World War Z. Because of the cast.
Came here to say this
Ooh, thanks for the reminder. I haven’t listened to this since it first came out ages ago and I’ll bet it will be great a second time around.
The OG Wheel of Time audiobooks narrated by Michael Kramer and Kate Reading.
Anansi Boys narrated by Lenny Henry
Normally I like it when Neil Gaiman narrates his books, but Lenny Henry does a phenomenal job with the Anansi Boys characters.
I really liked this story too!
Is that Sir Lenny?
The cradle series written by Will Wight, narrated by Travis Baldree. Eastern inspired progression fantasy with fantastic characters and world
The Hyperion books by Dan Simmons. Hyperion has full cast, the rest doesn’t, but still very high quality narration.
Honourable mentions:
- Alastair Reynolds and John Lee collaborations. Lee has the perfect voice and tone for Reynolds’ precise (and somewhat aloof) language.
- Neil Gaiman books. Gaiman does his own narration, and I can’t imagine his books without his voice.
Dishonourable mention:
- John Scalzi, read by Will Wright. Wright reads as if every line in Scalzi’s works was hillarious. Scalzi is a very funny writer, but his books have somber set pieces, and Wright ruins the immersion there.
Anything read by Wil Wheaton tbh, I just don’t like him as a narrator. (I’m pretty sure you meant Wil Wheaton lol)
Sorry; you are right. I never saw that reader with any other authors, so it’s not something that’s really stuck in my memory.
There are so many I really enjoy, these are all great stories with superb narration.
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher are awesome Narrated by James Masters
The Mitch Rapp Series By Vince Flynn Narrated by George Guidall
The Walt Longmire Series By Craig Johnson also narrated by George Guidall
The Victor the Assassin Series By Tom Wood The Rob Shapiro ones are narrated the best there is another narrator depending on region
The Riyria Series By Michael J Sullivan Narrated by Tim Gerrard Reynolds
The Night lord Series By Garon Whited Narrated by Sean Runnette
The Witcher Series By Andrzej Sapkowski narrated by Peter Kenny
Bobbiverse as previously mentioned
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinimon narrated by Jeff Hayes
I have listened to some of these series 3 or 4 times and would highly recommend them all.
Also
Skunk works by Ben R Rich Narrated by Pete Larkin
And project hail Mary as previously mentioned for stand alone titles.
Plus one for dungeon Crawler Carl and I’ll add the Wandering Inn as another in a similar vein.
I’m currently enjoying Beware of Chicken. It’s funnier than one would expect.
I gave up on wandering inn half way through the titan of baleros, it was a bit of a chore
I can see why, some story lines don’t interest me as much like the king of destructions or the clowns but as a whole I really enjoy it and the voice acting imo is phenomenal. Andrea Parsneau is absolutely amazing in her range. From female to male to magical races she’s just so good at doing voices and expressing emotions with them.
Shout out to my blind boy getting that trollussy. They both deserve each other.
Probably Mythos, Heroes, and Troy written and read by Stephen Fry. He writes Greek Mythology in a digestible, entertaining, but still information dense way, and he’s an excellent narrator, of course.
Any of the Lord of the Rings books read by Andy Serkis
I am partial to “Moon Is A Harsh Mistress” because the performer reading all the different parts does such a fantastic job.
The Lord of the Rings series read by Rob Inglis is awesome. That’s probably my favorite way to consume the series.
Never thought about listening to it in audiobook form, ill have to check it out on libby!
Best version by far -it’s almost like Tolkien reading it himself!
Anything by Karen Rose. Since we’re talking audiobooks, I’d say the Cincinnati series, read by Hillary Huber, and specifically Into the Dark, because the female lead is my favorite of her characters. (You usually want to read from the start of a city, though.) These are suspense novels set in the real world, with pretty dark villains doing pretty evil shit, with characters that are damaged, but work through it in the romance part of the arc.
Another series that specifically is great in audiobook format are any of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series read by Lorelei King. They’re all complete and utter nonsense with wild characters, but the writing and King’s reading nail the tone of just taking it all in stride (mostly), and the result is a fun read.
For one more, Dick Hill reading Jack Reacher. These always feel like a light read, which is kind of weird with how brutal Reacher is, how dark some of the organizations he opposes are, and the fact that some of the conspiracies are deep and involved. But Reacher’s methodology of steamrolling through any and all takers while protecting the innocent and systematically taking down bad shit that he comes across just feels inevitable. Scott Brick is fine for the later books, and some of the modern crimes are really well portrayed, but Dick Hill is special. I’ve recently borrowed older books that they re-recorded with someone else, and it just killed the experience for me, partly because it’s just worse, partly because I know what greatness sounded like.
Dimension of Miracles by Robert Sheckley
Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Girl from Earth’s End by Tara Dairman
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones. Best non-full cast narration I’ve heard yet and the book is a rare example of one which is truly better as an audio experience because of accents/local dialect which don’t translate as well in writing.
I personally cant recommend Siddhartha enough, i found it profound and surprisingly humorous.
Hitchhikers Guide series read by Adams himself. His voice is just so good. Stephen Fry a close second.
Children On Time trilogy. Together with Three Body Problem generally the best Scifi I’ve read or listened to.
