Commentary: What are we missing?

SFFaudio Commentary

SFFaudio MetaBy any measure of the times were living in, there is a new audio renaissance. More audiobooks are getting made now than ever before. And more SF, Fantasy and Horror audiobooks are being released than ever before. Here’s a list of the top 10 SFF novels from Sci-Fi lists:

1. Frank Herbert Dune
2. Orson Scott Card Ender’s Game
3. Isaac Asimov Foundation
4. Douglas Adams Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
5. George Orwell 1984
6. Robert A. Heinlein Stranger in a Strange Land
7. Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451
8. William Gibson Neuromancer
9. Isaac Asimov I, Robot
10. Arthur C. Clarke 2001: A Space Odyssey

All of these novels have had UNABRIDGED AUDIOBOOK releases at some point or another. Several have had more than one unabridged release! That’s wonderful. But I’m still not satisfied. What novels are we still missing? Or rather, what novels are you missing.

Personally I’m missing a few, here’s a list of just 10 titles I’ve picked from out of the air. I’d like to see any and all of these made into unabridged audiobooks:

1. Scott Lynch The Lies Of Loch Lamora
2. Dan Simmons Hyperion
3. Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle The Mote In God’s Eye
4. Clifford Simak Way Station
5. Alfred Bester The Stars My Destination
6. Steven Gould Jumper
7. Alastair Reynolds Revelation Space
8. Robert J. Sawyer Golden Fleece
9. John Brunner Stand On Zanzibar
10. Ken MacLeod The Star Fraction

What novels are missing from your audiobook shelf?

Posted by Jesse Willis

10 thoughts to “Commentary: What are we missing?”

  1. Here’s ten I’d love to see. Hmmm, maybe Wonder Audio could publish them (like I haven’t thought of that before).

    1. The Space Merchants by Fred Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth
    2. The Book of Skulls by Robert Silverberg.
    3. Starship by Brian Aldiss
    4. Hothouse by Brian Aldiss
    5. The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (would have to go beyond traditional audiobook narration on the Bester novels due to the strange typography.)
    6. Man Plus by Fred Pohl
    7. The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov
    8. Darker Than You Think by Jack Williamson
    9. Lyonese Trilogy by Jack Vance (okay, it’s three books, so sue me)
    10. Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg

  2. Excellent choices, Jesse. The Star My Destination. Yes. Stand on Zanzibar. Yes. SF gets no better than this.

    I believe Mote in God’s Eye, another absolute all-time classic, was released as an unabridged reading but I can’t provide any info on that.

    How about:

    The Dragon Masters, and the Star King novels, by Jack Vance
    The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke
    A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay
    Dragon’s Egg by Robert Forward
    Colossus, and The Fall of Colossus, by Dennis Jones
    Tau Zero by Poul Anderson
    World of Ptaavs by Larry Niven
    The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
    A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
    More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon

    Btw, if any of these HAVE been done, I’d love to hear about it!

  3. I’m reading that the BBC did produce a radioplay version of Bester’s The Stars My Destination, called Tiger! Tiger! (the novel was also, at one time, published under this name). Man, I’d like to hear that. Gully Foyle’s got to be an interesting fellow for an actor to play. ; )

  4. Nabby,

    The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke

    was released by a company called Landmark audiobooks. I bought a cassette copy on ebay years ago. It is a treasure.

    Colossus, and The Fall of Colossus, by Dennis Jones

    Great idea! Love the movie.

    World of Ptaavs by Larry Niven

    Another one I’d kill for.

    The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

    Has been released by Blackstone Audiobooks. :)

    A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

    Has too, I think it was Listening Library

    Great list.

  5. An audiobook of David R Bunch’s “Moderan” would be an interesting experiment.

    I also would like some story by R. A. Lafferty to be adapted. Or maybe one of his novels, like “The Devil is Dead”.

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