Go to establishedtitles.com/LORDJAY and help support the channel. They are now running a massive Early Black Friday Sale, plus 10% off on any purchase with code LORDJAY. Thanks to Established Titles for sponsoring this video! Let me know your favorite audiobooks/narrators!
I gave my Mom and Dad this last year for Christmas. My Dad is of Scottish descent. They were thrilled, especially my Dad. Only one drawback. How the heck do I top it, or at least equal it, this year?!
Hey, no malice to you, but Established Titles is a sort of scam, it's meant to give people the idea that their title packs are official. They aren't. They're not officially recognized, and it's not a kind of legal loophole. And you don't own the plot of land you pay for because you can't legally sell that little land.
Agreed, but I think the narrator for the silmarillion, I don't remember his name but I think it was Martin or something, was better than Serkis, or at least more fitting for that type of book
I'm usually not an audiobook fan. But I came across Phil's LOTR and was mesmerized the entire time! I'd been doing a reread using editions with small print. I wanted some audio to carry me through for a bit when my eyes would get too tired from reading. Once I started, I could not stop. I did also finish the reading and was just going back and forth between the two. It's fantastic! I wish I could thank him directly.
Simon Vance is a phenomenal narrator. His work on the Darkness Within Saga by JD Franx and The Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks are some of the best.
Simon Vance is one of the best. His narration of Tigana made my listen so much more immersive. And his Sherlock Holmes Heirloom Collection is my favorite version of the Complete Sherlock Holmes story. He has done many other books as well.
I’m finding that the reread of books with audio is perfect. I listen a lot faster than I do read and you can do it in the car walking which is fantastic. Took some of your list and they are awesome.
The old Kingdom trilogy really is underrated and Tim Curry is perfect. We really do need more videos on why Sabriel is awesome. It’s a hidden gem of a book/ series.
I’m listening to A Song of Ice and Fire (currently on Storm) read by Roy Dotrice, and even though it took me a while to get used to his different accents and occasional weird pronunciation of character names I’m really enjoying his performance now. It’s been a while since I read the books and this is a great way to experience Westeros again!
Let’s be real, Steven Pacey narrating The First Law Trilogy is the most sensational pairing of amazing novels with impeccable narration. He elevates an already amazing series to something that is so enjoyable it can only be described as perfection.
Also how he has the perfect balance of Glokta with the lisp and then nearly the same voice but without the lisp when he narrates his internal thoughts!
Colin Mace narrating the Raven's Mark Trilogy, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith narrating River's of London, Ralph Lister narrating the Ash and Sand Trilogy, and Christopher Buehlmann narrating his own Blacktongue Thief are certainly among my favourite narrative performances that weren't named here.
Yes, I just listened to the audiobook for the first in the Rivers of London series, and I thought the story itself was fine, but Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's narration really elevated it for me!
The Old Kingdom series is what got me into fantasy as an adult and this is the first time I have ever heard anyone bring it up on yt. So thanks for giving it a shout out I highly recommend to all.
I do appreciate that you have read The Old Kingdom series! No one ever talks about it (and no one I know has heard of it). I found Sabriel at my library when I was a teen, and fell in love. Great story, good characters, exciting adventures. That first part with the Mordicant is still one of my favorite chapters to read. I also just listened to Tim Curry's narration and I was happy with how he read.
Certain narrators can take a book to another level, Marsters is one of them, his narration of The Dresden Files is amazing! I had a long drive ahead of me and wanted to listen to the audio of the most recent Dresden Files novel. Marsters was so impressive I purchased all the audio books and started listening from the beginning!
I have listened to both Kingkiller books NOTW and WMF about 29 times through (each). Of those I chose to listen to the Poedel version twice, and the Degas (Day-Gas) version 27 times. 10/10 recommend it. The trick is you need to technically be in the UK when you go buy it from audible…. Or make them think you are in the UK at least!!
Of course, you know I came here to see if you mentioned James Marsters' narration of the Dresden Files! 😁 Totally agree with you about Steven Pacey's masterful performance and the initial reticence of Michael Kramer's and Kate Reading's performances. When Kramer is just narrating, i.e. not portraying a character, it can be a bit dry and monotonous.
