Best fantasy audiobooks 2014 download
Soon follows a coming-of-age adventure that's wholly unique. After a series of strange visions and supernatural encounters, year-old Clary learns of her destiny as a Shadowhunter, a being tasked with protecting humanity from demonic forces. Electrifying, wickedly fun, and told from the alternating perspectives of scholar Laia and soldier Elias, this series opens on a brutal, ancient Rome-inspired world where citizens are at the mercy of the Empire.
Khristine Hvam artfully narrates this epic trilogy, set in both Prague and a magical realm, about a woman raised by a chimera who must make a decision about where she fits in an otherworldly war. Marisa Calin narrates all three books in this trilogy focusing on a family with the ability to time travel. When Gwyneth, presumed powerless, goes on an unexpected journey, she resolves to harness her skills.
A languid, masterful study of characterization, language, and memory, this work of thoughtful literary fiction is a standout for its characters, each alive with individual personalities, desires, and motivations. As this dark fantasy saga opens, the war between humans and vampires has been raging for decades, since the sun last rose. In a sea of darkness, only a few tiny sparks of light remain.
After his brother enters the Serpent Spire and never returns, Corin follows suit, venturing into the tower abounding with traps, puzzles, and monsters. If he survives, a tremendous reward awaits. For fans of LitRPG with a darker, more intense edge, this story that combines reality television with global catastrophe is a stunner.
With civilization in ruins, survival depends on who puts on the best show. A tale of sacrifice and honor unfolds as Tau, a pacifist with plans to leave the military and flee with his family, is instead driven by loss to become the greatest swordman alive and exact his revenge. A witch living in Britain, Mika knows she has to hide her magic and keep her head down.
Christopher Buehlman proves his storytelling chops as both a writer and narrator in this outstanding masterclass, a fun, fast-paced thrill ride that sees down-on-his-luck thief Kinch crossing paths with knight Galva. Aiden Thomas and Avi Roque make for an electric author-narrator pairing in this story about a trans boy who fights to become a ghost-summoning brujo.
Narrator Natalie Naudus invites you to sink into this story of Xingyin, forced to challenge the Celestial Emperor to save her mother. The stakes are high, the love is deep, and the story unforgettable. Audible Essentials. Melissa Bendixen. Get this title. But the path to knighthood is never easy and, on her first adventure, Alanna will find friends and enemies, sickness and sorcery, and discover the magic within her… Forty years on from first publication, The Song of the Lioness Quartet retains its warmth, adventure, and steel, affirming this coming-of-age tale as a timeless masterpiece.
Up Next. The Best Fantasy Audiobook Series. This tale is a masterclass in world-building, taking you deep into the heart of Middle-earth with its rich lore, diverse characters, and epic landscapes. Perfect for fans of classic fantasy, this audiobook offers an unforgettable journey of courage, friendship, and the fight against darkness.
White Trash Warlock brings a unique twist to the urban fantasy genre. This audiobook stands out for its blend of supernatural elements with real-world issues, all while keeping you hooked with its fast-paced plot and engaging characters. The Sum of All Men , the first book in The Runelords introduces a unique and compelling fantasy world where individuals can gain extraordinary powers through the transfer of attributes from one person to another.
This audiobook is a great choice for those who love high fantasy with innovative magic systems, political intrigue, and battles between good and evil. A Darker Shade of Magic offers an enthralling journey through parallel Londons, each distinct in its level of magical influence. This audiobook stands out for its mix of magic, intrigue, and the exploration of multiple realities.
Best fantasy audiobooks 2014 full: From the complex worldbuilding of epic fantasy to low-stakes stories and childhood favorites, these are the best fantasy audiobooks of all time.
Don't expect a book of action though. This is a very slow paced novel with Hobb slowly revealing the edges of the plot and delightfully lingering about the day-to-day events. It's clear she's writing this one for the fans. And to that, she succeeds. If you loved her previous works and how she tells her stories, then you'll enjoy this one immensely. If you didn't, then you won't.
Simple enough. Fool's Errand the Tawny Man. Golden Fool the Tawny Man. Fool's Fate the Tawny Man. Fool's Quest. I was quite impressed with the first book, The Boy with a Porcelain Blade which told an awesome coming of age tale set in a dark, twisted Italian Renaissance world gone wrong. It combined a macabre setting, The Three Musketeer's level of awesome sword action, political scheming, with a likable hero.
The second book was released January For a solid coming of age tale, awesomely unique setting, and a story where a lot of horrible depressing shit happens, pick this one up. And did I mention there's almost a pedantic detail given to fencing?
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Five books in now, this series is turning out to be one of the best in the genre. Abraham writes an entirely different sort of book then these others. The plot is slower paced, there's a lot about economics and banking, there's detailed scheming that takes place slowly over hundreds even thousands of pages.
And first and foremost, it's completely character driven. But IF you have the patience for a deep, plodding, yet ultimately richly rewarding series, then The Dagger And the Coin is some of the best fantasy in the genre. But it takes a few books into it before things start happening and the action starts to build. The Dagger And The Coin. The King's Blood.
