Best Fantasy Audiobooks
Let your imagination run wild with the top fantasy audio novels.
Fantasy is the genre that promises ultimate escape. It means magic, myth and unreality. Whether witches or gods, epic quests or chilling mystery, the one thing it takes to be classed as fantasy is that it cannot happen in real life.
This seems fairly clear cut, right? If it isn’t real, it’s fantasy. And yet I debated whether there were further criteria. For example, when one thinks of fantasy, it often brings to mind adventure and action. Is there any room therefore for ghosts and the paranormal? And horror in general? However there was one genre that posed more crossovers than all others: Science fiction.
Fantasy and science fiction are not only usually paired, but are often conflated. For example, the list of best fantasy books on Audible is under the umbrella of fantasy and sci fi. I must admit that this distinction hasn’t always been obvious in creating this collection. I’ve worked on the basis that sci fi means advanced technology, usually with an element of alternative or future reality.
Top Fantasy Audiobooks
2
By
Matt Haig
Read By
Carey Mulligan
What if you could try again? Not just once, but multiple times? What if you could remake every decision in your life until you got it right? In The Midnight Library, Nora is given just such a chance. Read by the incomparable Carey Mulligan, this fantasy takes a deep dive into the nature of regret.
3
By
Suzanne Collins
Read By
Carolyn McCormick
Strange and terrible creatures, fantastical environments under human control and technological wonders beyond belief. These marvels and more are used as weapons against the people of Panem, the futuristic nation built upon the ruins of what was North America. It’s a harsh, unforgiving dystopia, where children are forced to fight to the death as tributes and power is wielded by a sinister elite.
4
By
Nora Roberts
Read By
Julia Whelan
The sickness wipes out most of humanity, throwing the world in chaos. But after the horror and fear, the magick awakens. People from all walks of life are transformed into fairies and witches, pixies and dwarves. But as with any great power, what can be good and pure can be used for evil. This is the year the battle lines are drawn.
5
By
Sequoia Nagamatsu
Read By
Jason Culp, Stephanie Komure, Micky Shiloah, Joe Knezevich, Brianna Ishibashi, Kotaro Watanabe, Matthew Bridges, Kurt Kanazawa, Greg Watanabe, Jeanne Sakata, MacLeod Andrews, Keisuke Hoashi, Brian Nishii, Julia Whelan
This 2022 release is an instant favourite amongst the great and the good fantasy audiobooks. Told in a collection of stories rather than a single narrative, author Sequoia Nagamatsu knits together unusual genres, disparate characters and outlandish ideas to portray a single, utterly unique image of a world ravaged by a plague. Sometimes haunting, sometimes funny, always thought-provoking, this is a one of a kind gem.
Best of the Rest: Fantasy Audiobooks
More magic and mayhem right this way, with plenty more from the world of fantasy fiction.
By
Read By
Sequoia Nagamatsu
Jason Culp, Stephanie Komure, Micky Shiloah, Joe Knezevich, Brianna Ishibashi, Kotaro Watanabe, Matthew Bridges, Kurt Kanazawa, Greg Watanabe, Jeanne Sakata, MacLeod Andrews, Keisuke Hoashi, Brian Nishii, Julia Whelan
High Praise for this Darkest of Tales