Peter Kenny’s voice for voice for Witcher is soooooo good! I didn’t think I could like it after watching the show and plying Witcher 3 hearing Geralts voice but oh my does he do a good job
Pacey/First Law is unequivocally the best there is. Major standouts to me that I don't see in the upper comments are: Heather O'Neil - Book of the Ancestor Moira Quirk - The Locked Tomb
Great video. Already purchased a few new things from Audible, already had several of them too. I’ve never understood why some readers put down audiobooks. I’ve listened to books for many years. I used to have a long commute and they saved my sanity then. I also used them extensively in my classroom. Transitioning some kids from simple chapter books can be difficult and audiobooks help. I did Lord of the Rings and Wheel of Time when I taught 5th grade and many kids would read along with the Audiobooks. I even had several students who read all of WoT published at that time! I let them check out a disc overnight. This also taught responsibility. If your classmate didn’t bring back the disc both the one who wanted it and the student disc librarian would scold them. One year I had a very strict disc librarian who wouldn’t let you check out a disc to take home for 2 days if you forgot one (you could listen in the classroom) she set the rule and I wouldn’t override her when students asked me to. Discs came back regularly under her! I will definitely listen to a book because of a narrator I like. I used to love listening to Adrienne Barbeau, the actress. I can no longer drive, but I listen in the shower, while doing chores and when holding a physical book or Kindle is difficult (arthritis). I wish I could find the Stephen Fry Harry Potter books as I love his voice. I’m sure it’s a contractual thing, but I wish Audible would offer both. For myself I think reading a variety of ways is best, physical, audio and ebook. But if audio only is what works for you then great. Reading is the important part, not how. My nephew and I are reading LOTR together and I was shocked when I found out he was keeping from me that he listened while reading because he felt guilty that he was somehow cheating. He’d never seen me listening to an audiobook so I showed him my huge Audible library and reassured him. I have no clue how this idea got started in society, but I’m vocal about my opinion when I hear people say it.
@@MsAdaCat I miss teaching very much. I just moved and finally decided to get rid of all my teaching supplies and many of my children’s books. Going through them deciding what to keep was bittersweet, bringing back many wonderful memories. I’ve had a few students contact me and all mention the books we read and what they are reading now. I’m very proud that I helped facilitate so many lifelong readers. I caught a lot of flak from fellow teachers about what books we read, how I taught reading and bringing in LOTR board games. One even told the principal we “did nothing but play games” but when she observed us realized I was using the games to check for and further understanding. 6th grade, I taught 5th, was especially vocal because they mostly had students read stuff well below their ability then do as many as 20+ worksheets which bored the kids to death. The kids would ask when they were going to read something interesting and challenging. When they were going to discuss the books and where were the interesting activities. I finally realized they had a very few books in their repertoire and had no desire to read anything new. They did the same thing every year instead of finding out what interested the kids. Yes, I was heavy on the fantasy, but I would read ANYTHING if it was of interest to a reading group and figure out how to teach as we went along. My nephew did not read a single novel in 8th grade last year. I was horrified when I found out. I love all the wonderful choices we have in movies and TV, but it is disheartening to realize how many people never add the joys of reading to their lives.
He is awesome! Too bad he passed before the series is completed. Also, I think he earned a Guinness Book of World Record for most individual voices in an audio book.
Amen Brother. This list is DOA if Roy is not included. Therefore, I will not be listening to anymore podcasts by this reviewer. It's like going to New York and missing the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building.
Fat shoutout to Dungeon Crawler Carl from Matt Dinniman and Jeff Hays from Soundbooth Theater. Bit of Fantasy, Sci Fi and (however unlikely delivering) part Lit RPG. Not my favorite genre, but here everything fits, from a compelling story to great narration :)
Jay, if you have the ability, and you're up for it, I wound highly recommend giving Rupert Degas' interpretation of The Name of the Wind a listen. The slight rasp/and richness of his voice is truly magical! Thanks for all the recommendstions! 😃
I listened to the Black Witch series narrated by Julia Whelan. Her voice fits the characters so well I don’t want to imagine them any different. I can’t wait for the last book in the series to come out.
