Roshani Chokshi, the best-selling author of The Star-Touched Queen and Aru Shah and the City of Gold, knows how to create an audio-first storytelling experience. Her dazzling Audible Original novella, Once More Upon a Time, is a whimsical and romantic fairy tale with a twist, brought to life by a multicast performance from Rebecca Gibel, Shiromi Arserio, and Vikas Adam. For Chokshi, putting together a truly luscious-to-listen-to tale was its own kind of happily ever after.
Chokshi is a listener herself—and when we asked her for some of her favorite stories on Audible, epic narration was just as important as larger-than-life characters and provocative plots. Here are her four must-listen audiobooks.
For fans of folklore and mythology, The Sandman is an absolute must listen. I love this elaborate Audible production (with James McAvoy’s dreamy tenor no less!) for bringing the story richly to life without sacrificing any of the whimsy and depth—an absolute treat for old and new fans!
This narration by Richard Armitage and Emilia Fox is an absolute celebration of Carter’s rich and almost synesthetic use of language. It is the kind of narration that lulls you to a dream that slowly melts into nightmare.
Soneela Nankani is one of my favorite audiobook narrators. Her voice is vivid and sparkling, seamlessly leaping from one character to the next, and I love how it celebrates Thakrar’s starry coming-of-age tale that is rich in imagination and Hindu mythology.
I am a lover of historical nonfiction, and I greatly enjoyed Robin Miles’s narration. Her cadence brought Cleopatra’s setting, turmoils, and politics alive in the mind, and this listen’s thoughtful and insightful research will change how you look at this legendary historical figure.
