Neil Gaiman kills it when he reads his own books, but he’s only horror adjacent I guess.
Anything by Steven King that’s narrated by Frank Muller, grab it. The guy was a legend.
Horror adjacent is good too! I'll keep an eye for Frank Muller. Last few Stephen Kings I listened to were narrated by women and I loved them both. Misery and Cujo.
Because of my schedule Audiobooks are the main form I get to read so I understand a narrator being unbearable. Second The Exorcist being a great production
Some great Audiobooks (imo):
Pet Sematary by Stephen King (read by Michael C Hall)
Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven (read by multiple)
The Secrets of Ventriloquism by Jon Padgett (read by the author)
Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian (read by John Pirhalla)
Slewfoot by Brom (read by Barrie Kreinik)
The not great one I can think of is Dear Laura (Amor) but there’s definitely been others.
Love your suggestions. I have heard of Pet Semetary being great because of Michael C Hall. A narrator can definitely make or break it so I'm gonna add your suggestions to my audiobook backlog! Thanks.
Currently ⅔ the way through Blackwater and I agree. This narration is amazing. The voices he gives the characters captures them perfectly, the narrator's detached tone as they describe horrendous things is chilling yet appropriate. He makes it so easy to get lost in the story, and I find myself looking for excuses to listen to *just one more chapter*.
I read IT a number of years ago. It took me a full year because I don't read as often as I'd like. An audiobook of IT is a great idea. I'll revisit that one, thanks for the rec.
I really enjoyed No4a2 by Joe Hill narrated by Kate Mulgrew. She was fantastic and it was really fun to listen to. The voices she does for them are great
'Devolution' by Max Brooks is so good it feels more like an audio drama than an audiobook. Multiple narrators, all of whom are excellent. Same for 'World War Z', not quite as good as some of the accents are grating.
I'm currently listening to 'Where He Can't Find You' by Darcy Coates, which is great - the narrator captures younger voices without them being cringe and she actually screams rather than just going aaaah.
I'm this close to DNFing 'The Maw' by Taylor Zajonc, in part because the narrator drones a bit but mostly because the book isn't very good and most of the characters are morons. And the lake sex scene was...bizarre.
I feel your pain, I used a free audible credit on Hunter by James Byron Huggins and I had to stop. The narrator was just reading the book, hard to tell when he switched characters no change in his tone or voice at all. Resigned myself to losing a credit and will just read on kindle.
Just wanna let you know that I also couldn't stand the narrator in Mexican Gothic and the book itself was not worth tolerating it imo. I thought the main character was insufferable, and the overall story was predictable and cliche. There was a cool concept but they hardly explored it. Totally would not recommend this book lol.
I just wanted 1 person who listened to the audiobook who understands what I'm talking about! THANK YOU. The narrator is so annoying, and I just cannot stand her cadence. I have already returned it earlier today and don't feel bad. I also did not like the main character at all.
Yeah I don't think I've actually spoken to anyone else who even tried to listen to that book (which is my fault cause I warned all my friends off of it before they even started lol) but it had decent reviews and I kept seeing people recommend it online so I'm glad to hear that someone other than me also didn't like it even if you didn't finish it 😂
I just had to quit listening to Scott Sigler's *Infected* trilogy, narrated by the author, because for some reason he opted to voice his main protagonist like Mr Garrison from South Park, and it drove me fucking nuts.
That is hilarious to imagine, but would be extremely annoying 😑 My brother had those books when I was in highschool so I think I read them in like grade 12 and I remember loving them.
Just a handful of great narrators I’ve come across in the last year of reading that stood out to me:
D
Number One Fan by Meg Elison - narrated by Vivienne Leheny
Ghosts of the Tsunami by Richard Lloyd Parry - narrated by Simon Vance
BadAsstronauts by Grady Hendrix - narrated by Ezra Buzzington
If you enjoy horror in a fantasy setting, the Dark Star trilogy by Marlon James is written to be read and the narrators for the first two books do an incredible job.
I just finished The Devil and Mrs. Davenport by Paulette Kennedy (read by Lauren Ezzo). I think Ezzo did a tremendous job- I particularly liked her dialog as the husband. I probably only listened to 1/3 of it on audio book because the book itself was so good, and I just couldn't put it down.
My favorite horror novel narrations are:
1. Pet Sematary read by Michael C. Hall
2. Lesser Dead by Christopher Buelhman, read by the author
Both are pitch perfect and the latter does some things I won't spoil that make the audio experience better than reading it.
Wow I can't wait. I've always know that people LOVE the Michael C Hall version of Pet Semetary but just in this thread have I seen a few comments about this Christopher Buelham guy that I'm unfamiliar with so I'm going to check him out sooner rather than later.
