The Best Western Audiobooks for Your Inner Outlaw | Audible.com

The Best Western Audiobooks for Your Inner Outlaw | Audible.com

The Best Western Audiobooks for Your Inner Outlaw

From family-friendly listens to gritty adventure tales, this collection of 15 wide-ranging listens has something to thrill all fans of classic Westerns.

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October 7, 2020

The Best Western Audiobooks for Your Inner Outlaw

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The now classic Western genre has shaped modern literature, film, and other forms of entertainment. Whether your story is taking you to the wide-open plains of Utah or the wild and lawless terrain of outer space, it’s likely pulling on the tropes and themes of a traditional Western. Our favorite audiobooks don’t just encompass old classics though—we’ve gathered a full breadth of work so that all fans of the genre can find something new to listen to. From family-friendly listens to gritty adventure tales, here is our list of the best Western audiobooks.

The Cold Dish

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Any audiobook narrated by the accomplished George Guidall is likely to find itself at the top of its genre, and The Cold Dish is no exception. With a subtle accent and a humorous delivery, Guidall performs the role of Walt Longmire, who is ready for retirement after serving 25 long, hard years in Wyoming as county sheriff. But Longmire’s hopes are dashed when a man previously charged with rape is murdered, and Sheriff Walt senses that someone is out for vengeance. This is the first installment in Craig Johnson's series of Walt Longmire mysteries, and Guidall lends his skilled voice to all 15 audiobooks.

The Round House

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Winner of the National Book Award in 2012, this unforgettable novel from Indigenous author Louise Erdrich tells the story of a violent attack on native North Dakota land—not during pioneer days, but in1988—and a young man’s quest for justice. When his mother is brutally assaulted at home on an Ojibwe reservation and the local police are slow to respond, 13-year-old Joe Coutts sets out on a journey with his friends to get answers and hold someone accountable. The Round House is a sobering and sadly familiar story of love, trauma, coming of age, and persistence in the face of callous indifference.

The Revenant

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A raw, award-winning classic and the inspiration for a major motion picture featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant will keep you gripped until the very last minute. The novel tells the story of Hugh Glass, a frontiersman and trapper in the snowy Rocky Mountains. After he’s nearly killed by a grizzly bear in a violent attack, Glass must do all he can to survive until help arrives. But when he’s abandoned by spiteful members of his own fur trading company, his focus narrows in on a single goal: revenge. Narrated with authenticity and simmering tension by Holter Graham, The Revenant is an epic tale of survival and perseverance that feels unquestionably intimate.

The Riders of High Rock

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Hopalong Cassidy—nicknamed for his gait after taking a bullet to the thigh—is a fictional hero who's become the stuff of legend. Created by writer Clarence E. Mulford, he was later adopted by iconic Western author Louis L’Amour, who famously said that he "walked the land my characters walk." In L'Amour's classic Hopalong Cassidy series, narrator Robert Petkoff plays the entire cast, slipping into each unique drawl seamlessly. The adventures begin in The Riders of High Rock with Cassidy's journey through California as he looks for an old friend. But when he realizes a killer is trailing after him, Cassidy has no choice but to show what happens if you get in his way. L’Amour’s plot and Petkoff’s pacing work together to keep you on your toes as Cassidy comes fearlessly face-to-face with anyone who dares to cross him.

Dead Man's Walk

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Author Larry McMurtry is perhaps best known for Lonesome Dove, his Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the frontier. Dead Man’s Walk is the third novel in the Lonesome Dove Saga, but it falls first in the chronological order of the series timeline. In this story, we follow young Texas Rangers Augustus and Woodrow as they’re called into duty, evade the threats of a Comanche war chief, and journey across the untamed and treacherous Texas terrain. Throughout the adrenaline-filled adventure, actor Will Patton brings each plot turn and character to life with a unique tone and distinctive twang.

True Grit

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True Grit is an essential Western classic in it’s own right, but this audio edition brings Charles Portis's novel to a new level since it is narrated by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Donna Tartt. The audiobook includes an essay by Tartt on why this work is so important to her, connecting narrator and story in a unique, poignant way. When her father is shot dead by an outlaw, Mattie Ross knows she has no other choice but to avenge his murder—even if she’s only 14. True Grit follows the determined Mattie as she teams up with Rooster Cogburn, a cantankerous US Marshall who agrees to ride along on her quest. If you've seen the 2010 film interpretation, you might be especially interested to hear the original tale that inspired the Coen Brothers to bring the story to the big screen.

Destiny's Embrace

Beverly Jenkins

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In the first book in a trilogy set in 19th-century California, award-winning historical romance author Beverly Jenkins introduces us to the unlikely chemistry between a ranch owner and his housekeeper. Logan Yates is surprised at the strength of his feelings for the striking and headstrong Mariah Cooper. But as he contends with his growing infatuation, Mariah's old flame reemerges to complicate an already fraught situation. Narrated by Shari Peele, a veteran romance performer, Destiny’s Embrace keeps listeners captivated with a lively love story set against the backdrop of the American West.

