VARIABLE STAR by Robert A. Heinlein and Spider Robinson (unabridged) is presented by Blackstone Audio and comes with what is perhaps the best audiobook app available (see FEATURES, below).

Winner of the AudioFile Earphones® Award!

After Robert Heinlein died and left an unfinished manuscript, the Heinlein estate authorized Spider Robinson to expand it into a novel. The result is vintage Heinlein, a story of young lovers driven apart in the vastness of space.

NOTICE: This app includes the exact same 5-star recording offered elsewhere at much higher prices. It was professionally recorded by the co-author, Spider Robinson. You are not buying yet another amateur or volunteer narration. No clicks, background noises, throat clearing, mispronunciations, tinny voices or monotones will be found here.

“I’d nominate Spider Robinson as the new Robert Heinlein.”—New York Times


• EXPERIENCE. About 11 hours of narration. Created as a Folium enhancedAudio™ edition, this book includes extra functions and features not found on lesser players.

• PLAYER CONTROLS. Includes listen (play), pause, multi-speed fast forward/reverse, jump ahead/back, chapter skip, volume control, one-touch chapter- and bookmark browser. There is also a “scrub” bar that finds any point inside the chapter with just a tap.

• SLEEP TIMER. Have you ever fallen asleep watching TV or listening to a book? If so, you'll love this feature. Once set, the book will stop, place a bookmark, and allow you to jump back to where you probably began dozing.

• CLEAR & ELEGANT DESIGN. Simple, clean, intuitive, and smarter than average.

• CHAPTER TIMINGS. Always know how much time it will take to finish a chapter. Plus, the progress bar at the top of the screen shows how far into the book you’ve come.

• OFFLINE LISTENING. You are airplane-ready! Once downloaded, listen uninterrupted without threat from a lost network connection. Downloads are usually just 5-10 minutes, but depend upon your network speed.

• AUTO-BOOKMARKING. The player remembers where you stopped listening and returns to that exact spot when you open the book again.

• TELL-A-FRIEND. An easy way to recommend the book to your friends or Twitter feed.

• FEEDBACK. Share your ideas for books, functions, and features. We are very responsive to our listeners and appreciate all feedback and ideas.


RATING: Suitable for teens and adults who enjoy masterful science fiction.

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At his death in 1988, Robert A. Heinlein left a legacy of novels and short stories that almost single-handedly defined modern science fiction. But one of Heinlein’s masterpieces was never finished. In 1955, he began work on Variable Star, a powerful and passionate tale of two young lovers driven apart by pride, power, and the vastness of interstellar time and space. Then he set it aside to focus on other novellas.

The detailed outline and notes he created for this project lay forgotten for decades, only to be rediscovered almost a half century later. Now the Heinlein estate has authorized award-winning author Spider Robinson to expand that outline into a full-length novel. The result is vintage Heinlein, faithful in style and spirit to the Grand Master’s original vision.