I know it's an old video... but a couple of series that I really enjoyed and missed in the video are The Powder Mage Trilogy/Gods of Blood and Powder by Brian McClellan, narrated by Christian Rodska and The Bloodsworn Saga by John Gwynne, narrated by Colin Mace. Both series are a treat to listen to. Definitely among my favourite audio books.
My favorite is Kevin Hearn's "Iron Druid Chronicles" narrated by Luke Daniels. A very fun Urban Fantasy that people compare Dresden to, but for me it was the introduction to Urban Fantasy. So I compare everything to it and of corse am bias towards it. Its a short 10 plus series with novellas here and there but "Hounded" is book 1 and very worth the listen. Love your videos. Thanks!
I would add: 1) A Crown for Cold Silver read by Angele Masters. I can't seem to find the middle book as audio though 2) Tim Gerard Reynolds reading all of Riyria 3) Damian Lynch reading The Faithful and the Fallen with all its Celtic beauty
Thanks so much for this video! Love audiobooks. Hard to read when you have young kids. You mentioned some of my favorites. You may also want to listen to RC Bray (mostly sci-fi), Arlen Taylor, and Travis Baldree as well. They all do a great job. Nick Podehl is also always amazing.
I haven't heard the US version of The Name of the Wind, but I cannot believe it is better than what Rupert Degas did for it. His was a truly incredible performance.
i tried the pohdel version and it turned me off. i ended up buying the signed rupert degas cd versions on the worldbuilder website because i live in the us and that was the easiest way for me to get them. i hope and pray that if book 3 ever comes out i can get a signed version to complete the collection.
For narrators that add value to the books, I have to mention Harry Lloyd (Who plays Viserys in Game of Thrones) does an AMAZING job with the Dunk and Egg novellas or the knight of the seven kingdoms. His delivery and range in tones and his comedic timing made really good tales into amazing engrossing stories where you feel for the characters and underatand them completely. I wish he would narrate the whole ASOIAF series and TWOW whenever that comes.
I need to recommend and praise the Wandering Inn. My all time favorite audiobook series, read by the incredibly talented Andrea Parsneau. She brings all the characters and the world itself to life. I can't recommend it enough. The first book alone is over 70 hours of content, and the series only gets better as more characters are introduced and the world expands past the tiny Inn.
Ok, I just downloaded three Gentleman Bastards books, so I’m trusting you here 😁 Thank you for putting this list together! I just restarted Sufficiently Advanced Magic because Podehl became a favorite of mine from his Kingkiller work, but I was jonesing for a new series and new narrator.
I hope you enjoy them! It took a little while for me to become invested in The Lies of Locke Lamora, but once things pick up it's a fantastic series. I've been meaning to listen to Sufficiently Advanced Magic, I'll have to get to that soon!
@@CapturedInWords I concur, The Lies of Locke Lamora was a little boring at the beginning and I held my ground to finishing it from your recommendation. Look forward to the rest of the series.
It's funny, Michael Page was brought in and recorded the first First Law standalone, Better Served Cold. The fan response was fairly outraged, and a Pacey version soon followed. I agreed with that decision, but could not and will not imagine Gentleman Bastards in any other voice but Page's. The first conversation between Chains and the Thiefmaker is solid gold and it only gets better.
I have to put George Guidall at the top of my list. His voice just reminds me of grandpa reading a story to you. I grew up listening to books on tape (that's caset tapes not just the company) and he read so many of my favorites at the time
I am absolutely blasting through the stormlight archives. This is literally some of if not the best writing I have ever experienced. There is something about Kaladin that really got to me. I have only felt that from one other book and that was Kvothe from the Name of the Wind.
The best audio book series I've ever heard was David Tenant reading How to Train Your Dragon. It may be a series written mostly for children, but the performance is worth it.
I never knew David Tennant narrated those books! I'll definitely have to give those a listen, I checked out the demo on Audible and I'm loving all the accents he uses
Travis Baldree’s narration of the cradle series is also excellent. He also gets much better as the series progresses and more characters are introduced.
Rupert Degas is so good in his narration of The Kingkiller Chronicles that he raised the bar for me so high, now I am struggling to enjoy other narrators... basically what you said about Steven Pacey (who I haven't listened to yet).
I love audiobooks, I almost exclusively listen to books now instead of reading manually. I love some of the narrators you mentioned, here are some others I think are amazing: Ray Porter, Simon Vance, R.C. Bray, John Lee, James Patrick Cronin and Luke Daniels.
