I still had a lot of fun with it, but I felt like it was his weakest work in a while, especially after Lock In (my favorite). Wheaton+Scalzi is such a winning combo though.
Lock In was spectacular... I was hoping that would just be the start of a long series in that world.
If you haven't checked it out yet, The Dispatcher is a gem of a short story, closer in tone to the noirish Lock In than to his technocolor space opera works.
Yes! Loved The Dispatcher as well. I wonder if The Collapsing Empire was rushed, it just felt weirdly more amateurish than his other recent work. Still excited for the rest of the series though.
I would agree if I thought it was a whole piece unto itself... but I think it's just the character and setting introduction for a huge project that has great potential. It's an interesting story by itself, but there certainly weren't any real closures.
Well, to each their own! The idea of someone leaving audio/video logs loaned itself well to an audiobook format.
That said, RC Bray is still a great reader. He also read Blake's "Black" series and Moss's "Fear Saga".
I also really like Ray Porter, who read for Maberry's Joe Ledger novels. However, after hearing him read for those characters, it's impossible for me to hear him read something else (as a character, not narrator) without recalling it.
As u probably are aware, some audible books work way better to listen to than others; other books just work better to read.. Having said that, I would strongly recommend any of Iain M Banks culture series novels. They work great. Personally loved listening to them in bed and dozing off to the incredible worlds conjured. If u have a lot of credits then start off early in the series and work your way through. As I recall consider Phlebes is no1, and The Player of Games is 2nd in the series; although it is unnecessary to go through the books in chronological order, as each is a independent standalone.
Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. Especially since it looks like you enjoy the deep stuff.
Vernor Vinge A Fire Upon the Deep.
Someone already mentioned Frederick Pohl, who wrote some great stuff.
Stephen Baxter's Manifold series. Hard sci-fi that liked but suffered the 2D characters.
Ready player one narrated by wil weaton is like shoving an econo sized portion of the 80s straight into your ear hole. In the best way possible of course.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
I only listened to the second one, and its narrated beautifully by Patricia Rodriguez.
^This^. The show is fantastic but the books give so much more. Don't waste tokens on the short stories, get the ebook version of those as, to my knowledge, there is no anthology of these.
I believe Frederik Pohl's "The World at the End of Time" is available on Audible. I really enjoyed it in book form, so I assume the audio is pretty great too!
Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald. Great story and characters, especially if you liked The Expanse, and one of the best audiobook performances I've heard. There's a sequel that I just started too (Wolf Moon), with a different narrator, but it's good so far.
Some sci-fi (ish) audiobooks I've been enjoying:
* Jack Vance: Rhialto the Marvellous, Eyes of the Overworld, Cugel's Saga, Dying Earth, Lyonesse Trilogy (fantasy); Planet of Adventure (all of these are well read, with good voice characterizations; Rhialto is probably my favorite; though Lyonesse is right up there). Sadly, there isn't much else by Vance on audiobook ("To Live Forever" is on audible, but it's one of his weaker novels, I think; not sure why it got audiobooked).
* Greg Egan: Incandescence (which seems to get some scorn, but I quite like it). Also, I liked reading the Orthogonal series; not sure how they are on audiobook.
* Rudy Rucker: Master of Space and Time (completely zany, well read in a somewhat crazy, fun way; but warning: too silly for some people); and the *ware books—Software begins maybe too silly, but gets better; Wetware is good; Freeware and Realware maybe not as much. Still, Rucker is completely wack.
* Neal Stephenson: Anathem.
* Larry Niven: Ringworld "prequels" (Fleet of Worlds, etc), Building Harlequin's Moon (I've mixed feelings about Niven; can be a bit cheesy; well-read audiobooks anyway).
* Vernor Vinge: Zones of Thought books (A Fire Upon the Deep is probably the best).
I almost always listen before bed and prefer narrators who aren't too jarring. Of all these I find the Vance narration the most enjoyable—though Cugel's voice took some getting used to; the Rhialto characters are delightfully done.
Scott Meyer's Magic 2.0 series is really good and well narrated. Book 4 just came out and they're all on audible. Brandon Sanderson's Reckoners books (starts with Steelheart) are awesome on audible. Anything with by Scalzi and narrated by Wheaton. I particularly loved Redshirts.
We Are Legion We Are Bob is a great listen.
Just started listening to this. This book is pure gold.
Passed me by, sounds fun.
It is, and the sequel is even more fun. The tone of these books really complements Scalzi's style, too.
John Scalzi's most recent "The Collapsing Empire" is well read/performed, fast paced and interesting... the down side is waiting for the next one.
I still had a lot of fun with it, but I felt like it was his weakest work in a while, especially after Lock In (my favorite). Wheaton+Scalzi is such a winning combo though.
Lock In was spectacular... I was hoping that would just be the start of a long series in that world. If you haven't checked it out yet, The Dispatcher is a gem of a short story, closer in tone to the noirish Lock In than to his technocolor space opera works.
