There is nothing like a great fantasy series, one that invites you to bring yourself into an inventive world unlike our own. And a masterful fantasy audiobook can further enhance that feeling, taking an engaging reading experience and amping it up to the realm of total immersion.
Marked by brilliant narration and perfect character voices, a stellar audiobook series takes an already amazing fantasy saga and transforms it into an unforgettable adventure. If you’re looking for the best fantasy book series to listen to, these titles are a great place to start.
Series name: The Viridian Gate Archives
Books in Series: Viridian Gate Online: Cataclysm (Book 1); Viridian Gate Online: Crimson Alliance (Book 2); Viridian Gate Online: The Jade Lord: A litRPG Adventure (Book 3); Viridian Gate Online: Imperial Legion (Book 4); Viridian Gate Online: The Lich Priest (Book 5); Viridian Gate Online: Doom Forge (Book 6); Viridian Gate Online: Darkling Siege (Book 7); Viridian Gate Online: Side Quests: A litRPG Anthology.
This Audible exclusive is a perfect place to start if you're looking for a modern fantasy series you can really sink your teeth into. Taking place on a near-future Earth, The Viridian Gate Archives begins with the approach of Astraea, an extinction-level asteroid. While the winners of a survival lottery take refuge in underground bunkers, 32-year-old Jack Mitchel receives an unusual—and risky—alternative opportunity. By sacrificing his real-world body, he uploads his consciousness to Viridian Gate Online, a virtual reality MMORPG. Discover the strange, new digital world where Jack finds himself.
Series name: Sorcerer Royal
Books in Series: Sorcerer to the Crown (Book 1); The True Queen (Book 2)
A once-venerated institution, England's Royal Society of Unnatural Philosophers has fallen on hard times. Between the growing deficit in England's stores of magic and the recent appointment of an unruly man as Sorcerer Royal, it seems that disgrace is their new reality. However, the new Sorcerer Royal, Zacharias Wythe, makes it his mission to uncover the mystery of the depleted magic stocks, finding help along the way from a woman with great magical gifts. Narrated with grace by Jenny Sterlin, this ongoing series has two audiobooks available now to get you started.
Series name: Winternight Trilogy
Books in Series: The Bear and the Nightingale (Book 1);The Girl in the Tower (Book 2); The Winter of the Witch (Book 3)
Vasya is a young, plucky girl living in a small village in Northern Russia. She lives a mostly happy life—until her widowed father brings home a new wife from Moscow. Determined to control her spirited stepdaughter, Vasya’s stepmother forbids her and her siblings from listening to their nurse’s fairy tales or participating in the ancient practice of honoring household spirits. However, when a force from the outside world threatens life as Vasya and her community know it, she sets off on a journey to defend her home, using a mysterious jewel given to her father by a stranger when she was born. Katherine Arden's writing soars on the wings of Kathleen Gati's narration in this story of tension between Russian tradition and modernity.
Series name: Coldfire
Books in Series: Black Sun Rising (Book 1); When True Night Falls (Book 2); Crown of Shadows (Book 3)
The Coldfire trilogy is a fantasy series following two unlikely allies who team up to take on a world-threatening evil. Beginning with Black Sun Rising, the journey of hero Damien Vryce intertwines with that of the villainous Gerald Tarrant. The two men, polar opposites of good and evil, must find a way to unite and defeat the Fey, an evil that manifests people's worst fears and threatens to erase existence itself. Listeners repeatedly praise R.C. Bray for his excellent
high-energy narration.
Series name: Wheel of Time
Books in Series: The Eye of the World (Book 1); The Great Hunt (Book 2); The Dragon Reborn (Book 3); The Shadow Rising (Book 4); The Fires of Heaven (Book 5); Lord of Chaos (Book 6); A Crown of Swords (Book 7); Path of Daggers (Book 8); Winter's Heart (Book 9); Crossroads of Twilight (Book 10); Knife of Dreams (Book 11); The Gathering Storm (Book 12); Towers of Midnight (Book 13); A Memory of Light (Book 14)
To call Wheel of Time—Robert Jordan's sprawling fantasy series about good, evil, and the worlds and times caught between them—a classic would merely be a starting point. Everything about this 14-volume saga is a treat for lovers of the genre, and listeners who might not necessarily go for high fantasy as well. Discover a large cast of thousands of named characters, an articulately imagined world across eras, and a meticulously crafted spell-casting system.
Series name: Stormlight Archive
Books in Series: The Way of Kings (Book 1); Words of Radiance (Book 2); Edgedancer (Book 2.5); Oathbringer (Book 3); Rhythm of War (Book 4)
Brandon Sanderson, who finished up Wheel of Time after Robert Jordan's passing, is also an accomplished fantasy writer in his own right, having penned the Stormlight Archive series after the success of his Wheel of Time audiobooks. In Roshar, a world of stone and storms,
civilization and nature alike have been forced into retreat, confined to places where the land can offer shelter from the raging tempests. This high fantasy series depicts the ravages of wars waged in this world over swords and armor suits that transform their bearers into unstoppable warriors. With the talented coupling of Kate Reading and Michael Kramer sharing narration duties, the Stormlight Archive is an exciting, ongoing series worth diving into.