I second RC Bray he is fantastic! I love the expeditionary force, Commune, and mountain man audiobooks. As well as Bray's stuff with Jeremy Robinson. While they may not be everyone's taste they are a great break between fantasy for me and RC Bray pretty much is what makes them great. I dont think id enjoy the actual books even half as much. It really makes me sad Bray's version of The Martian is no longer available it was what really got me hooked on audiobooks and he killed it! Tim Gerald Reynolds is another narrator I really enjoyed. His reading of Red Rising hooked me on that series. if you like Stephen Fry, i also think his reading on Sherlock Holmes was top tier and one of my favorite audiobook(s) its like an old friend haha and a great classic everyone should listen/read atleast once
I love audiobooks. I don’t have time to read but I have a lot of time to listen while driving (semi driver) and music doesn’t do it for me anymore. In 3 years I’ve stacked up 140 audiobooks and there’s a handful I’ve listened to numerous times. The Rage of Dragons and Fires of Vengeance I’ve listened to probably 15 times. I absolutely love it.
Of course Stephen Fry is the superior narrator. I'd listen to him read a phonebook from the 90s. Also, he was the narrator in the 2005 movie adaptation, so, yeah, there's also that. 😅
I wish I could buy the Rupert Degas version, it's regionally locked (which is ridiculous in our technology era imo) and I don't know how to use a VPN to purchase it
It may be a case where both are good but you'll gravitate to the one you heard first. I came into it with Nick Podehl and then tried Degas but for me it didn't work as well, for example making young Kvothe feel older than he should to me. But as said, I don't think it's that Degas isn't good, it's just that both likely has some weaknesses compared to the other and those will stand out a bit when comparing. So I guess my point is that one perhaps shouldn't worry if the grass is greener on the other side. As long as you liked what you heard the first time, stick with that.
Thanks for video! I’m still eagerly searching for new favorite audibles. Illidan a world of Warcraft book has been my favorite by far- putting you in the mindset of the strong, determined characters. The narration is amazing. 😊
Rupert Degas' reading of TNotW and TWMF is incredible. I had no idea there are 2 versions of the audio book. I find it impossible to believe that another version could be better. I dare say Degas's ability to storytell rivals Illien himself.
I'll need to listen to the version by Degas for my next read through! I feel like I might have a bias since I already really like Podehl's version, but I'll give it a listen for sure
OMG!! I needed this video so much! Thank you Jay!! Now I know where to start with audiobooks! Quick question: do you have a recommendation of a good audiobook for the Farseer Trilogy?
Omg two narrators to Name of the wind! Rupert degas is god tier for me as he bridged me to audiobooks, i found finding a narrator to match him very difficult and even listened to books out of my comfortzone just for his ability to convey emotion. Thank you for highlighting these narrators!!
Nigel Planar is perfect for discworld. There are other narrations including indira varma (ellaria sand and many others) and bill nighy and andy serkis narrating, and also tony robinson does abridged versions aswell
This is something I look for in every book review, if the audiobook is well done or not. I maintain two different TBR. Audiobook is my preferred form, but I'd rather read a book that has a bad audiobook than miss out on a good book entirely.
I haven't watched this video yet but I hope you have Rupert Degas, British narrator for the Patrick Rothfuss books in there! I tried Nick Podehl's version but Rupert's voices were so much more enjoyable IMO. :)
I actually haven't listened to the version by Rupert Degas yet 😅I'll have to listen to that on my next read through, though I do really enjoy Podehl's narration
@@CapturedInWords Yes, please do! I know you like Nick's narration as you've mentioned him on previous vids but once you get past Rupert's "older" sounding Kvothe voice he is spot on. His Auri voice is really good. ;) He's also a really nice guy (over email). ex. He's offered to send me his copies of the KKC audiobooks when I was trying to get a set of the british version (US Amazon only carries Nicke's version in the states).
