Battlefield Earth Audiobook By L. Ron Hubbard cover art

Battlefield Earth

Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi and New York Times Bestseller

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Battlefield Earth

By: L. Ron Hubbard
Narrated by: Josh Clark, Scott Menville, Fred Tatascorie, Stefan Rudnicki, full cast
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About this listen

Audie Award Winner • Earphones Award Winner • Best of 2016 Science Fiction Audiobook

Battlefield Earth is an enormous epic of adventure set in the year 3000, when the future survival of what's left of the human race is at stake. When Jonnie Goodboy Tyler decides to venture out of the small and dwindling community of humans barely surviving in their Rocky Mountain retreat, he has no thought of challenging the order that for a thousand years has held the earth prisoner to the oppressive alien race of the Psychlos.

The Psychlos and their vast intergalactic mining corporation have dominated and exploited all known galaxies for centuries, ruthlessly destroying races who dare to resist. How one man - with the aid of a few surviving Scotsmen—tackles the greatest malignant power in the universe makes for a sprawling adventure of thrilling heroics, full of dangerous underground work, interplanetary wars, intergalactic financial intrigue, monster races, and complex political manipulation spread across a vast canvas of epic scale.

Experience the unabridged audiobook in fully immersive HD sound of the story that changed the shape of science fiction forever. Performed by over 65 actors playing 198 characters with 150,000 sound effects.

“The sheer scope of this production of the epic sci-fi adventure Battlefield Earth is breathtaking.” (Stefan Rudnicki)

“This futuristic tale, featuring aliens and humans fighting for survival, comes across as compelling and believable.” (Booklist)

“It's like a full-blown feature film inside your head.” (Audiobook Heaven)

“A vivid movie of the mind!” (Audio File Magazine)

Unlike any other audiobook ever produced. A fully immersive experience, this unabridged audiobook features more than 65 actors including Grammy Award-winning audiobook producer and narrator Stefan Rudnicki.

This state-of-the-art audio engineering has created a wholly cinematic soundtrack with:

  • 46 hours of pulse-pounding drama and action professionally recorded with high-definition sound.
  • A gorgeous cinematic soundtrack with full orchestral compositions and more than 150,000 sound effects.
  • A cast of more than 65 actors - many of whom are celebrity voices from TV, films, and games - performing 198 characters.

Awards and Accolades: Top 100 science fiction books

  • Top three of the best 100 English language novels of the 20th century by the Random House Modern Library Readers Poll
  • US Golden Scroll and Saturn Awards
  • Tetradramma d'Oro Award
  • Gutenberg Award

Listen to the novel that changed the shape of science fiction.

Additional performers include: Roy Abramsohn, Corey Burton, Nancy Cartwright, Bob Caso, R. F. Daley, Charles Davis, Neil Dickson, Ellen Dubin, Jim Meskimen, Tamra Meskimen, Michael Gough, Kaleo Griffith, Christina Huntington, Larrs Jackson, Don Leslie, Ralph Lister, Mark Mintz, Phil Nee, Joe Ochman, Mr. Phil Proctor, Enn Reitel, Patrick Renna, Alan Shearman, Thomas Silcott, Tadao Tomomatsu, Bob Walter, Matt Wolf, Robert Wu, Michael Yurchak, Gregory Lee Kenyon, Darren Richardson, Jason Wilburn, Rick Zieff, and Roger Steffens.

©2016 Galaxy Audio (P)2016 Galaxy Audio
Adventure Dystopian Fiction First Contact Military Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Space Opera Space Interstellar

Critic reviews

"A vivid movie of the mind." (AudioFile)

“The sheer scope of this production of the epic sci-fi adventure Battlefield Earth is breathtaking.” (Stefan Rudnicki)

"Pulse-pounding mile-a-minute sci-fi action adventure that does not stop. It is a masterpiece of popular adventure science-fiction." (Brandon Sanderson)

What listeners say about Battlefield Earth

Highly rated for:

Epic Storyline Imaginative World-building Full Cast Compelling Characters Thrilling Adventure Dramatic Music
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    2 out of 5 stars

A Caveman, a Cannibal and a Nazi walk outside...

I'm honestly not sure what I think of this book, and I've had a ridiculous amount of time to think it over. It is almost fifty hours long, which translates into over a month of listening time on a commute.

Okay, let's start with the obvious bit. First off, it's fully cast and produced. That means tons of different voices, a soundtrack and cool sound effects that do a great job creating atmosphere. The voice actors are clearly putting a lot of heart into it, and the narrator does a terrific job. A lot of money went into this recreation by a lot of people who really respected the work and it shows.

Next comes the unpleasant part. The story is ridiculous. The naming conventions are awful (Psychlos? Johnny Goodboy Tyler? Snowl?) and jars you loose from any immersion. The forward provided by Hubbard indicates that he incorporated economics, culture, politics and art to make the environment more real, but it's pretty clear that the author's understanding of those subjects was pretty superficial. It's made worse by the fact that he devotes so much time to it. You will get huge chunks of time where you have a group of people discussing the mortgage arrangement of Earth (yes, that actually happens).

