The Cosmic Computer
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The Cosmic Computer
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Narrated by:
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Jeffrey Kafer
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By:
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H. Beam Piper
About this listen
Conn Maxwell returns from Terra to his poverty-stricken home planet of Poictesme, “The Junkyard Planet”, with news of the possible location of Merlin, a military super-computer rumored to have been abandoned there after the last war. The inhabitants hope to find Merlin, which they think will be their ticket to wealth and prosperity. But is Merlin real or just an old rumor? And if they find it, will it save them - or tear them apart?
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Editorial reviews
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Expanded Universe, Vol. 1
- By: Robert A. Heinlein
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 188
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 165
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 165
Robert A. Heinlein has been hailed as one of the most forward-thinking science fiction writers of all time, and Expanded Universe (presented in two volumes) offers the perfect collection of his works to provide listeners with true insights into his uniquely creative mind.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Old friends spoiled by poor narration
- By Anonymous User on 06-07-21
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Sten
- Sten Series, Book 1
- By: Chris Bunch, Allan Cole
- Narrated by: Jerry Sciarrio
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 287
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 217
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Story4 out of 5 stars 221
The first book in an action–packed new SF adventure series. Vulcan is a factory planet, centuries old, Company run, ugly as sin, and unfeeling as death. Vulcan breeds just two types of native: complacent or tough. Sten is tough. When his family is killed in a mysterious accident, Sten rebels, harassing the Company from the metal world’s endless maze-like warrens. He could end up just another burnt–out Delinquent. But people like Sten never give up.
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5 out of 5 stars
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THE MASTERPIECE BY JERRY SCIARRIO
- By Anonymous User on 10-31-12
By: Chris Bunch, and others
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To the Stars
- By: L. Ron Hubbard
- Narrated by: Robert Caso, Jim Meskimen, R.F. Daley, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 85
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 39
How far is too far? Alan Corday is about to find out. Corday is shanghaied aboard a craft bound for the stars...on a journey at the speed of light, the world he leaves behind fast vanishing into the past. And nothing in the dark, forbidding reaches of space can prepare him for the astounding discovery he will make upon his return from the stars.
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5 out of 5 stars
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To the Stars
- By Anonymous User on 12-01-04
By: L. Ron Hubbard
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Semper Mars
- Book One of the Heritage Trilogy
- By: Ian Douglas
- Narrated by: Ray Chase
- Length: 13 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 461
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 416
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 419
The Year is 2040. The Marines have landed on Mars to guard the unearthed secrets of an ancient and dangerous alien race: Ourselves. Scientists have discovered something astonishing in the subterranean ruins of a sprawling Martian city: startling evidence of an alternative history that threatens to split humanity into opposing factions and plunge the Earth into chaos and war.
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1 out of 5 stars
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GOT SH@T UP HIS CHAMBER
- By Anonymous User on 09-15-17
By: Ian Douglas
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Mutineer
- Kris Longknife, Book 1
- By: Mike Shepherd
- Narrated by: Dina Pearlman
- Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,654
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 1,281
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,273
Kris Longknife is a daughter of privilege, born to money and power. Her father is the prime minister of her home planet, her mother the consummate politician's wife. She's been raised only to be beautiful and marry well. But the heritage of the military Longknifes courses through Kris' blood - and, against her parents' objections, she enlists in the Marines.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Harsh reviews seem undeserved to me
- By Anonymous User on 09-29-10
By: Mike Shepherd
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The Mote in God's Eye
- By: Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
- Narrated by: L J Ganser
- Length: 20 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 7,933
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 5,964
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Story4 out of 5 stars 6,001
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".
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4 out of 5 stars
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A great read!
- By Anonymous User on 02-12-10
By: Larry Niven, and others
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The Skylark of Space
- Skylark Series #1
- By: E. E. "Doc" Smith
- Narrated by: Reed McColm
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 205
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 148
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 149
Brilliant government scientist Richard Seaton discovers a remarkable faster-than-light fuel that will power his interstellar spaceship, The Skylark. His ruthless rival, Marc DuQuesne, and the sinister World Steel Corporation will do anything to get their hands on the fuel. They kidnap Seaton's fiancée and friends, unleashing a furious pursuit and igniting a burning desire for revenge that will propel The Skylark across the galaxy and back.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Space Operas - Good Story telling!
- By Anonymous User on 01-27-10
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Weapons of Choice
- Axis of Time, Book 1
- By: John Birmingham
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 20 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 937
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 719
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Story4 out of 5 stars 716
History is rewritten in an instant as the future smashes into the past, and high-tech hardware goes head to head with World War Two technology. In the chaos that ensues, thousands are killed, but the maelstrom has only just begun. The veterans of Pearl Harbor have never seen a helicopter, or a cruise missile - let alone nanotechnology, ceramic bullets, and F22 Raptor stealth jetfighters. Allied and Axis forces are then caught in a desperate struggle to gain the upper hand.
