
Time and the Riddle
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 $29.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Christopher Grove
-
By:
-
Howard Fast
About this listen
A collection of Fast’s best short fiction, from science fiction and fantasy to philosophy and suspense
This collection of short stories encompasses 20 years of work by Howard Fast, including some of his best-known and most treasured tales. Not merely fantasy or science fiction, these "Zen stories" explore the world’s mysterious and unanswerable questions, big and small, and the results are at once bizarre, humorous, chilling, and poignant. An American general shoots down what appears to be an angel during a Vietnam War battle, a celebrated author becomes a hunted man, and a mouse is granted human thought and emotion by a group of alien beings. The 31 stories in Time and the Riddle showcase Fast’s range and supreme talent as a storyteller.
©1975 Howard Fast (P)2014 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Enchanted Pilgrimage
- By: Clifford Simak
- Narrated by: Kevin Scollin
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A scholar, a goblin, and a gnome, among others, pursue the secrets of a vanished ancient race through a wasteland of dark magic in this enthralling fantasy quest adventure. On an Earth that is different from ours, the young scholar Mark Cornwall becomes a target of the Inquisition and, specifically, its most evil and obsessed agent, Beckett. Damned for asking questions, Mark is forced to escape over the border into the Wastelands, a magical realm that is home to all manner of flesh-devouring monsters.
-
-
Didn’t get it
- By crazy great granny on 01-03-23
By: Clifford Simak
-
The Immigrants
- By: Howard Fast
- Narrated by: full cast
- Length: 13 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a love story of great beauty and great tenderness, the kind of love story that entangles the listener in the lives of the characters, so that after the story is over, one continues to live with those characters. And fortunately, the listener will not have to say farewell to these characters, since it is the first in a series that will tell the story of three Californian families over the course of the 20th century.
-
-
Narration style kills the story.
- By Glynis on 11-27-14
By: Howard Fast
-
The Man Who Used the Universe
- By: Alan Dean Foster
- Narrated by: Paul Ansdell
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No one knows the true motives of Kees vaan Loo-Macklin. He's a mastermind criminal who gave up his place at the head of the dark underworld to become a legitimate member of Evenwaith's cities. But soon he was reaching out to powerful enemies - the slimy aliens called the Nuel. Loo-Macklin negotiates an illusory peace agreement and gains precious alien secrets in the process. Is he after peace, power or pure evil? With enemy starships beginning to amass, we won't have to wait long to find out.
-
-
Idolized this book in paper in the 80's
- By Tom on 09-06-24
By: Alan Dean Foster
-
2001
- A Space Odyssey
- By: Arthur C. Clarke
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It has been 40 years since the publication of this classic science-fiction novel that changed the way we look at the stars and ourselves. From the savannas of Africa at the dawn of mankind to the rings of Saturn as man adventures to the outer rim of our solar system, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a journey unlike any other.
-
-
The Movie Makes More Sense Now
- By Douglas on 12-10-08
By: Arthur C. Clarke
-
Robopocalypse
- A Novel
- By: Daniel H. Wilson
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the near future, at a moment no one will notice, all the dazzling technology that runs our world will unite and turn against us. Taking on the persona of a shy human boy, a childlike but massively powerful artificial intelligence known as Archos comes online and assumes control over the global network of machines that regulate everything from transportation to utilities, defense and communication.
-
-
Run….Forest….Run!!!
- By James on 06-10-11
By: Daniel H. Wilson
-
The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.
- A Novel
- By: Neal Stephenson, Nicole Galland
- Narrated by: Laurence Bouvard, Shelley Atkinson, Laural Merlington, and others
- Length: 24 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From best-selling author Neal Stephenson and critically acclaimed historical and contemporary commercial novelist Nicole Galland comes a captivating and complex near-future thriller combining history, science, magic, mystery, intrigue, and adventure that questions the very foundations of the modern world.
-
-
Exceptional voice cast, unconventional format
- By Jesse on 07-03-17
By: Neal Stephenson, and others
-
Enchanted Pilgrimage
- By: Clifford Simak
- Narrated by: Kevin Scollin
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A scholar, a goblin, and a gnome, among others, pursue the secrets of a vanished ancient race through a wasteland of dark magic in this enthralling fantasy quest adventure. On an Earth that is different from ours, the young scholar Mark Cornwall becomes a target of the Inquisition and, specifically, its most evil and obsessed agent, Beckett. Damned for asking questions, Mark is forced to escape over the border into the Wastelands, a magical realm that is home to all manner of flesh-devouring monsters.
-
-
Didn’t get it
- By crazy great granny on 01-03-23
By: Clifford Simak
-
The Immigrants
- By: Howard Fast
- Narrated by: full cast
- Length: 13 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a love story of great beauty and great tenderness, the kind of love story that entangles the listener in the lives of the characters, so that after the story is over, one continues to live with those characters. And fortunately, the listener will not have to say farewell to these characters, since it is the first in a series that will tell the story of three Californian families over the course of the 20th century.