Series name: The Green Bone Saga
Books in Series: Jade City (Book 1); Jade War (Book 2)
Intense narration, tight prose, and a captivating plot that leaves listeners breathless—these, along with a brilliantly imagined urban fantasy world, make Fonda Lee's Green Bone Saga an engaging and thrilling audiobook experience. Jade, an element found in abundance on the island of Kekon, is highly valued for its ability to enhance the magical abilities of Green Bone warriors. One prominent warrior clan, the Kauls, has begun using their family legacy to leverage political power on Kekon, intent on seizing control of the jade market. But when a drug is developed that allows anyone to wield jade, the island of Kekon finds itself at the center of an intense conflict with the fate of all Green Bones and their homeland at stake.
Series name: Legacy of Orïsha
Books in Series: Children of Blood and Bone (Book 1); Children of Virtue and Vengeance (Book 2)
In the land of Orïsha, there are two types of people: the magical divîners and the non-magical kosidán. After a series of tragic events, including a decree of persecution against divîners by a king, the magic users are treated as second class citizens, paying a tax on their very existence to the king. One divîner, Zélie Adebola, sets off on a quest to avenge her slain mother, and to obtain a scroll that may have the ability to restore magic and magic users to their former status. This audiobook is absolutely pause-resistant with the help of Bahni Turpin's distinctive, dauntless narration.
Series name: Malazan Book of the Fallen
Books in Series: Gardens of the Moon (Book 1); Deadhouse Gates (Book 2); Memories of Ice (Book 3); House of Chains (Book 4); Midnight Tides (Book 5); The Bonehunters (Book 6); Reaper's Gale (Book 7); Toll the Hounds (Book 8); Dust of Dreams (Book 9); The Crippled God (Book 10)
The Malazan Empire is in a fragile state. Despite endless wars, betrayals, and bloodshed, the reign of Empress Laseen seems as though it will never end, as the Empress sets her sights on conquering one of the last of the Free Cities. This is the stage on which Malazan Book of the Fallen is set. Chapter by chapter, book by book, the series grows to cover a wide and complex scope of war, politicking, and the consequences of a blind pursuit of power. Spanning thousands of years and more than 10 unabridged audiobooks, the Malazan saga offers listeners plenty to dig into.
Series name: Tensorate Series
Books in Series: The Black Tides of Heaven (Book 1); The Red Threads of Fortune (Book 2); The Descent of Monsters (Book 3)
Two twins with different gifts find themselves on opposite ends of a bloody conflict in the tension-packed Tensorate Series. Akeha, a child of the Protector and an activist, defects from the family and aligns with a group of rebels looking to overthrow the Protectorate. The prophetic twin, Mokoya, remains with the family, and becomes more distant from her sibling the further down the path of rebellion Akeha travels. What ensues is a riveting, emotionally challenging story of loyalty and corruption, violence and peace. JY Yang's prose leaps with the aid of Nancy Wu's fantastic narration and character voices. This ongoing silkpunk series is not to be missed.
Series name: The Dark Star Trilogy
Books in Series: Black Leopard, Red Wolf (Book 1)
Marlon James made literary waves with his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings, and followed up that book's brutality and pathos with Black Leopard, Red Wolf. It's the first in a fantasy series that exudes the same level of frenetic detail and catharsis as his previous work. This first audiobook follows Tracker, a mercenary with a talent for tracking scents, as he is hired to find a missing child. The future installments will depict the same events through different characters' points of view. Brought to audio by the studious narration of Dion Graham, whose voice excellently captures the rage and coolness of main character Tracker, this is definitely a trilogy to watch for anyone looking to follow an exciting, ongoing fantasy series.
Series name: The Broken Earth
Books in Series: The Fifth Season (Book 1); The Obelisk Gate (Book 2); The Stone Sky (Book 3)
In a world ravaged by climate change, a powerful class of people called Orogenes can control earthquakes and prevent Seasons, the cycle of violent climate fluctuations. The Orogenes are frequently persecuted by ordinary humans. One Orogene, fed up with the oppression and fear this society instills in their people, uses their powers to split the planet's sole continent in twain, setting off a series of events that leads to the worst Season in memory. Jemisin is a master storyteller, exploring themes of oppression, marginalization, and how to navigate a world in which the deck is perennially stacked against you.
Series name: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Books in Series: The Fellowship of the Ring (Book 1); The Two Towers (Book 2); The Return of the King (Book 3)
This seminal classic of the fantasy genre really comes to life in audio, thanks to the enthusiastic and eloquent narration by Rob Inglis. Among the best fantasy series of all time, The Lord of the Rings is a tale of friendship and bravery in the face of an all-consuming darkness. Inglis's narration is enhanced by music and sound effects, and punctuated by the narrator's spirited performances of the trilogy's songs and poems. Revisiting the saga of Frodo Baggins and the Fellowship in audio is a true delight for fantasy fans.
Series name: Cradle
Books in Series: Unsouled (Book 1); Soulsmith (Book 2); Blackflame (Book 3); Skysworn (Book 4); Ghostwater (Book 5); Underlord (Book 6); Uncrowned (Book 7); Wintersteel (Book 8); Bloodline (Book 9); Reaper (Book 10); Dreadgod (Book 11); Waybound (Book 12)
Listeners are raving about Waybound, the epic conclusion to Will Wight’s bestselling Cradle series. The 12th and final installment of the action-packed series finds Lindon, born a powerless Unsouled, facing his most formidable foes in a battle over the future of the Cradle itself. Narrator Travis Baldree narrates all 12 audiobooks in the series, to the delight of listeners who say his performance is a perfect match for Wight’s mind-blowing storytelling. Start with volume one, Unsouled, and hear what all the buzz is about.
D.R. Baker is a writer and musician based in New York City. Their work has appeared at Book Riot, Submittable, HowlRound, and others.
