Good *Audio* Fantasy or Science Fiction

[Grumpy RPG Reviews]

Can you recommend some good audio book versions of science fiction and/or fantasy works?

For example, I just finished the audio version of "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell." It is very good. Now I am looking for more works which are well executed as audio-books.

Thanks.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

Can you recommend some good audio book versions of science fiction and/or fantasy works?

For example, I just finished the audio version of "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell." It is very good. Now I am looking for more works which are well executed as audio-books.

Thanks.

The audio Silmarillion is really, really good, but it's also pricey and niche. I do not regret the expenditure a bit; I've gotten LOTS of use out of it, for myself and others.

The audiobooks of the Dresden Files are excellent, and Jim Butcher loves the same style of creepy, amoral fey that JS&MrN has.

 

[Umbran]

The Dresden Files audiobooks are good, so I second that nomination.

I recently listened to a fine version of Asimov's first "robot" novel, Caves of Steel, that was also excellent.

As for audiobooks being pricey - check your local library! Here in Boston, I have access to the Minuteman library network, which has a goodly stock of audiobooks I can borrow.

And, as a Massachusetts resident, I also have access to the Boston Public Library, which has an even larger stock, and which allows me to get them online. It is a library, so I may have to wait for popular titles, but it is already paid for with my tax dollars, so I might as well use the resource.

So, check what your local library has to offer - audiobooks are pricey, so one trip to the library can save you a bundle.

 

[Dioltach]

If you can track it down, try the original radio show of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

 

[SubMensa]

While not audiobooks the radio show X-1 from the 50's has gotten me through many long flights.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

They are sort of on the edge of being fantasy and historical fiction, but Bernard Cornwell's Arthur stories, the Warlord Chronicles, are amazing in audio. They're a little hard to find in CD, though. The first one is The Winter King, and I highly recommend it.

 

[Mercutio01]

Wil Wheaton reads Ready Player One which makes the book far more interesting than I found it in print.

If you're open to horror, Steven Weber's reading of It is phenomenal.

Raul Esparza does a good job with Under the Dome, by Stephen King.

I will echo Umbran completely. Use your library for audiobooks. It is the only really economical way to do it since a lot of them are actually two to three times more expensive than hardcovers.

EDIT - I wanted to add that the Ender series by Orson Scott Card is done really well. Those books are fully-developed radio productions with voice casts for individual characters, complementary music, and some sound effects. I like Card, but I understand a lot of people don't.

 

[Super Pony]

I've been getting into audio books a bit more as my commute times increase and I was growing tired of my music. There are some really good narrators out there. But I've found that some narrators that knock it out of the park with one book or series aren't a great fit elsewhere.

Steven Pacey's reading of the First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie is really good. If you live in the UK you can get Mr. Pacey's reading of The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie as well...here in the states, the narrator that we get just doesn't fit as well.

I love Voice of the Whirlwind all on its own and have for years, but for an audio version, Don Leslie's reading of it is quite good.

The Avery Cates series is entertaining (not groundbreaking by any means), but Todd McLaren's reading of it is enjoyable.

Todd McLaren also narrates The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian compilation, and does a good job there. I also like his representation of Takeshi Kovacs in the first two books of that series...but Richard Morgan's over the top gonzo sex scenes are uncomfortable to have read aloud to you...you have been warned ;-)

John Lee is a great narrator of classic works like Count of Monte Cristo, and the dense sci-fi of Alastair Reynolds' books (Pushing Ice is my favorite over the Revelation Space series).

Roy Dotrice's reading of the Song of Ice and Fire series is quite popular these days. Having read the books beforehand it took me a while to get used to his style of reading over my own imagined characterizations.

When it comes to authors reading their own stories it can be something of a let-down. So I was pleasantly surprised with Neil Gaiman's reading of Neverwhere

The variety of narrators on Burning Chrome do a swell job.
http://www.audible.com/pd?asin=B00354ZSS2

 

[Elf Witch]

I listen to a lot of audio books The Dresden as others have mentioned are fantastic. Right now I am listening to The Hobbit which is really good it has a narrator for that part but other actors for the dialogue.

It is being listened to very old school I own it on cassette. My audio books are on cassette, CD and MP3.

The library is a good place to find books to listen to also E Bay is where I have gotten a lot for very cheap. I got the first English version of Harry Potter on E bay for 10.00 it sells new for a lot more.

Big Finish has some good stuff mostly Dr Who but I really enjoyed their Sherlock Holmes and Phantom of the Opera.

 

[Umbran]

EDIT - I wanted to add that the Ender series by Orson Scott Card is done really well. Those books are fully-developed radio productions with voice casts for individual characters, complementary music, and some sound effects. I like Card, but I understand a lot of people don't.

Oh, thank you for reminding me. The production of World War Z is also amazing, and it has a wonderful cast, including Alan Alda, Mark Hamill, and a number of other note-worthies. It is abridged, but stellar.

And, if you want to drift from audiobook to radio play, there's a few sci fi classics from Alien Voices - helmed by John de Lancie and Leonard Nimoy, with casts that include a stock of Star Trek stars! Check 'em out!

Alien Voices