My Favourite SFF Audio Books
By Lyse Beck

There are debates about audio books vs paperback vs digital formats. This post is not about that. Although that would be an interesting post. But I will not try to convince you to listen to a book if thatās not your jam. Well, I wonāt deliberately try. As for SFF⦠you either love it or youāve already moved onto the next blog post and weāve parted as friends.
This post is my recommendation list for SFF audio books Iāve loved and why. Side note, I am in awe of great narrators. Iāve actually bought some audio books because of the narrator. Kind of like watching a movie because of the actor? So Iāll also include a bit about the narrator because theyāre so critical to audio books.
OK, my ten fave SFF audio books to date.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.Narrated by Ray Porter.
This is my idea of a perfect book. Itās a master class in escalating stakes and plotting, while having the characters be the reason you canāt put it down. Itās got a nested flashback story thatās done so brilliantly you forget itās flashbacks. Plus itās narrated by the absolutely amazing Ray Porter. The characters talk in an immediately identifiable way. Heās a master voice actor if there ever was one. AND⦠if all thatās not enough, thereās some musical elements to the book that are just a joy in the audio book. Iāll sneak in a quick mention of Weirās previous novel, Artemis narrated by Rosario Dawson, which I also really enjoyed.
The Murderbot Diaries (7.5 books) by Martha Wells, narrated by Kevin R. Free.
Ah, these books. This character. I love Murderbot so much. The first four books are novellas, all under 4 hours. Then thereās a 4.5 book, and the rest are novels. This series really got under my skin. At first itās just wonderful fun and then after a while, the heart of this story swept me away and gave me much to think about. Free does an excellent job of narrating these stories.
The Locked Tomb Trilogy by Tamsyn Muir, narrated by Moira Quirk.
The first book in the series, Gideon the Ninth I listened to in utter surprise and delight for the entire book. Itās insanely inventive and I loved the characters. It pulls no punches this one. The books do get progressively weirder until the last is somewhat unintelligible. But itās mad fun. PLUS, I could listen to Moira Quirk all day. British comedian and actress, her narration is a pure joy. I laughed out loud so many times in this series. Of course, Tamsyn Muir had much to do with that, but the delivery was always spot on.
The Red Rising Trilogy by Pierce Brown, narrated by the one and only Tim Gerard Reynolds.
A true master of voice acting. He can do any accent and perform any character so that you forget itās all just him. And the story itself, well, itās annoyingly brilliant. (In interviews Brown does seem a tiny bit smug?) Itās quite violent and grim, so there is that warning. But grippingly good. The story is masterfully told, escalating beyond where I thought it could go, over and over. Itās an audio book you just canāt hit pause on.
Bobiverse series by Dennis E. Taylor, narrated by Ray Porter.
Thereās 4 books in the series and I have only listened to 3 of them so far. They are super fun, wonderfully written, and āout thereā enough to be very cool. Super funny books and Ray Porter never misses a beat. Ever. But Iāve said enough about Porter, so I wonāt gush on.
The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi narrated by Wil Wheaton. I confess, I struggle a tiny bit with Wheatonās narration. Heās a bit too earnest or excited or something? That said, it never stopped me from thoroughly enjoying the novel. It wasnāt a story that I lost sleep needing to see what happened, but itās got great characters and a really cool idea behind it. I havenāt listened to the other 2 books in the series yet, The Interdependency, but I will.
The Final Architecture series by Adrian Tchaikovsky, narrated by Sophie Aldred.
Thereās 3 books in the series, and Iāve listened to the first two. I have the third in the queue.Ā This is a super cool story. It took me a little bit to get into it, but when I did, I was so completely hooked. I loved the idea, the mystery of it, and as the characters became like family to each other, so did they to me. Aldred does a brilliant narration of it. Trivia: She played Ace, Doctor Whoās feisty baseball bat wielding companion. (Something I only learned writing this blog.)
The Tensorate Series by Neon Yang, narrated by Nancy Wu.
This story is classy and completely engrossing, with an incredibly strong heartbeat. Beautiful narration. The series is three novellas which I bought in a bundle. All three come to 13 hours, 39 minutes. The first 2 books are more traditionally told, and the third is a different structure. I confess I didnāt find the 3rd as engaging. But the first two⦠<chefās kiss>
The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson, narrated by Michael Kramer.
If youāre looking for a way into Brandon Sandersonās massive catalogue of novels, this is the place to start. The first book, The Final Empire is absolutely brilliant. Itās got a crazy-cool magic system, and characters you would follow to the ends of the earth. Fantasy at its finest from the fantasy mastermind. The narration is also brilliant. Kramer delivers an incredible performance. Would you expect anything less?
The City & The City by China Mieville, narrated by John Lee.
Want something different? This is it! Itās a wild cool world with a crime mystery plot. Itās got some fantastical elements that are mind-twistingly wonderful. And the narration is excellent. This novel has won a ton of awards, by the way. Like a lot.
Thatās 10! But I have two Special Mentions. Come on. Give me 2 special mentions.
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, narrated by Travis Baldree.
I usually find it weird when an author narrates their own book, but Baldree was a narrator before he became a writer, and heās very good at it. This is the first ācozy SFFā novel Iāve listened to. It was recommended to me as something I should ābe aware ofā because I usually gravitate to larger stories. And itās surprisingly good! Great non-human characters and some sweet romance as well. If youāve never heard of āCozy SFFā and youāre curious, this is worth a listen.
Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mentionā¦
DUNE by Frank Herbert, narrated by a ton of people.
This is an epic experience as an audio book. I wonāt bore you with what you already know about the story.
A word on pronunciations and switching from a paperback to an audio book.
Iām currently listening to The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemisin, narrated by Robin Miles. It is the 2nd book in The Broken Earth trilogy. I read the first book, The Fifth Season in paperback. When I finished the book, I sat there for maybe five minutes with my mouth hanging open. But the sheer shattering brilliance of this book is not the point. The point is, I decided to listen to the next book in an audiobook. It took me ages to figure out who anyone was! The pronunciation of all the names was so different than what I had in my head. And the narration, which is great, wasnāt my own voice that Iād āheardā the first story in. So thatās been interesting. Time will tell if Iāll listen or read the final book.
Hereās a super cool youtube of Ray Porter showing how he does different personalities in narration.
What are some of your favourite SFF audiobooks?
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