This Crowded Earth
Robert Bloch
Read by Gregg Margarite (1957-2012)
Robert Bloch (1917 – 1994) was a prolific writer in many genres. As a young man he was encouraged by his mentor H. P. Lovecraft, and was a close friend of Stanley G. Weinbaum. Besides hundreds of short stories and novels he wrote a number of television and film scripts including several for the original Star Trek. In 1959 Bloch wrote the novel Psycho which Alfred Hitchcock adapted to film a year later. He received the Hugo Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and he is a past president of the Mystery Writers of America. Published in Amazing Stories in 1958, This Crowded Earth is a thriller set on an overpopulated Earth of the future. (Summary by Gregg Margarite) (3 hr 35 min)
Chapters
| 01 - Harry Collins - 1997 | 29:22 | Read by Gregg Margarite (1957-2012) |
| 02 - Harry Collins – 1998 | 40:15 | Read by Gregg Margarite (1957-2012) |
| 03 - President Winthrop – 1999 | 7:15 | Read by Gregg Margarite (1957-2012) |
| 04 - Harry Collins – 2000 | 6:34 | Read by Gregg Margarite (1957-2012) |
| 05 - Minnie Schultz – 2009 | 8:02 | Read by Gregg Margarite (1957-2012) |
| 06 - Harry Collins – 2012 | 28:22 | Read by Gregg Margarite (1957-2012) |
| 07 - Michael Cavendish – 2027 | 10:54 | Read by Gregg Margarite (1957-2012) |
| 08 - Harry Collins – 2029 | 21:39 | Read by Gregg Margarite (1957-2012) |
| 09 - Eric Donovan – 2031 | 16:45 | Read by Gregg Margarite (1957-2012) |
| 10 - Harry Collins – 2032 | 15:52 | Read by Gregg Margarite (1957-2012) |
| 11 - Jesse Pringle – 2039 | 5:51 | Read by Gregg Margarite (1957-2012) |
| 12 - Littlejohn – 2065 | 24:29 | Read by Gregg Margarite (1957-2012) |
Reviews
Good story, loved the ending!
mikezane
The human race has gotten too large, and everyone is crowded. How can this be solved? By shrinking everyone. Oh wait, don't we need human guinea pigs to experiment on for that? The people will never stand for it, so I guess it must be done in secret. And if it does work, what are the long-term implications of this genetic tampering? The author does a nice job of exploring this hot topic and what the results might be. The reader is excellent. This was a great story; I enjoyed it a lot.
Provoking
sherbk
Interesting perspective on over- population. Even though the story vividly portrayed a very depressing situation and main character, I'm glad I listened. I found this to be very interesting. Also, Gregg is one of my very favorite readers making it even better.
A++
CH
Another fantastic story, and another great read by Gregg Margarite! You won't see it coming! Every time you think you know where this story is going it flips on you! Wish LibriVox had more Bloch stories.
this crowded earth
auriane21
Great reader and sound quality! The story is rather original and already well described in the other reviews. I would also recommend this book For the downsides I would just add that the plot is sometimes illogical and I wish they had female characters doing something else than existing to procreate.
A great story with a great ending
Seven Archers
The story was not what I expected, the plot kept me guessing throwing a curve ball or two when least expected, then finishing with a great ending. The late Greg Margarite did superb job reading, as usual, rest in peace Greg.
Over Population? The solution may be worse!
Pyrodin123321
Over population a problem? Why not make people smaller! Good Book, mildly dystopic, the storyline seems plausable given the level of genetic manipulation we have achieved.
At least the 50's gave us Sci-fi
Mark Burchard
There are acts of imagination which produce what is essentially knowledge of the future. This book is among them. Suspend disbelief and roll with the inevitable anachronisms and wonder that a work of such prescience emerged from the 50's. The modern reader is subjected to minimal Atomic Age bombast. The individual human is always the hero of their own story and this narrative underpins our sense of wellbeing. Unfortunately this perspective scales quite poorly, and may in fact be a fatal adaptation. We're not going to have billions of heros. We're going to have billions and people in boxes. Anyway, give it a listen, it's good!
Fun overpopulation story
Jimbo
I love old overpopulation stories. They're kind of funny, because they conflate 10 billion people with far future technology with what would happen with 10 billion people running on 1950s tech, and are still prone to exaggeration even if you assume such a degree of technology. The population may cause pollution, but there would always be enough living space, and with hydroponics, there shouldn't be any trouble with food for around 3000 years. Anyway, despite the author buying into bizarre theories, it's a fun story.