-
The Space Merchants
- Narrated by: Dan Bittner
- Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $14.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
In a vastly overpopulated near-future world, businesses have taken the place of governments and now hold all political power. States exist merely to ensure the survival of huge transnational corporations. Advertising has become hugely aggressive and boasts some of the world’s most powerful executives. Through advertising, the public is constantly deluded into thinking that all the products on the market improve the quality of life. However, the most basic elements are incredibly scarce, including water and fuel.
The planet Venus has just been visited and judged fit for human settlement, despite its inhospitable surface and climate; colonists would have to endure a harsh climate for many generations until the planet could be terraformed.
Mitch Courtenay is a star-class copywriter in the Fowler Schocken advertising agency and has been assigned the ad campaign that would attract colonists to Venus, but a lot more is happening than he knows about. Mitch is soon thrown into a world of danger, mystery, and intrigue, where the people in his life are never quite what they seem, and his loyalties and core beliefs will be put to the test.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Gateway
- By: Frederik Pohl
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman, Robert J. Sawyer
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
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!
-
-
A human-focused SF classic
- By Ryan on 12-05-13
By: Frederik Pohl
-
The World at the End of Time
- By: Frederik Pohl
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
puts the science back into fiction
- By John on 04-30-14
By: Frederik Pohl
-
The Boy Who Would Live Forever
- By: Frederik Pohl
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
It's long
- By Jeff Shultz on 08-04-16
By: Frederik Pohl
-
Man Plus
- By: Frederik Pohl
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris, Robert J. Sawyer
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
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.
-
-
More timely now than ever
- By Sandy R on 06-28-10
By: Frederik Pohl
-
The Last Theorem
- A Novel
- By: Frederik Pohl, Arthur C. Clarke
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
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.
-
-
2 master writers=1 great story
- By Gary on 12-27-13
By: Frederik Pohl, and others
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
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.
-
-
Spectacular.
- By Steve Reid on 08-21-15
By: Greg Bear, and others
-
Gateway
- By: Frederik Pohl
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman, Robert J. Sawyer
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
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!
-
-
A human-focused SF classic
- By Ryan on 12-05-13
By: Frederik Pohl
-
The World at the End of Time
- By: Frederik Pohl
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
puts the science back into fiction
- By John on 04-30-14
By: Frederik Pohl
-
The Boy Who Would Live Forever
- By: Frederik Pohl
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
It's long
- By Jeff Shultz on 08-04-16
By: Frederik Pohl
-
Man Plus
- By: Frederik Pohl
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris, Robert J. Sawyer
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
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.
-
-
More timely now than ever
- By Sandy R on 06-28-10
By: Frederik Pohl
-
The Last Theorem
- A Novel
- By: Frederik Pohl, Arthur C. Clarke
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
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.
-
-
2 master writers=1 great story
- By Gary on 12-27-13
By: Frederik Pohl, and others
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
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.
-
-
Spectacular.
- By Steve Reid on 08-21-15
By: Greg Bear, and others
-
The Stars My Destination
- By: Alfred Bester
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
STILL AMAZINGLY GOOD AFTER 62 YEARS
- By charles watkins on 02-19-18
By: Alfred Bester
-
The Forever War
- By: Joe Haldeman
- Narrated by: George Wilson
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
William Mandella is a soldier in Earth's elite brigade. As the war against the Taurans sends him from galaxy to galaxy, he learns to use protective body shells and sophisticated weapons. He adapts to the cultures and terrains of distant outposts. But with each month in space, years are passing on Earth. Where will he call home when (and if) the Forever War ends?
-
-
A classic.
- By John on 09-24-08
By: Joe Haldeman
-
Rendezvous with Rama
- By: Arthur C. Clarke
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim, Robert J. Sawyer - introduction
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At first, only a few things are known about the celestial object that astronomers dub Rama. It is huge, weighing more than ten trillion tons. And it is hurtling through the solar system at inconceivable speed. Then a space probe confirms the unthinkable: Rama is no natural object. It is, incredibly, an interstellar spacecraft. Space explorers and planet-bound scientists alike prepare for mankind's first encounter with alien intelligence.
