Must-Listen Sci-Fi and Fantasy Audiobooks

Full cast audiobooks are addictive. The performers are able to give each character individual nuance and depth while playing off of each other as they read. And American Gods is the absolute pinnacle of how spectacular this production can be. The quality is superb. 

But what makes this audiobook even more special is that this edition includes material Gaiman had to cut for publication. He’s called this his preferred version, and the additional elements make this as close to a director’s cut as an audiobook can get.

While some listeners have criticized the pronunciation of Yoruba words within Tomi Adeyemi's celebrated work, it isn't hard to see why Bahni Turpin was chosen for the narration—or why so many of Children of Blood and Bone's reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. Turpin has given voice to award-winning classics like  Kathryn Stockett's The Help and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. 

Turpin brings a similar magic to the story of Zélie Adebola. In a starred review, Booklist says that Turpin "excels at customizing her voice to capture the unique personalities of each character.... This excellent, refreshing performance of Adeyemi's exciting debut is recommended for all collections where fantasy is popular."

The Illuminae Files is a unique series where the art on the page is integral to the narrative prose. But thanks to a full cast of over 20 voice actors, complete with sound effects, this series is just as spectacular to listen to. 

Kaufman and Kristoff helped the production team come up with creative ways to translate certain aspects of the book, and created an absolutely one-of-a-kind listening experience. If you thought you loved Kady, Ezra, and Aiden before, get ready to be swept through the galaxy on the edge of your seat with this addictive audiobook. 

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is easily one of the most iconic science fiction books in, well, the galaxy, and narrator Stephen Fry brings this incredibly fun space adventure to life. 

Fry’s delivery highlights Adams’ classic British humor in all the best ways, giving the characters the zesty flair they deserve. It doesn’t matter how ridiculous the scenario, Fry narrates it with complete believability. 

It’s a fun, highly hilarious escapade that some fans swear is better to listen to than watching either the show or the movie. 

A book about necromancers fighting to keep the dead from rising needs a particular kind of narrator. One with a spine-tingling voice that leans into the fun of the plot while making the scary parts truly terrifying. And the amazing Tim Curry does all of that and more in Sabriel (and the next two books in the series). 

He gives the perfect edge to all the right parts as Sabriel deftly defies the monster chasing after her, while giving unexpected heart and poignance in all the right places. It’s a brilliant performance of an incredible book, and one fans should listen to at least once.

One of the things that makes Weir’s novel so popular is how relatable Mark Watney is. Sure, he’s an astronaut capable of problem-solving his way through some literal out-of-this-world problems, but throughout it all, we all understand his struggle and cheer for his success. 

The book itself is filled with a ton of facts and figures, which makes the isolation on Mars read even more realistically, but actor Wil Wheaton brings out all the sharp humor and snarky sarcasm with vivid realism. It’s a laugh-out-loud experience that fans will return to again and again.

The spectacular Expanse series begins with Leviathan Wakes, and Jefferson Mays takes the listener through each book. While it can be difficult to encapsulate an entire cast of characters with one narrator, Mays manages to make each voice unique and individual without going overboard on accents or flair. 

His individuality and depictions are so spot on, that even fans of the TV series note how seamlessly watching the show and listening to the audiobook work together. It’s another phenomenal way to experience this epic and expansive space opera.

There really is something magical about taking a novel told through interviews, video, and documents, and giving it the full cast audio treatment. The books don’t read as one smooth narration, and adding the individual voices gives the auditory equivalent to how unique those elements read on the page. 

Sleeping Giants is a fantastic example of how incredible this effect can be. Rose and her unknown interrogator build tension in every scene, while the countless scientists and military personnel make the book feel more like a high-stakes documentary taking place in our current reality. It’s a marvel to listen to.

This novel is a fantastic genre mash-up. The science fiction is brought to life with historical documentation and topped with a thrilling paranormal plot that makes it impossible to press pause. The book is told through various documents, each highlighted through a talented full cast. 

The Department of Diachronic Operations is tasked with bringing back magic, and this incredible narrative compilation accomplishes that task. It’s a delightful story that listeners will return to again and again.

This expansive sci-fi series isn’t an easy one to narrate, let alone for one person. But the talented Tim Gerard Reynolds manages to do exactly that. 

Reynolds creates distinct voices and nails multiple dialects as he brings Darrow, Cassius, Sevro, Mustang, and more to life. But even more impressively, he encapsulates a style so that the listener knows what caste a character is, even if they aren’t named. It’s a stunning performance that carries through the series and makes this a compulsive must-listen.

