
The Oppenheimer Alternative
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
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $21.49
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Josh Bloomberg
-
By:
-
Robert J. Sawyer
About this listen
Writing with “a sense of wonder that hasn’t prevailed since the days of Heinlein” (Books in Canada), best novel Hugo and Nebula Award winner Robert J. Sawyer brings you “a truly science-fictional work of alternate history” (S.M. Stirling).
While J. Robert Oppenheimer and his Manhattan Project team struggle to develop the A-bomb, Edward Teller wants something even more devastating: a weapon based on nuclear fusion - the mechanism that powers the sun. But Teller’s research leads to a terrifying discovery: by the year 2030, the sun will eject its outermost layer, destroying the entire inner solar system - including Earth.
After the war ends, Oppenheimer’s physicists combine forces with Albert Einstein, computing pioneer John von Neumann, and rocket designer Wernher von Braun - the greatest scientific geniuses from the last century racing against time to save our future.
Meticulously researched and replete with real-life characters and events, The Oppenheimer Alternative is a breathtaking adventure through both real and alternate history.
©2020 Robert J. Sawyer (P)2020 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
-
Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
-
-
Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
- By C. White on 09-19-23
By: John Scalzi
-
Quantum Night
- By: Robert. J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Scott Aiello
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Experimental psychologist Jim Marchuk has developed a flawless technique for identifying the previously undetected psychopaths lurking everywhere in society. But while being cross-examined about his breakthrough in court, Jim is shocked to discover that he has lost his memories of six months of his life from 20 years previously - a dark time during which he himself committed heinous acts.
-
-
PHILOSOPHICAL ZOMBIE
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 12-02-17
-
Illegal Alien
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a disabled spaceship enters Earth's atmosphere, seven members of the advanced Tosok race are welcomed by the world. Then a popular scientist is murdered, and all evidence points to one of the Tosoks. Now, an alien is tried in a court of law -and there may be far more at stake than accounting for one human life.
-
-
This is It.
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 06-11-13
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Calculating God
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Robert J. Sawyer
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Hugo-nominated novel, an alien walks into a museum and asks if he can see a paleontologist. But the arachnid ET hasn't come aboard a rowboat with the Pope and Stephen Hawking (although His Holiness does request an audience later). Landing at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, the spacefarer, Hollus, asks to compare notes on mass extinctions with resident dino-scientist Thomas Jericho.
-
-
Interesting book, very enjoyable narration
- By Ione on 05-07-10
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
WWW: Wake
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Jessica Almasy, Jennifer Van Dyck, A. C. Fellner, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Caitlin Decter is young, pretty, feisty, a genius at math - and blind. Still, she can surf the net with the best of them, following its complex paths clearly in her mind. But Caitlin's brain long ago co-opted her primary visual cortex to help her navigate online. So when she receives an implant to restore her sight, instead of seeing reality, the landscape of the World Wide Web explodes into her consciousness, spreading out all around her in a riot of colors and shapes.
-
-
A Great, if Incomplete, Concept
- By Seth H. Wilson on 04-14-09
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Mindscan
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jake Sullivan has cheated death: he's discarded his doomed biological body and copied his consciousness into an android form. The new Jake soon finds love, something that eluded him when he was encased in flesh: he falls for the android version of Karen, a woman rediscovering all the joys of life now that she too is no longer constrained by a worn-out body. Karen's son sues her, claiming that by uploading into an immortal body, she has done him out of his inheritance.
-
-
Entertaining, but not Sawyer's Best
- By John C. on 05-31-12
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Starter Villain
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.
-
-
Volcanic Lairs, Death Rays & Cats… Oh My! 😼
- By C. White on 09-19-23
By: John Scalzi
-
Quantum Night
- By: Robert. J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Scott Aiello
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Experimental psychologist Jim Marchuk has developed a flawless technique for identifying the previously undetected psychopaths lurking everywhere in society. But while being cross-examined about his breakthrough in court, Jim is shocked to discover that he has lost his memories of six months of his life from 20 years previously - a dark time during which he himself committed heinous acts.
-
-
PHILOSOPHICAL ZOMBIE
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 12-02-17
-
Illegal Alien
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a disabled spaceship enters Earth's atmosphere, seven members of the advanced Tosok race are welcomed by the world. Then a popular scientist is murdered, and all evidence points to one of the Tosoks. Now, an alien is tried in a court of law -and there may be far more at stake than accounting for one human life.
-
-
This is It.