-
-
Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto
- By Fredrik Pettersen on 08-03-09
By: Arthur C. Clarke
-
Star Maker
- By: Olaf Stapledon
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One moment a man sits on a suburban hill, gazing curiously at the stars. The next, he is whirling through the firmament, and perhaps the most remarkable of all science fiction journeys has begun. Even Stapledon's other great work, 'Last and First Men' pales in ambition next to 'Star Maker' which presents nothing less than an entire imagined history of life in the universe, encompassing billions of years.
-
-
meditative classic
- By Darryl on 09-18-12
By: Olaf Stapledon
-
Lucifer's Hammer
- By: Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor
- Length: 24 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The gigantic comet had slammed into Earth, forging earthquakes a thousand times too powerful to measure on the Richter scale, tidal waves thousands of feet high. Cities were turned into oceans; oceans turned into steam. It was the beginning of a new Ice Age and the end of civilization. But for the terrified men and women chance had saved, it was also the dawn of a new struggle for survival--a struggle more dangerous and challenging than any they had ever known....
-
-
Good story from front to back
- By DJM on 07-30-09
By: Larry Niven, and others
-
Revelation Space
- By: Alastair Reynolds
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 22 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nine hundred thousand years ago, something annihilated the Amarantin civilization just as it was on the verge of discovering space flight. Now one scientist, Dan Sylveste, will stop at nothing to solve the Amarantin riddle before ancient history repeats itself. With no other resources at his disposal, Sylveste forges a dangerous alliance with the cyborg crew of the starship Nostalgia for Infinity. But as he closes in on the secret, a killer closes in on him because the Amarantin were destroyed for a reason.
-
-
Defeated
- By Eoin on 07-15-12
-
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
- By: Robert A. Heinlein
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In what is considered one of Heinlein's most hair-raising, thought-provoking, and outrageous adventures, the master of modern science fiction tells the strange story of an even stranger world. It is 21st-century Luna, a harsh penal colony where a revolt is plotted between a bashful computer and a ragtag collection of maverick humans, a revolt that goes beautifully until the inevitable happens. But that's the problem with the inevitable: it always happens.
-
-
Heinlein's Masterpiece
- By Peter on 12-04-06
-
A Fire Upon the Deep
- By: Vernor Vinge
- Narrated by: Peter Larkin
- Length: 21 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Fire Upon the Deep is the big, breakout book that fulfills the promise of Vinge's career to date: a gripping tale of galactic war told on a cosmic scale. Thousands of years hence, many races inhabit a universe where a mind's potential is determined by its location in space, from superintelligent entities in the Transcend, to the limited minds of the Unthinking Depths, where only simple creatures and technology can function.
-
-
What a wild, wacky, awesome book!
- By Noah Smith on 06-20-10
By: Vernor Vinge
-
Ringworld
- By: Larry Niven
- Narrated by: Tom Parker
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Welcome to Ringworld, an intermediate step between Dyson Spheres and planets. The gravitational force created by a rotation on its axis of 770 miles per second means no need for a roof. Walls 1,000 miles high at each rim will let in the sun and prevent much air from escaping. Larry Niven's novel, Ringworld, is the winner of the 1970 Hugo Award for Best Novel, the 1970 Nebula Award for Best Novel, and the 1972 Ditmars, an Australian award for Best International Science Fiction.
-
-
Genuinely Creative
- By Kennet on 05-25-03
By: Larry Niven
-
Red Mars
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Richard Ferrone
- Length: 23 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Winner of the Nebula Award for Best Novel, Red Mars is the first book in Kim Stanley Robinson's best-selling trilogy. Red Mars is praised by scientists for its detailed visions of future technology. It is also hailed by authors and critics for its vivid characters and dramatic conflicts.