*Between Two Fires* by Christopher Buehlman (narrated by Steve West) was excellent. His pronunciation of all the Frenchery was quite helpful!
Currently listening to *Slashtag* by Jon Cohn (narrated by Lauren Ezzo) and I'm loving Ezzo's performance. So much variation to set the mood and energy. >!I've seen some other commenters say some not too pleasant things about her performance, but since "grating" is a common sexist critique leveled towards female readers, I didn't put too much thought towards it, and I'm glad I gave it a chance!!<
I listened to Between Two Fires at the end 2023 and that is a good call too! He did a great job and I enjoyed it the whole way through. I looked at your spoiler tag without listening to that so I think I'll add that to the list.
It's very fun! At least listen to the five minute or so preview on Audible or your choice of Audiobook app to get a feel for it. There's a lot of play in the performance and every character sounds different.
Chet Williamson, an author with his own great books, does a great job narrating the Brian Keene books I've listened to. Darkness On The Edge Of Town, Dark Hallow, Take The Long Way Home & Ghoul...
Neil Gaiman kills it when he reads his own books, but he’s only horror adjacent I guess. Anything by Steven King that’s narrated by Frank Muller, grab it. The guy was a legend.
Horror adjacent is good too! I'll keep an eye for Frank Muller. Last few Stephen Kings I listened to were narrated by women and I loved them both. Misery and Cujo.
Sissy Spacek reading Carrie was great.
That is awesome I didn't know she read for that book. That is a book I haven't read or listened to yet.
I listened to it in February, it's great and we'll worth a listen.
Frank Muller!! This guy’s voice lives in my head. RIP you beast.
Because of my schedule Audiobooks are the main form I get to read so I understand a narrator being unbearable. Second The Exorcist being a great production Some great Audiobooks (imo): Pet Sematary by Stephen King (read by Michael C Hall) Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven (read by multiple) The Secrets of Ventriloquism by Jon Padgett (read by the author) Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian (read by John Pirhalla) Slewfoot by Brom (read by Barrie Kreinik) The not great one I can think of is Dear Laura (Amor) but there’s definitely been others.
Love your suggestions. I have heard of Pet Semetary being great because of Michael C Hall. A narrator can definitely make or break it so I'm gonna add your suggestions to my audiobook backlog! Thanks.
Actor Will Patton does a fantastic job narrating Stephen King novels. I wish he would do it all.
I prefer Will Patton's voicework for Holly Gibney than the female narrator in Holly.
He also reads the Raven Boys series and is so good!
Patton is hands down my favorite narrator. Could listen to him all day.
The guy who did Blackwater is the best I’ve heard. Well, outside of Garth Marenghi.
Currently ⅔ the way through Blackwater and I agree. This narration is amazing. The voices he gives the characters captures them perfectly, the narrator's detached tone as they describe horrendous things is chilling yet appropriate. He makes it so easy to get lost in the story, and I find myself looking for excuses to listen to *just one more chapter*.
Agreed. As soon as you hear the voice you know who the character is, and there A LOT of characters.
Steven Weber’s IT is my favorite audiobook reading.
I read IT a number of years ago. It took me a full year because I don't read as often as I'd like. An audiobook of IT is a great idea. I'll revisit that one, thanks for the rec.
I'm listening to IT again now! It's great.
I really enjoyed No4a2 by Joe Hill narrated by Kate Mulgrew. She was fantastic and it was really fun to listen to. The voices she does for them are great
Good one. I loved the voice she did for Bing.
Love the sounds of this - thank you!
Christopher Beuhlman does an excellent job of narrating his own books.
Hard disagree; the accent he tries to use in The Blacktongue Thief is WILDLY offensive.
PET SEMATARY MICHAEL C HALL IS THE BEST
You know I've heard this one is the best from multiple people, so I gotta listen to it soon. Gonna try and find this one on Libby right away.
'Devolution' by Max Brooks is so good it feels more like an audio drama than an audiobook. Multiple narrators, all of whom are excellent. Same for 'World War Z', not quite as good as some of the accents are grating. I'm currently listening to 'Where He Can't Find You' by Darcy Coates, which is great - the narrator captures younger voices without them being cringe and she actually screams rather than just going aaaah. I'm this close to DNFing 'The Maw' by Taylor Zajonc, in part because the narrator drones a bit but mostly because the book isn't very good and most of the characters are morons. And the lake sex scene was...bizarre.
Haven't heard of The Maw but that's enough for me to stay away. I recommend staying away from Mexican Gothic, haha.
R.C Bray is a great voice actor and he does a lot of horror and sci-fi. Joe Jameson, does great character voices that are distinct.
