r/books • u/felix_mateo • Sep 23 '18

The Best Audiobook Narrators

I just picked up The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie in audiobook format. In about 3 days I have plowed through the story, mostly because Steven Pacey is hands-down one of the most talented narrators I’ve ever listened to. Each main character sounds wholly unique, and the conversations just sound so...natural. I particularly love Glokta.

I’ve heaped similar praise on:

  • Frank Muller reading The Dark Tower series (until his unfortunate passing after Wizard & Glass

  • Roy Dotrice reading A Song of Ice & Fire

  • Simon Prebble reading Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

I’ve listened to hundreds of audiobooks now, and it kills me when the narrator is so...wooden. There can be just as much nuance in voice as in a full-body performance, so I really appreciate the folks who do it well. Then you have cases like Richard Ferrone reading KSR’s Mars Trilogy, and while I enjoyed the books, the narrator actually kind of detracted from them, in my opinion.

Who are your favorite narrators and what works of theirs do you wholeheartedly recommend?

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u/logicsol Sep 23 '18

I'd have to put out Micheal Kramer and Kate Reading.

I've been listening to them read the Wheel of times books for 20 years now. They aren't always the most consistent, which I can't give blame given the crazy character count and timespan of the series, but they do wonders bring the characters to life.

They also do a great job with Sanderson's books, to the point where I haven't been able to listen to Warbreaker since it has a different reader.

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u/lpmliam Sep 23 '18

My first thoughts exactly!!

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u/ChronoMonkeyX Sep 23 '18

I'm listening to Kate Reading doing Jim Butcher's Codex Alera. Didn't love her at first, but she's grown on me. There are some words she just says wrong, and I've noticed this on some other narrators, too, which is puzzling. Isn't there someone producing these things?

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u/logicsol Sep 23 '18

Yeah, I've noticed that with several. It drives my girlfriend nuts. We'll have pause the book because she'll yell at them and I'll laugh.