If you're interested how the book relates to the movie, I will tell you that the movie only covers the first third (or so) of this book. The book does clarify some of the plot holes (like why the Psychlos on Earth are so lax and incompetent), but it generally makes about as much sense as the movie does. The title of this review is actually a scene that occurs in the book, and when describing it to a friend he asked, "So what's the punchline?" The one problem is that, while you could laugh at the movie for its flaws, it would be much harder to laugh at if you needed to be subjected to fifty hours worth of it to complete the story. And at least in the movie you had a good amount of mindless action to keep you entertained. In the book, the action sequences are very brief or only told in abstract after the fact.

Granted, Hubbard wrote books in another time, the 1930's, and the audience expected different things from science fiction back then. Tragically, this book was written in the 80's, right in the middle of a science fiction revolution, so it is weirdly anachronistic. If this book was one third the length, I would recommend it to anyone who wants a creative adventure story you don't have to think that hard about. As it stands, I would only recommend it to people who really enjoy very old (note I didn't say classic) science fiction. Or can marathon the entire black and white Frankenstein movies in a day.

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45 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Completely ruins all other audiobooks!

The production quality of this book is completely ruining all other audiobooks I've listened to. And I've listened to a couple hundred at this point between Audible and other services.

A full cast of voice actors creates an engaging interaction between each of the characters. The music has an amazing way of installing a mood for what is happening. And the sound effects make you feel like you're listening to a movie in your ears.

It's like other audio books are a picture and this book is a fully produced movie. Sure, the other pictures are good, but nothing comes close to this level of production. I think it's setting the ground and raising the bar for all future audio production.

The story is amazing too! Starting with one person up in the mountains and then grows to a multi-galactic space opera. Very impressive!

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41 people found this helpful

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Cassic Made Better!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I read this book in the 80's and again a few years latter - one of the very best book out of 100's. Now it is out in Audible and it is much more alive. I could not put it down - sleep is not that important!

What did you like best about this story?

The story is great but with this production in audible it takes on a life that is amazing.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, all great voices - best is Jonny.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The rats!

Any additional comments?

Best editing of an Audio book ever!

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17 people found this helpful

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Hands down great work

As a first time reader(listener) of L.Ron hubbards work this production with all its notable cast really sold the story for me. Which stand great on its own mind you. It has humor, suspense, sadness, and even packs in excitement to pound it out into a well rounded Science fiction story of epic proportions coming out to 45 hours. The only qualm I have is that Hubbard did not produce another work comparable to this one. Instead focusing his efforts into Scientology. Battle field earth in my must reads

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This book is amazing!

What did you love best about Battlefield Earth?

I read the battlefield in the eighties right after L Ron Hubbard died. I transferred the tapes from the original un abridged version of the book and have been re listening to it for many years. This new version is a very welcome addition to the interpretation of Battlefield earth it makes up for the abominable movie they spit out years ago. if some made a movie as good as this new audiobook they would have a massive classic science fiction hit. so until they make the movie enjoy this updated version of Battlefield earth

What other book might you compare Battlefield Earth to and why?

The Tolkien books, The dark tower series by Stephen King, Dracula by Bram Stoker, Starship troopers, Terry Good kind series, Tad Williams in hell books All Mark Tufo books The remaining series first three books, Robert McCannon Swan song, Night Lord series, The walking Dead series, Fifty Shades of grey, Relentless by Engwie Malmsteen, Tony Iommi in hell with black Sabbath. The outlander series. Mitherion by me, get it on amazon under David Polhemus.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

many voices properly placed out of the way of the narration, good voices.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

the beginning the middle the third portion and the end it will drag you in.

Any additional comments?

I am editing my second book today so I need to get to it. But Battlefield Earth is a story above most story's written above the quality of the majority of other books and if I can't say enough about it I have tried to convince who ever reads this that they will be educated in a way that entertains them and after twelve hundred pages will leave them wanting more and they will listen to it again. Hope this helps you find your way to Battlefield earth and many hours of enjoyment.
good day.
David Polhemus.

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A great rendition of an old favorite

I read this book many years ago. This rendition with actors, sound effects and music was really enjoyable. Hubbard's vision for females 1000 years into the future is pretty bleak. He relegates them to cooks, cleaners, nurses and secretaries.



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breathtaking experience

It is sad to say that i'll probably never find a better book. a definite must. a pure science fiction without fantasy.

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well performed book, kept me entertained for hours

well performed book, kept me entertained for hours, highly recommend, voice actors were very good

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Amazing!!! A true must listen for Sci-Fi fans!!

This book has it all! Action, adventure, comedy, sci-fi, romance, etc. I was, at first, intimidated by the size of the book (since I initially purchased a paperback version). However, I slowly read through the first five chapters and became hooked. I decided to purchase the audiobook version and began to listen during my commute to and from work. Of course it began to get so exciting at many parts that I hated to turn it off. I cheered, laughed, and cried while listening to this book. And the cast is superb; there are a multitude of voice actors. Also the music and sound effects are amazing. This is definitely not your traditional audiobook. I felt as though I were listening to a screenplay. Hats off to L. Ron Hubbard for this amazing piece of artistry! And thank you to the promoter who recommended it when I walked into Barnes & Noble!

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Very Imaginative Story

This book was an incredible adventure. Outstanding cast, captivating story, and easy to listen to. Story starts to wobble 3/4 of the way through but recovers. Highly recommend.

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