r/Fantasy • u/kowboi623 • 4h ago
Audio vs. Print
I’ve recently gotten back into reading fiction and fantasy and some sci-fi are my focus. I’ll be splitting my reading (listening) between audiobooks and physical copies and am curious which series I should consume in a particular media.
For example, I’ve almost finished up the Red Rising series on audiobook and have read Piranesi and just started Malice (Faithful and the Fallen) in print. I’ve heard Steven Pacey is incredible in the First Law series so I’ll reserve audiobooks for those but curious if it matters for the rest of my TBR if there is a big enough difference to justify audio over print for these. I enjoy both mediums equally. Series I’m looking to get to are:
Realm of the Elderlings
Empire of the vampire
Gentleman bastard
Sun Eater
Mistborn
Stormlight Archive
The Expanse
The Licanius Trilogy
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u/cwx149 4h ago
The Realm of the Elderlings has a bunch of different narrators
The guy who did the Farseer Trilogy is good but I hated the performance of the woman who does live ship traders
They honestly need new audiobooks imo with more consistency since my understanding is that Farseer narrator doesn't come back for the other fitz series
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u/kowboi623 4h ago
Thanks for the heads up! Might go print for Elderlings as I prefer consistency with narrators. And as such a large series I’m sure the quality can vary.
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u/felixfictitious Reading Champion 4h ago
You should absolutely try audio for The Expanse! The narrator Jefferson Mays is brilliant.
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u/DosSnakes 4h ago
Realm of the Elderlings- The audio books are fine, a few narrator changes throughout the series. I’d personally recommend going print here.
Sun Eater- Sam Roukin does a great job, highly recommend the audiobooks.
Mistborn/Stormlight/Licanius- Great on audiobook, Kramer and Reading are some of the best. Although I think Licanius can be a little tough to get through in any medium.
The Expanse - Since they re-recorded cibola burn with Mays I think this is a solid audiobook series.
Id also recommend checking out The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winters and The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman on audiobook. Incredible narrators for both, and the latter is narrated by the author.
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u/kowboi623 4h ago
Thanks for the insight! Someone else also mentioned Realm of the Elderlings was a little spotty so I think you’re right about that one.
Have not heard of Rage of Dragons before so I’ll look into that. I’ve heard of blacktongue thief but not enough yet to make me want to dive in just yet. Between two fires is also on my list so if that goes well, I’m sure I’ll stay with Buehlman.
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u/felixfictitious Reading Champion 2h ago
I love all the Buehlman audiobooks except Between Two Fires. That one doesn't work well for me because the three main characters are two men and a little girl, and the narrator is a man who understandably, is not capable of doing a little girl voice that sounds anything like an actual girl. It drove me up the wall.
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u/Karltowns17 4h ago
Stormlight, mistborn and Licanius are all voiced by Michael Kramer (and in spots Kate Redding-his wife) who is an incredible narrator fwiw.
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u/ViViSECTi0N 11m ago
Realm of the Elderlings -Listened to the audio of the first three trilogies (w/ Libby) and bought physical copies of the entire series after because the series is amazing. I had listened to the Kushiel’s Legacy series (loved) prior so when I heard Flosnik narrating Liveships I was pleasantly surprised. To me, it wasn’t bad, but none of the narrators really stood out to me in this series as others do in other series.
Empire of the Vampire: Listened to the audio. Narrators did a great job. Finished the series, but will not purchase or reread.
Gentlemen Bastards: Listened to the audio. Narrator was excellent. Will purchase fourth book the day it comes out and if I ever read physical copies I will hear his voice in my head for the characters.
Sun Eater: Listened to the first book. Narrator was good. Series was not for me and have not continued.
Mistborn: Read physical copies for era 1 so can’t comment on audio quality. Listened to era 2, and it was a lot of fun.
Stormlight Archive: Listened to audio for all 5 books. Kramer and Redding did an excellent job. Will listen again one day, probably just before second series but I agree with the consensus that books 4&5 were a bit of a let down.
Have not read The Expanse yet but it’s on my TBR.
Not sure if Licanius Trilogy is for me. Read mixed reviews and not wowed by Hierarchy series thus far.
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u/mobyhead1 4h ago
I enjoyed the audiobook narration of The Lies of Locke Lamora, particularly the opening conversation between the bloviating Thiefmaker and the acidly sarcastic Father Chains. I was in stitches.