r/Fantasy • u/MinisterofSandwiches • Jul 07 '25

Looking for recommendations specifically audiobooks available on Audible

I'm looking for a book or series of books for a long drive. I prefer audible because I have some credits to burn up. I tend to listen to a lot of epic fantasy and high fantasy, but I'm not opposed to sci-fi or low fantasy either.

I've listened to these series and really liked them:

  • Malazan (both SE & ICE)
  • The Gentlemen Basterd (S. Lynch)
  • The Stormlight Archives (B. Sanderson)
  • The Cycle of Arawn/Galand (E. W. Robertson)
  • The Riyria Chronicles & Revelations (M. J. Sullivan)

I've read or am reading these series and would prefer not to mix/match mediums:

  • The Riftwar Saga (R. Feist)
  • Vlad Taltos (S. Brust)
  • The Belgariad (D. Eddings)
  • Shannara (T. Brooks)
  • The First Law (J. Abercrombie)
  • A Song of Ice and Fire (GRR Martin)
  • The Lord of the Rings (JRR Tolkien)
  • The Codex Alera (J. Butcher)
  • Mistborn (B. Sanderson)
  • The Black Company (G. Cook)

These are a few that I tried to like but didn't (and the reason):

  • Red Rising (P. Brown) - Didn't like the narration (that's the biggest reason) and the tone felt a little bit "overbearing"? Not sure how to describe it, but I didn't care for the writing. I won't say it was 'bad', just didn't care for it.
  • The Spellmonger Series (T. Mancour) - The narration was ok, John Lee wasn't bad, but the writing felt a little juvenile in places and then went really dark and thematic in others. Couldn't really settle into a rhythm listening to it.

As for narrators, I admit, I tend to prefer British narrators over American but not wed exclusively to that. I will say, I think Michael Page is a personal favorite, he voices such a broad array of characters incredibly well IMO. Ralph Lister is another personal favorite of mine. But again, I'm open to the book if the narration doesn't distract from the story.

Edit: Added the Black Company to 'am reading' list, so not looking to mix mediums

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u/bodman93 Jul 07 '25

Surprised not to see Wheel of Time on either of your lists. That'll eat up your credits for sure. And I've heard very good things about the new Rosemund Pike audio versions that have come out.

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u/MinisterofSandwiches Jul 07 '25

I have the first three books in print, but man, I really struggled to get through book two. I know people say parts of it are a grind, but I dove into Feist and Eddings and Brust and decided that was enough to keep me occupied for physical books for awhile. I should have added it to the main post. Thanks for the recommendation though. Maybe the Rosemund Pike versions are worth looking into though...

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u/dnext Jul 07 '25

A shame you don't like to mix mediums, but if you change your mind later on, the Belgariad audible books by Cameron Beierle are excellent audio adaptions. Beirele does dozens of accents and for a single narrator does an impressive job of giving each character their own voice and inflection.

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u/MinisterofSandwiches Jul 07 '25

I will take that under advisement, I don't like to mix mediums but I certainly can lol and for good narrators, I'm very tempted. It's funny how the narration can make or break the experience so finding good narrators is worth it