Recommend me a new(ish) Epic Fantasy novel/series (for Audible).

[Ruin Explorer]

Have you read/listened to The Rivers of London, narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith?

Just noticing this thread is re: Audible, and like, I think this pushes Rivers of London up the table significantly in terms of "worth listening to".

For whatever reasons, the author of RoL, Ben Aaronovitch, seems to be really into them being audiobooks, I think in large part because he got a fantastic narrator in Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (but presumably they also sold really well on Audible), and after the first couple of books, he's said they written with Holdbrook-Smith reading them out in mind. This means they just flatly work better as audiobooks than most SF/F novels, and the narrator is absolutely perfect in a way that is rarely true in SF/F (where there are a lot of skilled and excellent narrators, but some of whom don't feel like good fits for the particular novels they're narrating).

 

[Belen]

I mostly listen to non-fiction and history (my most recents are Book and Dagger, Everything is Tuberculosis and Everything must Go) and when I listen to fiction it is usually space opera and some Stephen King or Joe Hill. But I do love a good epic fantasy. Most recently I listened to the first2.5 Stormlight Archive books and am poretty well set with Sanderson for the rest of my days.

So I am looking for recommendations for epic fantasy that is current (or at least this century). I am not interested in Romantasy or LitRPG. I am okay with sex and violence, but not secual violence. I love Abercrombie, but am interested in something more fantastical and less grimdank.

I am happy to answer follow up questions, if that will help.

Thansk!

1. Licanius Trilogy - James Islington
2. Moonfall trilogy - James Rollins
3. Deverry Saga - Katharine Kerr (one of best fantasy series of all time) Daggerspell is first book)
4. The Obsidian Trilogy– Mercedes Lackey
5. The Symphony of Ages - Elizabeth Haydon
6. Green Rider series - Kristen Britain
7. Safehold series – David Weber
8. The Throne of Glass – Sarah J. Maas

 

[Reynard]

Just noticing this thread is re: Audible, and like, I think this pushes Rivers of London up the table significantly in terms of "worth listening to".

For whatever reasons, the author of RoL, Ben Aaronovitch, seems to be really into them being audiobooks, I think in large part because he got a fantastic narrator in Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (but presumably they also sold really well on Audible), and after the first couple of books, he's said they written with Holdbrook-Smith reading them out in mind. This means they just flatly work better as audiobooks than most SF/F novels, and the narrator is absolutely perfect in a way that is rarely true in SF/F (where there are a lot of skilled and excellent narrators, but some of whom don't feel like good fits for the particular novels they're narrating).

Oh, look, the first two are available as Audible plus. Cool. I will check them out. I LOVE a good series where the narrator makes the books (Jefferson Mays on The Expanse comes to mind).

 

[Dioltach]

Just noticing this thread is re: Audible, and like, I think this pushes Rivers of London up the table significantly in terms of "worth listening to".

For whatever reasons, the author of RoL, Ben Aaronovitch, seems to be really into them being audiobooks, I think in large part because he got a fantastic narrator in Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (but presumably they also sold really well on Audible), and after the first couple of books, he's said they written with Holdbrook-Smith reading them out in mind. This means they just flatly work better as audiobooks than most SF/F novels, and the narrator is absolutely perfect in a way that is rarely true in SF/F (where there are a lot of skilled and excellent narrators, but some of whom don't feel like good fits for the particular novels they're narrating).

KHS is one of my two favourite narrators, together with Steven Pacey, who narrates most of Joe Abercrombie's books (and used to play Tarrant in the last two series of Blake's 7).

Anyway, KHS also narrated "A Wizard of Earthsea" and "The Farthest Shore", and does the incredible job you'd expect him to.

 

[jian]

I’d certainly agree that my favourite fantasy series on Audible is Rivers of London, and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is a superb narrator.

I’ve also enjoyed The Curse of Chalion (Lois McMaster Bujold, read by Lloyd James) and The House of the Stag (Kage Baker, read by Sean Crisden) but I’m not sure they’d count as recent.

 

[Dioltach]

I’d certainly agree that my favourite fantasy series on Audible is Rivers of London, and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is a superb narrator.

The guy brings Peter, Peter's mum and Nightingale - and the dozens of others - to life as completely distinct characters, with just his voice. He's like the one man VA equivalent of Sgt Pepper.