It may not seem like a robot programmed to murder can be quiet, contemplative, and sensitive, but that’s exactly who Murderbot is. There are a lot of directions the audiobook narrative voice could take, but Kevin R. Free draws us into the resistant bot's inner dialogue with the perfect dry, sarcastic delivery. 

Free captures the Sec-Unit’s grouchiness through a monotone voice that is completely at odds and yet entirely complementary with the fast-paced, thrilling plot. It’s a flawless blend that captures every nuanced layer of the character and the world.

There is no better way to go experience the high-stakes heist than with an immersive full cast audiobook. Each of the seven characters in the Dregs crew is voiced by an individual actor, allowing them to playfully interact with each other. These characters are impossible to resist, and the individual voices bring them to magically to life. 

Fans of this series will adore how this audiobook feels less like a novel and more like good friends reliving a grand (but dangerous) adventure.

You know an audiobook is going to be something special when the author narrates, but The Golden Compass goes even further with a full supporting cast of London theatre actors. They bring Lyra, Mrs. Coulter, Lord Asriel, and Pan to life, drawing the listener in and creating a magical listening experience.

An incredible fantasy story read by an Academy Award-nominated actor? Yes please. Chiwetel Ejiofor is so compelling in Susanna Clarke's Piranesi that you'll be tempted to listen to the entire novella in one sitting. The rich and deep quality of Ejiofor's voice made him perfect to voice Scar in Disney's The Lion King remake, and it also sets a curious, almost mysterious tone for this puzzle of a story.

It might not be easy to narrate the original graphic novel, but Alex Irvine's novelization of Marvel's Secret Wars helps bring the story to life. Narrated by a full cast with all the bells and whistles you could ask for from a team-up story about the Avengers, this tale sees Spider-Man come together with the Fantastic Four and the Beyonder to combat Dr. Doom on his quest to become the most powerful being in the universe.

Winner of Audible’s 2016 "Best of Science Fiction," the We Are Legion (We Are Bob) audiobook elevates an already terrific novel into an even greater experience.

Book 1 in the Bobiverse series, We Are Legion, follows Bob, an engineer and software company owner who is killed crossing the street on his way to a comic convention. Fortunately (or not?) for Bob, as a client of CryoEterna Inc., his head is removed from his body immediately after death, and preserved for future reanimation. Cut to 2133, when Bob ‘awakens’ to find that America is reeling in the wake of a particularly tyrannical president, and his own consciousness has been scanned into a computer simulation. Essentially, Bob is now a replicant. 

Narrator Ray Porter had his work cut out for him in depicting Bob's new reality, particularly in voicing Bob's GUPPI, or General Unit Primary Peripheral Interface. But he gives the story even more life than it has on the page, highlighting the absurdity and humor of Dennis Taylor's novel.   

When school nurse Harper Grayson sees a man burst into flames in the schoolyard, she realizes that Dragonscale—a mysterious contagion that dooms the afflicted to a fiery death—is about to change the world forever. The Space Needle burns, hospitals are swarmed by the infected, and in the face of apocalypse Harper's own family turns against her. 

When she's forced to flee her home, Harper falls in with a community that may have found a way to survive and even thrive with Dragonscale. Amidst anarchy, they're full of peace and joy. So why does Harper find her new friends' closeness so disconcerting? Narrator Kate Mulgrew (the great Captain Kathryn Janeway herself!) does a brilliant job evoking a world that's literally on fire, and the brave woman who perseveres in spite of it. 

Around 22 hours long, The Fireman is another great book book to listen to on a road trip—provided you don’t mind imagining your surroundings going up in flames.  

If you’ve never read Lev Grossman’s The Magicians trilogy, I recommend listening to the audiobook of the first title. Narrator Mark Brahmhall brings the story of Quentin Coldwater and his friends wonderfully to life. When the book begins, Quentin is a depressed high school senior still living vicariously through his favorite fantasy series, Fillory and Further, a Narnia-like story about a family that discovers a magical dimension. 

When he is recruited for an elite, secret magic school—Brakebills College for Magical Pedagogy—Quentin feels like his real life is finally starting. But even magicians aren't immune to the aimlessness and anxieties of adult life, and when Quentin and his Brakebills friends realize that the world of Fillory is in fact real, they're eager for a distraction from their own realities. Unfortunately, all is not as it appears in Fillory. 