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 06-11-13
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Calculating God
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Robert J. Sawyer
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Hugo-nominated novel, an alien walks into a museum and asks if he can see a paleontologist. But the arachnid ET hasn't come aboard a rowboat with the Pope and Stephen Hawking (although His Holiness does request an audience later). Landing at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, the spacefarer, Hollus, asks to compare notes on mass extinctions with resident dino-scientist Thomas Jericho.
-
-
Interesting book, very enjoyable narration
- By Ione on 05-07-10
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
WWW: Wake
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Jessica Almasy, Jennifer Van Dyck, A. C. Fellner, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Caitlin Decter is young, pretty, feisty, a genius at math - and blind. Still, she can surf the net with the best of them, following its complex paths clearly in her mind. But Caitlin's brain long ago co-opted her primary visual cortex to help her navigate online. So when she receives an implant to restore her sight, instead of seeing reality, the landscape of the World Wide Web explodes into her consciousness, spreading out all around her in a riot of colors and shapes.
-
-
A Great, if Incomplete, Concept
- By Seth H. Wilson on 04-14-09
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Mindscan
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jake Sullivan has cheated death: he's discarded his doomed biological body and copied his consciousness into an android form. The new Jake soon finds love, something that eluded him when he was encased in flesh: he falls for the android version of Karen, a woman rediscovering all the joys of life now that she too is no longer constrained by a worn-out body. Karen's son sues her, claiming that by uploading into an immortal body, she has done him out of his inheritance.
-
-
Entertaining, but not Sawyer's Best
- By John C. on 05-31-12
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
End of an Era
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: David Marantz
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paleontologist Brandon Thackery and his rival, Miles "Klicks" Jordan, fulfill a dinosaur lover's dream with history's first time-travel jaunt to the late Mesozoic. Hoping to solve the extinction mystery, they find Earth's gravity is only half its 21st-century value and dinosaurs that behave very strangely. Could the slimy blue creatures from Mars have something to do with both?
-
-
Fascinating!
- By Simone on 07-08-16
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Hominids
- The Neanderthal Parallax, Book 1
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Robert J. Sawyer
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Neanderthals have developed a radically different civilization on a parallel Earth. A Neanderthal physicist, Ponter Boddit, accidentally passes from his universe into a Canadian underground research facility. Fortunately, a team of human scientists, including expert paleo-anthropologist Mary Vaughan, promptly identifies and warmly receives Ponter. Solving the language problem and much else is a mini-computer, called a Companion, implanted in the brain of every Neanderthal. But it can't help his fellow scientist back in his world, Adikor Huld, when the authorities charge Adikor with his murder.
-
-
Scicen Fiction Can Be Literature
- By Scott on 08-10-09
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Far-Seer
- The Quintaglio Ascension, Book 1
- By: Robert. J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Oliver Wyman
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Face of God is what every young saurian learns to call the immense, glowing object which fills the night sky on the far side of the world. Young Afsan is privileged, called to the distant Capital City to apprentice with Saleed the court astrologer. But when the time comes for Afsan to make his coming-of-age pilgrimage, to gaze upon the Face of God, his world is changed forever- for what he sees will test his faith...and may save his world from disaster!
-
-
Definitely Original!
- By Simone on 08-30-16
-
Rollback
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: George Wilson
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thirty-eight years ago, Dr. Sarah Halifax earned worldwide fame by deciphering a radio transmission from an unknown intelligence reaching out from deep space. Now 87, Sarah receives news that, at long last, a new signal has been received, and her services are desperately needed once again.
-
-
Main plot - Tiresome; Subplot - Cool!
- By Ole Hippie on 04-29-11
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Factoring Humanity
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the near future, a signal is detected coming from the Alpha Centauri system. Mysterious, unintelligible data streams in for ten years. Heather Davis, a professor in the University of Toronto psychology department, has devoted her career to deciphering the message. Her estranged husband, Kyle, is working on the development of artificial intelligence systems and new computer technology utilizing quantum effects to produce a near-infinite number of calculations simultaneously.
-
-
Novel alien first contact
- By Michael G Kurilla on 05-28-12
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Quantum Radio
- By: A.G. Riddle
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 14 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dr. Tyson Klein is a quantum physicist who has dedicated his entire life to his research. At CERN, he analyses data generated by the Large Hadron Collider, the world's biggest and most powerful particle accelerator. Now, Ty believes he's found a pattern in its output. It looks like an organised data stream, being broadcast over what he calls a quantum radio. Could it be a signal from another universe? A message sent from the future? Or something else entirely?
