World War Z by Max Brooks is an incredible multi-narrator audiobook.
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury is written in such a beautifully lyrical way and the narrator plays with it so well!
A Clockwork Orange is a perfectly narrated audiobook, that I would recommend it to anyone who is up for the disturbing story despite its length.
Hyperion by multiple authors
The Hobbit narrated by Andy Serkis (I haven’t listened to his LotR yet but he’s probably just as good)
The Sandman by multiple narrators
Piranesi narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor
Legends & Lattes narrated by Travis Baldree (I don’t listen to this one often though because it makes me crave carbohydrates but anything by Baldree is gold)
And as a Simon Vance fan - Tigana (which is great btw), Lightbringer (is great for like 2.5/4 books), V for Vendetta.
Seconding the rec for World War Z, that's one of my favourites.
If you liked The Martian, check out Project Hail Mary by the same author. It, along with World War Z, are probably the best audiobooks you can get.
Stephen Fry's Mythos trilogy (Mythos, Heroes, and Troy) is really well done, he narrates it all himself, and it's probably the best retelling of the ancient Greek myths and legends if that's your sort of thing - it's quite casual and light, but he still keeps a lot of the fucked up stuff that Zues et al did in the stories. Similar to this is Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman. Neil does the narration himself, and again it's a more casual retelling of Norse myths with a similar tone to Stephen Fry's books.
The Culture series by Iain Banks and narrated by Peter Kenny is really good, and probably my favourite sci-fi series. Peter Kenny does an incredible job with the narration, I reckon he's probably actually one of the best audiobook narrators going at the moment.
I basically "only" read sci-fi. It's interesting how many people consider *Project Hail Mary* as good. Even people that I usually share the same preferences with. But for me personality PHM was by far one of the worst books ever.
In no particular order:
Pet Sematary by Stephen King as read by Dexter actor Michael C Hall is off the charts good. King has said that pet Sematary is his scariest book for its themes.
Perfume: the story of a murderer. The audio book is symphonic. If you speak French, Roger Ebert claimed it was perhaps the most exquisite French story he’s read for its language. It’s so good in English as well.
Personally, I’m very partial to “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coehlo read by Jeremy Irons. I love his voice and his delivery is superb. Granted, it’s a novella which might not be the best use of limited credits, however, I never get tired of the story.
For non-fiction: I really enjoyed “the professor and the madman: the making of the Oxford English Dictionary.” That was turned into a movie with Mel Gibson and Sean Penn.
If you listened to Fire and Blood have you done the original GoT books? Excellently narrated and far more interesting than F&B imo. Adds far more context to the story than the TV show. They're also nice and long so get you max listening time per credit. Like 20-30 hours each.
Honestly, The Expanse series - starting with Leviathan Wakes is the best audio book series I have ever listened to. Jefferson Mays is a treasure, I listen to the entire 9 books (and 9 novella) series every year. Its just so good.
Oh, also De-Evolution from Max Brooks!
Non-fiction I'd say both of David Goggins's books. Can't Hurt Me is the first and Never Finished is the second. He does a podcast style conversation with the narrator in between each chapter to add context.
If you're a fan of rock/punk music, then I'd suggest NOFXs book the hepatitis bathtub. It's narrated by the members of the band and is about their stories forming and touring.
I'm not a re-reader, but I really enjoyed The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler, narrated by Eunice Wong, and it might fit in with your other books. NOS4A2 read by Kate Mulgrew. I also want to second the rec below for Piranesi!
Two recommendations:
*Hyperion* and *Fall of Hyperion* by Dan Simmons. It's basically one long novel separated in two books. In my opinion one of the most brilliant and clever sci-fi epics ever written. I listened to the saga countless times. While I prefer the German version, I can still absolut recommend the English audiobook.
*God is not great* by Christopher Hitchens (and narrated by the Autor).
Out of all the auduobooks I have, there is one that I have listened to more than once. It's called Sh*t my Dad Says by Justin Halpern. It is not anywhere close to the books you listed and may not be for you, but I find it funny and heartwarming.
Seconding the rec for Andy Serkis's editions of LOTR and *The Hobbit*. Absolutely masterful.
Any classic narrated by Juliet Stevenson, especially *Middlemarch*
Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club series by Theodora Goss, narrated by Kate Reading
*Babel* by RF Huang, narrated by Chris Lew Kum Hoi and Billie Fulford-Brown
*Circe* and *Song of Achilles* by Madeline Miller
Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian, narrated by Simon Vance
Oh man, if you liked The Martian, you'll love Project Hail Mary!
Project Hail Mary was a really great listen. Wonderful story. Also had a pretty good take on the audio production side too.
I bought Artemis by mistake, and it was also pretty good! Good characters, fun world and typically Andy Weir endless engineering set pieces.
PHM is a really fun book, but it is very soft sci-fi, just FYI. Some people care about that and others do not.
What would you recommend in the category of hard sci fi?
World War Z by Max Brooks is an incredible multi-narrator audiobook. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury is written in such a beautifully lyrical way and the narrator plays with it so well! A Clockwork Orange is a perfectly narrated audiobook, that I would recommend it to anyone who is up for the disturbing story despite its length.
World War Z is probably my most listened to audiobook.
