since the age of seven and has performed in a number of stage productions at the professional, collegiate, and regional levels.
Malcolm Hillgartner is an accomplished actor, writer, and musician. Named an AudioFile Best Voice of 2013 and the recipient of several Earphones Awards, he has narrated over 250 audiobooks.
Sean Runnette, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, has also directed and produced more than two hundred audiobooks, including several Audie Award winners. He is a member of the American Repertory Theater company and has toured the United States and internationally with ART and Mabou Mines. His television and film appearances include Two If by Sea, Cop Land, Sex and the City, Law & Order, the award-winning film Easter, and numerous commercials.
Richard Powers has published thirteen novels. He is a MacArthur Fellow and received the National Book Award. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Overstory, and Bewilderment was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
Tom Weiner, a dialogue director and voice artist best known for his roles in video games and television shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Transformers, is the winner of eight Earphones Awards and is an Audie Award finalist. He is a former member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
Tavia Gilbert is an acclaimed narrator of more than four hundred full-cast and multivoice audiobooks for virtually every publisher in the industry. Named the 2018 Voice of Choice by Booklist magazine, she is also winner of the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. She has earned numerous Earphones Awards, a Voice Arts Award, and a Listen-Up Award. Audible.com has named her a Genre-Defining Narrator: Master of Memoir. In addition to voice acting, she is an accomplished producer, singer, and theater actor. She is also a producer, singer, photographer, and a writer, as well as the cofounder of a feminist publishing company, Animal Mineral.