Looking for amazing Sci-fi audiobook

Lord Midas

Well-Known Member
Messages
148
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Idiots. Morons. Flat Earthers. Religious fanatics. Trump. Bigots. Misogynists. And other assorted bad types.
I've not long finished listening to the entire The First Law by Joe Abercrombie read by Stephen Pacey. Utterly superb. It's a kind of medieval setting, with a smidge of magic. I guess in the GoT vein where it's not fantasy per-se but more real.

Anyway, I've been wanting to listen to another sci-fi. The last one I listened to was The Long Earth series by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter ready by Michael Fenton Stevens. Again, superbly read, and a rather good story.

Every time I do a search for top Sci-fi the number one book is almost always Dune by Frank Herbert. My problem here is that I've seen the film a couple of times, and it's clouding my judgement on actually wanting to read/listen to the book. Is the book as amazing as they say, and the film being a bit naff?

Or are there any other great audiobook sci-fi stories that are amazingly read that you guys can recommend?

thx :headphone:
 

jay hay-char

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,682
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
The film had a PhD in weirdness, courtesy of David Lynch, who directed it :). It's a bit Marmite - some fans of the book love it, some can't stand it but the main thing that they all agree on is that, in spite of following the book's plot quite closely, it is a very different animal.

I very much enjoyed the book, having read it a long time before the film was made, and I'd commend it to you. I can't say the same of the sequels, which have a tendency to descend into incomprehensible mysticism and improbable plot twists, but "Dune" itself is brilliant, in my opinion.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lord Midas

wolfie11969

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,974
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
see if you can pick up any of the World War series by Harry Turtledove. I enjoyed those
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lord Midas

JohnEGreen

Master
Messages
13,188
Type of diabetes
Other
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Tripe and Onions
How about Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds

His books are very good.
 

jay hay-char

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,682
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I love Iain M Banks (and his alter ego, Iain Banks, come to that), though some of his stuff can seem a bit impenetrable. One of my favourites is The Player of Games, which I see is available as an audiobook, via Audible. It's read by Peter Kenny who, by the look of it, has done all of Iain Banks' books, both Sci-Fi and General Fiction, as audiobooks - so the Publisher must like him, anyway.

A word of caution - Banks' style can be quite visceral, and takes no prisoners, so I wouldn't recommend him to everyone.
 

Lord Midas

Well-Known Member
Messages
148
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Idiots. Morons. Flat Earthers. Religious fanatics. Trump. Bigots. Misogynists. And other assorted bad types.
Thanks everyone. I'll investigate these suggestions :D
 

Lord Midas

Well-Known Member
Messages
148
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Idiots. Morons. Flat Earthers. Religious fanatics. Trump. Bigots. Misogynists. And other assorted bad types.
A word of caution - Banks' style can be quite visceral, and takes no prisoners, so I wouldn't recommend him to everyone.
Visceral? As is graphic and gory?
 

jay hay-char

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,682
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Visceral? As is graphic and gory?
Yes. Not exclusively so, and often with a comic undertone, but he can be quite hard reading sometimes.

It's not one of his science fiction titles, but Banks set the tone with his very first published book, "The Wasp Factory". In the words of the entry on Wikipedia:

The book sold well, but was greeted with a mixture of acclaim and controversy, due to its gruesome depiction of violence. The Irish Times called it "a work of unparalleled depravity."

In spite of this, The Wasp Factory was a stunning debut and a favourite of mine. When something is described as "a work of unparalleled depravity" I just have to read it :)