-
-
Narration style kills the story.
- By Glynis on 11-27-14
By: Howard Fast
-
The Man Who Used the Universe
- By: Alan Dean Foster
- Narrated by: Paul Ansdell
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No one knows the true motives of Kees vaan Loo-Macklin. He's a mastermind criminal who gave up his place at the head of the dark underworld to become a legitimate member of Evenwaith's cities. But soon he was reaching out to powerful enemies - the slimy aliens called the Nuel. Loo-Macklin negotiates an illusory peace agreement and gains precious alien secrets in the process. Is he after peace, power or pure evil? With enemy starships beginning to amass, we won't have to wait long to find out.
-
-
Idolized this book in paper in the 80's
- By Tom on 09-06-24
By: Alan Dean Foster
-
2001
- A Space Odyssey
- By: Arthur C. Clarke
- Narrated by: Dick Hill
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It has been 40 years since the publication of this classic science-fiction novel that changed the way we look at the stars and ourselves. From the savannas of Africa at the dawn of mankind to the rings of Saturn as man adventures to the outer rim of our solar system, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a journey unlike any other.
-
-
The Movie Makes More Sense Now
- By Douglas on 12-10-08
By: Arthur C. Clarke
-
Robopocalypse
- A Novel
- By: Daniel H. Wilson
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the near future, at a moment no one will notice, all the dazzling technology that runs our world will unite and turn against us. Taking on the persona of a shy human boy, a childlike but massively powerful artificial intelligence known as Archos comes online and assumes control over the global network of machines that regulate everything from transportation to utilities, defense and communication.
-
-
Run….Forest….Run!!!
- By James on 06-10-11
By: Daniel H. Wilson
-
The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.
- A Novel
- By: Neal Stephenson, Nicole Galland
- Narrated by: Laurence Bouvard, Shelley Atkinson, Laural Merlington, and others
- Length: 24 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From best-selling author Neal Stephenson and critically acclaimed historical and contemporary commercial novelist Nicole Galland comes a captivating and complex near-future thriller combining history, science, magic, mystery, intrigue, and adventure that questions the very foundations of the modern world.
-
-
Exceptional voice cast, unconventional format
- By Jesse on 07-03-17
By: Neal Stephenson, and others
-
Twice Cursed
- An Anthology
- By: Joe Hill, Joanne Harris, Paul Kane, and others
- Narrated by: Melanie Crawley, Antonia Beamish, Mark Peachey
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Take a trip to a terrifying carnival and uncover the secrets within, solve a mysterious puzzle box and await your reward, join a travelling circus and witness the strangest ventriloquist act you've ever seen. In this follow-up to the bestselling Cursed: An Anthology, you'll unearth curses old and new. From a very different take on Snow White, to a new interpretation of The Red Shoes, the best in fantasy spin straw into gold, and invite you into the labyrinth.
-
-
cursed stories not retold tales
- By Cathrine Bonham on 04-24-24
By: Joe Hill, and others
-
The Mysterious Affair at Styles and The Murder on the Links
- Agatha Christie's First Two Hercule Poirot Novels
- By: Agatha Christie
- Narrated by: Justin Longbourn
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Agatha Christie's first two Poirot novels, narrated with a general-American accent. The Mysterious Affair at Styles: Someone has poisoned wealthy Emily Inglethorp. But who? And how? Everyone suspects Emily's young husband, Alfred...and Alfred seems to be actually trying to get arrested and charged.... The Murder on the Links: Poirot comes to France in response to a desperate plea for help to find his client already murdered - stabbed in the back and lying in an open grave. Brusque, arrogant Inspector Giraud thinks he knows who did it.
-
-
Love Agatha Christie
- By Anonymous User on 03-29-25
By: Agatha Christie
-
Atlas Shrugged
- By: Ayn Rand
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 62 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a scrap heap within an abandoned factory, the greatest invention in history lies dormant and unused. By what fatal error of judgment has its value gone unrecognized, its brilliant inventor punished rather than rewarded for his efforts? In defense of those greatest of human qualities that have made civilization possible, one man sets out to show what would happen to the world if all the heroes of innovation and industry went on strike.
-
-
Hurt version decidedly superior
- By Mica on 03-24-09
By: Ayn Rand
-
The Flavors of Other Worlds
- 13 Science Fiction Tales from a Master Storyteller
- By: Alan Dean Foster
- Narrated by: Tom Bishop
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From fighting giant bugs to defeating an interstellar empire without firing a shot; from scientific idiot savants toying with the universe to how the robots will really win the robot apocalypse, these 13 flavorful tales are guaranteed to entertain, amuse, awe, and maybe even enlighten.
