The holidays
are upon us, but let’s be honest, they’ve already arrived if you’re a Star Wars fan like me. The Rise of Skywalker hits theaters in just a few short days, and I mean, c’mon, Baby Yoda? I bet you didn’t think you’d receive such an adorable gift this year.Galaxy far, far awayaside, it’s been a great year for listening. Thanks to all the great novels, Audible Originals, and audio dramas that released in 2019, I’m proud to brag that I crushed my listening goal of 30+ titles this year. If you haven’t yet, don’t worry, I come bearing strongly worded suggestions, as always. And there’s always next year, which is a leap year—so you get a whole extra 24 hours in your next trip around the sun to listen. It’s all about the journey, anyway—and I hope you enjoyed yours this year. Happy holidays!
- Sam, Audible editor
-
This Is How You Lose the Time War
- By: Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone
- Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell, Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 4 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,641
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,207
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,201
Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandment finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, becomes something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future. Except the discovery of their bond would mean the death of each of them. There’s still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win. That’s how war works, right?
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Flowery poetic word salad
- By Austin on 02-11-20
Best of the Year Winner: Sci-Fi
Our pick for the best sci-fi listen of 2019 is a tale unlike anything I’ve heard before. Authors Mohtar and Gladstone take two timeless literary concepts—the epistolary novel and the trope of star-crossed lovers—and twist them into a high-stakes and high-concept sci-fi adventure. The language alone is swoon-worthy, but the way narrators Cynthia Farrell and Emily Woo Zeller interpret the characters of Red and Blue through their letters makes listening to this story an almost otherworldly experience.
See All Sci-Fi Winners
-
The Winter of the Witch
- A Novel
- By: Katherine Arden
- Narrated by: Kathleen Gati
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,355
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,112
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2,105
The Winternight Trilogy introduced an unforgettable heroine, Vasilisa Petrovna, a girl determined to forge her own path in a world that would rather lock her away. Her gifts and her courage have drawn the attention of Morozko, the winter-king, but it is too soon to know if this connection will prove a blessing or a curse. Now, Moscow has been struck by disaster. Its people are searching for answers - and for someone to blame.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A rare perspective on myth
- By Benjamin Cook on 03-19-19
Best of the Year Winner: Fantasy
This year’s fantasy releases were all about brilliant series debuts. But as our top pick, this year I must honor a series finale. It’s hard to believe that the Winternight Trilogy is the first series from author Katherine Arden, because by the time you listen to the final installment, The Winter of the Witch, the myths and magic of her world have enveloped you so fully that bidding farewell is bittersweet. That’s due in large part to narrator Kathleen Gati—whose performance is as spellbinding and immersive as you could ask for in epic fantasy.
See All Fantasy Winners
-
Orlando People
- By: Alexander C. Kane
- Narrated by: Kristen Sieh
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,223
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,976
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,971
Gretch Wolgast is a bit of a dud. Just ask her. She’s a 21-year-old college dropout who has a loser job at the mall. Sure, she can lift a tennis ball with her telekinetic powers. But only three feet in the air. And she has to be sitting. Gretch is an OP, one of thousands born in Orlando, Florida, in the early 1980s who mysteriously developed the ability to move things with their minds. Unfortunately, she turned out to be the weakest of the bunch. Now, Gretch’s life is being turned upside down. She witnesses a murder and discovers a wide-ranging conspiracy.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Super(natural) fun!
- By Jules H on 12-12-19
My holiday escapist pick
If you’re traveling for the holidays like me (to Florida no less—what a coincidence!) and have a little bit of time off to squeeze in some fun listening, I recommend picking up Andrea Vernon creator Alexander C. Kane’s Orlando People before you go. Like Andrea, this new listen features a fun twist on the superhero genre, but this time it's infused with the ‘80s nostalgia that Stranger Things has me endlessly craving. Audible Listener D.A. says, Kane continues to delight with his fast-moving stories, lovable main characters, fun sci worlds and pop culture references, and, most of all, clever and silly humor. Kristen Sieh, meanwhile, is now a new favorite narrator. Bravo!
Visit the Sunshine State
-
A Very Scalzi Christmas
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Khristine Hvam, Dina Pearlman, Kevin T. Collins, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 470
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 421
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 421
New York Times best-selling and Hugo Award-winning author John Scalzi gift-wraps 15 short takes on the holiday season - interviews with holiday notables, "informational" articles about TV specials and Christmas carols, short stories and poems, and even a couple of nods to Thanksgiving and New Year’s - and puts them all into a stocking stuffer-sized package that makes the perfect gift for friends, family, or yourself.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Very Scalzian indeed!
- By Andre Wallace Simonsen on 12-03-19
Happy Scalzidays!
I love John Scalzi, and I’m a sucker for holiday stories with a little bit of a twist (I’m camp Die Hard is totally a Christmas movie
), so what was I supposed to do, not drop everything and listen to this on December 1? With 15 short stories narrated by greats like Khristine Hvam and Kevin T. Collins, there’s a little holiday cheer for everyone in here. Audible Listener Andre describes the collection as Very Scalzian indeed.