Set partially in New York, The Magicians is a great book to listen to if you want a distraction from the grind of the subway, but believe that escapism and fantasy can be a danger in their own right.

Narrated by Philip Pullman with a full cast, this audiobook will delight both first-timers and longtime fans of Pullman's surprisingly dark fantasy series. The Golden Compass is the first book in the His Dark Materials saga, and follows 11-year-old Lyra as she travels to the Arctic in search of her beloved uncle Lord Asriel, who has been imprisoned while researching a mysterious, powerful substance called Dust. Set in a parallel universe where humans have familiars called daemons, and dissent is suppressed by a religious theocracy called The Magistrate, The Golden Compass is the start of an epic you'll remember for years to come. And don't let the young protagonist fool you—His Dark Materials deals with very adult, controversial themes, and ranked number eight on the American Library Association's list of most frequently banned/challenged books from 2000-2009.     

If you enjoy the trilogy, you can also listen to The Collectors, a story set in the His Dark Materials universe and written exclusively for audiobook. 

One of the most satisfying things about The Chronicles of Narnia audiobook series is that each of the seven books are relatively short. Amazon lists the series run-time at 33 hours and 45 minutes, while A Game of Thrones is listed at 33 hours and 46 minutes. That means you can listen to an entire series in the length of time that it would take to hear the first entry in A Song of Ice and Fire. 

If you are tired of slogging through thousand-page manuscripts, these shorter stories can help offer a breather, with natural breaks between each story. The Narnia audiobooks are especially easy to churn through, since they are narrated by sci-fi and fantasy legends like Kenneth Branagh and Patrick Stewart. 

If you're looking for star power, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is narrated by the Tony Award-winning Santino Fontana, perhaps best known for his voiceover work in Frozen as Hans. His clear baritone tells the story of the tenth annual Hunger Games and 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow. Before his rise to power, Coriolanus is made to mentor the female tribute from District 12, a task he initially resents before he learns more about the girl in question, Lucy Gray Baird.

When aliens arrive off the coast of Lagos, they are nothing like the creatures depicted in sci-fi movies. Their ship settles under the ocean's surface, and the visitors send waves onto shore to contact humans, pulling a marine biologist, a rapper, and a soldier down to meet the newcomers. When the three humans return to the surface, they bring with them an alien ambassador in the form of a human—Ayodele. 

As news of the aliens spreads, Lagoon switches narratorial points of view to depict the arrival through a dizzying variety of perspectives, even showing how the local marine life feels about their new neighbors. That unique structure gives the audiobook's narrators, Adjoah Andoh and Ben Onwukwe, the opportunity to truly show off their range and skills. 

Lagoon is an enthralling, unique story of alien arrival, and its audiobook adaptation is proof of how effective the format can be. 

Captain William Laurence of the HMS Reliant believes in duty above all else. So when he and his crew seize a French ship with surprisingly precious cargo — a dragon egg days away from hatching — Laurence realizes that, despite how undesirable life as a member of the Aerial Corps is known to be, someone must bond with the dragon and ensure its service for the King. Unfortunately, the dragonet chooses Laurence as his rider.

At 45 hours and 30 minutes, The Way of Kings is somehow the shortest entry in The Stormlight Archive to date. Fortunately, the husband-and-wife team of Michael Kramer and the aptly named Kate Reading prove more than a match for the task. The narration is dynamic enough to keep things interesting without feeling like a gimmick as they guide listeners through lore of the lost Knights Radiant, who once wielded amazing powers to keep evil at bay.

Will they return when the world needs them? If so, who will be the first to join one of the 10 legendary orders?

This Locus Award-winning and Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award-nominated novel follows Maia, a half-goblin, half-emperor son of the Emperor of the Elflands. For the first 18 years of his life, Maia is mostly ignored by his royal father, and lives in exile from the court under the care of a cruel cousin. 

But when Maia's father and half-brothers perish in a suspicious accident, he is, unexpectedly, the next heir to the throne—and totally unprepared for the expectations of life at court. Set in an elaborate world that will delight steampunk fans, The Goblin Emperor is a surprisingly optimistic story that follows Maia as he attempts to survive his transition from boy to man, and nobody to emperor. 

Narrator Kyle McCarley wonderfully depicts Maia and the colorful cast of characters who inhabit the court. 

