• Gregor the Overlander

  • Underland Chronicles, Book 1
  • By: Suzanne Collins
  • Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
  • Length: 6 hrs and 33 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (2,695 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Gregor the Overlander  By  cover art

Gregor the Overlander

By: Suzanne Collins
Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $18.00

Buy for $18.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Rich in suspense and brimming with adventure, the New York Times-bestselling Underland Chronicles unfold the fate of the Underland and the great warrior, Gregor. Suzanne Collins is also the author of the bestselling Hunger Games trilogy.

When Gregor falls through a grate in the laundry room of his apartment building, he hurtles into the dark Underland, where spiders, rats, and cockroaches coexist uneasily with humans. This world is on the brink of war, and Gregor's arrival is no accident. A prophecy foretells that Gregor has a role to play in the Underland's uncertain future. Gregor wants no part of it, until he realizes it's the only way to solve the mystery of his father's disappearance. Reluctantly, Gregor embarks on a dangerous adventure that will change both him and the Underland forever.

©2003 Suzanne Collins (P)2005 Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Collins introduces her young heroes Gregor and his little sister Boots into a wonderland....A fantastically engaging place." (Publishers Weekly)
"Collins creates a fascinating, vivid, highly original world and a superb story." (Booklist)

Featured Article: The Best Kids Audiobook Series for Every Young Listener


Audiobooks are a great resource for children, whether they are just learning to read or already voracious readers. Studies show that listening to audiobooks has a positive effect on their developing minds, and listening to stories with great narration and voices help kids engage more with a story. We've chosen a variety of great audiobook series for kids and broken them down into age groups to make it easier to find an option that works for you and your family.

What listeners say about Gregor the Overlander

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,745
  • 4 Stars
    578
  • 3 Stars
    238
  • 2 Stars
    71
  • 1 Stars
    63
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,429
  • 4 Stars
    463
  • 3 Stars
    175
  • 2 Stars
    54
  • 1 Stars
    42
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,478
  • 4 Stars
    416
  • 3 Stars
    178
  • 2 Stars
    50
  • 1 Stars
    51

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Skip if you're looking for more Hunger Games

I downloaded this book because I loved the Hunger Games so much. However, this book is aimed at an audience that is significantly younger and just isn't as gripping. It's not a bad book, but it's nothing that exciting either.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

57 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Love these books!

I did not know what to expect having just finished the Hunger Games series. I loved those and thought that this may be along those lines. Gregor, Boots and all of the other characters in this series are awesome. I just got this book 3 days ago- and have just finished second one. These books are so good I'm going to purchase the books themselves.
The story is gripping, heartwarming, heartbreaking and just wonderful. There is no swearing - yes these may be more for children than adults but I don't see it that way. I'm looking forward to listening to the 3rd book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Second best book series in print

I loved the Underland chronicles, second best book series in print today, second only to Harry Potter of coarse. Well written, easy to understand and follow along, with no boring spots to interupt your enjoyment. Suzanne Collins is an excellent author and her Underland Chronicles is much better than her Hunger Games series. There are 5 books in the series and they all flow together like water in a river, and each book can stand by itself without the others if need be. The cast of caractors in this story is wonderfully well written, you fill emotionally attached to them by the time the series ends. So please follow Gregor and his two year old sister Boots along on a great and heart felt journey.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

27 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Margery Facklam should have co/authored.

This is for 4th graders through 8th graders. I believe that age group will really like the book, but it is not that good for adults. I believe it could have been, The writing is good, but there are large holes. I will say I liked the whole take a bath so they rats don't smell you. That is true for different cultures. My wife went to college with some Nigerians. They said that all Americans have a smell, because we eat so much meat. About half way through the story gets more interesting when they are joined by Rip Red, I liked his character. There were also some surprises I did not see coming.

I did feel she should have gotten someone like Facklam to help her write the story. This mostly takes place underground and the only animals she mentions, are people, rats, roaches, fish and spiders. Of all the animals and insects that live underground , this was all she could fit into the story.

A little girl gets sucked down a grate in a laundry room in New York City and so did a full grown man. The explanation for that did not take place until the end of the story and then it was not very good. I would like to know why a group traveling through dangerous territory did not post guards when they slept, where did the roast beef come from, where did he get cab fare and how come the kid who should be in her terrible two's is so good? I know this is meant for a young audience, but does that mean it has to be sloppy. Don't our kids deserve better.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great series.

I really like this entire series. Good characters. Very inventive story. Good writing. Good all around.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

22 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Very Good

My son and I just finished this book and we really enjoyed it. My son is eleven years old. The story moved along at a nice pace and the narrator did a good job with the different voices. If you're looking for a good solid story that doesn't get bogged down in endless detail, this book is a good choice.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

It's A Kid's Book, And I Liked It!

Any additional comments?

Happily surprised by this one. What does that say about me? Not sure because according to Amazon, the age level for this series is 8-12. That actually makes me pretty happy because that means there’s some decent fiction out there for young readers. No better way to get them hooked on reading than by giving them decent books! My son liked it, and since it was in my Audible library from him, I thought I’d give it a listen.

Of course, some parts of my adult brain noted when the writing was a bit simple, but quite honestly, it was an imaginative journey down the vent shaft in the laundry room to the underworld. Gregor gets the surprise of his life, and protects his baby sister quite gallantly. Good boy… and well, sometimes you just have to save the world, underworld or not! This would be a good one for the whole family to listen to together! Road trip!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Watch out Alice in Wonderland!

Gregor is 11 years old and left at home to watch his baby sister, Boots, who is 2 years old and his grandmother who has trouble keeping her mind in the here and now.

It's summer. It's hot. And all Gregor can think is that it's pathetic that he's excited over the fact he gets to get out of the house for a few hours to do laundry.

Then...his sister falls down a......what? He dives after her and falls too, and what they find is a fantastical world where they are called "Overlanders".

Gregor is not sure about trusting these strangers, especially with his baby sister, but they gradually earn his trust....and his respect....and ultimately a gratitude he can never repay.

The world is strange; but described so well it's easy to visualize. Gregor doesn't think he's much of a "warrior" when a prophecy in the Underland seems to point to the fact that he is, and what he fights with would win no battles here in the Overland.

The choices he makes are so natural, so human, so real, it's easy to feel after a bit that you, the reader, are living it with him. Other characters are very three dimensional, and all the main ones change in some way throughout the book.

Wonderful as a good book or a good bedtime story; take your pick. Highly recommend for an escape!

Suzanne Collins paints a portrait out of her imagination of an immense Underland so vivid it does make me want to take a second look at anything that may go "down". Paul Boehmer narrates amazingly and believably both an old man's voice and the voice of a two year old little girl. (How do they do this?) Fantastic book; fantastic narration. A joy to read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Not a trilogy

I really like all three of the Gregor books that are out so far. I thought it was a trilogy though and now I have to wait for the last two books (I hate that). The stories are good and so is the narrator. What I really like though is that, despite all their troubles, this is a story of a loving and mostly functional family, which is unusual in this type of fantasy fiction.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Too earnest?

I think I would’ve liked this a bit more in written form. The narrator seemed too earnest...or trying too hard to sound like a kid. I’m not sure exactly what it was, but it put me off of the story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful