SFF Audiobooks that are engaging and fun
February 8, 2023 10:21 AM Subscribe
I listen to a lot of podcasts while working, but have tried and failed to really get into audiobooks because they feel less engaging than print books. There are some exceptions that I've liked, though, so I'm looking for more audiobooks like them. More inside.
My taste in fiction runs towards SFF, but I've found that more "literary" or slow-paced SFF just doesn't work for me in audiobook format. I think it's because listening is less engaging than reading, for me at least, and maybe also because it's much slower to listen than to read. I've tried speeding up playback, but I still find myself getting bored.
A big exception was the Murderbot diaries. I'd already read some, but I listened to the entire series in audiobook format, including the ones I'd already read in print, and it was great. They're fast-paced, humorous, and I enjoy the heck out of the protagonist as a character.
An example of one that didn't work for me is Provenance by Ann Leckie. I think I would have enjoyed this more as a print book, but as an audiobook, I found myself very hmm about it all. It's still sitting at about 2/3rd completed in my audiobook app. On the other hand, I think Ancillary Justice would have hit better, because it has more action, exploration, and so on.
I tried out Poirot story, but it turns out I'm just not much into mysteries or how incredibly English it all was. I didn't find myself caring about any of the characters or their petty family dramas. Otherwise I think that the pacing would have hit right.
I think the fact that both of the protagonists in the stories that worked for me are AIs/constructs is a coincidence, although the fact that they have unique viewpoints is not. :)
So, to boil it down: More like Murderbot? Ancillary Justice?
Pratchett would probably also work for me as an audiobook, but I've read those and I'm looking for new.
My taste in fiction runs towards SFF, but I've found that more "literary" or slow-paced SFF just doesn't work for me in audiobook format. I think it's because listening is less engaging than reading, for me at least, and maybe also because it's much slower to listen than to read. I've tried speeding up playback, but I still find myself getting bored.
A big exception was the Murderbot diaries. I'd already read some, but I listened to the entire series in audiobook format, including the ones I'd already read in print, and it was great. They're fast-paced, humorous, and I enjoy the heck out of the protagonist as a character.
An example of one that didn't work for me is Provenance by Ann Leckie. I think I would have enjoyed this more as a print book, but as an audiobook, I found myself very hmm about it all. It's still sitting at about 2/3rd completed in my audiobook app. On the other hand, I think Ancillary Justice would have hit better, because it has more action, exploration, and so on.
I tried out Poirot story, but it turns out I'm just not much into mysteries or how incredibly English it all was. I didn't find myself caring about any of the characters or their petty family dramas. Otherwise I think that the pacing would have hit right.
I think the fact that both of the protagonists in the stories that worked for me are AIs/constructs is a coincidence, although the fact that they have unique viewpoints is not. :)
So, to boil it down: More like Murderbot? Ancillary Justice?
Pratchett would probably also work for me as an audiobook, but I've read those and I'm looking for new.
I bet the audiobooks for Gideon the Ninth and the rest of the series would work for you.
posted by PussKillian at 11:21 AM on February 8, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by PussKillian at 11:21 AM on February 8, 2023 [3 favorites]
I think I have similar tastes to you for audiobooks. Here are some I enjoyed:
The Bobiverse series by Dennis Taylor has a good audiobook version, and coincidentally involves a sort of AI/construct :)
The Collapsing Empire series by John Scalzi and read by Wil Wheaton might tickle your fancy, it's fast paced, has humor and has a few main characters so you can hopefully find either one you like or one you love to hate.
This last one is exclusive to Audible I think, which is a bummer but was also enjoyable - Andrea Vernon and the Corporation for Ultra Human Protection by Alexander Kane [read by Bahni Turpin]. This one is a light hearted deconstruction of the superhero genre.
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 11:29 AM on February 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
The Bobiverse series by Dennis Taylor has a good audiobook version, and coincidentally involves a sort of AI/construct :)
The Collapsing Empire series by John Scalzi and read by Wil Wheaton might tickle your fancy, it's fast paced, has humor and has a few main characters so you can hopefully find either one you like or one you love to hate.
This last one is exclusive to Audible I think, which is a bummer but was also enjoyable - Andrea Vernon and the Corporation for Ultra Human Protection by Alexander Kane [read by Bahni Turpin]. This one is a light hearted deconstruction of the superhero genre.
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 11:29 AM on February 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
The Raven Tower, by Ann Leckie is very good. Many of the characters are not human and have really intereesting constraints on how they can communicate.
A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine. Palace intrigue in a fictional space empire.
Embassytown, by China Mieville. About aliens whose language requires two simultaneous speakers, and a human woman who becomes a living simile in that language. Great audio production.
Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky. The history of a civilization of intelligent spiders. (See also A Deepness in the Sky, by Vernor Vinge, but I don't know if the audiobook is any good.)
The God Engines, by John Scalzi. Characters with very unique viewpoints.
Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke; and Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir; have some interesting SFF concepts that have to be puzzled-out by characters with unreliable memories.
Various Neil Gaiman books with full-cast audiobook productions.
posted by Phssthpok at 11:47 AM on February 8, 2023
A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine. Palace intrigue in a fictional space empire.
Embassytown, by China Mieville. About aliens whose language requires two simultaneous speakers, and a human woman who becomes a living simile in that language. Great audio production.
Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky. The history of a civilization of intelligent spiders. (See also A Deepness in the Sky, by Vernor Vinge, but I don't know if the audiobook is any good.)
The God Engines, by John Scalzi. Characters with very unique viewpoints.
Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke; and Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir; have some interesting SFF concepts that have to be puzzled-out by characters with unreliable memories.
Various Neil Gaiman books with full-cast audiobook productions.
posted by Phssthpok at 11:47 AM on February 8, 2023
I highly recommend any Terry Pratchett in audiobook format, particularly those read by Stephen Briggs.
In my experience, dense prose just doesn't work that well in audiobook form, and for some writers there's just something about the rhythms of their work that loses my attention when listening to it. I cannot listen to Margaret Atwood: I tune out immediately, although I find her quite readable.
Bad prose is also bad for audiobooks unless you speed it up so you don't notice the infelicities.
But Bujold and Pratchett are both really good in audio format. And I consider Stephen Briggs to be just an excellent narrator.
posted by suelac at 11:55 AM on February 8, 2023 [4 favorites]
In my experience, dense prose just doesn't work that well in audiobook form, and for some writers there's just something about the rhythms of their work that loses my attention when listening to it. I cannot listen to Margaret Atwood: I tune out immediately, although I find her quite readable.
Bad prose is also bad for audiobooks unless you speed it up so you don't notice the infelicities.
But Bujold and Pratchett are both really good in audio format. And I consider Stephen Briggs to be just an excellent narrator.
posted by suelac at 11:55 AM on February 8, 2023 [4 favorites]
Came here to recommend the Vorkosigan saga, so I will second moonmilk;the audio books are great!
There are audio prequel & sequel stories for the Alien movies that are pretty fun and engaging.
Also recommend Fred the Vampire Accountant books, which are very fun and have nice sound effects along with a good narrator.
posted by assenav at 12:56 PM on February 8, 2023
There are audio prequel & sequel stories for the Alien movies that are pretty fun and engaging.
Also recommend Fred the Vampire Accountant books, which are very fun and have nice sound effects along with a good narrator.
posted by assenav at 12:56 PM on February 8, 2023
I liked the audiobooks for the Scholomance trilogy (Novik) and for the Lockwood and Co. series (Stroud).
posted by clew at 2:13 PM on February 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by clew at 2:13 PM on February 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
I, too, came to recommend the Vorkosigan audiobooks. They're science fiction but if you enjoy them you will probably also enjoy the author's Penric and Desdemona novellas which take place in a fantasy universe. (That fantasy universe is also the setting for three novel-length works but I'd advise starting with the Vorkosigan books, then the Penric stories, then the fantasy novels.)