-
-
Can't wait for book two
- By T. Patterson on 03-12-23
By: A.G. Riddle
-
The Eighth Continent
- The Eighth Continent, Book 1
- By: Rhett C. Bruno, Felix R. Savage
- Narrated by: Scott Aiello
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nick Morrison always wanted to be an astronaut. When a start-up company recruits him to build a lunar launch system at the moon’s south pole, Nick gladly leaves behind his troubled life on Earth—but Nick doesn’t know that the company is in financial and legal trouble. Deprived of support from Earth, the team on the moon must figure out how to survive on their own. Worse yet, there’s another base at the lunar south pole, run by a ruthless contractor who has big plans for the moon...and for Earth.
-
-
Great new find
- By Trevor on 09-21-23
By: Rhett C. Bruno, and others
-
Children of Time
- By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: Mel Hudson
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Adrian Tchaikovksy's critically acclaimed stand-alone novel Children of Time is the epic story of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet. Who will inherit this new Earth? The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But all is not right in this new Eden.
-
-
A very pleasant surprise
- By Simon on 06-17-17
-
The Calculating Stars
- A Lady Astronaut Novel
- By: Mary Robinette Kowal
- Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the East Coast of the US, including Washington, DC. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the Earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space and requires a much-larger share of humanity to take part in the process. Elma York’s drive to become the first lady astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions of society may not stand a chance against her.
-
-
Never achieves lift off
- By Richard Bruno on 10-01-18
-
Angels and Demons
- By: Dan Brown
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 18 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
World-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a cryptic symbol seared into the chest of a murdered physicist. What he discovers is unimaginable: a deadly vendetta against the Catholic Church by a centuries-old underground organization, the Illuminati. Desperate to save the Vatican from a powerful time bomb, Langdon joins forces in Rome with the beautiful and mysterious scientist Vittoria Vetra.
-
-
A must for fans of The Da Vinci Code
- By Geoffrey on 04-14-04
By: Dan Brown
-
Winter World
- By: A. G. Riddle
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Amanda Leigh Cobb
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The ice is coming. It was the last thing we expected, but the world is freezing. A new ice age has dawned. Billions have fled the glaciers. A cataclysmic war is coming. In orbit, a group of scientists are running the Winter Experiments, a last-ditch attempt to understand why the planet is cooling. None of the climate models they build make sense. But then they discover an anomaly, an unexplained variation in solar radiation...and something else. Close to the burning edge of the sun, they catch a fleeting glimpse of something that shouldn’t be there....
-
-
I felt title and genre was misleading.
- By Melmom on 03-08-19
By: A. G. Riddle
-
Contact
- By: Carl Sagan
- Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The future is here...in an adventure of cosmic dimension. In December, 1999, a multinational team journeys out to the stars, to the most awesome encounter in human history. Who - or what - is out there? In Cosmos, Carl Sagan explained the universe. In Contact, he predicts its future - and our own.
-
-
Technical problems with this recording - skips...
- By Matt on 11-28-12
By: Carl Sagan
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Calculating God
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Robert J. Sawyer
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Hugo-nominated novel, an alien walks into a museum and asks if he can see a paleontologist. But the arachnid ET hasn't come aboard a rowboat with the Pope and Stephen Hawking (although His Holiness does request an audience later). Landing at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, the spacefarer, Hollus, asks to compare notes on mass extinctions with resident dino-scientist Thomas Jericho.
-
-
Interesting book, very enjoyable narration
- By Ione on 05-07-10
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
The Downloaded
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Brendan Fraser, Luke Kirby, Vanessa Sears, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2059, two vastly different groups of people portrayed by the compelling trio of Brendan Fraser (Academy Award winner), Luke Kirby (Emmy Award winner), and Vanessa Sears (Dora Award winner) undergo cryonic suspension. While their bodies are frozen, their minds, still active and awake, are uploaded into a massive quantum computer. The first group are all astronauts, about to leave Earth on a one-way interstellar colonization mission. The second group consists of convicted murderers and volunteers who elect to serve their sentences in a virtual-reality prison.
-
-
Poor writing- agenda piece
- By Amazon Customer on 10-27-23
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Quantum Night
- By: Robert. J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Scott Aiello
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Experimental psychologist Jim Marchuk has developed a flawless technique for identifying the previously undetected psychopaths lurking everywhere in society. But while being cross-examined about his breakthrough in court, Jim is shocked to discover that he has lost his memories of six months of his life from 20 years previously - a dark time during which he himself committed heinous acts.
