Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • The Man Who Used the Universe

  • By: Alan Dean Foster
  • Narrated by: Paul Ansdell
  • Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (11 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Man Who Used the Universe cover art

The Man Who Used the Universe

By: Alan Dean Foster
Narrated by: Paul Ansdell
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £25.99

Buy Now for £25.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Dawn for a Distant Earth cover art
Lilith: A Snake in the Grass cover art
The End of the Matter cover art
Relic cover art
Alien: Covenant Origins cover art
A Question of Will cover art
Sten cover art
The Empire of Bones Saga Volume 1 cover art
With the Lightnings cover art
The Gods of Sagittarius cover art
Liege Killer cover art
Anniversary Day cover art
Humanity Unlimited Publisher's Pack 1 cover art
Far Point cover art
Battle of the New Orleans cover art
Into the Void cover art

Summary

No one knows the true motives of Kees vaan Loo-Macklin. He's a mastermind criminal who gave up his place at the head of the dark underworld to become a legitimate member of Evenwaith's cities. But soon he was reaching out to powerful enemies - the slimy aliens called the Nuel. Loo-Macklin negotiates an illusory peace agreement and gains precious alien secrets in the process. Is he after peace, power or pure evil? With enemy starships beginning to amass, we won't have to wait long to find out.

©2014 Alan Dean Foster (P)2017 Dreamscape Media, LLC

What listeners say about The Man Who Used the Universe

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    8
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Really good book.. loved it.

Really good book.. loved it. I thought the narrator did a good job on the main character, low voice,. measured etc. exactly how i imagined he would talk. Its old school SCIFI i read along time ago, its still very good today.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A science fiction epic ruined by the narration

l loved this book when I first read it 30 years ago . I love the the story but not this narration which is like a bit actor from Oliver or Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins..truly deadful...truly

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Pretty good, but not without faults.

I first read this in paperback in about 1985, and when I saw it here thought I'd give it a shot.

A curious, if not bizarre reading from Ansell - he seemed to read every line as if it were coming to him as something of a surprise and was unexpected. After a while though it seemed to work, and fitte well with the storyline.

The story itself has aged well, but still suffers from the problem that Loo-Macklin is basically an unstoppable God-like being who triumphs at everything every time. There's no hardship to counter his success.

Early on it becomes apparent that although the reader doesn't know why he's doing what he's doing, it's obvious that he will be successful at it.

Character voices are all similar, and many of the accents seem to imply that everybody comes from Liverpool or the surrounding area, although a couple of the Nuel seem to have lived in Birmingham long enough to pick up an accent.

I enjoyed this book, and will listen to it again. The best part of the reading was the reading itself - better than the plot. It took a while to get used to it, and Ansell mispronounces a few common English words occasionally - which is a personal pet-hate of mine, but I warmed to it and am now considering other books read by him.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • RG
  • 20-03-17

Like Visiting An Old Friend After Many Years

Great to see this fine work of Alan Dean Foster finally available on audio. The Man Who Used The Universe is probably Foster's best work as it follows the lifelong obsession of one man from the criminal underworld to the heights of power and influence over Humans and alien's alike. Great performance as well from the narrator.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!