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Double Star cover art

Double Star

Written by: Robert A. Heinlein
Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
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Publisher's Summary

Every stand-in dreamed of the starring role - but what actor would risk his life for the chance?

One minute, down-and-out actor Lorenzo Smythe is, as usual, in a bar, drinking away his troubles while watching his career circle the drain. Then a space pilot buys him a drink, and the next thing Smythe knows, he’s shanghaied to Mars. Smythe suddenly finds himself agreeing to the most difficult role of his career: impersonating an important politician who has been kidnapped. Peace with the Martians is at stake, and failure to pull off the act could result in interplanetary war.

Smythe knows nothing of the issues concerning free interplanetary trade and equal rights for aliens and cares even less, but the handsome compensation is impossible to refuse. He soon realizes, however, that he faces a lifetime masquerade if the real politician never shows up.

©1956, 1984 by Robert A. Heinlein. © 2003 by the Robert A. and Virginia Heinlein Prize Trust (P)2020 by Blackstone Publishing

What listeners say about Double Star

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Awesome book!

The story was compelling and the performance was excellent. The wide range of voices and accents that the narrator uses really helped to distinguish the different characters. Great job all around.

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Do not miss this recording.

I am a fan of every Heinlein work that I have read to date, though that list is by no means exhaustive, and this story is no exception. I find that the author makes very keen and penetrating insights into the human condition. The plot might be easily foreseen, but I do not especially read literature for what happens so much as how.

However I feel compelled to leave this review to put my full support behind the performance by the narrator. I found his depiction of the main character to be superlative and immensely enjoyable. Though I cannot judge the taste of others, and would not in any case (different strokes and all that) I would be remiss not to encourage you, dear fellow explorers of the mind, not to stop and take in this performance. I might be of the opinion that the doctor sounded a tad hokey, and many men struggle to adequately portray women, but I would consider other works based solely upon this actor's performance.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • R
  • 2023-07-19

Great Story, excellent oration

I enjoyed everything about the book and thought the voice acting was top notch.

The story was interesting and captivating.

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  • Overall
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Not as good as previous version

Previous audio of this book is excellent .
Sorry this one not so much...

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story, but absolutely horrific performance!

I had the other audiobook of Double Star (narrated by Tom Weiner); but for some reason, it was removed. Audible was kind enough to replace my copy with this one. So I decided to listen to this one right away since I had just finished the other book-- while it was still fresh in my mind. Tom Weiner made this story a fantastic and wonderful journey! I could not wait to get back to the story. But this narrator was dull and boring. He added weird accents and I dreaded to listen to this. I most likely won't give this narrator another try. In fact, the overall score is 100% due to the fact it was a great story and I can see why it won an award. It was the perfect story of how acting turns into real life. In all honesty, I would recommend the story, but not by this narrator. I was amazed at what a difference a narrator can make to your listening enjoyment of the same story.

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1 person found this helpful