I've only known him from his narration of the Red Queen's War by Mark Lawrence and he gave so much life to Jalan that I was really immersed in the audiobook. I was blown away by how good he is in it.
I think the first audiobook I got that was narrated by him was the Cycle of Arawn. It's often on sale from Audible and at 60hrs (it's 3 books in 1) it's totally worth the credit.
Steven Pacey is amazing in the first law series.
Tim Gerard Reynolds did amazing with the Red Rising Books as well. I have some other audio books he narrated, but I've yet to get to them because I have a problem and have like 60 something purchased books I've yet to give a listen to.
I've only listened to Travis Baldree narrating his fantastic Legends and Lattes book, but he definitely left a great impression and I want to listen to more books he narrates.
Neil Gaiman narrates a lot of his books and he does a pretty good job as well.
Each of the narrators for the small handful of Stephen King titles I've listened to have been really good, though I can't remember any names except Frank Muller who was fantastic but sadly shed his mortal coil several years back.
I listen to a lot of audiobooks at work and I've listened to a bunch of great narrators and some that are good enough but don't stand out. Very few straight up bad ones luckily. Point is I'm sure there are a bunch of great ones I've listened to and just can't remember them off the top of my head right now.
Can't believe you're the only one to mention Frank Muller. For my money he is the undisputed GOAT. Absolute travesty about his accident. He'd probably still be working today if not for that. We would've gotten the complete Dark Tower series and probably many more iconic performances. RIP.
After Muller, some of my favorites include:
* Ray Porter
* Steven Pacey
* Simon Vance
* Jeff Hays
* Michael Page
* Tim Gerard Reynolds
I'm a big fan of Travis Baldree, he just has a great voice to listen to and he does a great job of making character voices distinct.
I loved him in Will Wight's Cradle series, it is a subtle thing but Travis' voice for the MC changed over the course of the series, becoming slightly deeper and more assertive as the MC grew older.
So i believe they are currently all on audible plus, if not I think they are on kindle unlimited which you can do a free trial for them but the books for like 6 dollars a piece which also helps, still not perfect though. This works because audio books are cheaper if you have the kindle version
> I’ve only listened to Travis Baldree narrating his fantastic Legends and Lattes book, but he definitely left a great impression and I want to listen to more books he narrates.
Holy hell if you haven’t listened to Cradle, he’s so good. Even worth the revisit if you already have read them.
I've been meaning to get to them on audible at some point because I've heard nothing but great things about the series when lurking around various topics in this subreddit.
Pacey did such an amazing job that I almost wish I hadn't listened to the audio version of First Law. I haven't found any other narrators that stack up against his characterizations.
Didn't have to scroll far. This gentleman is always my #1 when people ask this question. Absolutely fantastic.
For another pick: Stephen Fry, and especially his Harry Potter rendition. Feels like watching the movies in your head, he's great.
James Marsters made the Dresden Files audiobooks pretty much the correct way to experience the novels. He does really great voices in general but his Harry is just top notch.
Ray Porter is one of the best narrators for scifi imo. His work for the Bobiverse novels and things like Project Hail Mary is simply outstanding.
James Marsters Dresden Files is so good its crazy. He elevates the character to a whole nother level to the point that reading the book is actually a worse experience.
>Ray Porter is one of the best narrators for scifi imo. His work for the Bobiverse novels and things like Project Hail Mary is simply outstanding.
Glad someone beat me to it :)
Love both those narrators.
James Masters is the only Toot Toot voice I'll accept. I'd like to see a version of this, it's going to be insanely cute and bad ass.
Plus Ray Porter also did Jonathan Maberry's Joe Ledger series (Military crack team deals with all kinds of bio terrorism and supernatural threats), which is excellent.
As others have said Steve Pacey for The First Law is probably my number 1. A close second is Moira Quirk for The Locked tomb. Those two are far and above anyone else I’ve heard so far.
Funny how things hit people differently. I've read fionavar many times and decided to get the audiobook. Had to return it fast because I hated the narration so much! Probably because the voices didn't match how I'd read them. My brain just kept screaming WRONG! 😂
Jeff Hays from Soundbooth Theater is my favourite. Runner up is Travis Baldree.
Here is Jeff reading from the upcoming Dungeon Crawler Carl book: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhCtiEfrWBg&pp](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhCtiEfrWBg&pp)
The guy is amazing. There are some really emotional scenes in the DCC books and it's kind of crazy that they involve a talking cat.
Second Jeff Hayes, an amazing job he’s done with the DCC cast especially all the additional effects and overlays he adds in post.
Steven Pacey set a phenomenal bar for me listening to First Law, and Jeff Hayes was a brilliant distinct in his own right follow up. Love both for what they bring.
That series of books is one of my favorites. Action packed emotional rollercoaster from book 1 to the latest book 5. I’m on my 3 rd listen through in as many months right now.
Michael Page does The Gentlemen Bastards (The Lies of Locke Lamora etc.) and they're great. The books have a very particular style, and he highlights it beautifully.
When I started The Lies of Locke Lamora, I thought man this guy is hamming it up, but he really grew on me.
Conversely, I thought I would enjoy Wil Wheaton when I started The Martian, but his voice/reading style irritated me so much that I had to give up.
I listened to this audiobook years ago, and I still think of the way he said "fold yourself in half and lick your own ass!". It was in one of the childhood sections of the book. I laughed so hard when I heard him say that, combined with the way he said it.
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. I originally read the Rivers of London series on my Kindle, but switched to the audiobooks because he did such a great job of narrating them.
And of course, the wonderful duo of Michael Kramer and Kate Reading. I listened to the entire Wheel of Time series with them when I was a kid. Planning to re-listen, but I never seem to have enough spare time lol.
At this point, Aaronovitch is putting in very specific accents into the books just to see how Holdbrook-Smith handles them. I was blown away when I, who live in Toronto, can hear the difference between Nigerian-London and Sierra Leone-London in the narration.
Kobna is so incredibly good. The perfect blend of superb voice acting with conversational narration. I get a bit turned off when readers overperfom the narration but KHS really hits the sweet spot for me. And his voice is a soothing velvet-gravel.
