I Will Fear No Evil

By: Robert A. Heinlein

Narrated by: Anthony Heald

Length: 18 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

As startling and provocative as his famous Stranger in a Strange Land, here is Heinlein’s grand masterpiece about a man supremely talented, immensely old, and obscenely wealthy who discovers that money can buy everything.

Johann Sebastian Bach Smith was immensely rich—and very old. Though his mind was still keen, his body was worn out. His solution was to have surgeons transplant his brain into a new body. The operation was a great success—but the patient was no longer Johann Sebastian Bach Smith. He was now fused with the very vocal personality of his gorgeous, recently deceased secretary, Eunice—with mind-blowing results! Together they must learn to share control of her body.

Once again, master storyteller Robert A. Heinlein delivers a wild and intriguing classic of science fiction. Written at the dawn of the 1970s, this novel is the brilliantly shocking story of the ultimate transplant.

©1970 Robert A. Heinlein (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Magnificent. A science fiction masterpiece.” ( Galaxy)

An old horndog's swinging fever dream

A bit rough. Heinlein fell seriously ill immediately after writing this draft so it does not have his usual polish. It reads like a stream of consciousness which for many parts it actually is.

SciFi Sex Change Brain Transplant Soap Opera

It like Days of Our Lives set in an alternate present day situation. The parallels with today's society from a past futuristic perspective at incredible.

Another HIT for Heinlein!

If you could sum up I Will Fear No Evil in three words, what would they be?

Usual robust males, independent women Heinlein book, but in this the man becomes a woman, in body at least because of a brian transplant.

What other book might you compare I Will Fear No Evil to and why?

A Stranger In A Strange Land (the expanded version) because it is about alternate, seldon considered ways of looking at and living life.

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

no, but I love the way he reads and the way he separates characters by voice

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

LOVED this book when I read it 30 years ago, love it still

Any additional comments?

Buy any mainstream Heinlein book, and you won't be disappointed.

Not one of Heinlein's best stories

What made the experience of listening to I Will Fear No Evil the most enjoyable?

The narrator did an wonderful job of giving each character a distinct voice and keeping them separate, even when the lines came machine gun style.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

As we approach the end of our lives, we all wish to live it with our greatest loves close to us. But honestly, the ending becomes almost ridiculous.

Soft-core porn gets boring

If I wanted sexist soft-core porn, I'd buy some. And like most porn, chapter after chapter gets boring. Hardly qualifies as science fiction. As in all his later books, Heinlein's women are all the same, defined by their biology. They're all stunningly brilliant and equally beautiful but they all want to have sex and babies as their major, if not only, fulfillment. Almost the only action in the story is an adolescent boy's wet dream. Only a couple of scientifically interesting ideas alternate with his retro-conservative politics and judgmental opinions straight out of 18th century myths about "John Wayne" men and compliant women who are hot to trot and just want to get laid.

too slow for my taste

Heinlein is one of the GODS of sci fi and I read some of his work when I was a kid - many years ago. I don't think I read this one and for me "now" it's just too slow - two people talking most of the first 5 hours and then I gave up. An interesting plot but if I were editing it, I would take a blue pencil to a whole lot.

Nice to be read to Awesome

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

Awesome Book And Story and Nice to be read to not having to read when you want to have something to help you sleep I love to have a bedtime story!!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Eunice !! She is awesome Death is not the end for her nor her Charm She is Awesome

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

Hearing the emotional impact of the conversation and mind set

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS Stayed up all night to get it all

Any additional comments?

Well done LIke the way download and process went and to have the titles here for us

Wonderful story, but a bit cringe.

I love almost all of Heinlein’s writing, even though his female characters can be caricatures of 1950’s ideas of femininity and sexuality. This story may be the apex of his cringy female stereotypes. This is exacerbated by the producers using the wrong narrator for the story. Don’t get me wrong, the narrator is wonderful and did a fantastic job, but using a male narrator exacerbates the cringe, and makes the whole thing feel very dirty-old-man-ish. I felt dirty even listening to the story. It’s worth listening to, even if it’s difficult at times, but only if you’re a loyal Heinlein fan who isn’t troubled by writings “problematic” by today’s standards.

Not my favorite Heinlein book

The Narrator was excellent, but the story was my favorite of his. still worth a shot if you are into biological science fiction.

Not your typical science fiction: A beautiful and complex story

I was not sure what to expect with this one, but I was blown away with the depth of this story telling. It was a dynamic picture of the many petals on the flower of human existence. The depth of characters was also amazing. Looking forward to hearing the next book.