Voltaire In Space: Micromegas & Plato's Dream

I’ll admit: I approached *Voltaire in Space* expecting a quaint historical oddity—something to file under ‘early sci-fi curios.’ Instead, I got a masterclass in how to use cosmic scale as a mirror for human folly. *Micromegas* is the standout, a tale where a 120,000-foot-tall alien and his Lilliputian companion (a mere 6,000 feet tall) descend upon Earth, only to find humanity’s wars, religions, and philosophies as incomprehensible as our physical smallness. Voltaire’s humor is still *sharp*—the scene where the aliens struggle to even *see* humans, let alone take us seriously, had me laughing out loud. But it’s Charles Featherstone’s narration that sells it. His delivery is deliciously arch, like a professor smugly dismantling a student’s bad essay. He nails the balance between deadpan and theatrical, especially in *Plato’s Dream*, where the afterlife becomes a celestial DMV run by pedantic angels. That said, this isn’t a flawless listen. *Plato’s Dream* feels slighter, more like an extended joke than a fully realized satire, and Featherstone’s pacing occasionally stumbles in the denser philosophical passages—his cadence can turn didactic when Voltaire’s prose gets abstract. The production is clean but minimalist; no frills, just the text and the narrator, which suits the material but might leave some listeners wanting more atmospheric immersion. Still, at 47 minutes, it’s a lean, rewarding dive into Voltaire’s mind, proving that good satire doesn’t age—it just waits for the right narrator to bring it back to life. If you love *Candide*’s bite or Douglas Adams’ cosmic comedy, this is a must-listen. Just don’t expect any aliens to take you seriously afterward.