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1 out of 5 stars
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The story line is a political stretch
- By Anonymous User on 04-18-15
By: John Birmingham
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Flight of the Intruder
- Jake Grafton, Book 1
- By: Stephen Coonts
- Narrated by: Benjamin L. Darcie
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 810
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 719
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 717
Hailed as the finest combat aviation novel to emerge from the Vietnam War, Flight of the Intruder spent 28 weeks on the New York Times hardcover best-seller list and became one of the top-20 best-selling first novels of all time. An instant classic, the book was translated into more than 20 languages and made into a major motion picture. Its hero, Jake Grafton, became a household name and the star of many more Coonts’ best-sellers. Without question, the strength of the book lies in its flying scenes when Jake Grafton straps himself into the cockpit of his A-6 Intruder.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great stuff! War and romance.
- By Anonymous User on 07-30-17
By: Stephen Coonts
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Independence Day: Resurgence
- The Official Movie Novelization
- By: Alex Irvine
- Narrated by: William Hope
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 188
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 175
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Story4 out of 5 stars 177
Hybrid fighters merging human and alien technology. Massive cannon emplacements on the moon and Mars. A planetary defense force with the finest military personnel ever trained. For two decades we've known the enemy would return. The nations of Earth have collaborated on a unified defense program designed to defend the planet.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Excellent audiobook.
- By Anonymous User on 06-06-16
By: Alex Irvine
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The Engines of God
- By: Jack McDevitt
- Narrated by: Tom Weiner
- Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 612
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 484
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Story4 out of 5 stars 490
Humans call them Monument-Makers. An unknown race, they left stunning alien statues scattered on distant planets throughout the galaxy, encoded with strange inscriptions that defy translation. Searching for clues about the Monument-Makers, teams of 23rd century linguists, historians, engineers and archaeologists have been excavating the enigmatic alien ruins on a number of planets, uncovering strange, massive false cities made of solid rock. But their time is running out.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Conceptually intriguing, but uneven writing style
- By Anonymous User on 05-12-11
By: Jack McDevitt
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Homeworld
- By: Harry Harrison
- Narrated by: Charles Carr
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 23
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 21
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 21
Jan Kulozik was one of Earth's privileged elite. A brilliant young electronics engineer, he enjoyed all the blessings of a twenty-third-century civilization that survived global collapse and conquered the starts, unaware of the millions who slaved or starved to maintain his way of life. Then Jan met Sara, a beautiful agent of the rebel underground dedicated to smashing Earth's rigid caste system. Through her he discovered the truth behind the lies he'd been taught.
By: Harry Harrison
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A Talent for War
- An Alex Benedict Novel
- By: Jack McDevitt
- Narrated by: Gregory Abbey, Jack McDevitt
- Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 561
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 386
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Story4 out of 5 stars 387
Everyone knew the legend of Christopher Sim. Fighter. Leader. An interstellar hero with a rare talent for war, Sim changed mankind's history forever when he forged a ragtag group of misfits into the weapon that broke the back of the alien Ashiyyur. But now, Alex Benedict has found a startling bit of information, long buried in an ancient computer file. If it is true, then Christopher Sim was a fraud.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Very good - but the cover and title are deceptive
- By Anonymous User on 09-25-10
By: Jack McDevitt
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Legion of the Damned
- Legion of the Damned, Book 1
- By: William C. Dietz
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 829
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 607
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Story4 out of 5 stars 611
In the future, the terminally ill can prolong life by surrendering their consciousness to a cybernetic life form that is then recruited into the notorious Legion of the Damned, an elite fighting unit charged with protecting humanity.
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5 out of 5 stars
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One of Sci-Fi's Best
- By Anonymous User on 11-21-11
By: William C. Dietz
What listeners say about The Cosmic Computer
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 01-28-17
Good, but reader should have looked stuff up.
My biggest problem with this reading was that the reader should have looked up how to pronounce "Poictesme". It's not "poyk-TEZ-mee", it's "pwah-TEM". It's a portmanteau of two French city names. The rest of the reading was okay, but every time I heard that mangled planet name, it jarred.
This is not an unreasonable expectation, for a reader to check the pronunciation for unusual words.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 09-04-24
Please learn how to pronounce the character and place names
Poictesme (pwa.‘tem’). Not Poi-tes-me
Anse is not pronounced Ans-ee
Listen to a version on LibriVox
Please