Winner of the 2016 Hugo Award for Best Novel, The Fifth Season is the first book in N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy. For residents of "The Stillness"—a disaster-plagued, geologically restless, Earth-like supercontinent—the fifth season is a time of endings. In the midst of cataclysmic climate change and seismic events, Essun, a grief-stricken schoolteacher, embarks on a quest to find her daughter. 

Narrator Robin Miles moves listeners through interweaving points of view and time periods, giving voice to a unique world that will leave you hungry for the next book in the series. 

Patrick Rothfuss' epic The Kingkiller Chronicle series is particularly well suited for audiobook format, given that it is, in some ways, a book about the power of oral traditions. The saga is a story-within-a-story, in which the infamous Kvothe tells the history of his life to the scribe Chronicler. In The Name of the Wind, Kvothe shares the events of his early life, when, as a young boy skilled in the magical art of 'sympathy,'  he endured personal tragedy before attending the prestigious University. 

Patrick Rothfuss' unique tale often emphasizes the power of storytelling and of music. Hearing The Name of the Wind read aloud by narrator Nick Podehl feels, in many ways, like how Kvothe's story was meant to be enjoyed. 

Twenty years ago, humanity was overrun by a fungal infection that caused the afflicted to lose their mental faculties and crave human flesh. But now a group of children 'hungries' may be the key to a cure. These young hungries haven't lost their minds, and aren't dangerous unless they're close enough to humans to smell them. 

Melanie, one of these unusual young hungries, is taken to a military base run by the few surviving uninfected. There, she develops a deep affection for her teacher Miss Justineau. She doesn't fully understand what makes her different from other humans, or why the brief moment of physical affection she shares with Miss Justineau causes so much consternation on the base. 

Narrator Finty Williams (Dame Judi Dench's daughter!) perfectly evokes the world of a very special young girl in this totally unique, chilling zombie novel. 

Octavia Butler's classic novel about a dystopian near-future America is narrated in the audiobook by Tony Award-winning actress Lynne Thigpen (also known as the voice of "The Chief" from the Carmen Sandiego TV series!). Thigpen helps listeners truly appreciate the strength of Lauren Olamina, a 15-year-old girl grimly aware that the security of her family's gated compound will not keep them safe for long from the violence ravaging Los Angeles. 

In the face of uncertain times, she philosophizes about the power of change, crafting a system of belief called "Earthseed" based off the simple but unsettling idea that "All that you touch you change, all that you change changes you." Thigpen captures the poetry of Earthseed's verses and draws listeners into a story that feels terrifyingly plausible. 

British actor Michael York narrates this best-selling audiobook of the dystopian classic. In the caste-driven World State, aging and pain have become things of the past. But when a natural-born man is introduced into society, the barbarism of the World State’s social control becomes tragically apparent.

A clever, nostalgic novel that will delight pop culture aficionados and anyone who has ever become a little too invested in their favorite fictional worlds, Ernest Cline's award-winning Ready Player One is set in a dystopian near future. In the face of cataclysmic climate change, people turn to the virtual reality simulator OASIS for escapism. 

But time spent exploring OASIS can influence the meatspace world as well. Teenager and OASIS devotee Wade Watts learns this first-hand when he discovers a clue within the game that may lead to a fortune hidden by OASIS' creator. Ready Player One touched an emotional core for many nerds born in the '80s and '90s. 

The excellent audiobook is read by Nerdist's Wil Wheaton, who is also a character in the story. 

The first book in Robin Hobb's incredible Fitz and the Fool trilogy introduces the further adventures of FitzChivalry Farseer. One of the most iconic, influential characters in modern fantasy, FitzChivalry has been the focus of numerous series by Hobbs. 

In this trilogy, Fitz is married and attempting to leave his life of skullduggery behind him. But the mysterious disappearance of a prominent figure from Fitz's past life of peril prevents the reformed assassin from truly enjoying wedded bliss. Fitz must set out to discover the truth about his mentor's fate ... but uncovering the truth may force the former master of espionage to return to his old tricks. Narration by Elliot Hill, a veteran of the Broadway and London stage scene, transports readers to Hobb's iconic world.

The six-book Miriam Black series is a delicious, dark, urban fantasy thrill ride: prepare to get hooked. Miriam Black's powers have seriously f***** her up. When she touches anyone's skin, she knows exactly how they'll die. This premonitory curse has given her a taste for alcohol, and an inability to stay in any one place for very long. 

