The Cosmic Computer
H. Beam Piper
Read by Mark Nelson
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? (by Mark Nelson) (7 hr 27 min)
Chapters
| Ch. 1-2 | 33:14 | Read by Mark Nelson |
| Ch. 3-4 | 38:56 | Read by Mark Nelson |
| Ch. 5-6 | 51:20 | Read by Mark Nelson |
| Ch. 7-8 | 35:44 | Read by Mark Nelson |
| Ch.9-10 | 47:48 | Read by Mark Nelson |
| Ch.11-12 | 35:54 | Read by Mark Nelson |
| Ch.13-14 | 49:11 | Read by Mark Nelson |
| Ch.15-16 | 41:56 | Read by Mark Nelson |
| Ch.17-18 | 40:57 | Read by Mark Nelson |
| Ch.19-20 | 36:28 | Read by Mark Nelson |
| Ch.21-22 | 36:03 | Read by Mark Nelson |
Reviews
enjoable
J. Williams
love the book, it is a good piper book. the reader is good too, I've listened to many of his readings and always enjoy them. only thing that is a little annoying is the intro to each chapter group, the music. it is much louder then the reading and can blast your ears if you are using headphones.
Very good story
mikezane
Conn is a young man trained to work on computers so he can find the ultimate computer in the universe. Along the way, he finds someone who knows about the computer, but will say nothing about it. Why? What is the big secret? Good story, kept me on my toes. Mark Nelson is a GREAT reader, I hope he is still reading for libravox.
Superb example of a good science fiction book
A LibriVox Listener
A little slow to start but maturely themed and very entertaining. Also nice and long. I'm a fan of longer stories with more developed characters.
Cosmic!
Pop
Excellent reading, made it a pleasure to listen to. Expands on a short story, "Graveyard of Dreams", starting in an almost identical way then branching off into it's own story. Quaint but satisfying. Ends a little suddenly, but it's of it's time. I can imagine a B movie version doing much the same.
The Cosmic Computer
Mr Mck
Fantastic story definitely my favourite H Beam Piper tale. Once again brilliantly read by Mark Nelson my favourite Libivox narrator. An excellent adventure with twists turns and great characters.
good listen
thebarron1719
since I will always make a negative comment because everything can have improvement there was a 1 word slip in the dialog in chapter 10 but I only mention that because I can find no other fault in the book vs the reading and well... great book well read. its better the other the war of the worlds on here.
Bravo from Borneo
Lord Jim
Really enjoyed this old-school sci-fi story, which was brought to life by my favourite sci-fi narrator Mark Nelson. H Beam Piper constructs a believable geopolitical and economic environment on a planet struggling for a future. The elusive Cosmic Computer appears to many old-timers as their last hope. However, can younger and fresher eyes chart an alternative course.
The Cosmic Bore
embot
Too much vehicle tech, not enough story for me. Its like Sci - Fi Top Gear! The elusive Merlin Computer is so elusive i got bored waiting to hear about it by chapter 7. sorry :(