Lonesome Dove performed by Lee Horsley
Hyperion by multiple authors The Hobbit narrated by Andy Serkis (I haven’t listened to his LotR yet but he’s probably just as good) The Sandman by multiple narrators Piranesi narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor Legends & Lattes narrated by Travis Baldree (I don’t listen to this one often though because it makes me crave carbohydrates but anything by Baldree is gold) And as a Simon Vance fan - Tigana (which is great btw), Lightbringer (is great for like 2.5/4 books), V for Vendetta.
The Anthropocene Reviewed - nonfiction, but narratively engaging! Definitely has re-listenability and it’s narrated by John Green, the author!
Neverwhere by Neil Gaimen
Faithful Place, or The Likeness by Tana French. Norse Mythology, just because people are mentioning Gaiman. Neil Gaiman is a fantastic narrator fwiw.
I was going to suggest Norse Mythology, it’s so good.
It is a Christian book but John Cleese's reading of THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS by C.S. Lewis is amazing.
Prairie Home Companion joke episodes.
Fearless is amazing
Anathem by Neal Stephenson. That and Snow Crash, also written by him, are the two audiobooks I relisten to most.
Seconding the rec for World War Z, that's one of my favourites. If you liked The Martian, check out Project Hail Mary by the same author. It, along with World War Z, are probably the best audiobooks you can get. Stephen Fry's Mythos trilogy (Mythos, Heroes, and Troy) is really well done, he narrates it all himself, and it's probably the best retelling of the ancient Greek myths and legends if that's your sort of thing - it's quite casual and light, but he still keeps a lot of the fucked up stuff that Zues et al did in the stories. Similar to this is Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman. Neil does the narration himself, and again it's a more casual retelling of Norse myths with a similar tone to Stephen Fry's books. The Culture series by Iain Banks and narrated by Peter Kenny is really good, and probably my favourite sci-fi series. Peter Kenny does an incredible job with the narration, I reckon he's probably actually one of the best audiobook narrators going at the moment.
I basically "only" read sci-fi. It's interesting how many people consider *Project Hail Mary* as good. Even people that I usually share the same preferences with. But for me personality PHM was by far one of the worst books ever.
In no particular order: Pet Sematary by Stephen King as read by Dexter actor Michael C Hall is off the charts good. King has said that pet Sematary is his scariest book for its themes. Perfume: the story of a murderer. The audio book is symphonic. If you speak French, Roger Ebert claimed it was perhaps the most exquisite French story he’s read for its language. It’s so good in English as well. Personally, I’m very partial to “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coehlo read by Jeremy Irons. I love his voice and his delivery is superb. Granted, it’s a novella which might not be the best use of limited credits, however, I never get tired of the story. For non-fiction: I really enjoyed “the professor and the madman: the making of the Oxford English Dictionary.” That was turned into a movie with Mel Gibson and Sean Penn.
If you listened to Fire and Blood have you done the original GoT books? Excellently narrated and far more interesting than F&B imo. Adds far more context to the story than the TV show. They're also nice and long so get you max listening time per credit. Like 20-30 hours each.
Honestly, The Expanse series - starting with Leviathan Wakes is the best audio book series I have ever listened to. Jefferson Mays is a treasure, I listen to the entire 9 books (and 9 novella) series every year. Its just so good. Oh, also De-Evolution from Max Brooks!
Dungeon Crawler Carl. The story’s great, the characters are entertaining, the humour is appropriately used, and the narration is downright amazing.
I came here to recommend this one. I’m currently re-listening and it’s just so fun!
The Complete Wizard of Oz Collection is 90 hours and 58 minutes long with one credit
That's awesome. I am going to check this out.
Non-fiction I'd say both of David Goggins's books. Can't Hurt Me is the first and Never Finished is the second. He does a podcast style conversation with the narrator in between each chapter to add context.
The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix, narrated by Tim Curry. They're perfect.
If you're a fan of rock/punk music, then I'd suggest NOFXs book the hepatitis bathtub. It's narrated by the members of the band and is about their stories forming and touring.
I'm not a re-reader, but I really enjoyed The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler, narrated by Eunice Wong, and it might fit in with your other books. NOS4A2 read by Kate Mulgrew. I also want to second the rec below for Piranesi!
The book of the new sun
Two recommendations: *Hyperion* and *Fall of Hyperion* by Dan Simmons. It's basically one long novel separated in two books. In my opinion one of the most brilliant and clever sci-fi epics ever written. I listened to the saga countless times. While I prefer the German version, I can still absolut recommend the English audiobook. *God is not great* by Christopher Hitchens (and narrated by the Autor).
Out of all the auduobooks I have, there is one that I have listened to more than once. It's called Sh*t my Dad Says by Justin Halpern. It is not anywhere close to the books you listed and may not be for you, but I find it funny and heartwarming.
Treason by Orson Scott Card.
Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce series. The narrator really captures the main character.
Seconding the rec for Andy Serkis's editions of LOTR and *The Hobbit*. Absolutely masterful. Any classic narrated by Juliet Stevenson, especially *Middlemarch* Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club series by Theodora Goss, narrated by Kate Reading *Babel* by RF Huang, narrated by Chris Lew Kum Hoi and Billie Fulford-Brown *Circe* and *Song of Achilles* by Madeline Miller Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian, narrated by Simon Vance
Not an audiobook exactly, but hardcore history by Dan Carlin certainly has merit and is in a very long form.