The Tyrant's Law. The Spider's War. I read the fist in the series, Scourge of the Betrayer, late and was blown away with how good Salyards' tale was. And the sequel, which was released in was even better than the first book. So if you have any love of gritty grimdark, you owe it to yourself to pick up Scourge of the Betrayer and the even better sequel Veil of the Deserters.
Scourge Of The Betrayer. Chains Of The Heretic. This series 2 books so far is an awesome read if you like gritty fantasy about the underside life of a city. We're talking about thieves, crooks, spies, gangs, pimps, and the like. Tossed into the middle of a rat-infested slum area is Drothe our likable but rather un-extraordinary protagonist.
This is a fast-paced series pretty much from the get go and has our hero trying to stay alive from the start till the very end of the book. Heck, even if you are not a fan of those books, you'll still probably love Tale of the Kin. Book two is even better than the first book, so as of , the very high standards set by the first book have been maintained.
Among Thieves. The first book, Six Gun Tarot, was an impressive debut fantasy and a must read if you like an ambitiously dark novel that pushes the boundaries.
Best fantasy audiobooks 2014
It's wasn't an interesting blend of different genres -- a sort of Deadwood meets Vampire fiction set in a steampunkish Weird West world. And there's a strong Lovecraftian feel to the whole thing. I don't even want to guess how many genres and subgenres this novel blends together; but it all actually works. The sequel takes all that was good about the fist novel, and ramps it up.
It's a delicious return to the world and completely intoxicating. Without a doubt The Shotgun Arcana is even by far much more spectacularly ambitious and imaginative than the first and a stronger book overall. If you are a fan of Weird Westerns, Urban Fantasy, Lovecraftian stories, strange steampunk or vampire fiction with a coming-of-age story tossed in, you'll love this novel.
With so many genres mashed together here, there's bound to be something for every reader to be found in it. And you know, it's also a pretty damn fun swashbuckling ride from start to finish. The Six-gun Tarot. Reading a new Abercrombie book is just like going to a fancy restaurant, it doesn't happen very often, but when it does, you relish every moment of the experience.
Half a King is the author's first YA effort, and for the most part, it works. He takes his now-patented take on the fantasy genre I call his version of grimdark 'aberdark' and trims it down a bit for a younger audience. There's less savagery, less sarcasm, less violence, but the feeling you come to expect from his writing is still there, strong as ever.
Overall, well worth reading. I don't feel it stands over the other great works that have come out this year by other authors AND it's a lesser work to his more adult storytelling his best of which is The Heroes , but it's a book that's true to his form and an outstanding read. Half A King. Half The World. Half A War. This was a pretty good follow up to his amazing first The Thousand Names which set a new standard for colonial military fantasy.
It was a compelling read and had a cast of interesting characters. The magic system was well done and there were some brutal action scenes. The setting was interesting as well with the imperial soldiers engaged in a life-or-death march through the desert, hounded on all sides by the enemy. If you liked Glen Cook's military fantasy or Erikson's Mazalan especially Bone Hunters which deals with armies marching through the desert , then you'll love this one -- it has a somewhat similar feel.
However, it's MUCH easier to read, the characters are more relatable for the most part. Overall, the first book was one of those novels you pick up and finish shortly and demand the sequel right away. Certainly one of the best fantasy releases of How does the sequel The Shadow Throne stack up? Very good, though a very different kind of read.
While the first book was about several companies of soldiers and individual squads trying to survive in the desert while fending off hostile natives and magical menaces, the sequel books moves things into the city. It's more a book about internal city politics than a pure military fantasy. I suspect if you like books like Among Thieves where individuals must navigate among the different power structures in a city, you'll really get a kick out of this one.
Personally, while I respected the author doing something new, I much preferred the previous setting. However, The Shadow Throne is by no means a bad book -- it's a great read overall. I just didn't like it nearly as much as the first. If Harry Dresden has a doppelganger in the genre, it's probably Alex Verus. Take all the elements of Harry Dresden, then make the hero less powerful and lot more ruthless and you have the Alex Verus series.
This is my new favorite Urban Fantasy. I love Jim Butcher, but his work has gone a bit downhill with his series lacking focus at this point. Alex Verus for now is a sharper read. What's also interesting is Verus' magical power, which is only his ability to see into the near future. Outside of this power, he's completely helpless against the more regular magic types.
But the way Verus uses his power and strategy to beat impossible odds make these books wildly entertaining. If you love Dresden, you absolutely have to start reading Alex Verus. A powerful coming of age tale about a rejected half-goblin, half-elven prince who comes unexpectedly to power when an accident kills his father, the emperor, and half brothers.
It's a tale about a young prince who finds the confidence to lead his people as emperor and perhaps that he's even good at the job. Addison's world is fascinating -- complex, richly drawn, with regal customs, regulations, and social orderings. It's a strange foreign hierarchy bound by even stranger social norms, from rituals to language patterns.