For centuries, the red planet has enticed the people of Earth. Now an international group of scientists has colonized Mars. Leaving Earth forever, these 100 people have traveled nine months to reach their new home. This is the remarkable story of the world they create - and the hidden power struggles of those who want to control it.
-
-
very long
- By Dana on 07-17-08
-
The Mote in God's Eye
- By: Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
- Narrated by: L J Ganser
- Length: 20 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Mote In God's Eye is their acknowledged masterpiece, an epic novel of mankind's first encounter with alien life that transcends the genre. No lesser an authority than Robert A. Heinlein called it "possibly the finest science fiction novel I have ever read".
-
-
A great read!
- By J. Rhoderick on 02-12-10
By: Larry Niven, and others
-
Pompeii
- A Novel
- By: Robert Harris
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All along the Mediterranean coast, the Roman empire’s richest citizens are relaxing in their luxurious villas, enjoying the last days of summer. The world’s largest navy lies peacefully at anchor in Misenum. The tourists are spending their money in the seaside resorts of Baiae, Herculaneum, and Pompeii. But the carefree lifestyle and gorgeous weather belie an impending cataclysm, and only one man is worried.
-
-
We know the ending
- By Charles on 12-02-03
By: Robert Harris
Related to this topic
-
Project Hail Mary
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
-
-
Bazinga
- By Davidgonzalezsr on 05-04-21
By: Andy Weir
-
Wynonna Earp
- Tales from Purgatory
- By: Emily Andras
- Narrated by: Melanie Scrofano, Tim Rozon, Dom Provost-Chalkley, and others
- Length: 4 hrs
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Saddle up and join Wynonna Earp on an immersive new audio adventure in the gritty supernatural world of Purgatory. This Audible Original invites you deeper into the Weird West to follow Wynonna Earp (Melanie Scrofano), as she embarks on her craziest adventure yet: riding off into the sunset with her soulmate, Doc Holliday (Tim Rozon)—yes ... that Doc Holliday. Brace yourself for more wise-cracking demon hunters, earth-shattering revelations and all the genre-blending action you've come to expect from the cult hit TV series.
-
-
Happy #Earper ☺️
- By Kate Skidmore on 10-17-24
By: Emily Andras
-
Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
-
-
Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
- By C. White on 09-19-23
By: John Scalzi
-
The Martian
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet.
-
-
I love Wil Wheaton but why not R. C. Bray?
- By L. Newman on 01-11-20
By: Andy Weir
-
Constituent Service
- A Third District Story
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Amber Benson
- Length: 2 hrs and 30 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ashley Perrin is fresh out of college and starting a job as a community liaison for the Third District–the city’s only sector with more alien residents than humans. Ashley’s barely found where the paper clips are kept when she’s beset with constituent complaints–from too much noise at the Annual Lupidian Celebration Parade to a trip-and-fall chicken to a very particular type of alien hornet that threatens the very city itself. And if that’s not terrifying enough, Ashley is next up at the office karaoke night.
-
-
What a silly and sweet quick listen!
- By Geoffrey Christian on 10-08-24
By: John Scalzi
-
Temporal
- By: Julian Simpson, Richard MacLean Smith, Bec Boey, and others
- Narrated by: Nicola Walker, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Jessie Mei Li, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 26 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the not-too-distant future, a 21-member crew launches from Earth. Their mission: to establish a temporary colony on Mars. Little do they know that colony will become permanent–and the last stand of the human race. Because, without warning, every single person left on Earth simply...vanishes. Now, a thousand years later, the resources needed to sustain life are running out, and the very existence of the Mars colony is threatened. Humankind has only one option–to return to its home planet.
-
-
It was ok.