Thank you for having The Old Kingdom in here! I love those books hard copy or audio and they don't get enough recognition. My favorite narrators are Jim Dale, George Guidall, Tim Gerard Reynolds, Michael Kramer, Kate Reading, Elizabeth Evans, Amanda Ronconi, James Marsters, Neil Gaimon, Stephen Frye, Simon Vance, Michael Page, Rosalyn Landor, Terry Donnelly, Tim Curry and probably a lot more. I've never listed to Pacey, maybe I'll see if he narrates something I'm interested in! I love audiobooks, they're the only reason I can still read 100+ books a year.
Thanks for the recommendations. I suddenly panic when I think I have listened to everything, but then I find more woohoo:) Here are a few of my recommendations- Leo Carew , the Wolf , first in a trilogy read by Matt Addis. Anthony Ryan (really great writer), Blood Song first of a series, read by Stephen Brand. Phillip C Quaintrell, Rise of the Ranger. start of a great series also read by Stephen Brand. Mark Lawrence - start of a trilogy 'Prince of Thorns'(quite dark but great) read by James Clamp. John Gwynne , 'Malice' start of a series read by Damian Lynch. Brent Weeks The Black Prism (first of 5 novels) read by Simon Vance. Totally agree with you about Joe Abercrombie and Steven Pacey. The First Law series is brill and I think Logen 9 fingers is my favourite fantasy character of all time
Moira Quirks narration of Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir is the best audiobook I've ever listned too. She added so much personality into her narrations more so than any narrating voice in my imagination could do. 10/10 recomend.
Definitely agree with you on graphic audio and the guy who dose the gentleman bastard series also Nick Podehl is amazing and Simon Vance. Also George Guidall is epic reading the master and magarita and who can forget Matthew Richards in The Count of Monte Cristo.
Just finished King’s Dark Tidings. I loved it! The story was great, narration was fabulous. Would definitely like to hear more of his work. Rewatching video now for my next audio book thanks for the recommendations.
So, I love Rob Inglis. Just wanted to say that my favourite narrator is Harry Rowohlt who is like the best German narrator of all time, he was also a translator and he is the only translator were I sometimes prefer the translation to the original!
Do you ONLY listen to high fantasy? or do you also listen to other fiction like scifi. I would HIGHLY suggest the ender's game series. The audiobook is produced with an entire cast and VERY enjoyable.
I’ve never listened to the discworld with Nigel as the narrator. My narrator for the Discworld is Steven Briggs: he’s narrated (at least) the Tiffany aching books and the Moist von Lipvig books.
The narrator switches part way through the series (I think the books switched publisher at a similar time). Both are excellent, although it takes a little bit of time to switch between them. Stephen Briggs got an unfair hard time from me initially because of how good Nigel’s earlier work is.
Nigel Planer did the earlier Discworld audiobooks and Stephen Briggs did the later ones. Both are quite good. There's a plan currently underway to re-record the Discworld books with new narrators.
@@Steve_Stowers I didn’t know about the re-recordings. I wonder if they’ll be separate editions. Audible have a habit of replacing entries. Sometimes that’s good. In this case, I’m not so sure.
Amazing video! I am in dire need of more recommendations as I've finished all of yours. My ears thank you. I drive a lot for work and go through audiobooks like gas.
Steven Pacey and The First Law is, by far my favourite audiobook. It's probably my favourite fantasy series ever. Gentlemen Bastards is a good audiobook as well.
Loved the Invisible Life of Addie Larue and that narrator became one of my absolute favs! Also loved Jim Dale on Harry Potter (and then as the Narrator on the show Pushing Daisies because of it) Tim Curry on Series of Unfortunate Events, Nick Poedel on King Killer Chronicles and Paul Boehm with the first Farseer trilogy! Tbh I love audiobooks and there haven’t been many I’ve disliked 😅
I can't wait to check out some of these. I'm currently downloading the Phil Dragash LOTR soundscapes, but I also really want to try the Andy Serkis versions.
I discovered Mistborn through GraphicAudio and I absolutely loved it. Listened to the first two via graphic audio and then read the third because it wasn’t out yet. But it was goooood.
@@CapturedInWords Great. Nice Dragons Finish Last is the first of a series. Several of my book club members read all of them. I enjoyed them and will read the sequel series.
Kyle mcarley narrated super powereds by drew Hayes, its one of my favorite series and he does an amazing job, i highly recommend it Edit: i listen to audiobooks all the time and its made me want to become one, i like reading to people and with practice I think i could be decent