-
-
PHILOSOPHICAL ZOMBIE
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 12-02-17
-
The Terminal Experiment
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An experiment has gone terribly wrong. Dr. Peter Hobson has created three electronic simulations of his own personality. One will test life after death; another, immortality. The third one is the control unit. But now all three have escaped from Hobson's computer into the worldwide electronic matrix. And one of them is a killer.
-
-
Incredible
- By David on 05-19-08
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Factoring Humanity
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the near future, a signal is detected coming from the Alpha Centauri system. Mysterious, unintelligible data streams in for ten years. Heather Davis, a professor in the University of Toronto psychology department, has devoted her career to deciphering the message. Her estranged husband, Kyle, is working on the development of artificial intelligence systems and new computer technology utilizing quantum effects to produce a near-infinite number of calculations simultaneously.
-
-
Novel alien first contact
- By Michael G Kurilla on 05-28-12
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Illegal Alien
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a disabled spaceship enters Earth's atmosphere, seven members of the advanced Tosok race are welcomed by the world. Then a popular scientist is murdered, and all evidence points to one of the Tosoks. Now, an alien is tried in a court of law -and there may be far more at stake than accounting for one human life.
-
-
This is It.
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 06-11-13
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Calculating God
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Robert J. Sawyer
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Hugo-nominated novel, an alien walks into a museum and asks if he can see a paleontologist. But the arachnid ET hasn't come aboard a rowboat with the Pope and Stephen Hawking (although His Holiness does request an audience later). Landing at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, the spacefarer, Hollus, asks to compare notes on mass extinctions with resident dino-scientist Thomas Jericho.
-
-
Interesting book, very enjoyable narration
- By Ione on 05-07-10
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
The Downloaded
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Brendan Fraser, Luke Kirby, Vanessa Sears, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2059, two vastly different groups of people portrayed by the compelling trio of Brendan Fraser (Academy Award winner), Luke Kirby (Emmy Award winner), and Vanessa Sears (Dora Award winner) undergo cryonic suspension. While their bodies are frozen, their minds, still active and awake, are uploaded into a massive quantum computer. The first group are all astronauts, about to leave Earth on a one-way interstellar colonization mission. The second group consists of convicted murderers and volunteers who elect to serve their sentences in a virtual-reality prison.
-
-
Poor writing- agenda piece
- By Amazon Customer on 10-27-23
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Quantum Night
- By: Robert. J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Scott Aiello
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Experimental psychologist Jim Marchuk has developed a flawless technique for identifying the previously undetected psychopaths lurking everywhere in society. But while being cross-examined about his breakthrough in court, Jim is shocked to discover that he has lost his memories of six months of his life from 20 years previously - a dark time during which he himself committed heinous acts.
-
-
PHILOSOPHICAL ZOMBIE
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 12-02-17
-
The Terminal Experiment
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An experiment has gone terribly wrong. Dr. Peter Hobson has created three electronic simulations of his own personality. One will test life after death; another, immortality. The third one is the control unit. But now all three have escaped from Hobson's computer into the worldwide electronic matrix. And one of them is a killer.
-
-
Incredible
- By David on 05-19-08
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Factoring Humanity
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the near future, a signal is detected coming from the Alpha Centauri system. Mysterious, unintelligible data streams in for ten years. Heather Davis, a professor in the University of Toronto psychology department, has devoted her career to deciphering the message. Her estranged husband, Kyle, is working on the development of artificial intelligence systems and new computer technology utilizing quantum effects to produce a near-infinite number of calculations simultaneously.
-
-
Novel alien first contact
- By Michael G Kurilla on 05-28-12
By: Robert J. Sawyer
-
Illegal Alien
- By: Robert J. Sawyer
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a disabled spaceship enters Earth's atmosphere, seven members of the advanced Tosok race are welcomed by the world. Then a popular scientist is murdered, and all evidence points to one of the Tosoks. Now, an alien is tried in a court of law -and there may be far more at stake than accounting for one human life.
-
-
This is It.
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 06-11-13
By: Robert J. Sawyer
What listeners say about The Oppenheimer Alternative
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Gary Ingram
- 09-28-21
Awesome!
I highly recommend this book for anyone one enjoys the history of science. Great story! Great narration!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- H AND A HOME REPAIRS
- 11-25-23
Wow
Very creative thought out story thoroughly enjoyed the book and the historical similarities. Great read
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lynda Engler
- 11-08-21
Reads like classic sci-fi
This novel was published in 2020 but reads like Classic sci-fi from the 50s. Perhaps it's because the story begins in 1936 and ends in 1967. Told completely chronologically, the first 4 hours of the tale takes us from Robert Oppenheimer's life as a college professor, through his involvement with the Manhattan Project, Hitler's death in 1945, and the dropping of The Bomb on Japan. It reads like a well-written biography of all the key players in the race for the A-bomb.