- By Cregg Terasa on 08-06-24
By: Julian Simpson, and others
-
Project Hail Mary
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
-
-
Bazinga
- By Davidgonzalezsr on 05-04-21
By: Andy Weir
-
Wynonna Earp
- Tales from Purgatory
- By: Emily Andras
- Narrated by: Melanie Scrofano, Tim Rozon, Dom Provost-Chalkley, and others
- Length: 4 hrs
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Saddle up and join Wynonna Earp on an immersive new audio adventure in the gritty supernatural world of Purgatory. This Audible Original invites you deeper into the Weird West to follow Wynonna Earp (Melanie Scrofano), as she embarks on her craziest adventure yet: riding off into the sunset with her soulmate, Doc Holliday (Tim Rozon)—yes ... that Doc Holliday. Brace yourself for more wise-cracking demon hunters, earth-shattering revelations and all the genre-blending action you've come to expect from the cult hit TV series.
-
-
Happy #Earper ☺️
- By Kate Skidmore on 10-17-24
By: Emily Andras
-
Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
-
-
Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
- By C. White on 09-19-23
By: John Scalzi
-
The Martian
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet.
-
-
I love Wil Wheaton but why not R. C. Bray?
- By L. Newman on 01-11-20
By: Andy Weir
-
Constituent Service
- A Third District Story
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Amber Benson
- Length: 2 hrs and 30 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ashley Perrin is fresh out of college and starting a job as a community liaison for the Third District–the city’s only sector with more alien residents than humans. Ashley’s barely found where the paper clips are kept when she’s beset with constituent complaints–from too much noise at the Annual Lupidian Celebration Parade to a trip-and-fall chicken to a very particular type of alien hornet that threatens the very city itself. And if that’s not terrifying enough, Ashley is next up at the office karaoke night.
-
-
What a silly and sweet quick listen!
- By Geoffrey Christian on 10-08-24
By: John Scalzi
-
Temporal
- By: Julian Simpson, Richard MacLean Smith, Bec Boey, and others
- Narrated by: Nicola Walker, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Jessie Mei Li, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 26 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the not-too-distant future, a 21-member crew launches from Earth. Their mission: to establish a temporary colony on Mars. Little do they know that colony will become permanent–and the last stand of the human race. Because, without warning, every single person left on Earth simply...vanishes. Now, a thousand years later, the resources needed to sustain life are running out, and the very existence of the Mars colony is threatened. Humankind has only one option–to return to its home planet.
-
-
It was ok.
- By Cregg Terasa on 08-06-24
By: Julian Simpson, and others
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Gateway
- By: Frederik Pohl
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman, Robert J. Sawyer
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
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!
-
-
A human-focused SF classic
- By Ryan on 12-05-13
By: Frederik Pohl
-
The World at the End of Time
- By: Frederik Pohl
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
puts the science back into fiction
- By John on 04-30-14
By: Frederik Pohl
-
The Last Theorem
- A Novel
- By: Frederik Pohl, Arthur C. Clarke
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
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.
-
-
2 master writers=1 great story
- By Gary on 12-27-13
By: Frederik Pohl, and others
-
Gun, with Occasional Music
- By: Jonathan Lethem
- Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
SF SLAMS into a hard-boiled, noir pulp!
- By Darwin8u on 04-18-12
By: Jonathan Lethem
-
The Boy Who Would Live Forever
- By: Frederik Pohl
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
It's long
- By Jeff Shultz on 08-04-16
By: Frederik Pohl
-
Doomsday Book
- By: Connie Willis
- Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
- Length: 26 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Oxford student Kivrin, traveling back to the 14th century is more than the culmination of her studies - it's the chance for a wonderful adventure. For Dunworthy, her mentor, it is cause for intense worry about the thousands of things that could go wrong.
-
-
Timely, beautiful, terrible and haunting
- By mudcelt on 11-02-09
By: Connie Willis
-
Gateway
- By: Frederik Pohl
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman, Robert J. Sawyer
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
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!
