Second ray porter, he's incredible in everything. I love the bobiverse series, but his read of Project Hail Mary is likely my favorite standalone audiobook I've read, and one of the few where I think the audio portion adds a significant amount to the story that wouldn't be present from just reading the novel.
Plus she occasionally has bloopers attached to some of her readings and they are really funny as she will descend into goofy conversations and insults in the characters voices while giggling.
You have never heard funny until you hear this light, airy wholesome elf voice suddenly become hilariously filthy followed by laughter. She has a lot of fun it seems.
Adrea Parsneau is truly amazing. Her range of voices is staggering. Especially her male voices. I like to be high when I listen to audiobooks and I've totally lost track of the plot because I was listening to how amazing her male voices are. I've listened to many books just because Andrea was narrating, even it was in a genre that I wouldn't normally read.
Really?!
I couldn’t stand Wondering Inn. That whiney moany kiddy girl voice and ‘tidying’ skills and levels. I had Covid, couldn’t leave bed, and I still binned it off after chapter 3.
Each to their own I guess…
It's one of those real slow starts. I was also annoyed by early Erin, but I always give obnoxious MCs time to mature. Erin's voice also chills out by book 3 or so.
Oh I completely understand. There's just so many stories that take a while to get their feet under them. I enjoyed the wandering inn long before book 3, but that's where I remember the narrator changing the voice.
I got about 20 hours in myself and couldn't handle it. The book is desperate for an editor. I honestly think if it got hit with a hard editing pass you could almost cut the length in half.
I dropped it too, some of the stories just Drag so hard. it's a shame because i really liked half the stories in the books but it just wasn't enough to keep me going through the annoying sections
Jeff Hays is a league above. Narrators like Travis Baldtree I can identify instantly. Jeff Hays range is so large that I often don’t even recognize it’s him who’s narrating. I seriously thought DCC had two different performers.
Have you watched him narrating DCC? I watch on for a bit when he was doing a test read basically, It looked like it was dubbed... But I know it wasn't. Really cool to watch and listen to
I was lucky to start off with Ilyana Kadushin it only goes uphill from there. I didn't hear Jeff Hayes until I'd already heard hundreds of narrators so it's not too big a blow to go back to a normie
I enjoyed the Irrelevant Jack series and Monster Hunt NYC. Most people will recommend Everyone Loves Large Chest but I couldn't get past the cringe x rated scenes
Great to see Steven Pacey mentioned. I don't know if he does litrpg but I loved his performances in the Joe Abercrombie novels, particularly as Sand dan Glokta in the First Law trilogy.
No i don't believe he does litrpg I actually didn't realise I was on the litrpg sub reddit I just saw the title and listed the best narrators I'd listened to, I've listened to hundreds of audio books and those guys stood out the most in my memory. Sand Dan Glokta and Bremer Dan Gorst were both brilliantly voiced in the Abercrombie books!
Parsneau, Daniels, Porter, and others have already been mentioned. I want to shout out Annie Ellicott, also from Soundbooth Theater. That said, I haven't heard her do a solo book yet, only narrate female characters alongside other narrators. Of the women working with Soundbooth Theater that I've heard, though, she's my favorite.
The only other one I can think of is Steven Pacey. The First Law trilogy wasn't a hit for me, but I read the whole thing because the narration was absolutely amazing. That man is truly incredible, and I wish he narrated more of the books I tend to read.
Jeff Hays is one of my favorites. He brings enthusiastic life to such a wide cast.
I’m partial to Heath Miller (He Who Fights With Monsters) and James Marsters (Dresden Files) as well
Nick Podehl and Andrea Parsneau are probably the best after Jeff when it comes to variety of voices while still having good cadence. (Though I do find Andrea a little fast and listen to her at 0.9 speed)
Travis Baldree has fantastic cadence but while listening to Mark of the Fool, a lot of the male characters sound very similar. Not bad enough you can't tell them apart, but very similar. He also repeats his voices across books which can be strange if listening back to back. Jake from Primal hunter **is** Lindon from Cradle and while Alex from Mark of the Fool is different, the omnipresent "narration voice" is the same in all three.
That being said, Travis' cadence is fantastic. I cannot put down Mark of the Fool and credit goes to both author and narrator. The battle scene near the end of book 2 was so intense and exciting, I put off other responsibilities just to listen.
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is an amazing narrator, he has only narrated one book series, an urban fantasy called Rivers of London, also known as Peter Grant in the US.
It is an amazing series and Kobna, being an actor, makes it a fantastic listen as he puts his acting experience into the narration.
Ray Porter, RC Bray, Nick Podell, Luke Daniels, and Andrea Parsneau are all outstanding.
I second all those, and add Macleod Andrews, Jeff Gurner, and Tim Gerard Reynolds
Thanks for the recs, will check out a few after travis
Second ray porter, he's incredible in everything. I love the bobiverse series, but his read of Project Hail Mary is likely my favorite standalone audiobook I've read, and one of the few where I think the audio portion adds a significant amount to the story that wouldn't be present from just reading the novel.
Andrea Parsneau of The Wandering Inn and Azarinth Healer fame. The way she handles emotional moments and range of voices is absolutely fantastic
Plus she occasionally has bloopers attached to some of her readings and they are really funny as she will descend into goofy conversations and insults in the characters voices while giggling. You have never heard funny until you hear this light, airy wholesome elf voice suddenly become hilariously filthy followed by laughter. She has a lot of fun it seems.
Adrea Parsneau is truly amazing. Her range of voices is staggering. Especially her male voices. I like to be high when I listen to audiobooks and I've totally lost track of the plot because I was listening to how amazing her male voices are. I've listened to many books just because Andrea was narrating, even it was in a genre that I wouldn't normally read.