But it all works together to form a highly detailed setting that you just never want to leave. Unlike much of the other modern fantasy being released that's always grim and dark with unlikable amoral heroes, The Goblin Emperor returns to some of the older fantasy classic norms with good heroes you can really get behind and root for -- heroes who always take the high road, even though they have suffered through many injustices.
It's thoroughly refreshing and sorely missed in a genre now mostly populated with unhappy. This made our Top 25 Best Fantasy Books of list and we consider it one of the best fantasy books of Tad Williams has been doing some good stuff in the Urban fantasy subgenre the past couple years. His Bobby Dollar novels are a refreshing addition to the genre and a unique twist on the heaven and hell conceits.
Heaven is cast as this hypocritical power grabbing bureaucracy while Hell as a selfish, maniacal prison for unlucky souls with minions from both places pressured by their higher-ups into fighting over the recruitment of human souls. Unexpectedly original and wildly visionary, the only thing that could make this story even better is the sensitive and heartfelt narration that all-time great George Guidall provides in this audiobook.
Best fantasy audiobooks of all time
The Graveyard Book successfully manages to elevate his stratospheric stock even higher. The story is about Nobody Owens nicknamed Bod , a boy raised in a graveyard by a ghost. Matching the author Neil Gaiman word for word is the narrator — Neil Gaiman. Any fantastical list would be incomplete without the perennial favorite of adults and children alike: Harry Potter!
Harry Potter is an ordinary boy of 11, except for one tiny detail: he defeated the Dark Lord of the wizarding world when he was only a baby. The Harry Potter audiobooks serve up their own feast of the imagination, re-building the wonder with which you first read the books and re-immersing you into the phenomenon that is the wizarding world.
When authors read their own books, the results can be a little hit-or-miss — not every pen-and-paper storyteller has the acting chops to bring their own work to life. Fortunately, Philip Pullman proves to be as skilled a narrator as he is a worldbuilder. Backed by a first-rate cast, he ushers listeners into the. The series centers on Lyra Belacqua, a tough-minded, towheaded orphan with a gift for persuasion.
This debut novel was a decade in the making: Susanna Clarke had to write it while tending a full-time job as a cookbook editor. A stupendously creative alternate history, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell explores the tantalizing prospect of an England that used to hold magic in its lands. Norrell, one charming Jonathan Strange, and one mysterious figure known only as the Raven King.
In a rural backwater within the great continent of Temerant, an old innkeeper chats with the foremost historian of the age.
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And so the two men sit together for three days, the one telling his story, the other writing it down. And Patrick Rothfuss records their conversation, making every day a book. What sets the gods apart from humans? Or so it seemed, until a god is killed by a human blade, throwing off the balance of power and sinking the Age of Myth which happens to be the title of the first installment into turmoil.
Now the rebellion has begun, humans are at risk of annihilation, and a battle for the ages is underway in this epic trilogy read narrated by bestselling audiobook narrator Tim Gerard Reynolds. Fun fact about the audiobook: Rob Inglis says that the Lord of the Rings audiobooks were recorded in an "intense" six-week period. The result?
A tale of magical adventure that deconstructs the very ideas of magic and adventure, in devastating psychological detail. Peopled by canny, college-aged protagonists, The Magicians never shies away from the emotional turmoil attending the transition out of childhood, and it infuses its depiction of these growing pains with just the right touch of enchantment.
Accordingly, it shows us a Hogwarts darkened by mental health problems, and a Narnia stalked by monsters far scarier than the White Witch. No wonder it snagged him an Earphones Award. But what if the Chosen One fails, and the Dark Lord is in charge? Turns out, dragons get bullied too. As the runt of the powerful Heartstriker Clan, Julius tends to get picked on by his more menacing relatives.
But to his mother, Bethesda, this wallflower-ish attitude is less life-hack, more character flaw.
The imposing Heartstriker matriarch — a real tiger mom, if you can call a dragon that — wants her youngest son to toughen up and stop being such a nice dragon. So she traps him in human form and sends him to fend for himself in the Detroit Free Zone, a rough-and-tumble metropolis in magical Michigan. And as far as narrators go, Vikas Adams shines, tackling the fiery Bethesda and the eternally chill Julius with equal aplomb.
Outlander is many things. She and her husband are enjoying a second honeymoon when Claire finds herself transported to Scotland — all because she happened to touch an ancient stone ruin. Back in time, she ends up meeting James Fraser, a gallant highlander. Will Claire ever be able to find her way back to her own time?
And if she does find a way to return back to her home and her husband… will she want to? Gilene, a fire mage, protects herself with her powers on the pyre, leaving her friends and neighbors to live their lives in peace. This accomplished offering from R. Kuang amazes on multiple levels. The Poppy War traces the story of Rin, a girl from a poverty-ridden family who defies all expectations to get accepted into the elite military school of Sinegard.
Maggie Stiefvater upends tropes and your wildest expectations as she creates a beautifully written story that follows a girl named Blue, who is drawn inexorably into the troubled world of the Raven Boys: Gansey, Adam, Noah, and Ronan. Gansey is on a quest to find the sleeping Welsh King — which, needless to say, is easier said than done.