Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. The official topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday required participants to pick a single book and list the top ten things they love about it. While this is an interesting idea, and one I might come back to later, I’m instead going to continue my recent trend of discussing books from the first half of the year and highlight my favourite audiobooks from the first half of 2024. This is a continuation of my Top Ten list from a couple of weeks ago that featured my favourite overall novels from the first half of 2024.
I have a great deal of love for the audiobook format, and it is one of the main ways that I tend to check out books. Each year I enjoy a great number of different audiobooks and use the format to enjoy both recent releases and older novels. I have been a major fan of audiobooks for years, and it is amazing the various ways in which listening to a book can enhance your enjoyment. A great narrator can really bring you into the story, and I find that listening to a book enhances the amount of detail that you can take in. In addition, other features, such as captivating voices, music and sound effects can really make an audiobook something special, and there some great examples of that out there. This year alone I have listened to a ton of outstanding audiobooks, includes some of my favourite books from early 2024. Because I love this format so much, I thought I would take this opportunity to highlight my favourite audiobooks from the first half of the year.
To pull this list off I had a look at all the 2024 releases that I listened to on audiobook to figure out my favourites. It turns out that I have already gone through quite a few this year so there was a very large collection of potential additions to this list. I was eventually able to whittle it down to the ten audiobooks I consider to be the best. There is a bit of a crossover with my previous Favourite Books from the First Half of 2024 list, but I think there are enough new additions to make this list worthwhile. I made sure to feature only the very best audiobooks on this list, and, in addition to the quality of the baseline novel, I also looked at audiobook production and narration. In my experience an outstanding narration or use of music and sound effects can enhance the plot, and I think that all the audiobooks listed below were exceptional listens that are really worth checking out.
In addition, I also featured my typical generous Honourable Mentions section, which featured some great books from the first half of the year that I didn’t feature in my main list for various reasons, as well as a couple of pre-2024 audiobooks that really impressed me. With these honourable mentions, I am very happy with how the overall list turned out and I think that the below entries really highlight what my favourite audiobooks from the first half of the year are.
Honourable Mentions:
Warhammer 40,000: Siege of Vraks, written by Steve Lyons and narrated by Timothy Watson
My first honourable mention is the awesome Warhammer 40,000 audiobook, Siege of Vraks, which is the audiobook I am currently listening to. The successor to Lyon’s previous novels, Dead Men Walking and Krieg, Siege of Vraks is a great book that covers the epic and bloody siege of the same name. While this is an amazing audiobook, I’m leaving it as an honourable mention for the moment as I have only just started listening to it and I need to see how it unfolds fully. Still, based on what I have listened to so far, this could end up being one of my favourite audiobooks of 2024.
Alien Clay, written by Adrian Tchaikovsky and narrated by Ben Allen
An outstanding and cool science fiction audiobook from and insanely inventive author.
Skin Game, written by Jim Butcher and narrated by James Marsters
One of my favourite pre-2024 audiobooks I listened to in the first half of the year. Skin Game was one of the better books in the iconic Dresden Files series, and I loved how well the fun fantasy heist story was told by narrator and actor James Marsters.
Warhammer 40,000: Straight Silver, written by Dan Abnett and narrated by Toby Longworth
I have had the pleasure of listening to a few pre-2024 Warhammer 40,000 audiobooks in the first half of the year, however my favourite is Straight Silver. An epic entry in the fantastic Gaunt’s Ghosts series, Straight Silver was an intense and compelling book, especially when read out by the talented Toby Longworth.
Top Ten List:
NecroTek, written by Jonathan Maberry and narrated by Ray Porter
For the first entry on this list, I had to include the latest audiobook from Jonathan Maberry, NecroTek, which proved to be an exceptional dark science fiction adventure. Maberry is one of my favourite authors at the moment, and he consistently produces gripping and dark reads that turn into exceptional audiobooks, especially when narrated by his long-time audiobook collaborator Ray Porter. Porter has an amazing voice, and I love how he takes Maberry’s elaborate stories and makes them even more special. NecroTek was an exceptional audiobook, and I cannot wait to get my hands on the second Maberry/Porter audiobook coming out in 2024, The Dragon in Winter.
Point Nemo, written by Jeremy Robinson and narrated by R. C. Bray
Few audiobooks were as impressive as Point Nemo by Jeremy Robinson this year. A fast-paced and highly awesome science fiction thriller, Point Nemo had an outstanding plot behind it that followed a fun band of adventurers as they attempted to uncover the secrets of an island created from alien spores. The story and action of Point Nemo are very amazing on their own, but I felt that the narration of R. C. Bray added even more to it. A very talented voice actor who has lent his voice to many of Robinson’s works, Bray is one of my favourite narrators, and I really love the fantastic energy and power he gave to Point Nemo’s audiobook. An exceptional listen that I cannot recommend enough.