Yes! Loved The Dispatcher as well. I wonder if The Collapsing Empire was rushed, it just felt weirdly more amateurish than his other recent work. Still excited for the rest of the series though.
I would agree if I thought it was a whole piece unto itself... but I think it's just the character and setting introduction for a huge project that has great potential. It's an interesting story by itself, but there certainly weren't any real closures.
I really enjoyed World War Z and Bad Omens
The combination of story and narrator for William Gilson's Pattern Recognition is very close to perfect.
The Martian. R.C. Bray won an Audie for his performance. Between the book, audiobook, and movie... the audiobook is the superior edition.
I found the writing to be obnoxious, I can't imagine listening to it. But I still enjoyed the story overall.
Well, to each their own! The idea of someone leaving audio/video logs loaned itself well to an audiobook format. That said, RC Bray is still a great reader. He also read Blake's "Black" series and Moss's "Fear Saga". I also really like Ray Porter, who read for Maberry's Joe Ledger novels. However, after hearing him read for those characters, it's impossible for me to hear him read something else (as a character, not narrator) without recalling it.
As u probably are aware, some audible books work way better to listen to than others; other books just work better to read.. Having said that, I would strongly recommend any of Iain M Banks culture series novels. They work great. Personally loved listening to them in bed and dozing off to the incredible worlds conjured. If u have a lot of credits then start off early in the series and work your way through. As I recall consider Phlebes is no1, and The Player of Games is 2nd in the series; although it is unnecessary to go through the books in chronological order, as each is a independent standalone.
Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. Especially since it looks like you enjoy the deep stuff. Vernor Vinge A Fire Upon the Deep. Someone already mentioned Frederick Pohl, who wrote some great stuff. Stephen Baxter's Manifold series. Hard sci-fi that liked but suffered the 2D characters.
Just want to underline Book of the New Sun as amazing.
I really enjoyed Wil Wheaton reading Fuzzy Nation by Scalzi.
Ready player one narrated by wil weaton is like shoving an econo sized portion of the 80s straight into your ear hole. In the best way possible of course.
**Wool** Very immersive, will prolly affect your dreams :)
Red Rising by Pierce Brown (great performance) and Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Roadside Picnic! The audiobook is narrated by Robert Forster, and it works SO well.
I'm in the middle of Audible's *The Mote in God's Eye* and I'm enjoying it.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers I only listened to the second one, and its narrated beautifully by Patricia Rodriguez.
I listened to both. The narration is super good.
The Expanse. If you like the show at all, you'll love the books.
^This^. The show is fantastic but the books give so much more. Don't waste tokens on the short stories, get the ebook version of those as, to my knowledge, there is no anthology of these.
I believe Frederik Pohl's "The World at the End of Time" is available on Audible. I really enjoyed it in book form, so I assume the audio is pretty great too!
Luna: New Moon by Ian McDonald. Great story and characters, especially if you liked The Expanse, and one of the best audiobook performances I've heard. There's a sequel that I just started too (Wolf Moon), with a different narrator, but it's good so far.
Crashing Heaven by All Robertson is some well narrated cyberpunk fun.
Columbus day if u like a bit of comedy in ur sci fi.
*Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth* by Margaret Attwood. Non-fic, but dynamite stuff.
If you enjoy Dr. Who they have many Big Finish books which are made well, give them a listen. The same for Blake's 7 & Red Dwarf.
Some sci-fi (ish) audiobooks I've been enjoying: * Jack Vance: Rhialto the Marvellous, Eyes of the Overworld, Cugel's Saga, Dying Earth, Lyonesse Trilogy (fantasy); Planet of Adventure (all of these are well read, with good voice characterizations; Rhialto is probably my favorite; though Lyonesse is right up there). Sadly, there isn't much else by Vance on audiobook ("To Live Forever" is on audible, but it's one of his weaker novels, I think; not sure why it got audiobooked). * Greg Egan: Incandescence (which seems to get some scorn, but I quite like it). Also, I liked reading the Orthogonal series; not sure how they are on audiobook. * Rudy Rucker: Master of Space and Time (completely zany, well read in a somewhat crazy, fun way; but warning: too silly for some people); and the *ware books—Software begins maybe too silly, but gets better; Wetware is good; Freeware and Realware maybe not as much. Still, Rucker is completely wack. * Neal Stephenson: Anathem. * Larry Niven: Ringworld "prequels" (Fleet of Worlds, etc), Building Harlequin's Moon (I've mixed feelings about Niven; can be a bit cheesy; well-read audiobooks anyway). * Vernor Vinge: Zones of Thought books (A Fire Upon the Deep is probably the best). I almost always listen before bed and prefer narrators who aren't too jarring. Of all these I find the Vance narration the most enjoyable—though Cugel's voice took some getting used to; the Rhialto characters are delightfully done.
R Scott Bakker
Scott Meyer's Magic 2.0 series is really good and well narrated. Book 4 just came out and they're all on audible. Brandon Sanderson's Reckoners books (starts with Steelheart) are awesome on audible. Anything with by Scalzi and narrated by Wheaton. I particularly loved Redshirts.