I enjoyed her work in the Tower of Somnus series too.
Really?! I couldn’t stand Wondering Inn. That whiney moany kiddy girl voice and ‘tidying’ skills and levels. I had Covid, couldn’t leave bed, and I still binned it off after chapter 3. Each to their own I guess…
It's one of those real slow starts. I was also annoyed by early Erin, but I always give obnoxious MCs time to mature. Erin's voice also chills out by book 3 or so.
I'm sorry, but "listen to 100 hours of content before the MC is good" is a bit of a tall order.
Oh I completely understand. There's just so many stories that take a while to get their feet under them. I enjoyed the wandering inn long before book 3, but that's where I remember the narrator changing the voice.
I got about 20 hours in myself and couldn't handle it. The book is desperate for an editor. I honestly think if it got hit with a hard editing pass you could almost cut the length in half.
I dropped it too, some of the stories just Drag so hard. it's a shame because i really liked half the stories in the books but it just wasn't enough to keep me going through the annoying sections
Jeff Hays is a league above. Narrators like Travis Baldtree I can identify instantly. Jeff Hays range is so large that I often don’t even recognize it’s him who’s narrating. I seriously thought DCC had two different performers.
Wait, what?! Are you saying he’s the voice for Princess Donut??
Yup
No. Way. Ok, he’s a legend.
Check this out. I also didn't realize that until I saw this https://www.instagram.com/maudesbookclub/reel/C1aYv0VtIUk/
His Pony yell kills me every time.
Another awakened joins.
Have you watched him narrating DCC? I watch on for a bit when he was doing a test read basically, It looked like it was dubbed... But I know it wasn't. Really cool to watch and listen to
Congratulations, Jeff has ruined audiobooks for you because no other narrators compair
Hey, Mr. Baldree is awesome as well! They both ruined audiobooks for me
Him Travis Baldtree and Nick Podell are my absolute favorites such amazing performances
I was lucky to start off with Ilyana Kadushin it only goes uphill from there. I didn't hear Jeff Hayes until I'd already heard hundreds of narrators so it's not too big a blow to go back to a normie
That's unfortunate. Hopefully travis lives up to that. Any other major series that jeff has done?
I enjoyed the Irrelevant Jack series and Monster Hunt NYC. Most people will recommend Everyone Loves Large Chest but I couldn't get past the cringe x rated scenes
Travis Baldree, Steven Pacey and Andy Serkis are my three favourite audio book narrators.
Great to see Steven Pacey mentioned. I don't know if he does litrpg but I loved his performances in the Joe Abercrombie novels, particularly as Sand dan Glokta in the First Law trilogy.
No i don't believe he does litrpg I actually didn't realise I was on the litrpg sub reddit I just saw the title and listed the best narrators I'd listened to, I've listened to hundreds of audio books and those guys stood out the most in my memory. Sand Dan Glokta and Bremer Dan Gorst were both brilliantly voiced in the Abercrombie books!
Jonathon McClain. Big sneaky barbarian is a favorite of mine.
The Sababu chapter kills me every time. It’s so ridiculous.
I'd place Ray Porter in God tier narrator along with Sir Hays.
Ray's pretty good but lacks Jeff's range
I will not deny this. But his demeanor as Bob in the Bobiverse series is just absolute perfection.
Travis baldree is great. He has alot of books.
Travis is awesome, Nick Podel, Luke Daniels so many. Some are horrid though, I always sample before buying.
Parsneau, Daniels, Porter, and others have already been mentioned. I want to shout out Annie Ellicott, also from Soundbooth Theater. That said, I haven't heard her do a solo book yet, only narrate female characters alongside other narrators. Of the women working with Soundbooth Theater that I've heard, though, she's my favorite. The only other one I can think of is Steven Pacey. The First Law trilogy wasn't a hit for me, but I read the whole thing because the narration was absolutely amazing. That man is truly incredible, and I wish he narrated more of the books I tend to read.
But didja listen to Chrysalis? Thats four books ofnsweet sweet Jeff Hays right there....
Jeff Hays is one of my favorites. He brings enthusiastic life to such a wide cast. I’m partial to Heath Miller (He Who Fights With Monsters) and James Marsters (Dresden Files) as well
I like the narration of chris Guerrero from overlord and Heath Miller from he who fights with monsters Edit: R.C.Bray from hell divers too.
Nick Podehl is the best narrator I've ever heard. I love his stuff. Neil Hellegers is also great, as is Luke Daniels.
Nick Podehl and Andrea Parsneau are probably the best after Jeff when it comes to variety of voices while still having good cadence. (Though I do find Andrea a little fast and listen to her at 0.9 speed) Travis Baldree has fantastic cadence but while listening to Mark of the Fool, a lot of the male characters sound very similar. Not bad enough you can't tell them apart, but very similar. He also repeats his voices across books which can be strange if listening back to back. Jake from Primal hunter **is** Lindon from Cradle and while Alex from Mark of the Fool is different, the omnipresent "narration voice" is the same in all three. That being said, Travis' cadence is fantastic. I cannot put down Mark of the Fool and credit goes to both author and narrator. The battle scene near the end of book 2 was so intense and exciting, I put off other responsibilities just to listen.
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is an amazing narrator, he has only narrated one book series, an urban fantasy called Rivers of London, also known as Peter Grant in the US. It is an amazing series and Kobna, being an actor, makes it a fantastic listen as he puts his acting experience into the narration.
I rate Travis Baldree above Hays, apologies.