Riders of the Purple Sage

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Set in Utah in the late 1800s, Zane Grey's Riders of the Purple Sage stands out as a novel that not only shaped the Western genre but also challenged cultural norms. After being rejected by several publishers and fearful of potential scandal, Grey settled on an altered version of his story for publication in 1912. Finally released a century later, this unabridged version tells the full, uncensored story as the author wished it to be told. In the novel, notorious gunman Jim Lassiter sets out to avenge his sister’s death, only to find that the seemingly peaceful Mormon community she called home is controlled by a corrupt elder—and that's only the start of the evil forces lurking. Narrator Mark Bramhall’s Western twang further transports the listener into Grey’s wild and menacing world.

The Time It Never Rained

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In this classic set in West Texas in the 1950s, Spur Award-winning author Elmer Kelton tells the story of Charlie Flagg, a rancher grappling with a threat to everything he believes in. The last of a dying breed of Texans, Flagg earns his living off the land, raising cattle and sheep, and refuses to sacrifice his independence for a federal handout. As a severe drought persists, and he and his family struggle to make ends meet, the proud rancher faces an agonizing choice: compromising his principles or risking starvation. The Time It Never Rained is based on true events, and Kelton weaves historical facts into his compelling narrative. George Guidall narrates, again demonstrating his impressive emotional and vocal range as he portrays different characters and their perspectives with equal conviction.

Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down

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A surreal and hilarious take on the traditional Western and its tropes, Yellow Back Radio Broke-Down is an edgy satire that dares to be different. Blazing in to shatter the established image of the cowboy—a rugged, chap-wearing white man with a drawl—is Loop Garoo Kid, a Black voodoo-practicing gunslinger. Ingeniously satirizing American history while exposing the role of religion in some of the worst atrocities against Black and Indigenous people, award-winning writer Ishmael Reed brings a fresh new face to the old Western. Among the cast of colorful supporting characters are Loop's mail-order bride Mustache Sal, a rich slob of a cattleman named Drag Gibson, and Thomas Jefferson.

Inland

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Author Téa Obreht made her debut with The Tiger's Wife, a work of magical realism set in a Balkan country. For her second novel, Inland, she chose a very different setting: the lawless Arizona Territory in 1893. Drawing on little-known history, the story unfolds as two parallel narratives. In one, we follow Nora, a woman awaiting the return of her husband and elder sons; in the other, we hear from Lurie, a former outlaw haunted by ghosts. These two opposite but inherently intertwined narratives make Inland perfect for multiple narrators. Anna Chlumsky, who voices Nora, and Edoardo Ballerini, who voices Lurie, deliver their parts with authentic passion. Accompanied by Euan Morton, the three narrators seamlessly take listeners to the Western frontier, delivering a dramatic and enduring performance.

Little House in the Big Woods

Laura Ingalls Wilder

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Generations ago, kids read Laura Ingalls Wilder's tales of life on the prairie with Pa, Ma, and her sisters, and watched the popular TV show, starring Melissa Gilbert, inspired by the books. Today, the Little House series is a listening experience for the whole family to enjoy. Told from Laura’s perspective, starting at the age of four in Book One, Little House in the Big Woods, all the way through to starting a family of her own in Book Nine, the stories about pioneer life in the late 1800s—with all its hardships, anguish, joys, and antics—will captivate children and nostalgic grown-ups alike. Narrator Cherry Jones has a sweet, warm tone that delights ears of all ages and makes learning about things like gathering maple syrup sound magical.

O, Pioneers!

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The first work in Willa Cather's Great Plains trilogy, O, Pioneers! tells the story of the Bergsons, a family of immigrants from Sweden who embrace the American frontier at the dawn of the 20th century. When the patriarch dies, his daughter Alexandra takes over the land to fulfill his dying wish of establishing his family in Nebraska. With diligence, resourcefulness, and honesty, she persists in honoring her promise to her father, through crop failures, harsh winters, and personal sacrifice. Narrator Alexis O’Donahue captures the heart-aching beauty of the novel's prose and the quiet strength of the remarkable heroine at its heart.

Days Without End

Sebastian Barry

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Written by Irish author Sebastian Barry, Days Without End follows two young Irish immigrant soldiers from the plains of Wyoming to Tennessee and through battles in the Indian Wars and the American Civil War. For Thomas McNulty and John Cole, life has been filled with hardship, and the wars they sign up to fight expose them to unspeakable horrors. But in their time spent together, they forge a bond and go on to create a makeshift family with someone branded as their enemy: a young Sioux girl. Performed by Earphones Award-winning narrator Aidan Kelly, this poignant and powerful listen affirms that caring, love, and hope can be found in the most unlikely of places.

Blood Meridian

Cormac McCarthy

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Among the greatest living American novelists, Cormac McCarthy won the Pulitzer Prize for The Road and a National Book Award for All the Pretty Horses. Yet many critics and fans consider Blood Meridian to be his masterpiece. Set on the Texas frontier, it's a chronicle of brutality told by "the kid"—an anti-hero sharing his experiences with a group of scalp hunters raiding the Texas land and massacring the Comanches. McCarthy’s magnum opus exposes the war-like nature of man, and asks questions of listeners’ morality and ethics in doing so. Narrator Richard Poe’s deliberate performance allows you to truly appreciate McCarthy’s rich prose and attention to historical details, even in the novel’s darkest and cruelest moments.

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