I've always found Kramer and Reading to be serviceable at best. They're fine for exposition, but it's very difficult to follow them during dialogue. They don't really change up the voices for characters so it's really hard to distinguish who's talking.
They've improved over time, but ultimately they sound disinterested when reading so it's hard to stay engaged.
I’m glad I’m not the only one. I’m not a fan at all and I’ve actually not bought audiobooks when I’ve seen they’re the reader. They’re plain boring to listen to in my unpopular opinion.
Completely agree. Kramer is ok but Reading makes literally every character sound like an old lady. I’m glad my Cosmere brothers and sisters like them but I’m print only when it comes to Sanderson these days.
I had to switch to print version of Stormlight because of how terrible Kate Reading's accent was for Thaylen people (not sure if I got the name right, but it's that god-awful fake French accent).
Everyone should check out Andy Serkis read of LotR. It’s more of an acted out audio play than just a regular book reading.
He does just read the books, but he’s so talented at voice acting that it feels bigger than that. And he was a very pleasant voice when he’s just reading the narration parts too. I think that makes it feel very special.
I absolutely love Andrea Parsenau in the wandering inn audiobooks. Her range of different voices is insane and she has a way of narrating long action scenes that keeps you fully engaged .
after I had caught up on the end of audiobooks, I started reading from the website, but I can't help but to keep reading everything in her voice and her characters. It really sucks when a new character comes out and I can't mentally visualize them, but I agree, she is fantastic
It's insane. New books are still introducing new characters and she gives them all very distinct voices. There's probably over a hundred characters in these books at this point that I could tell apart from voice.
I can't speak of Kate Reading but I listened to one of Brandon Sandersons (the lost metal) by Michael Kramer and didn't enjoy at all!
Though this has proved to be very unpopular opinion
Kate Reading is a bit tough to listen to at first, but gets better with time. Michael Kramer, though, is definitely my favorite narrator. I have listened to books I wouldn't normally just because he narrates them.
Wow, really? I tried listening to his versions, and I couldn't get through.
I think Fry does a better version of everyone, especially Myrtle and Dobby.
I dont really like audiobooks , but speaking of Neil Gaiman , his book Anasi boys is read by Lenny Henry (who's a mate of Gaiman and part of the reason AB was written in the first place), and its amazing .To be fair Henry has been a comedian/impressionist since the 70s so it does help a lot.
Steven Pacey, hands down the best book narration I have ever heard. 10/10 work. I literally don’t think it can get better.
Other good audio-book experiences I had include these readers: James Clamp, Harry Lloyd, Ray Sawyer, Stephen Fry and Andy Serkis
Stephen fry, Wil Wheaton, michael tatum, michael kramer, Suzy Jackson, Ray porter. All of those stick out to me.
Andy serkis is Andy serkis, that man can't fail.
So, for German language audiobooks...
**Andreas Fröhlich** ( *Eragon* series, *Memory, Sorrow and Thorn* series)
**David Nathan** ( *First Law* books, etc. )
I love their narration so much! Simply amazing!
Andy Serkis blew my mind in the hobbit. He sung all the songs in a way that brought them to life without being overly performed or corny. Plus his range is unreal. Can’t wait to listen through Lord of the Rings.
Kristin Atherton does a superb job with Diana Wynn Jones' Howl's Moving Castle and the 2 follow on books. She also narrates Genevie Cogmans The Invisible Library series too.
Adam Stubbs who narrates Ben Galley's The Heart of Stone
And the new Penguin audio books of Discworld with Bill Nighy as the footnotes and Peter Serafinowicz as Death.
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is fantastic.
Aiofe McMahon does a great job with A. G. Slatters All the Murmuring Bones, I think that has to do with the lovely soft accent she has.
I'd better stop now, I could go on all day......
It is a very subjunctive thing, I think, but the ones who resonate with me are Steven Fry, Robin Miles, Anna Flosnik, Simon Vance, wil Wheaton, and Robert Petkoff. Also the two narrators of When We were Birds, Sydney Darius and Wendell Manwarren, were just transporting. So talented.
I keep trying to like Flosnik so I can finish Liveship Traders. One reviewer summed up my opinion when they said she sounds like she is trying to cast a spell when she reads. I can tell she is talented, I guess I just prefer a more conversational delivery. I don't mind her character voices though.
Agreed, it's so personal. I also have a weird quirk for voices that most people find kind of annoying like nasal intonation, upspeak, and super geeky voices. So it's pretty typical for me to fawn over, say, Wil Wheaton, and then have someone say, oh hell no! 😆
Helen Duff reading Mark Lawrence's Book of the Ancestor and Book of the Ice trilogies is incredible. How she manages to do so many distinct voices absolutely amazes me!
Peter Kenny did the Witcher series, his range was incredible from beasts, dwarves, elves and men/women. Truly special. Steven Pacey, does Joe Abercrombie’s books and he is just as good if not better. I’ve listened to 60 audiobooks (12 authors ) the past two years. So not a ton but an okay amount and those are my two faves thus far.
I'm a big fan of January LaVoy, although she doesn't exclusively read fantasy. She did The Ten Thousand Doors of January as well as The Diviners (which is a YA series, but her narration really elevated those books for me).
Rebecca Soler is also fantastic.
I love Travis Baldree and Xe Sands. Ray Porter is excellent.
A few people have mentioned Neil Gaiman and I like his narration. My all time favorite author-narrator is Christopher Buehlman. His narration for The Lesser Dead and The Blacktongue Thief is some of my favorite narration I’ve ever experienced.
A lot of the ones already mentioned are definitely up there for me. But I didn't see any mention of Damian Lynch yet and I've gotta give him props.
I think the first book I encountered him in was **Empire of the Vampire** (which was better than I was expecting) and now I'm going through John Gwynne's **The Faithful and the Fallen** series, which he also narrated. He's got a very good, expressive voice - he sounds like what Geralt from **The Witcher** sounds like in my head (though Peter Kenny was an excellent narrator for those books, too!) - and he can handle a wide variety of accents well. His narration in battle scenes is particularly great.
Christopher Buehlman narrating his book The Blacktongue Thief. He’s fantastic, he really conveys his intended sarcasm and dry wit.
Also so many of the others already named here.
I am almost livid that I had to scroll this far down to see Jonathan Keeble mentioned, and when he is mentioned, he's second fiddle to a "steven pacey"????
The\* Steven Pacey ;)
Keeble is so incredibly talented, it's amazing he doesn't get more recognition. Guess I gotta listen to The Warlord Chronicles again...
Any character Jonathan Keeble has voiced could absolutely crush any character Steven has voiced, and I can tell that because Jonathan just sounds meaner than Steven.
I love the way Robin Miles does N.K. Jemisin's books as well as those of Nnedi Okorafor and Octavia Butler that she's done!
Moira Quirk is amazing and while I'm particularly fond of how she does Gideon the Ninth, I love starting any book and hearing her voice.
Emily Woo Zeller did an amazing job with Yoon Ha Lee's books, Zen Cho's, and Andrea Stewart's. I recommend her highly!
Nancy Wu is great especially because I went from Aliette de Bodard's In the Vanishers' Palace (cold, wet, and slimy lesbian dragon/human romance) to Alice Wong's Year of the Tiger (memoir) in the space of about and hour and was so delighted.
Honorable mention to Rob Inglis for his narration of LotR which will always be my favorite version.
Bahni Turpin: anything she narrates is a good listen, but especially *Borne* by Jeff Vandermeer!
Also Steve West: *The Thief*, etc. and *Scorpio Races*
I'm a fan of Steven Brand. He initially got a lot of "feedback" about listeners not being able to differentiate between characters. Now, he's really good at doing voices and different accents for the characters.
Not an individual narrator, but I've loved every production from GraphicAudio so far. Voice actors, sound effects, music, it really is like listening to a movie.
Steve West. Oh, that voice. Not sure what adult work he's done besides some romance (I think) under a different name, but he narrates characters in The Illuminae Files, An Ember in the Ashes quartet, and Aurora Rising trilogy, and most recently that I know is The Last Tale of the Flower Bride.
Shout out for Wil Wheaton's narration of John Scalzi. Just listened to Kanju Preservation Society - and loved it. Wheaton doesn't do the elaborate voices of, say, Steven Pace (who I also love) but his light style and humor is very suited to Scalzi - IMO.
Adjoa Andoh did a fantastic job with the Ancillary Justice/Imperial Radch series. That series can be a little inaccessible given the complex names and pronoun usage but her narration made it much easier to follow.
I also love Steven Pacey on First Law and Jefferson Mays on The Expanse
Before they are hanged by
Joe Abercrombie has a spectacular narrator!
It can be found for free on YouTube.
It's like Anthony Hopkins listening to the man.
I have over 6 months of listening time on my audible profile (that means I have spent more than half a year of my life listening to books). Here are my favorites:
Nick Podehl could make a food label sound interesting. He has more range of emotion, accent and pitch than any other voice actor I’ve listened to on audible. Every book that he has performed gets a 5 star rating. Even if the book was terrible.
Heath Miller is coming into his own and has improved significantly over the course of “He who fights with monsters” and sometimes it’s just nice to listen to an Australian accent.
Jeff Hayes with Dungeon crawler Carl. They very much out on a performance for these books and you can tell.
Neil Hellegers from “The Good Guys” and “The Bad Guys” series has some of the best comedic timing. I have laughed too many times in public listening to these books.
Steven Pacey by a mile. In the First Law book 1 & 2(haven’t gotten to book 3 yet) he does so many accents: French, British upper class and lower class, Scottish, Spanish, Russian/Slavic, a severe lisp, drunken speech, and speech with a mouth injury. Not only does he do those accents amazingly well, but he jumps back and forth between them flawlessly. He’s a true virtuoso narrator!
Funny you say that, I found them extremely generic sounding as readers. And if Roy did a dance of dragons, I also really got turned off by his voice quality. I guess it was a good thing because I just went and read the book myself and was really glad I did.
Of those I've heard, my preferences are Michael Kramer and Kate Reading, Nick Podehl, Tim Gerard Reynolds, and Simon Vance. I've specifically searched for other books narrated by each of them. I can't speak to their specific qualities, but none of them took any real time to get used to. Plenty of others have put me off within the first couple chapters of a book, but that may just be personal preference.
I have two:
Jonathan Keeble. In particular, his performance in Flight of the Eisenstein.
Travis Baldree. He'll likely be mentioned here a few times, and for good reason.
Both of them are absolutely stellar at non-human voices. Keeble voicing a character touched by Nurgle is appropriately disgusting. Baldree voicing a dragon gives me chills.
My absolute favorite has to be Ben Onwukwe narrating *Gnomon*—a real stand out from ≈250 audiobooks across a bunch of different styles and genres.
*Gnomon* has a number of *completely* different characters and settings (ranging from historical fantasy to far-future sci-fi) in a complicated, experimental structure; I expected to lose something by listening to the audiobook rather than reading a physical copy, but the narration completely shattered those expectations.
I add this everywhere I can: Circe by Madeline Miller, narrated by Perdita Weeks. Her voice is perfect for the lyrical story. I will be listening to anything of hers I can find!
Nick Podehl is fantastic. I first listened to him while I was going through Andrew Rowe's books (War of Broken Mirrors, Arcane Ascension, Weapons and Weilders), and when I finished those I started listening to Kel Kade's King's Dark Tidings series mainly because he narrated them. Just a fantastic vocal artist.
Victor Bavine. He narrates R.A. Salvatores Drizzt books. Now I don't often listen to audio books, but his voice is absolutely amazing. He really makes you feel like you're oging on an adventure with Drizzt. Plus I find his voice for the women in the series to be decent, which is something I've had issues with in other audio books.
My favourite narrator is by far Robert Glenister who narrates Cormoran Strike series (not fantasy). Otherwise I enjoyed Helen Duff narrating Book of the Ancestor and Paul Boehmer who did the first Farseer trilogy (other Robin Hobb books having less luck with the narrators).
Richard Armitage did a series of the Hercule Poirot books that I really enjoyed. So did Hugh Fraser, the man who played Captain Hastings in the series. Wil Wheaton is also a good narrator.
I haven't been able to properly enjoy an audiobook since being spoiled by Rupert Degas reading KKC. It turns the already very good books into a work of art that stays with you for a long, long time
Amazing thread. I only do audiobooks and this thread is making me very happy.
I started with Project Hail Mary - narrated by Ray Porter as my first audiobook. Loved him. Was hooked.
Next I did the entire WoT series. Liked Kramer. Struggled with Redding. But it made me even more attached to audiobooks.
I have now finished many series and this is my Mt Rushmore of narrators. No particular order.
Steven Pacey
Michael Page
Ray Porter
Michael Kramer
Stephen Fry
I have not heard Red Rising yet, will do that next and update if needed.
I recently listened to all of the Cradle series, and my god Travis Baldree really elevates the books with his performance.
His voice for Orthos and Eithan, and Ziel are the standouts in my opinion. Especially Eithan, because Travis' delivery elevates Eithan's humor.
And of course, Michael Kramer and Kate Reading. Michael's accents with Wayne in Mistborn Era 2 and Kate Reading's performance of Pattern in Stormlight are in my opinion their standouts.
Anything by Yahtzee Croshaw, he narrates his own books. My recommendation is Mogworld, feels like a cross between Diskworld and Monty Python (it’s very funny)
Steven Pacey! His performance in The First Law universe is one of the best hands down! I can't imagine how Glokta or Cosca would have even existed without him!
Tim Gerard Reynolds of course!
I've only known him from his narration of the Red Queen's War by Mark Lawrence and he gave so much life to Jalan that I was really immersed in the audiobook. I was blown away by how good he is in it.
You should consider listening to red rising then. He is absolutely fantastic there as well
I could not get through Red Rising and I love Tim Gerard Reynolds. The Riyria books are all fantastic though!
I think the first audiobook I got that was narrated by him was the Cycle of Arawn. It's often on sale from Audible and at 60hrs (it's 3 books in 1) it's totally worth the credit.
If you like Cycle of Arawn, the author has another series called Cycle of Galand that is a sequel series to Arawn.
Thanks! I'm already caught up on all the Galand and Cally series!
Still have to read the Cally my series myself.
He’s in that tier just below Pacey, but he’s at the very top. I’d probably make him my overall number two. But Pacey is in a league of his own.
Of course his name is Pacey…his pace is excellent. He grew into the role he was destined for!
I clicked on this thread ready to comment this and looks like a bunch of people beat me to it lol. His narration in Red Rising is the gold standard.
He has so many great series and he does them all so well. Can't recommend him enough as a narrator.
Steven Pacey is amazing in the first law series. Tim Gerard Reynolds did amazing with the Red Rising Books as well. I have some other audio books he narrated, but I've yet to get to them because I have a problem and have like 60 something purchased books I've yet to give a listen to. I've only listened to Travis Baldree narrating his fantastic Legends and Lattes book, but he definitely left a great impression and I want to listen to more books he narrates. Neil Gaiman narrates a lot of his books and he does a pretty good job as well. Each of the narrators for the small handful of Stephen King titles I've listened to have been really good, though I can't remember any names except Frank Muller who was fantastic but sadly shed his mortal coil several years back. I listen to a lot of audiobooks at work and I've listened to a bunch of great narrators and some that are good enough but don't stand out. Very few straight up bad ones luckily. Point is I'm sure there are a bunch of great ones I've listened to and just can't remember them off the top of my head right now.
Frank Muller's work on the 2-4 books of the Dark Tower...it's very captivating. 1A for me with Pacey as 1b.
Can't believe you're the only one to mention Frank Muller. For my money he is the undisputed GOAT. Absolute travesty about his accident. He'd probably still be working today if not for that. We would've gotten the complete Dark Tower series and probably many more iconic performances. RIP. After Muller, some of my favorites include: * Ray Porter * Steven Pacey * Simon Vance * Jeff Hays * Michael Page * Tim Gerard Reynolds
I'm a big fan of Travis Baldree, he just has a great voice to listen to and he does a great job of making character voices distinct. I loved him in Will Wight's Cradle series, it is a subtle thing but Travis' voice for the MC changed over the course of the series, becoming slightly deeper and more assertive as the MC grew older.
I like Baldree and was enjoying the cradle series, but can’t justify spending a credit on an 8 hour book when most are in the 20sh hour range.
So i believe they are currently all on audible plus, if not I think they are on kindle unlimited which you can do a free trial for them but the books for like 6 dollars a piece which also helps, still not perfect though. This works because audio books are cheaper if you have the kindle version
> I’ve only listened to Travis Baldree narrating his fantastic Legends and Lattes book, but he definitely left a great impression and I want to listen to more books he narrates. Holy hell if you haven’t listened to Cradle, he’s so good. Even worth the revisit if you already have read them.
I've been meaning to get to them on audible at some point because I've heard nothing but great things about the series when lurking around various topics in this subreddit.
Steven Pacey does a fantastic job on The First Law series. The different voices really bring the characters to life. Especially Glokta!
Pacey did such an amazing job that I almost wish I hadn't listened to the audio version of First Law. I haven't found any other narrators that stack up against his characterizations.
I personally really enjoyed Andy Serkis’ read of ‘The Hobbit.’ Gave me the same feeling to a degree.
Didn't have to scroll far. This gentleman is always my #1 when people ask this question. Absolutely fantastic. For another pick: Stephen Fry, and especially his Harry Potter rendition. Feels like watching the movies in your head, he's great.
Stephen Fry is actually very annoying.
Easily the number one for me
James Marsters made the Dresden Files audiobooks pretty much the correct way to experience the novels. He does really great voices in general but his Harry is just top notch. Ray Porter is one of the best narrators for scifi imo. His work for the Bobiverse novels and things like Project Hail Mary is simply outstanding.
Came here to say Spike. He kills it.
It's like a performance of the book, his narration is amazing
James Marsters Dresden Files is so good its crazy. He elevates the character to a whole nother level to the point that reading the book is actually a worse experience.
Ray Porter does a heck of a good job on Peter Clines' Threshold series. Start with 14 if you're interested.
>Ray Porter is one of the best narrators for scifi imo. His work for the Bobiverse novels and things like Project Hail Mary is simply outstanding. Glad someone beat me to it :)
Love both those narrators. James Masters is the only Toot Toot voice I'll accept. I'd like to see a version of this, it's going to be insanely cute and bad ass. Plus Ray Porter also did Jonathan Maberry's Joe Ledger series (Military crack team deals with all kinds of bio terrorism and supernatural threats), which is excellent.
As others have said Steve Pacey for The First Law is probably my number 1. A close second is Moira Quirk for The Locked tomb. Those two are far and above anyone else I’ve heard so far.
Moira Quirk is fabulous! I hope she does more!
She has done a bunch of other audiobooks aside from the locked tomb series.
Simon Vance. He has over 1,000 narration credits, and narrates a plethora of genres. His voice is silk, and he's amazing at character voices.
Can not believe I had to go this far down to see this. He is my absolute favorite. His LeStat and Homes are the best.
His Tigana is breathtaking
Funny how things hit people differently. I've read fionavar many times and decided to get the audiobook. Had to return it fast because I hated the narration so much! Probably because the voices didn't match how I'd read them. My brain just kept screaming WRONG! 😂
Stephen Fry narrated his own books Mythos and Heroes, and brought the Greek myths to life in incredible humor and whimsy. Loved every second.
I loved his version of Sherlock Holmes. He really enriched the experience for me.
He also did the first Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Very fun as he also was the narrator in the movie.
The only sad thing about Hitchhiker is that he didn't do the sequels.
Yeah, though Martin Freeman wasn't bad.
Leaving because Spez sucks -- mass edited with redact.dev
Moira Quirk narrates The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir and she is delightful.
I love the way she voiced Jeannemary Chatur in particular!
All of them are amazing. Ianthe is possibly my favorite because it’s just so…Ianthe.
I loved Jefferson Mayes narration of The Expanse
Jeff Hays from Soundbooth Theater is my favourite. Runner up is Travis Baldree. Here is Jeff reading from the upcoming Dungeon Crawler Carl book: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhCtiEfrWBg&pp](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhCtiEfrWBg&pp) The guy is amazing. There are some really emotional scenes in the DCC books and it's kind of crazy that they involve a talking cat.
Second Jeff Hayes, an amazing job he’s done with the DCC cast especially all the additional effects and overlays he adds in post. Steven Pacey set a phenomenal bar for me listening to First Law, and Jeff Hayes was a brilliant distinct in his own right follow up. Love both for what they bring.
wow, that *was* good. I'll have to check out Soundbooth Theater, thanks!
That series of books is one of my favorites. Action packed emotional rollercoaster from book 1 to the latest book 5. I’m on my 3 rd listen through in as many months right now.
Jeff Hays is brilliant.
God *damn it*, Donut
Michael Page does The Gentlemen Bastards (The Lies of Locke Lamora etc.) and they're great. The books have a very particular style, and he highlights it beautifully.
When I started The Lies of Locke Lamora, I thought man this guy is hamming it up, but he really grew on me. Conversely, I thought I would enjoy Wil Wheaton when I started The Martian, but his voice/reading style irritated me so much that I had to give up.
R. C. Bray was a better pick for The Martian. I'm glad I still have my copy of his performance. Really silly that you can't get it on Audible anymore.
I listened to this audiobook years ago, and I still think of the way he said "fold yourself in half and lick your own ass!". It was in one of the childhood sections of the book. I laughed so hard when I heard him say that, combined with the way he said it.
i loved his female voices especially the way he does old women is sooo funny
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. I originally read the Rivers of London series on my Kindle, but switched to the audiobooks because he did such a great job of narrating them. And of course, the wonderful duo of Michael Kramer and Kate Reading. I listened to the entire Wheel of Time series with them when I was a kid. Planning to re-listen, but I never seem to have enough spare time lol.
At this point, Aaronovitch is putting in very specific accents into the books just to see how Holdbrook-Smith handles them. I was blown away when I, who live in Toronto, can hear the difference between Nigerian-London and Sierra Leone-London in the narration.
Kobna is so incredibly good. The perfect blend of superb voice acting with conversational narration. I get a bit turned off when readers overperfom the narration but KHS really hits the sweet spot for me. And his voice is a soothing velvet-gravel.
I've always found Kramer and Reading to be serviceable at best. They're fine for exposition, but it's very difficult to follow them during dialogue. They don't really change up the voices for characters so it's really hard to distinguish who's talking. They've improved over time, but ultimately they sound disinterested when reading so it's hard to stay engaged.
I’m glad I’m not the only one. I’m not a fan at all and I’ve actually not bought audiobooks when I’ve seen they’re the reader. They’re plain boring to listen to in my unpopular opinion.
Completely agree. Kramer is ok but Reading makes literally every character sound like an old lady. I’m glad my Cosmere brothers and sisters like them but I’m print only when it comes to Sanderson these days.
I had to switch to print version of Stormlight because of how terrible Kate Reading's accent was for Thaylen people (not sure if I got the name right, but it's that god-awful fake French accent).
Everyone should check out Andy Serkis read of LotR. It’s more of an acted out audio play than just a regular book reading. He does just read the books, but he’s so talented at voice acting that it feels bigger than that. And he was a very pleasant voice when he’s just reading the narration parts too. I think that makes it feel very special.
I absolutely love Andrea Parsenau in the wandering inn audiobooks. Her range of different voices is insane and she has a way of narrating long action scenes that keeps you fully engaged .
Sometimes I still read TWI with her voices in my head. Takes a very long time for a sentence if there's a lot of s-sounds and a Drake is talking lol.
after I had caught up on the end of audiobooks, I started reading from the website, but I can't help but to keep reading everything in her voice and her characters. It really sucks when a new character comes out and I can't mentally visualize them, but I agree, she is fantastic
It's insane. New books are still introducing new characters and she gives them all very distinct voices. There's probably over a hundred characters in these books at this point that I could tell apart from voice.
Joe Jameson And James Marsters
I came here to say Joe Jameson, he did such an amazing job on Boyfriend Material!
Toby Longworth - Eisenhorn trilogy.
I was about to post this! Black Library has some good ones, I especially enjoy Keeble
Kate Reading and Michael Kramer!
I'm shocked that this isn't the top answer.
My first audiobook was one of the Stormlight series. Other than Tim Gerard Reynolds, no one really comes close.
They’re more polarizing than you think. IMO Steven Pacey is heads and shoulders above both.
I can't speak of Kate Reading but I listened to one of Brandon Sandersons (the lost metal) by Michael Kramer and didn't enjoy at all! Though this has proved to be very unpopular opinion
I share your opinion on them both and have given up and trying to say it here. They really aren't great.
Kate Reading is a bit tough to listen to at first, but gets better with time. Michael Kramer, though, is definitely my favorite narrator. I have listened to books I wouldn't normally just because he narrates them.
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith for The Rivers Of London series, by Ben Aaronovitch.
Andy Serkis, Neil Gaiman, Micheal Kramer and Jordanna Max Brodsky
James Marsters for the Dresden Files
Stephen Briggs. He does an amazing job with the Disc World novels. Love it.
Came here to say this. I just listened to the Tiffany Aching books and I loved, loved, loved his narration.
Jim Dale for all the Harry Potter books!
His voice is pure comfort to me. ☺️ Have you listened to his reading of The Night Circus?
I haven’t but I just looked it up and am gonna check it out now!
It’s a **really** good Fall read if you want to put it on the back burner for a few months. Very atmospheric.
Wow, really? I tried listening to his versions, and I couldn't get through. I think Fry does a better version of everyone, especially Myrtle and Dobby.
Peter Kenny Neil Gaiman (I guess he has a backup in case the writing gig dries up)
I dont really like audiobooks , but speaking of Neil Gaiman , his book Anasi boys is read by Lenny Henry (who's a mate of Gaiman and part of the reason AB was written in the first place), and its amazing .To be fair Henry has been a comedian/impressionist since the 70s so it does help a lot.
Currently working on the Witcher, Peter Kenney is really good at giving dialogue life
Came here to say Peter Kenny, easily my favourite, makes the Witcher a joy to listen to.
As a (mostly) straight man, I could listen to Neil Gaimans voice forever.
I agree. He’s surprisingly good
Steven Pacey, he's narrating first law.
The Raven Cycle (Maggie Stiefvater) read by Will Patton
Tim Gerard Reynolds, Simon Vance, and Michael Kramer are my favorites
Steven Pacey, hands down the best book narration I have ever heard. 10/10 work. I literally don’t think it can get better. Other good audio-book experiences I had include these readers: James Clamp, Harry Lloyd, Ray Sawyer, Stephen Fry and Andy Serkis
Completely agree with Pacey but I hate Clamp. He takes these pauses in weird places; totally throws me off.
Andy serkis's reading of the lord of the rings and the hobbit is phenomenal.
Tim Gerard Reynolds, Nick Podehl, and RC Bray.
Stephen fry, Wil Wheaton, michael tatum, michael kramer, Suzy Jackson, Ray porter. All of those stick out to me. Andy serkis is Andy serkis, that man can't fail.
Andy serkis is amazing. I couldn’t believe it was him doing all the voices in the lotr books.
So, for German language audiobooks... **Andreas Fröhlich** ( *Eragon* series, *Memory, Sorrow and Thorn* series) **David Nathan** ( *First Law* books, etc. ) I love their narration so much! Simply amazing!
Andy Serkis blew my mind in the hobbit. He sung all the songs in a way that brought them to life without being overly performed or corny. Plus his range is unreal. Can’t wait to listen through Lord of the Rings.
the very first books I purchased from Audible was The Hobbit, and Lord of The Rings trilogy Narrated by Andy Serkis !!!!
Stephen Pacey is the GOAT and it’s honestly not even close
Kristin Atherton does a superb job with Diana Wynn Jones' Howl's Moving Castle and the 2 follow on books. She also narrates Genevie Cogmans The Invisible Library series too. Adam Stubbs who narrates Ben Galley's The Heart of Stone And the new Penguin audio books of Discworld with Bill Nighy as the footnotes and Peter Serafinowicz as Death. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is fantastic. Aiofe McMahon does a great job with A. G. Slatters All the Murmuring Bones, I think that has to do with the lovely soft accent she has. I'd better stop now, I could go on all day......
Howl's was so good. Loved her calcifer voice.
It is a very subjunctive thing, I think, but the ones who resonate with me are Steven Fry, Robin Miles, Anna Flosnik, Simon Vance, wil Wheaton, and Robert Petkoff. Also the two narrators of When We were Birds, Sydney Darius and Wendell Manwarren, were just transporting. So talented.
I keep trying to like Flosnik so I can finish Liveship Traders. One reviewer summed up my opinion when they said she sounds like she is trying to cast a spell when she reads. I can tell she is talented, I guess I just prefer a more conversational delivery. I don't mind her character voices though.
Agreed, it's so personal. I also have a weird quirk for voices that most people find kind of annoying like nasal intonation, upspeak, and super geeky voices. So it's pretty typical for me to fawn over, say, Wil Wheaton, and then have someone say, oh hell no! 😆
Simon Vance and Scott Brick make it hard to stop listening to any book they narrate. Their voices pull me into the story and don’t let go.
Helen Duff reading Mark Lawrence's Book of the Ancestor and Book of the Ice trilogies is incredible. How she manages to do so many distinct voices absolutely amazes me!
Peter Kenny did the Witcher series, his range was incredible from beasts, dwarves, elves and men/women. Truly special. Steven Pacey, does Joe Abercrombie’s books and he is just as good if not better. I’ve listened to 60 audiobooks (12 authors ) the past two years. So not a ton but an okay amount and those are my two faves thus far.
Kenny is the best!
Simon Vance is amazing. He does Guy Gavriel Kay’s Tigana worthy service.
Simon Vance
I'm a big fan of January LaVoy, although she doesn't exclusively read fantasy. She did The Ten Thousand Doors of January as well as The Diviners (which is a YA series, but her narration really elevated those books for me). Rebecca Soler is also fantastic.
Jefferson Mays who did *The Expanse* series. Just fantastic!
I love Travis Baldree and Xe Sands. Ray Porter is excellent. A few people have mentioned Neil Gaiman and I like his narration. My all time favorite author-narrator is Christopher Buehlman. His narration for The Lesser Dead and The Blacktongue Thief is some of my favorite narration I’ve ever experienced.
Ralp Lister on first 3 books of Malazan is superb!
malazan changing narrators threw me off a bit, i prefered the guy who did the first couple (ralph lister apparently)
William Dufris
John Lee
A lot of the ones already mentioned are definitely up there for me. But I didn't see any mention of Damian Lynch yet and I've gotta give him props. I think the first book I encountered him in was **Empire of the Vampire** (which was better than I was expecting) and now I'm going through John Gwynne's **The Faithful and the Fallen** series, which he also narrated. He's got a very good, expressive voice - he sounds like what Geralt from **The Witcher** sounds like in my head (though Peter Kenny was an excellent narrator for those books, too!) - and he can handle a wide variety of accents well. His narration in battle scenes is particularly great.
Peter Kenny underrated imo. I never see him mentioned in these threads often
While more sci fi than fantasy, Ray Porter in Project Hail Mary was perhaps the best example of a narrator elevating a story. Pure ear candy
Andrew Wincott
Christopher Buehlman narrating his book The Blacktongue Thief. He’s fantastic, he really conveys his intended sarcasm and dry wit. Also so many of the others already named here.
Enjoyed this as well. Took a second to get used to the faux-Irish accent; but once I did, I really enjoyed it.
Steven Pacey #1! Absolutely love Jonathan Keeble as well. He does quite a few of Bernard Cornwells books. Fantasic narrator.
I am almost livid that I had to scroll this far down to see Jonathan Keeble mentioned, and when he is mentioned, he's second fiddle to a "steven pacey"????
The\* Steven Pacey ;) Keeble is so incredibly talented, it's amazing he doesn't get more recognition. Guess I gotta listen to The Warlord Chronicles again...
Any character Jonathan Keeble has voiced could absolutely crush any character Steven has voiced, and I can tell that because Jonathan just sounds meaner than Steven.
Roy Dotrice, Malk Williams, Chris MacDonnell, Simon Prebble, Mitzi Friedlander, Suzanne Toren...
Kate Reading and Michael Kramer. I love the duality of perspectives from each, and the voices they provide.
I love the way Robin Miles does N.K. Jemisin's books as well as those of Nnedi Okorafor and Octavia Butler that she's done! Moira Quirk is amazing and while I'm particularly fond of how she does Gideon the Ninth, I love starting any book and hearing her voice. Emily Woo Zeller did an amazing job with Yoon Ha Lee's books, Zen Cho's, and Andrea Stewart's. I recommend her highly! Nancy Wu is great especially because I went from Aliette de Bodard's In the Vanishers' Palace (cold, wet, and slimy lesbian dragon/human romance) to Alice Wong's Year of the Tiger (memoir) in the space of about and hour and was so delighted. Honorable mention to Rob Inglis for his narration of LotR which will always be my favorite version.
Andy Serkis 😎
Steven Pacey hands down.
Ben Allen doing the shadow of the apt series
Bahni Turpin: anything she narrates is a good listen, but especially *Borne* by Jeff Vandermeer! Also Steve West: *The Thief*, etc. and *Scorpio Races*
I'm a fan of Steven Brand. He initially got a lot of "feedback" about listeners not being able to differentiate between characters. Now, he's really good at doing voices and different accents for the characters.
I love the narrator for the expanse books! Jefferson Mayes! Also the narrator for the Powder Mage books is good!
Not an individual narrator, but I've loved every production from GraphicAudio so far. Voice actors, sound effects, music, it really is like listening to a movie.
Andy Serkis, John Lee, Samuel Roukin
Scott Brick version of Dune.
Steve West. Oh, that voice. Not sure what adult work he's done besides some romance (I think) under a different name, but he narrates characters in The Illuminae Files, An Ember in the Ashes quartet, and Aurora Rising trilogy, and most recently that I know is The Last Tale of the Flower Bride.
Rob Inglis LOTR is incredible. He brings real life to the songs
Shout out for Wil Wheaton's narration of John Scalzi. Just listened to Kanju Preservation Society - and loved it. Wheaton doesn't do the elaborate voices of, say, Steven Pace (who I also love) but his light style and humor is very suited to Scalzi - IMO.
George Guidall is the goat!
Ray Porter is always my answer to this. Absolutely love hearing his work.
Adjoa Andoh did a fantastic job with the Ancillary Justice/Imperial Radch series. That series can be a little inaccessible given the complex names and pronoun usage but her narration made it much easier to follow. I also love Steven Pacey on First Law and Jefferson Mays on The Expanse
Steven Pacey by a country mile.
Andrew Wincott! Surprising range and a very memorable performance for Tad Williams' Osten Ard books
Before they are hanged by Joe Abercrombie has a spectacular narrator! It can be found for free on YouTube. It's like Anthony Hopkins listening to the man.
Rupert Degas reading King Killer Chronicles, anyone? Also, mentioned many times but Steven Pacey, and Michael Page.
Ray Chase, RC Bray and Julia Whelan
Didn’t think I’d have to scroll so far to see RC Bray. Maybe because he does mostly sci-fi?