So when Louis Darling offers her a ride, and the two touch, Miriam isn't surprised that she sees how he'll die—but she is surprised by the circumstances. Louis will be murdered, while saying Miriam's name. And Miriam will be the next person killed. if she has any hope of staying alive, Miriam will have to do the impossible and save the life of the man she just met. Audie Award nominee Emily Beresford brings Wendig's character vividly to life. 

World War Z is one of the greatest zombie novels ever written, and this Audie Award-winning multi-voice performance of the book is the best introduction possible to Brooks' zombie masterpiece (apologies to the film adaptation starring Brad Pitt). World War Z tells the harrowing tale — from initial outbreak to slow societal reconstruction —of the conflict between humanity and 'Z.' 

The apocalyptic battle is recounted through a collection of interviews and letters compiled by the United Nations Postwar Committee. In the audiobook, these varied perspectives on the war are read by an impressive collection of narrators, each of them headlining a different chapter. The list of narrators includes celebrated nerds like Mark Hamill, Nathan Fillion, and Simon Pegg, and the result is truly compelling.

King's epic novel about a catastrophic plague and the battle for good and evil that follows the apocalypse remains as terrifying today as when it was first published in 1978. After the majority of humanity is quickly felled by a deadly flu called Captain Trips, a group of survivors from across America congregate in Colorado. But Randall Flagg, aka The Walking Dude—a slick sorcerer feeding on the grief and death all around him—is heading straight for this fledgling society of survivors. 

The Stand makes a particularly great/horrifying audiobook listen if you take public transit frequently, and want to feel increasingly claustrophobic during the winter months when coughing and sneezing abound. The audiobook is narrated by Grover Garner, Publishers Weekly's audiobook narrator of the year in 2005, who portrays the eclectic cast of characters from across the country. 

This 2017 Audie Award-winner in the paranormal fiction category is narrated by Nicola Zanzarella, who expertly conveys the terror and confusion of Aubrey Ellis, a woman trying to leave her past—and her supernatural gifts—behind. Aubrey can communicate with spirits from the afterlife, a power that made her childhood terrifying and has blighted her personal life as an adult. Now, she's trying to leave all that behind in her job as a real estate reporter. 

But when the bones of a murdered woman are unearthed at a home in a small New England town, Aubrey has no choice but to expose herself to spirits that might be connected to the eerie place—and to work alongside determined investigative reporter Levi St John.

This 2017 Audie Winner for Fantasy is narrated by multiple Audie Award-winner Christopher Lane. A distinctly modern fantasy that's at turns both hysterical and surprisingly heartfelt, The Hike follows Ben, a father who impulsively decides to take a walk behind his hotel while visiting rural Pennsylvania on business. But Ben's split-second decision sends him on an unexpected and odd odyssey full of giant crustaceans, gods, and mythological beings. 

Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness is widely regarded as a sci-fi classic. Like much of the late author's work, it explores themes of gender and sexuality, through the lens of an alien world. Genly Ai is sent as an ambassador to the planet Gethen to convince its inhabitants to join the planetary alliance to which Ai's home world of Terra belongs. In Gethen culture, gender and sexuality are fluid, a concept which startles Ai. 

Le Guin, whose father was an anthropologist, meaningfully explores how assumptions about gender and identity can permeate all aspects of society. Three time Audie Award-winning narrator George Guidell skillfully evokes all the wonder and discovery of Le Guin's powerful novel.  

If you're looking for an audiobook that delivers thrills, jump into Hell Divers by Ansbury Smith. This first book in the series transports readers to a dystopian future. Earth has been irreparably poisoned by World War III. The survivors live on airships above the globe, searching for any space on which the last of our species can set down. 

After a storm damages an airship, a team of Hell Divers are sent on an exceptionally perilous reconnaissance mission to a inhospitable zone known as Hades, where they’ll discover a horror beyond anything they could have ever imagined. Allow narration by R.C. Bray to bring you along on a thrilling miliary sci-fi story that will chill you to the bone. 

The first book in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter trilogy, this seminal science fantasy novel transports readers to a sword and sorcery-tinted Mars, called Barsoom. Civil war soldier John Carter accidentally discovers a portal that spirits him away to the faraway land. 

Once there, he realizes that the planet’s gravitational and atmospheric traits have given him superhuman skills and abilities. John Carter becomes embroiled in the politics of red and green martians as he attempts to rescue the Princess of Helium, Dejah Thoris, who is being held as political prisoner. Narrator B.J. Harrison brings the first chapter in this iconic sci-fi trilogy vividly to life.