The Sword and Laser discussion
What Else Are You Reading?
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What's a good audiobook to pick if you're picking your very first audiobook ever?
I'd go for some Terry Pratchett. Always well read, and good for a chuckle too.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as read by Stephen Fry. Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner has full sound effects so its a bit like hearing the tv on in the next room.
Kate Reading is a wonderful narrator, so look for her name (I listened to Jim Butcher's Codex Alera series)
Well listening to The Name of the Wind narrated by Rupert Degas is like having liquid chocolate being poured into your mouth with a hefty chunk of log cake to follow up. But you've already read that. I see you have The Dresden files books on your to read list so I think that's a great choice for audio - James Marsters (Spike form Buffy) narrates those and he just gets better as the series goes on.
You may like The Lies of Locke Lamora - excellent audio narration by Michael Page
You may like The Blade Itself narrated by Steven Pacey - excellent way to enjoy the First Law Universe by Joe Abercrombie
I think they are my current favourite narrators
I'd say start with a book you've already read in book form so you can compare. Good Omens is a good one. I like full cast productions, but they aren't really representative of the whole idea. Anything lively. Oh, and make sure you listen to a sample so you know the narrator doesn't annoy you.
A few guidelines I follow:1) Never get a book you've read. The voices wont sound right compared to the ones you had previously imagined.
2) Always preview on Audible.com. Bad narrators destroy good books. John Lee and Toby Longworth are great narrators!
3) Avoid YA. Mainly for rule #2. Men reading as teenagers sound far too winey.
4) Trust reviews but trust your gut more. This is the same for picking a book in any format.
Dune was pretty awesome! It's kind of a mix of full cast and regular narration. They have different narrators for the characters, and usually when there is a chunk of uninterrupted dialogue, it will switch to full cast.
There is some good information here. I agree on the recommendation to start with a book you've already read. Keep in mind that the narrator can make or break an audiobook. When looking for audiobooks, I look for narrator reviews. Some of my favorite narrators are Grover Gardner, Roy Dotrice (he does the Song of Ice and Fire books), Stephen Fry, Michael Kramer, and Kate Reading. I also like Luke Daniels, but I know that people can be hit or miss with him (some people find him too dry). Books I've enjoyed in audio form:Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
Among Others
Wheel of Time books
A Song of Ice and Fire books
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
The Night Circus
Ready Player One
Bossypants
His Majesty's Dragon
Hyperion
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Stephen Fry version, not the BBC version)
Those are some of them...I have been an Audible subscriber for almost 10 years. I have a lot of pages in my history of purchases, those are some of the highlights. I only got about 1/3 through before I realized the list was probably longer than you wanted to begin with. :D
terpkristin wrote: "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Stephen Fry version, not the BBC version)"I got the BBC version from Audible in a 2 for 1 sale last month. Had never read it, heresy I know, and I did not enjoy it very much. I liked the idea of the old radio play but the sound quality was very bad and varied a lot. Plus the sound effects sometimes were about 20x louder than the voices and I would have to keep turning my volume up then down. Almost deafened myself a few times on the ride home. LoL.
Depends on your particular genre. While I usually have an audio book I try for Graphic audio products because its like listening to a movie as you walk but you may be spoiled if you want a wider range of books.
Travis is right bad narrators or voices that do not correspond to your taste are a path to disappointment.
If your into high fantasy with somewhat explicit content go for Night Angel Trilogy by Brent weeks the Trilogy is complete so you won't be in anticipation for years for it to finish and I'm pretty sure its available for Graphic audio and audio books.
I'm glad to see so many mentions of about bad narrators, but let me add to it. Narrators which work well for some people will fail for others. For example, I think Stephen King's narration of Bag of Bones is great, but I've read reviews claiming he does a horrible job. If you listen to a recommended narrator and think they suck, don't give up. Do like Michele said and try out the samples.
If you can get a copy of the Harry Potter UK edition, do it. Stephen Fry is the best narrator bar none.
I think I have about 370 audible books have been a member for 11 or so years. And in my humble opinion, the most amazing, engaging book is Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson. Actually it is not scifi or fantasy, but reads like it. Its the true story of deep water divers who discovered a u-boat of the coast of New Jersey. And the struggle and lose of life involved in identifying this boat and finding the crews family, truly fantastic book and story
my very first one was American Gods... I don't know if that would be a good one for EVERYONE but I now make a point to listen to that book every year to celebrate my anniversary of listening to it for the first time
upside to American Gods: audiobook has a cast and is amazing, Neil Gaiman reads all the Coming to America bits, It's an amazing book with some amazing ideas and characters, it's an amazing road trip around america.down sides: it might be hard for some people to pick up and go with it, people have complained that Shadow is hard to relate to, some feel the story wanders too much.
I started with World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, which seemed - and was - well suited for the audio format, being an oral history and whatnot. Also had some familiar voices, like Alan Alda. Not heavy plot-wise, so no huge strain on an untrained listener.
Some of my favorite audobooks especially due to the narrator are, - Storm Front (or any of the Dresden Files novels) by Jim Butcher narration by James Marsters
- Lord of the Rimgs Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien narration by Rob Inglis
- Neverwhere and Stardust by Neil Gaiman narration by the author.
Hope this helps
David Sven wrote: "Well listening to The Name of the Wind narrated by Rupert Degas is like having liquid chocolate being poured into your mouth with a hefty chunk of log cake to follow up. But you've al..."David, you're in the UK, right? Here in the States, The Name of the Wind is narrated by Nick Podehl. He does an astounding job with both that and the sequel, The Wise Man's Fear. I highly recommend it.
For a first listen though, I would recommend something a bit shorter, preferably a first person narrative, with a great narrator. I love The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne. They're narrated by Luke Daniels. He's one of the best narrators out there in my opinion.
Although not fantasy, I can't recommend Gone Girl highly enough. The narration makes that book even better in my opinion.
I always listen to the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs in audio. Lorelei King is Mercy Thompson.
The Glamourist Histories, written and narrated by Mary Robinette Kowal are well worth listening to. I read the first as an ebook and listened to the second. I'll be finishing the series in audio. Kowal does a lot of narration and can always be depended on for a great listen. The fact that she wrote this series is just icing on the cake.
On the science fiction side, try Margaret Atwood's apocalyptic trilogy consisting of Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood and MaddAddam. I read the first two in print, then listened to them as a re-read before the third came out. I loved them in print, but they were so much better in audio.
Sandi wrote: "David, you're in the UK, right? Here in the States, The Name of the Wind is narrated by Nick Podehl. "I'm in Australia but I think we get all the UK narrators. But I hated Nick Podehl in The Garden of Stones.
Another good pick for a first is Princess Bride. It's short and familiar and well done by Rob Reiner. It kinda fits the S&L space.
The above posts are absolutely right about trying something read by the writer. There's a certain extra...something...that's added when they're delivering their work to you personally. Works best if they're also actors or, like Kowal, a seasoned audio book pro. Stephen Fry, oh, Stephen Fry. He can give a dozen different characters seperate voices in one scene without resorting to mimicking accents. Oh, it's not fantasy, but I thought Mark Gatiss' reading of his novel, The Vesuvius Club, was amazing because he brings years of acting and screenwriting to the table when he reads his work.
And yes, listen to The Cumberbatch narrating anything in his Sherlock voice as a favour to your ears (I listened to Kafka's The Metamorphosis).
These are all great suggestions! I ended up picking Lies of Locke Lamora, the audio sample on audible really convinced me. I've already listened a bit and I really like it! But I'll definitely check back here when I'm finished and need help picking my next book. Some of your tips seem really intriguing (Cumberbatch reading Kafka? That must be really something). Anyways, thanks a bunch guys! :)
Related: are there any books you guys would recommend that are BEST as audiobooks? Ones that you would insist a friend listen to because you gain something from the medium?
The two audiobooks that got me interested in the medium were:Anansi Boys read by Lenny Henry
The Pleasure of My Company read by Steve Martin
After listening to these, I realized that listening could be just as rewarding as reading.
Cast narratons give a tremendously more immersive experience than single narrators.Hyperion, for example, is a triumph. Also, Ender's had three narrators and was pretty slick (they now have an ensemble cast version which must be even better).