The Pratchett audiobook adaptations, as several have said, are also very good.
I thought the audiobooks for Ann Leckie's Radch trilogy were decent enough but didn't much care for the audiobook of her standalone novel The Raven Tower. Someone up above liked it, and you may find your taste more like theirs, but I wasn't very engaged, despite finding the premise interesting.
posted by Nerd of the North at 2:21 PM on February 8, 2023
The Pratchett audiobook adaptations, as several have said, are also very good.
I thought the audiobooks for Ann Leckie's Radch trilogy were decent enough but didn't much care for the audiobook of her standalone novel The Raven Tower. Someone up above liked it, and you may find your taste more like theirs, but I wasn't very engaged, despite finding the premise interesting.
posted by Nerd of the North at 2:21 PM on February 8, 2023
I loved loved loved the narrator of The City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett.
posted by Illusory contour at 4:40 PM on February 8, 2023
posted by Illusory contour at 4:40 PM on February 8, 2023
I ALWAYS recommend the "Rivers of London" audiobooks by Ben Aaronovitch, as read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. Jesus, that guy is good. (Which applies to both of them)
posted by wenestvedt at 6:01 PM on February 8, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 6:01 PM on February 8, 2023 [5 favorites]
Have you listened to EscapePod? It's a podcast where they read short SF stories, so kind of a crossover between podcast and audio books. And there's another one called PodCastle for fantasy stories.
posted by elizabot at 8:20 PM on February 8, 2023
posted by elizabot at 8:20 PM on February 8, 2023
Red shirts by John Scalzi
posted by Enid Lareg at 11:53 PM on February 8, 2023
posted by Enid Lareg at 11:53 PM on February 8, 2023
The audiobooks of The Expanse are really good and action packed, starting with Leviathan Wakes.
I like the audiobooks of The Dresden Files as well-- James Marsters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame does the narration and he's really good at it, his acting chops enhance the story. The plot is fun--starts as a Wizard private detective in modern Chicago and evolves from there--but you do have to deal with the main character and narrator being a bit of a misogynist in the ways you might expect from a character in noir fiction. Other characters do occasionally call him on it, so I think it is intended as a character flaw that he works through over the course of the series, but if you'd find that particularly distasteful you should know it's there.
posted by JDHarper at 9:47 AM on February 9, 2023
I like the audiobooks of The Dresden Files as well-- James Marsters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame does the narration and he's really good at it, his acting chops enhance the story. The plot is fun--starts as a Wizard private detective in modern Chicago and evolves from there--but you do have to deal with the main character and narrator being a bit of a misogynist in the ways you might expect from a character in noir fiction. Other characters do occasionally call him on it, so I think it is intended as a character flaw that he works through over the course of the series, but if you'd find that particularly distasteful you should know it's there.
posted by JDHarper at 9:47 AM on February 9, 2023
Response by poster: but you do have to deal with the main character and narrator being a bit of a misogynist in the ways you might expect from a character in noir fiction
Yeah, I tried these books a while ago, and my impression was that it wasn't just the character being a misogynist; world details sometimes confirmed sexist stereotypes, and I had issues with how female characters were sometimes handled. The parts where the protagonist gets called out kind of seemed like an 80s misogynist calling out a 60s misogynist, tbh. I couldn't compartmentalize enough to enjoy the rest of the books.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 2:26 PM on February 9, 2023 [2 favorites]
Yeah, I tried these books a while ago, and my impression was that it wasn't just the character being a misogynist; world details sometimes confirmed sexist stereotypes, and I had issues with how female characters were sometimes handled. The parts where the protagonist gets called out kind of seemed like an 80s misogynist calling out a 60s misogynist, tbh. I couldn't compartmentalize enough to enjoy the rest of the books.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 2:26 PM on February 9, 2023 [2 favorites]
« Older Is getting post-job interview feedback ever worth... | How do you manage your pantry? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by moonmilk at 11:20 AM on February 8, 2023 [3 favorites]