-
-
A human-focused SF classic
- By Ryan on 12-05-13
By: Frederik Pohl
-
The World at the End of Time
- By: Frederik Pohl
- Narrated by: William Dufris
- Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
puts the science back into fiction
- By John on 04-30-14
By: Frederik Pohl
-
The Last Theorem
- A Novel
- By: Frederik Pohl, Arthur C. Clarke
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 12 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
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.
-
-
2 master writers=1 great story
- By Gary on 12-27-13
By: Frederik Pohl, and others
-
Gun, with Occasional Music
- By: Jonathan Lethem
- Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
SF SLAMS into a hard-boiled, noir pulp!
- By Darwin8u on 04-18-12
By: Jonathan Lethem
-
The Boy Who Would Live Forever
- By: Frederik Pohl
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 17 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
It's long
- By Jeff Shultz on 08-04-16
By: Frederik Pohl
-
Doomsday Book
- By: Connie Willis
- Narrated by: Jenny Sterlin
- Length: 26 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For Oxford student Kivrin, traveling back to the 14th century is more than the culmination of her studies - it's the chance for a wonderful adventure. For Dunworthy, her mentor, it is cause for intense worry about the thousands of things that could go wrong.
-
-
Timely, beautiful, terrible and haunting
- By mudcelt on 11-02-09
By: Connie Willis
-
The Sparrow
- By: Mary Doria Russell
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A visionary work that combines speculative fiction with deep philosophical inquiry, The Sparrow tells the story of a charismatic Jesuit priest and linguist, Emilio Sandoz, who leads a scientific mission entrusted with a profound task: To make first contact with intelligent extraterrestrial life. The mission begins in faith, hope, and beauty, but a series of small misunderstandings brings it to a catastrophic end.
-
-
Superbly Written and Thought-provoking
- By Jim N on 08-15-12
-
The Stars My Destination
- By: Alfred Bester
- Narrated by: Gerard Doyle
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
STILL AMAZINGLY GOOD AFTER 62 YEARS
- By charles watkins on 02-19-18
By: Alfred Bester
-
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
- By: Robert A. Heinlein
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 14 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In what is considered one of Heinlein's most hair-raising, thought-provoking, and outrageous adventures, the master of modern science fiction tells the strange story of an even stranger world. It is 21st-century Luna, a harsh penal colony where a revolt is plotted between a bashful computer and a ragtag collection of maverick humans, a revolt that goes beautifully until the inevitable happens. But that's the problem with the inevitable: it always happens.
-
-
Heinlein's Masterpiece
- By Peter on 12-04-06
-
Exodus: The Archimedes Engine
- Exodus: The Archimedes Engine, Book 1
- By: Peter F. Hamilton
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 30 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Forty thousand years ago, humanity fled a dying Earth. Traveling in massive arkships, these brave pioneers spread out across the galaxy to find a new home. After traveling thousands of light-years, one fleet of arkships arrived at Centauri, a dense cluster of stars with a vast array of potentially habitable planets. The survivors of Earth signaled to the remaining arkships that humanity had finally found its new home among the stars.
-
-
The 2024 Six Star Winner !
- By C. Hartmann on 09-22-24
-
Service Model
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Humanity is a dying breed, utterly reliant on artificial labor and service. When a domesticated robot gets a nasty little idea downloaded into its core programming, they murder their owner. The robot discovers they can also do something else they never did before: They can run away. Fleeing the household they enter a wider world they never knew existed, where the age-old hierarchy of humans at the top is disintegrating into ruins and an entire robot ecosystem devoted to human wellbeing is having to find a new purpose.
-
-
Another banger from Tchaikovsky
- By J. C. Amos on 06-09-24
-
Children of Time
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: Mel Hudson
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Adrian Tchaikovksy's critically acclaimed stand-alone novel Children of Time is the epic story of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet. Who will inherit this new Earth? The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But all is not right in this new Eden.
-
-
A very pleasant surprise
- By Simon on 06-17-17
What listeners say about The Space Merchants
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
22 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful