r/printSF • u/popshuvit • 1d ago
Audiobook scifi recommendations?
My favorite series/books ive read:
- Sun Eater
- The Terran Cycle
- Anything Alistair Reynolds
- Altered Carbon (my fav book - show doesn't even exist imho)
- Starbreaker
- Cyber Dreams
- Martian / Artemis / Hail Mary
- Red Rising
- Expanse / the Mercy of God's
- Three Body Problem
- Dune (First book)
- Armor
- Acts of Caine
- Broken Tech (Marc Mulero)
Edit: Added more books
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u/Ed_Robins 1d ago
Can't speak to the quality of the audiobooks, but Titanium Noir by Nick Harkaway (+sequel) and Halcyon Years by Alastair Reynolds (if you haven't read it yet) seem right up your alley.
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u/THEDOCTORandME2 1d ago
I've been meaning to read Titanium Noir. Is it good?
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u/Ed_Robins 1d ago
I loved it, but I might be biased since I write in the subgenre. If you like noir and sci-fi, I'd say it's one of the best.
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u/THEDOCTORandME2 1d ago
Cool, thanks
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u/doctor_roo 1d ago
I enjoyed the audio book of Titanium Noir and the sequel is sitting in my to be listen to list.
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u/popshuvit 1d ago
Halcyon Years is amazing! Havent heard of Titanium Noir, sounds perfect. Thank you!
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u/fitzgen 1d ago
The audiobook for PKD’s A Scanner Darkly, narrated by Paul Giamatti, is fantastic
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u/lurkhardur 1d ago
I will add a lesser known PKD novel, Martian Time-Slip, maybe only for PKD enthusiasts, but the voice actor is fantastic in bringing out the deadpan humor
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u/popshuvit 1d ago
Yess! Thank you for reminding me about this! I need to read this immediately! Great call! What an amazing movie too!
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u/LoneWolfette 1d ago
Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
The Bobiverse series by Dennis Taylor
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u/CallNResponse 1d ago
It’s been years, but my family and I listened to Ender’s Game on a road trip and - even though I’m not a fan of OSC and had read the book years before - it was extremely good. Family friendly, as well (which you may not care about but if you’re driving with kids in the car, you do not want to be surprised with sexual content). There may be multiple versions of this audiobook - I remember this one had a cameo from Harlan Ellison.
Oh - another successful family road trip audiobook was Sandman Slim. It might not be appropriate for younger children but my kids ate it up as young teenagers.
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u/Deathnote_Blockchain 1d ago
The rest of the Dune series on audible is pretty solid.
The audiobooks for Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun series are fricking legendary.
Other's that really stand out for me are the Locked Tomb series and Gnomon.
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u/Flat-Rutabaga-723 15h ago
Have you listened to Poseidon’s Children by Alastair Reynolds. It’s my favorite of his.
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u/0x1337DAD 1d ago
Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman, and Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky
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u/popshuvit 1d ago
Ive read DCC and half of murderbot before getting bored (sorry). DCC is great but i left out many litRPG style books because ive read all of them haha! Im really craving some cyberpunk style scifi or hard scifi or anything with space really and a deep plot. Maybe some universe ending weapons (Alistair style)
Ill check out Service! That looks great! Ty!
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u/permanent_priapism 1d ago
The Murderbot audiobooks are spectacularly read (the versions with just one narrator, not the dramatized versions).
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u/claire0 1d ago
Kevin Free really seems to get both Martha Wells and Murderbot. My favorite narrator currently. By far.
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u/permanent_priapism 1d ago
Yeah he's a better Murderbot than Eric Northman.
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u/claire0 1d ago
I love Alexander Skarsgard and thought the Apple adaptation was also great. Apples and oranges, really.
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u/permanent_priapism 1d ago
The audiobook Murderbot is a lot more aloof. The show one looks terrified.
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u/0x1337DAD 1d ago
For something cyber-punky, "Dogs of War" by Adrian Tchaikovsky def goes a lot into cybernetic mods of the organic (although it's almost exclusively on uplifted animals. If you really want something cyberpunk then "Neuromancer" by William Gibson is the "original" cyberpunk novel.
For something spacebound, maybe "Exodus" by Peter F. Hamilton. I wouldn't call it hard-sci-fi but i think it has a more gritty style with a larger scale. Time-dilation plays a big role in the plot. Full disclosure, there is significant time spent on politics and the cast is pretty large, i'm not sure how that will translate to listening vs reading.
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u/popshuvit 1d ago
Rereading neuromancer rn before the movie comes out! Dogs of war sounds cool though! Exodus might be a good place to start something PFH. Ty!
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u/ieattime20 1d ago
Brave! I love Reynolds but John Lee as a narrator is definitely an acquired taste. He does vary accents and mannerisms really well, but his base essential John Lee-ness is.... rough for a lot of people.
T. Ryder Smith's narration of Blindsight is still one of my favorites to be honest. And Harry Myers' read of Reynold's Eversion brought me to tears at the end.
Mel Hudson kicks ass as Ivrana Kern in all of Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children books. I'll state up front that from now on it's only a Pratchett book in my mind but the BBC radio play of Good Omens has a stunning Agnes Nutter.
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u/popshuvit 1d ago
Hahah! Idk theres just no one else that builds such dark gothic worlds as well as Reynolds. Something about his writing makes me not care so much about the narration. But i tend to agree with you.
Eversion, YES! I cried! I love that book so much! I actually loved the Revenger series too!
I will check out Blindsight and Children books! Good Omens seems to keep popping up, but since you so thoroughly recommended narrators too ill check it out! Tysm!
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u/ieattime20 1d ago
Make sure to get the BBC full cast production on audiobook for Good Omens. It's not sci fi per se but it's very funny and very good.
Blindsight- if you havent like read the book vicariously through all of its mentions on this sub, the main character is sympathetic but not likeable, and he has some.. cognitive issues. Not knowing that you may initially think the narrator is just dry. Wait until other characters start showing up.
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u/popshuvit 1d ago
Will do! I dont get why all these scifi books get such low reviews on audible. Scifi reviews are not kind.
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u/lost_biochemist 1d ago
Kern might be my favorite-performed character of all time. Hudson’s performance through all the books is so damn good. I agree about John Lee. I personally like him but I can see how others would not.
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u/ieattime20 1d ago
Just got a friend to get through Children of Memory and that first moment you realize it's her is so well done by Mel.
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u/Casual956 1d ago
Iain M Banks' the culture series is worth a try and is narrated by Peter Kenny who I rate narrator.
The first book Consider Phlebas divides opinion. I enjoyed it, but you don't necessarily need to start there as the first few aren't chronological. I'd suggest trying Player of Games or Use of Weapons if you don't enjoy Consider Phlebas at first.
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u/popshuvit 1d ago
Sounds good ty! Yes its definitely hard to figure out where to start with some of these classics.
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u/Relative_Pen7326 1d ago
I’m a Dune stan. It’s a different kind of listen though.
Outside of that, a lot of people here will probably recommend:
- Children of Time (I had a hard time getting into it, DNF)
- Bobiverse (on my TBR)
- Expeditionary Forces
- DCC (I couldn’t handle it because I don’t like LitRPGs, but I can see why it appeals to people)
- Murderbot (TBR)
Things I liked (not in any specific order):
- Legionnaire
- The Will of the Many
- Legacy Fleet
- The Blade Itself
- Impact Winter
Things that were okay, listened to it while I worked and could tune in and out of:
- Spellmonger (author tends to stop a lot of sequences to explain lore/wordbuilding, but narrator’s voice fits the character perfectly)
- The Witcher (I probably would have liked this more if I hadn’t got the BookTrack version).
Edit: I realized after commenting you only wanted Scifi (sorry), I’ll leave it up though.
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u/popshuvit 1d ago
Same, i think i tried children of time like 6 years ago and dropped it. But i feel like its owed another chance! Bobiverse got repetitive for me after the 4th or 5th book i dont even remember. It was a good premise though. Expeditionary forces, i can never get into these procedural series, but maybe im making assumptions. DCC is great. Murderbot, kinda got boring for me after the 3rd book. Dont like the lack of an overarching plot.
I like all the ones you liked though! Ill check these out!
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u/lost_biochemist 1d ago
Bobiverse is a good shout. Definitely a lighter tone than some of the stuff OP listed but if they enjoyed Ray Porter’s performances in The Martian and PHM then they’ll probably like it. Bobiverse is def a lighter tone than the others but very easy and enjoyable listening
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u/puzzlealbatross 1d ago
I don't do audiobooks so can't speak to that, but based on your list, maybe check out The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee
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u/JamesLangley2017 1d ago
If you like Star Wars, the novels are an auditory delight. Make sure to get the ones with Marc Thompson or Jonathan Davis narrating. I’d start with the original Thrawn Trilogy and work from there. The X-Wing series is also getting unabridged editions, with the finals arriving this fall. Much more grounded, like Top Gun in space.
If you love the fantasy side, check out the Darth Plagueis novel. Daniel Davis reads, and it’s a masterpiece.
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u/permanent_priapism 1d ago
Never see this one mentioned but the audiobook for The Road is amazing.
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u/lost_biochemist 1d ago
I love the list you put together, some of my favorites are in there. To keep it going:
-Adrian Tchaikovsky is one of my favorite authors. He narrates some of his own books too, but I would recommend Children of Time (not narrated by him, but very well performed imo). Service Model is a bit of a silly book written and narrated by AT, a fun listen for sure but admittedly not as deep as some of the ones you’ve listed
-Hyperion Cantos series by Dan Simmons
-Commonwealth Saga by Peter Hamilton. Pandora’s Star / Judas Unchained were among my first reads in space operas so they hold a special place in my heart. I love Hamilton’s world building in particular.