A book that would have benefited from several narrators was definitely Downbelow Station
Favorite narrators: Victor Bevine and Stefan Rudnicki
The easier answer is who are the best narrators. My favorites ar: Linda Emon, Simon Vance, Khristine Hvam and of course the master himself, Stephen Fry. Actors often make the best narrators.
My favorite audiobook is outside the S&L genre. Elliott Gould reading the Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlow tales couldn't be better. If you enjoy that genre it would be an excellent place to start. The BBC audio dramas also very good.
The only audiobook I've listened to twice has been "Diamond Age" by Neal Stephenson ( the first time on audio cassette). Although I've never read it in print, I think the audiobook is perfect for this story. A good chunk of the novel is based on a woman reading a story to a young girl. So the fact that you have a woman narrating the book to you just feels right. This isn't even my favorite of Neal's books, but it is great for the medium.
The nearest to audiobook narration perfection that I've encountered was Frank Muller reading All Quiet on the Western Front or I Heard the Owl Call My Name.
Caitlin wrote: "Related: are there any books you guys would recommend that are BEST as audiobooks? Ones that you would insist a friend listen to because you gain something from the medium?"I would say a full cast production of Bram Stoker's Dracula. That was one I never could finish in print but the audio book made it impossible to stop listening to. It was amazing.
Okay, this is going to sound ridiculous... but in all seriousness, my all-time favorite audio-books are the "Hank the Cowdog" series. Read by the author, who does ALL the voices... and even sings a little, this series is pure silliness, but really, really fun to listen to. It's the only case where I think the audio-books are BETTER than reading the books for myself.If you want more fantasy/sci-fi feel, though, the original Star Wars Radio Drama is very good (not audio-book, per se, but a nice way to ease into the world of audio-books). Also, the Hobbit, read by Rob Ingles is very good.
The Chronicles of Narnia audio-books are very well-done as well.
I think the audio books for the Robert Jordan series are pretty well done, and I've only listened to about half of it, but I really enjoyed the audio-book for Tom Clancy's "Rainbow Six."
There, that should be just eclectic enough to be a little helpful. LOL
Micah wrote: "I got the BBC version from Audible in a 2 for 1 sale last month. Had never read it, heresy I know, and I did not enjoy it very much. I liked the idea of the old radio play but the sound quality was very bad and varied a lot. Plus the sound effects sometimes were about 20x louder than the voices and I would have to keep turning my volume up then down. Almost deafened myself a few times on the ride home. LoL."I listened to the version with Douglas Adams as narrator, I liked it a lot. I don't know why, but full cast audio productions have always bothered me.
Sandi wrote: "Although not fantasy, I can't recommend Gone Girl highly enough. The narration makes that book even better in my opinion."This was a well narrated book. The best praise I can give to an audio book is when I start doing chores just so I have an excuse to keep listening and Gone Girl did that for me. However the ending. . . . uggh the ending . . . . I've read thousands of books and no ending of any book has ever frustrated me more and made me want to punch holes in walls. Its why I'm very happy the author wrote a different ending to be adapted into the upcoming movie.
Going against what someone else said, my best advice is find a few books you really enjoyed in novel form or at least a new novel by an author whom you reliably enjoy and try those. Try a couple like this that have different narrators just in case the first narrator wasn't very good. That will give you a good feel if audio books are for you.
Rik wrote: "Going against what someone else said, my best advice is find a few books you really enjoyed in novel form or at least a new novel by an author whom you reliably enjoy and try those. Try a couple ..."That's actually pretty smart. It's a good way to teach yourself how to listen to audiobooks. Alternately, you could just pick something that's coming up as a book club pick. I tend to do that because I have more time for audiobooks than text.
I have just recently finished listening to The Gormenghast Novels as narrated by Rupert Degas; and while Gormenghast may not be for everyone, I can do nothing but GUSH over Mr. Degas as narrator! Thank you David Sven, above, for informing me that one of the best fantasy novels (The Name of the Wind) has been narratted by one of my new favorite narrators! I will be buying this one soon!I would also suggest The Ocean at the End of the Lane for it is narrated by Neil Gaiman himself and is a fairly short and lovely story.
The Magicians and The Magician King are both well done and good fantasy stories. They are two of a very short list of audiobooks that I will keep to relisten to eventually.
Stephanie wrote: " Thank you David Sven, above, for informing me that one of the best fantasy novels (The Name of the Wind) has been narratted by one of my new favorite narrators! :)
Not a big fan of the "radio dramas" however,the dramatic reading of Pullman's "His Dark Materials" series is very well done.
I agree with Stephanie about The Ocean at the End of the Lane. It is a dream to listen to. Gaiman reads it excellently, so even when I was listening in a distracting environment, I never missed a word.
Caitlin wrote: "Related: are there any books you guys would recommend that are BEST as audiobooks? Ones that you would insist a friend listen to because you gain something from the medium?"Only IF one is already a fan of the book, I would suggest Anathem in audio book. The added music/ chanting and definitions at the beginning of chapters read by Neal Stephenson, really bring something extra special to the experience. But for people who have not read the book before it can be...well...confusing (for this I apologize to any unfortunate s trapped in my car during my Anathem phase >.> )
The Dresden Files are pretty good, narrated (mostly) by James Marsters. Of those I have listened to within the genre I would recommend these Boneshaker, Carrie, Neverwhere, Let The Right One In, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, This Book is Full of Spiders, The Dirty Streets of Heaven and Among Others. To be honest I think if you subscribe to Audible you tend to get pretty good quality when it comes to narrators.
Caitlin wrote: "Related: are there any books you guys would recommend that are BEST as audiobooks? Ones that you would insist a friend listen to because you gain something from the medium?"Just finished listening to "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" by Dave Eggars (purchased from Humble Bundle, not Audible). Not sure who the reader is, but he really brings to life what I might otherwise have tossed aside as self-indulgent, blathering crap.
Simon Vance is uniformly great, and the characters in Richard K. Morgan's foray into sword and sorcery, "The Steel Remains," are indelibly impressed on my mind as a result of his reading. Ditto Simon Slater in Hilary Mantel's historical fiction 'Wolf Hall' (switching to Simon Vance for the sequel, which I have not yet read/heard).
Probably the best wedding of reader and material I've yet heard is Richard Poe reading Cormac McCarthy's 'Blood Meridian.'
Also: some find him annoying, but I snap up anything read by Wil Wheaton, esp. Scalzi books. Ear candy...
I have been listening to audio books for over 10 years, some of my favorites are Snow Crash ready player one, name of the wind, but I think my favorite is Pandora's Star. These are due to the narration not necessarily the story.
Take a look at what your local library offers. You might get to try before you buy. My local library Offers 10s maybe of 100s of thousands of audio books. It has Overdrive, One Click, Hoopla, and some other products. Some are easier to use than others. Some only work on some platforms (such as smart phone only). I use Overdrive books on my MP3 player and Hoopla and one Click on my phone.
This is not to say anything bad about Audible. I will buy some not at the library, others with too long a waiting list or some that are just so good after listening to them from the library I want a copy.
Talk to the librarian about setting up accounts, what devices work best, formats offered and so on.
This is not to say anything bad about Audible. I will buy some not at the library, others with too long a waiting list or some that are just so good after listening to them from the library I want a copy.
Talk to the librarian about setting up accounts, what devices work best, formats offered and so on.
Highly recommend Patrick Rothfuss' ''the name of the wind'', narrated by Rupert Degas. Excellently done by a veteran radio actor.
Jacob M. wrote: "Highly recommend Patrick Rothfuss' ''the name of the wind'', narrated by Rupert Degas. Excellently done by a veteran radio actor."I would love to get that version. Didn't care for the U.S. reader (though many apparently love his work). In fact, I lemmed the audiobook and finished reading on good old fashioned paper.
Thanks to everyone who answered my sub-question!
The Sword and Laser
Books mentioned in this topic
Anathem (other topics)The Gormenghast Novels (other topics)
The Name of the Wind (other topics)
The Ocean at the End of the Lane (other topics)
The Magicians (other topics)
More...
But. I don't know what to pick, so I'm looking for suggestion. What is a good audiobook to start up with if you haven't listened to one ever? Preferably something fantasy with good narration?