Perfection.
Get Festive
More Best of 2019 With a Sci-Fi Spin
-
Evil Eye
- By: Madhuri Shekar
- Narrated by: Nick Choksi, Harsh Nayyar, Annapurna Sriram, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 38 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 32,450
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 29,703
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29,570
Pallavi is an aspiring writer living in California. Her mother, Usha, is thousands of miles away in Delhi - and obsessed with finding her daughter a husband. In Madhuri Shekar’s ingenious Evil Eye, hilarious back-and-forth via phone and social media takes a shocking, supernatural twist when Pallavi meets the perfect man - leading to a climactic showdown that will leave listeners on the edges of their seats.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Holy Crap!
- By Avid Reader on 05-03-19
-
The Water Dancer (Oprah’s Book Club)
- A Novel
- By: Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Narrated by: Joe Morton
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13,738
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 12,136
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12,052
Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of her - but was gifted with a mysterious power. Years later, when Hiram almost drowns in a river, that same power saves his life. This brush with death births an urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home he’s ever known. So begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram from the corrupt grandeur of Virginia’s proud plantations to desperate guerrilla cells in the wilderness, from the coffin of the South to dangerously idealistic movements in the North.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
We Must Always Remember
- By Cammie on 09-28-19
-
The Institute
- A Novel
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 46,846
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42,180
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41,998
In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis' parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there's no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents - telekinesis and telepathy - who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and 10-year-old Avery Dixon.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
I really wanted to like this novel.. but..
- By Wendi on 09-21-19
-
Foreverywhere
- By: Steve Burns, Steven Drozd, Gabe Soria
- Narrated by: Steve Burns, Carly Ciarrocchi, Stephanie Mayers
- Length: 3 hrs
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,086
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,505
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,489
Foreverywhere tells the tale of a young unicorn (perhaps the last on Earth?!) and his quest, along with a Giant named Rick, a spider named Betsy and the guitar-shredding Princess Rainbow, to form the best band in the fantastical world of Anyville. But first, they’ll have to contend with the increasingly strange weather that seems to follow Princess Rainbow everywhere, and a rival band determined to bring them down. Will this group of misfits be able to rise above?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
My new favorite Audible Original
- By GranularGray on 08-05-19
-
Evil Eye
- By: Madhuri Shekar
- Narrated by: Nick Choksi, Harsh Nayyar, Annapurna Sriram, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 38 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 32,450
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 29,703
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29,570
Pallavi is an aspiring writer living in California. Her mother, Usha, is thousands of miles away in Delhi - and obsessed with finding her daughter a husband. In Madhuri Shekar’s ingenious Evil Eye, hilarious back-and-forth via phone and social media takes a shocking, supernatural twist when Pallavi meets the perfect man - leading to a climactic showdown that will leave listeners on the edges of their seats.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Holy Crap!
- By Avid Reader on 05-03-19
-
The Water Dancer (Oprah’s Book Club)
- A Novel
- By: Ta-Nehisi Coates
- Narrated by: Joe Morton
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13,738
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 12,136
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12,052
Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of her - but was gifted with a mysterious power. Years later, when Hiram almost drowns in a river, that same power saves his life. This brush with death births an urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home he’s ever known. So begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram from the corrupt grandeur of Virginia’s proud plantations to desperate guerrilla cells in the wilderness, from the coffin of the South to dangerously idealistic movements in the North.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
We Must Always Remember
- By Cammie on 09-28-19
-
The Institute
- A Novel
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Santino Fontana
- Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 46,846
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42,180
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41,998
In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis' parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there's no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special talents - telekinesis and telepathy - who got to this place the same way Luke did: Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris, and 10-year-old Avery Dixon.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
I really wanted to like this novel.. but..
- By Wendi on 09-21-19
-
Foreverywhere
- By: Steve Burns, Steven Drozd, Gabe Soria
- Narrated by: Steve Burns, Carly Ciarrocchi, Stephanie Mayers
- Length: 3 hrs
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,086
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,505
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,489
Foreverywhere tells the tale of a young unicorn (perhaps the last on Earth?!) and his quest, along with a Giant named Rick, a spider named Betsy and the guitar-shredding Princess Rainbow, to form the best band in the fantastical world of Anyville. But first, they’ll have to contend with the increasingly strange weather that seems to follow Princess Rainbow everywhere, and a rival band determined to bring them down. Will this group of misfits be able to rise above?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
My new favorite Audible Original
- By GranularGray on 08-05-19
About the Editor
Sam is obsessed with sci-fi & fantasy in all forms, with a particular soft spot for robots, time travel, and kick-ass heroines. When she’s not exploring distant galaxies and treacherous dungeons, she enjoys a healthy dose of memoirs, horror, and true crime. She is also an avid knitter who uses audiobooks to get her through mundane and challenging patterns—even if the more intense listens tend to mess with her tension.