Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Forums

My spouse and I listen to audiobooks when we travel, instead of listening to the car radio.  Neil Gaiman has become a favorite of hers because most of them are read by the author and she loves the sound of his voice.  Anansi boys is on our list to hear, but she is reticent because it isn't narrated by Gaiman himself.

Brick reads a lot of science fiction. While he isn't a favorite of mine, he usually does an acceptable performance.  I heard The Martian Chronicles read by Ray Bradbury.  I find that in most cases, (with the exception of Gaiman, perhaps) the author isn't as good a reader as a professional reader would be.  This was the case, IMHO, with The Martian Chronicles read by Bradbury.  I read The Martian Chronicles years and years ago and wasn't particularly impressed, so I heard the audiobook more recently.  My initial opinion of it wasn't changed.  So now I wonder if Brick does a better job than Bradbury in making it live up to its status as an acclaimed classic.

I went for the version narrated by Mark Boyett for the same reason you liked Hoye - that 50s radio vibe.  I toyed with the radio dramatization version too but opted for the single voice for my first read through.  What do you all think of the dramatized productions?  I really liked the one for Ender's Game and I will definitely try more in future.  It really comes down to what I'm in the mood for at the time.

My first read for this challenge is actually a re-read, which I hope counts too.  I heard a sample of the narration for Horus Rising, book one of the Horus Heresy and thought I'd like to read that again.  It's been some years since I read it on paper and I always seem to get more from a book on audio if I've already read it.  Fantastic narration that really fits the theme.  I wish Black Library was available on Audible though as they are really expensive.

A rec for those looking for a book with a great narrator that also a real hoot is The Necromancer by Jonathan Howard.  This is a case where I don't think I would have enjoyed the book near as much had I just read it.    I went back immediately for book 2 but to my horror discovered it was done by a different narrator.  I find switching voices in a series to be more annoying than a cover art change in the middle of a run -  no matter how excellent it is on it's own.

I've just started Leviathan Wakes which has a good narrator too.  It's been on my list for some time and the preview for the ScyFy series, that looks really excellent by the way, has scared me into reading it now before the show comes out. 

I also heard that version of Have Space Suit Will Travel.  Some of the cast were kids, or at least they sounded like kids, which is appropriate I suppose since the book was aimed at young readers.  But I agree with you in that I prefer a single reader over a cast.  On occasion an audio book is read by multiple readers, but not as a cast.  Ender's Game read by Stefan Rudnicki et al is an example.

 I heard the same audiobook.  Here's an excerpt from my review from March 2013: "I heard the audiobook version read by Kristoffer Tabori, the son of Don Segal, who directed the 1955 movie. Tabori did an absolutely first rate job of it."