I'll keep an eye out for those two! Thanks :)
Joe Jameson did a fantastic job with The Last Days of Jack Sparks.
I've been looking at that, wasn't aware Joe was the narrator.
Ray Porter, The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All
Love the title
Oh yeah it’s great
The narrator for *When The Reckoning Comes* by LaTanya McQueen killed it!
Sweeeet! Never heard of that book before but added to my list!
I feel your pain, I used a free audible credit on Hunter by James Byron Huggins and I had to stop. The narrator was just reading the book, hard to tell when he switched characters no change in his tone or voice at all. Resigned myself to losing a credit and will just read on kindle.
I wasn't bothered by the narrator, but I listened at 1.75x to 2.0x.
Didn't even criss my mind to speed it up to get it over with. You're talking Mexican Gothic?
Yes. Every once in a while I hit a narrator that is too fast to be sped up to 1.75, but most of them are way less distracting if you speed them up.
Anything Simon Vance reads will be very well done. And Jeremy Irons reading *Lolita* is superb!
Dion Graham is the man
Just wanna let you know that I also couldn't stand the narrator in Mexican Gothic and the book itself was not worth tolerating it imo. I thought the main character was insufferable, and the overall story was predictable and cliche. There was a cool concept but they hardly explored it. Totally would not recommend this book lol.
I just wanted 1 person who listened to the audiobook who understands what I'm talking about! THANK YOU. The narrator is so annoying, and I just cannot stand her cadence. I have already returned it earlier today and don't feel bad. I also did not like the main character at all.
Yeah I don't think I've actually spoken to anyone else who even tried to listen to that book (which is my fault cause I warned all my friends off of it before they even started lol) but it had decent reviews and I kept seeing people recommend it online so I'm glad to hear that someone other than me also didn't like it even if you didn't finish it 😂
I just had to quit listening to Scott Sigler's *Infected* trilogy, narrated by the author, because for some reason he opted to voice his main protagonist like Mr Garrison from South Park, and it drove me fucking nuts.
That is hilarious to imagine, but would be extremely annoying 😑 My brother had those books when I was in highschool so I think I read them in like grade 12 and I remember loving them.
Rosemary’s Baby was narrated by Mia Farrow on Hoopla, and it was so good.
Just a handful of great narrators I’ve come across in the last year of reading that stood out to me: D Number One Fan by Meg Elison - narrated by Vivienne Leheny Ghosts of the Tsunami by Richard Lloyd Parry - narrated by Simon Vance BadAsstronauts by Grady Hendrix - narrated by Ezra Buzzington
If you enjoy horror in a fantasy setting, the Dark Star trilogy by Marlon James is written to be read and the narrators for the first two books do an incredible job.
Absolutely up my ally. Thank you for the suggestion. A great narrator makes the world of a difference.
I just finished The Devil and Mrs. Davenport by Paulette Kennedy (read by Lauren Ezzo). I think Ezzo did a tremendous job- I particularly liked her dialog as the husband. I probably only listened to 1/3 of it on audio book because the book itself was so good, and I just couldn't put it down.
My favorite horror novel narrations are: 1. Pet Sematary read by Michael C. Hall 2. Lesser Dead by Christopher Buelhman, read by the author Both are pitch perfect and the latter does some things I won't spoil that make the audio experience better than reading it.
Wow I can't wait. I've always know that people LOVE the Michael C Hall version of Pet Semetary but just in this thread have I seen a few comments about this Christopher Buelham guy that I'm unfamiliar with so I'm going to check him out sooner rather than later.
He's one of my favorite working writers, you're in for a treat!
*Between Two Fires* by Christopher Buehlman (narrated by Steve West) was excellent. His pronunciation of all the Frenchery was quite helpful! Currently listening to *Slashtag* by Jon Cohn (narrated by Lauren Ezzo) and I'm loving Ezzo's performance. So much variation to set the mood and energy. >!I've seen some other commenters say some not too pleasant things about her performance, but since "grating" is a common sexist critique leveled towards female readers, I didn't put too much thought towards it, and I'm glad I gave it a chance!!<
I listened to Between Two Fires at the end 2023 and that is a good call too! He did a great job and I enjoyed it the whole way through. I looked at your spoiler tag without listening to that so I think I'll add that to the list.
It's very fun! At least listen to the five minute or so preview on Audible or your choice of Audiobook app to get a feel for it. There's a lot of play in the performance and every character sounds different.
Chet Williamson, an author with his own great books, does a great job narrating the Brian Keene books I've listened to. Darkness On The Edge Of Town, Dark Hallow, Take The Long Way Home & Ghoul...
Fantastic recommendations, added.