Then it takes a turn into alternative history. Edward Teller wants something more devastating: a weapon based on nuclear fusion - the mechanism that powers the sun. But Teller's research leads to a terrifying discovery: by 2030, the sun will eject its outermost layer, destroying the entire inner solar system, including Earth.
Interesting concept for a new book, and I enjoyed it, but not as much as previous Sawyer novels - I think because of the older time period. But if you love classic sci-fi, this is a modern "classic" you shouldn't miss.
I met Rob at a SF writer's conference in LA some years back and he's a great guy. I've enjoyed all of his novels, but my favorite - still - is Calculating God. Look it up, it's a 5-star read!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Chester Johnson
- 07-20-20
History with a twist!
The Oppenheimer Alternative by Robert J. Sawyer is an alternate history novel that follows the group of the world's greatest physicists that developed the nuclear fission bomb during WWII. But in this timeline, this group of intellectuals discover an impending doom for mankind even greater than the Axis powers, and after their creation ends WWII with nuclear fire in Japan, they set about trying to solve this new problem for humanity's sake.
All the characters in this novel are real historical individuals, and their separate personalities, personal drives, and clashing egos make an excellent back drop for a great scifi story. This novel surprised me with its ending, but it did end the best way possible after a bit of reflection. A solid novel, and historically accurate depictions and descriptions of people and history until the story takes its turn make for both a history lesson and a great alternative history scifi read. A solid 3 1/2 to 4 star read from Robert J Sawyer, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kindle Customer
- 02-24-22
Brilliant
Extremely insightful. I remain impressed by the depth of this approach and its' believability factor.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- AkarueKa
- 10-04-23
a glimpse into a history and a alternate future
from the moment I picked up my first Sawyer book, I have loved this author and this one was just as awesome as the rest. I was seriously impressed with the accuracy of historical fact and scientific information. and even tying it into theories about Crystal sun explosions due to micronova, . there is, a whole catastrophism theory about what caused the end of the ice age, in the younger dryas. and why there is a nano diamond, black mat of crystalline structures both, pretty much everywhere on this Earth and also on samples found on the moon. this sun, explosion theory, is an actual thing haha that I have studied for the last several years. when I saw what this book was about I said I had to read it. I follow on YT suspicious observers, space weather, and he has a whole series on catastrophism and micronova sun cycles, and sun cycles in general. if you're interested in this topic after you read this book I would check him out. the book actually left me wanting a second in the series and continuation, of the story. maybe we'll get lucky and Sawyer, will write one. excellent book if you're into science, history, The History of science, world war II history, deep state and pentagon projects, etc with a little twist this one is for you. the characters are all personalable believable, and interesting but all well known names in the history of the atomic age. very much enjoyed it I hope you do too.
ps, the narrator, is also great and does recognizable voices for all of the main characters. well done excellent listen
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Cogit8tor
- 07-03-20
History Up Close and Personal--with a Twist
Robert J. Sawyer has delivered again with The Oppenheimer Alternative. The first section of the novel is a closeup view of the development of the atomic bomb, including the marvelous idiosyncrasies of famous scientists such as Fermi, Szilard, Teller, Feinman, Einstein, and more--plus key non-scientists like General Groves.
The second part of the book explores what might have happened after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where a mystery drives Oppenheimer and his colleagues to SAVE the world, much as the Manhattan Project permanently CHANGED the world.
Highly recommended.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tonya
- 09-20-21
Disappointing 90% dry history
I really enjoyed several other books by this author, but the only part of the story that really caught my attention was the last 3-4 chapters.
The performance was good.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Erwin valderramos
- 08-06-23
Optionheimer
There are other stories about Opie that may be better but I rather like the,” alternate history” of this one. It just drug on some and I don’t have interest in the not related film. Big fan of author but this one was ok.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Matthew
- 07-31-20
Fascinating....
Sawyer does it again! A totally original journey through the history of the dawn of the nuclear age. Sawyer and Bloomberg bring the giants of the day ( Einstein, Grove, Teller, Oppie! ) to life in this sprawling, unique and fun listen.
Revisionist history, with a hard sci-fi bend to it. For some reason, this offering really resonated with me. Hearing Bloomberg give voice to long passed historical characters was grand fun, and educational as well.
Highly recommended for a variety of listeners, including history buffs. Spend the credit and enjoy it!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful