2 years, 2 months ago
What are the best science fiction audiobooks?
Recently I've gotten into audiobooks.
The thing with audiobooks though is they vary a great deal in quality. Some good books are read in such a monotonous voice it's like listening to paint dry. Other times the sound quality is horrible and annoying.
On the other hand there are books that were hard going to read in paper form that come magically alive when read out loud by a great reader.
I have a pretty wide taste in books, but one type I like is sci-fi.
What do you think are the best sci-fi audiobooks?
The thing with audiobooks though is they vary a great deal in quality. Some good books are read in such a monotonous voice it's like listening to paint dry. Other times the sound quality is horrible and annoying.
On the other hand there are books that were hard going to read in paper form that come magically alive when read out loud by a great reader.
I have a pretty wide taste in books, but one type I like is sci-fi.
What do you think are the best sci-fi audiobooks?
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M$1 Answer
"The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" by Robert A. Heinlein
Classic sci-fi with Libertarian angle
The story is the from the viewpoint of a computer repairman of Russian decent on a colony on the moon during a revolution.
You can hear a lengthy sample here:
http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/enSearch/searchResults.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&N=0&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&D=moon+is+harsh+mistress&Dx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&Ntk=S_Keywords&Ntt=moon+is+harsh+mistress&x=0&y=0
"Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card
Brilliant young children go to "battle school" to be trained how to defend earth from a hostile insect-like race that attacked Earth.
Sample here:
http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_ALIT_000164&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes
If you like free audio dramas, Prometheus Radio Theater has a series of fully dramatized space opera stories called the "Arbiter Chronicles". For free material they are quite good. You can find them on iTunes or get them here:
http://www.prometheusradiotheatre.com/arbiters.php
Think of it as snarky character driven sci-fi with a hint of risque and irreverence.
If you like football, violence and aliens, you can try Scott Sigler's free audio podcast novel, "The Rookie":
http://www.podiobooks.com/title/the-rookie (he's made the New York Times Best Sellers list, but gives away all of his work as free audio books on his podcast and at podiobooks).
You can also find an extensive collection of free audio sci-fi stories at: http://escapepod.org/
They are somewhat hit and miss in terms of story quality, but they are usually decent with fair narration and you can't beat the price.
Enjoy.
Classic sci-fi with Libertarian angle
The story is the from the viewpoint of a computer repairman of Russian decent on a colony on the moon during a revolution.
You can hear a lengthy sample here:
http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/enSearch/searchResults.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&N=0&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&D=moon+is+harsh+mistress&Dx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&Ntk=S_Keywords&Ntt=moon+is+harsh+mistress&x=0&y=0
"Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card
Brilliant young children go to "battle school" to be trained how to defend earth from a hostile insect-like race that attacked Earth.
Sample here:
http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_ALIT_000164&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes
If you like free audio dramas, Prometheus Radio Theater has a series of fully dramatized space opera stories called the "Arbiter Chronicles". For free material they are quite good. You can find them on iTunes or get them here:
http://www.prometheusradiotheatre.com/arbiters.php
Think of it as snarky character driven sci-fi with a hint of risque and irreverence.
If you like football, violence and aliens, you can try Scott Sigler's free audio podcast novel, "The Rookie":
http://www.podiobooks.com/title/the-rookie (he's made the New York Times Best Sellers list, but gives away all of his work as free audio books on his podcast and at podiobooks).
You can also find an extensive collection of free audio sci-fi stories at: http://escapepod.org/
They are somewhat hit and miss in terms of story quality, but they are usually decent with fair narration and you can't beat the price.
Enjoy.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Great answer, thanks!