-
-
Who selected this Narrator?
- By Heather Reese on 08-31-23
By: Alan Dean Foster
-
Stranger in a Strange Land
- By: Robert A. Heinlein
- Narrated by: Christopher Hurt
- Length: 16 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stranger in a Strange Land is the epic saga of an earthling, Valentine Michael Smith, born and educated on Mars, who arrives on our planet with “psi” powers—telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, telekinesis, teleportation, pyrolysis, and the ability to take control of the minds of others—and complete innocence regarding the mores of man. After his tutelage under a surrogate father figure, Valentine begins his transformation into a kind of messiah.
-
-
We live in the world this book made
- By W. Seligman on 02-26-04
-
The Fountainhead
- By: Ayn Rand
- Narrated by: Christopher Hurt
- Length: 32 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the 20th century's most challenging novels of ideas, The Fountainhead champions the cause of individualism through the story of a gifted young architect who defies the tyranny of conventional public opinion. The struggle for personal integrity in a world that values conformity above creativity is powerfully illustrated through three characters: Howard Roarke, a genius; Gail Wynand, a newspaper mogul and self-made millionaire; and Dominique Francon, a devastating beauty.
-
-
The Fountainhead
- By Zachary on 06-04-10
By: Ayn Rand
-
Prodigals
- By: Alan Dean Foster
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What happens to the would-be peacemakers when they find themselves in the middle of something else? Something dangerous, something highly advanced...and something familiar? If humanity is wise, we will prepare for everything we can imagine. But we cannot prepare for what we cannot imagine. It might be benign, it might be malign, or it might be a sign. You just have to know where to look.
-
-
Disappointing drivel
- By Amazon Customer on 10-16-23
By: Alan Dean Foster
-
Worlds of Exile and Illusion
- Three Complete Novels of the Hainish Series in One Volume—Rocannon's World; Planet of Exile; City of Illusions
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: Michael Crouch, Alyssa Bresnahan
- Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Three remarkable journeys into the stars: Worlds of Exile and Illusion includes Rocannon's World, Planet of Exile, and City of Illusions. These three spacefaring adventures mark the beginning of grand master Ursula K. Le Guin’s remarkable career. Set in the same universe as Le Guin’s groundbreaking classics The Left Hand of Darkness and The Dispossessed, these first three books of the celebrated Hainish series follow travelers of many worlds and civilizations in the depths of space.
-
-
Well and Beautifully Told
- By K.E.H. on 04-07-25
-
The Innocence of Father Brown
- By: G. K. Chesterton
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 4 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Father Brown is an eccentric priest with his own particular ways of dealing with crime. David Timson, having completed the whole of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes canon, a remarkable achievement, turns his hand to the genial but certainly not innocent priest! This collection contains a group of stories from the Innocence of Father Brown, told unabridged.
-
-
Nostalgic, charming stories
- By Adeliese Baumann on 02-06-14
By: G. K. Chesterton
-
Intergalactic Exterminators, Inc.
- By: Ash Bishop
- Narrated by: Scott Brick, Suzanne Elise Freeman
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Russ Wesley finds an unusual artifact in his grandfather’s collection of rare antiquities, the last thing he expects is for it to draw the attention of a ferocious alien from a distant planet. Equally surprising is the adventurous team of intergalactic exterminators dispatched to deal with the alien threat. They’re a little wild, and a little reckless. Worse yet, they’re so impressed with Russ’s marksmanship that they insist he join their squad . . . whether he wants to or not.
-
-
Good for what it is
- By Amazon Customer on 02-26-24
By: Ash Bishop
-
Midsummer Mysteries
- Tales from the Queen of Mystery
- By: Agatha Christie
- Narrated by: Hugh Fraser, David Suchet, Joan Hickson
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Summertime—as the temperature rises, so does the potential for evil. From Cornwall to the French Riviera, whether against a background of Delphic temples or English country houses, Agatha Christie’s most famous characters solve complicated puzzles as the stakes heat up. Pull up a deckchair and enjoy plot twists and red herrings galore from the bestselling fiction writer of all time.
-
-
Mystery Maven
- By Mystery Maven on 05-23-23
By: Agatha Christie
-
Welcome to the Monkey House
- By: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: David Strathairn, Maria Tucci, Bill Irwin, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Welcome to the Monkey House is a collection of Kurt Vonnegut's shorter works. Originally printed in publications as diverse as The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and The Atlantic Monthly, what these superb stories share is Vonnegut's audacious sense of humor and extraordinary range of creative vision.
-
-
Classic Vonnegut
- By Michael Carrato on 08-17-06
By: Kurt Vonnegut
Great Short Stories
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Highly unsatisfying
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Listened to it Twice
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.