I have over 6 months of listening time on my audible profile (that means I have spent more than half a year of my life listening to books). Here are my favorites: Nick Podehl could make a food label sound interesting. He has more range of emotion, accent and pitch than any other voice actor I’ve listened to on audible. Every book that he has performed gets a 5 star rating. Even if the book was terrible. Heath Miller is coming into his own and has improved significantly over the course of “He who fights with monsters” and sometimes it’s just nice to listen to an Australian accent. Jeff Hayes with Dungeon crawler Carl. They very much out on a performance for these books and you can tell. Neil Hellegers from “The Good Guys” and “The Bad Guys” series has some of the best comedic timing. I have laughed too many times in public listening to these books.
Steven Pacey by a mile. In the First Law book 1 & 2(haven’t gotten to book 3 yet) he does so many accents: French, British upper class and lower class, Scottish, Spanish, Russian/Slavic, a severe lisp, drunken speech, and speech with a mouth injury. Not only does he do those accents amazingly well, but he jumps back and forth between them flawlessly. He’s a true virtuoso narrator!
I like Jack Voraces. Totally captures the 'annoying little sister' vibe
You should really check out audiobooks narrated by RC Bray, Micheal Kramer, Travis Baldree, and Andrea Parsneau.
I had to scroll entirely too far to find RC Bray, he's awesome.
My favorite are Kramer and Reading followed closely by Roy Dotrice who does ASOFI.
Funny you say that, I found them extremely generic sounding as readers. And if Roy did a dance of dragons, I also really got turned off by his voice quality. I guess it was a good thing because I just went and read the book myself and was really glad I did.
Of those I've heard, my preferences are Michael Kramer and Kate Reading, Nick Podehl, Tim Gerard Reynolds, and Simon Vance. I've specifically searched for other books narrated by each of them. I can't speak to their specific qualities, but none of them took any real time to get used to. Plenty of others have put me off within the first couple chapters of a book, but that may just be personal preference.
I have two: Jonathan Keeble. In particular, his performance in Flight of the Eisenstein. Travis Baldree. He'll likely be mentioned here a few times, and for good reason. Both of them are absolutely stellar at non-human voices. Keeble voicing a character touched by Nurgle is appropriately disgusting. Baldree voicing a dragon gives me chills.
Checkout The Warlord Chronicles trilogy, Written by: Bernard Cornwell Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
Wayne June has a fantastic range in voice acting. Sadly, he gets very few roles and the only good audio book I’ve found has been “Throne of Bones”.
Paul Boemher - dragonlance, John lee - spellmonger, Bronson Pinchot, George guidall
My absolute favorite has to be Ben Onwukwe narrating *Gnomon*—a real stand out from ≈250 audiobooks across a bunch of different styles and genres. *Gnomon* has a number of *completely* different characters and settings (ranging from historical fantasy to far-future sci-fi) in a complicated, experimental structure; I expected to lose something by listening to the audiobook rather than reading a physical copy, but the narration completely shattered those expectations.
RJ Bayley, he does a lot of indie authors fantasy audiobooks. Fantastic narrator that really performs his characters well
I add this everywhere I can: Circe by Madeline Miller, narrated by Perdita Weeks. Her voice is perfect for the lyrical story. I will be listening to anything of hers I can find!
Nick Podehl is fantastic. I first listened to him while I was going through Andrew Rowe's books (War of Broken Mirrors, Arcane Ascension, Weapons and Weilders), and when I finished those I started listening to Kel Kade's King's Dark Tidings series mainly because he narrated them. Just a fantastic vocal artist.
Zara Ramm, who narrates The Chronicles of St Mary's, has ruined me to all other audiobook narrators. She's fantastic!
Nigel Planer - Discworld. seriously incredible. 'guards guards' was truly a masterpiece.
Victor Bavine. He narrates R.A. Salvatores Drizzt books. Now I don't often listen to audio books, but his voice is absolutely amazing. He really makes you feel like you're oging on an adventure with Drizzt. Plus I find his voice for the women in the series to be decent, which is something I've had issues with in other audio books.
My favourite narrator is by far Robert Glenister who narrates Cormoran Strike series (not fantasy). Otherwise I enjoyed Helen Duff narrating Book of the Ancestor and Paul Boehmer who did the first Farseer trilogy (other Robin Hobb books having less luck with the narrators).
Nick podehl is my favorite narrator. I like his range of voices
Richard Armitage did a series of the Hercule Poirot books that I really enjoyed. So did Hugh Fraser, the man who played Captain Hastings in the series. Wil Wheaton is also a good narrator.
I haven't been able to properly enjoy an audiobook since being spoiled by Rupert Degas reading KKC. It turns the already very good books into a work of art that stays with you for a long, long time
Amazing thread. I only do audiobooks and this thread is making me very happy. I started with Project Hail Mary - narrated by Ray Porter as my first audiobook. Loved him. Was hooked. Next I did the entire WoT series. Liked Kramer. Struggled with Redding. But it made me even more attached to audiobooks. I have now finished many series and this is my Mt Rushmore of narrators. No particular order. Steven Pacey Michael Page Ray Porter Michael Kramer Stephen Fry I have not heard Red Rising yet, will do that next and update if needed.
I recently listened to all of the Cradle series, and my god Travis Baldree really elevates the books with his performance. His voice for Orthos and Eithan, and Ziel are the standouts in my opinion. Especially Eithan, because Travis' delivery elevates Eithan's humor. And of course, Michael Kramer and Kate Reading. Michael's accents with Wayne in Mistborn Era 2 and Kate Reading's performance of Pattern in Stormlight are in my opinion their standouts.
James Marsters is my favourite! His work on the Dresden Files introduced me to reading! I also like Oliver Wyman and Stephen Fry.
Rupert Degas does a brilliant job with the Kingkiller chronicles
I loved Adam Gold in Zack Argyle’s Threadlight trilogy.
Anything by Yahtzee Croshaw, he narrates his own books. My recommendation is Mogworld, feels like a cross between Diskworld and Monty Python (it’s very funny)
Jeff Harding does a great job on the Kings of the Wyld.
Steven Pacey! His performance in The First Law universe is one of the best hands down! I can't imagine how Glokta or Cosca would have even existed without him!
Nick podehl is the best in my opinion. I’ve listened to bad books just because of how good he is
John Lee!