Goodbye Girl, written by James Grippando and narrated by Jonathan Davis
I was eager to try out the intriguing legal thriller, Goodbye Girl by James Grippando, this year, and decided to grab it on audiobook because narrator Jonathan Davis had previously voiced some great Star Wars audiobooks. Goodbye Girl proved to be an amazing listen, and I deeply enjoyed how effectively the compelling and entertaining legal thriller elements came across in this medium. A wonderful and thrilling audiobook that had me hooked the entire way through.
Warhammer 40,000: Da Big Dakka, written by Mike Brooks and narrated by Harry Myers
Unsurprisingly, I have several Warhammer audiobooks featured on this list, as it is frankly the best format to enjoy this extensive franchise in. The first of these is the outstanding and hilarious Da Big Dakka by Mike Brooks. The sequel to Brooks’ previous books, Brutal Kunnin and Warboss, Da Big Dakka followed a rowdy group of orks as they raided a dark fortress filled with torture obsessed space elves. I laughed pretty much the entire way through this audiobook, especially with the fantastic narration of Harry Myers, who effectively captured the many excentric participants in this battle. An amazing and highly entertaining audiobook that you won’t be able to stop listening to.
The Chaos Agent, written by Mark Greaney and narrated by Jay Snyder
One of my favourite thriller authors, Mark Greaney, continues to impress with his latest Gray Man novel, The Chaos Agent. An exciting and impressive read, The Chaos Agent had a great story behind it that was even crazier than usual. As with most of the books in this series, I grabbed The Chaos Agent on audiobook, which proved to be an excellent experience. Veteran narrator Jay Snyder has always done a great job with the Gray Man audiobooks, and his work in The Chaos Agent was on point again. I really enjoyed this fantastic audiobook, and the format really enhances the excitement and intensity of the plot.
Star Trek: Pliable Truths, written by Dayton Ward and narrated by Robert Petkoff
I ended up having a brilliant time listening to the latest Star Trek audiobook from Dayton Ward, Pliable Truths. A compelling and entertaining book that serves as a bridge between The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine shows, Pliable Truths was a lot of fun and will really appeal to Star Trek fans. Of course, no Star Trek audiobook is complete without the impressive narration of Robert Petkoff, who has lent his great voice to so many audiobooks in the franchise. Petkoff’s ability to mimic key Star Trek characters is well known and he does another outstanding job in the Pliable Truths audiobook, enhancing this already awesome book in an outstanding way.
Warhammer: The Old World: Lords of the Lance, written by Graham McNeill and narrated by Peter Kenny
This year the Warhammer franchise brought fans back to the iconic Old World fantasy setting, including through the exceptional book Lords of the Lance. Written by one of the Black Library’s best authors, Graham McNeill, Lords of the Lance was an exciting and addictive adventure story that saw the legendary knights of Bretonnia traverse some of the most hostile terrain in the setting to face off against an army of the dead. Expertly narrated by Peter Kenny, this amazing story was loaded with action, compelling characters, and a fantastic appreciation for the setting. I really had a lot of fun listening to the Lords of the Lance audiobook, and it was the best way to experience this amazing story.
The Atlas Maneuver, written by Steve Berry and narrated by Scott Brick
I had a lot of fun listening to the new Cotton Malone book by Steve Berry, The Atlas Maneuver. Another intricate and captivating spy thriller that makes use of fun historical conspiracies, The Atlas Maneuver was a great book and I felt that the excellent audiobook version, narrated by Scott Brick, enhanced its unique elements. An outstanding listen from one of my favourite thriller series.
Crucible of Chaos, written by Sebastien de Castell and narrated by Joe Jameson
I’m slightly cheating with this next entry as Crucible of Chaos came out in 2023. However, due its late December 2023 release date, as well as it’s connection to the fantastic 2024 novel, Play of Shadows, I have decided to include it as part of this list. Crucible of Chaos was an exceptional book from talented fantasy author Sebastien de Castell, that saw an unlikely investigator and his noble steed attempt to uncover the cause of insanity and chaos in a famous monastery. A clever and funny read, Crucible of Chaos was an impressive audiobook, and I had a lot of fun with how Joe Jameson, another favourite narrator of mine, brought it too life.
Warhammer 40,000: Deathworlder, written by Victoria Hayward and narrated by Gabrielle Nellis-Pain
The final audiobook I want to highlight on this list is the amazing Warhammer 40,000 production, Deathworlder. Written by debuting author Victoria Hayward, Deathworlder was a grim and complex tale of survival in a planet full of horrors. Featuring two of the most compelling factions in the Warhammer 40,000 canon, Deathworlder was so damn good, and I deeply appreciated how effectively the audiobook version captured the turmoil and intensity of the plot. Narrator Gabrielle Nellis-Pain did an amazing job bringing the traumatised protagonists to life, and the resulting audiobook came across masterfully. A deeply impressive audiobook and one of the best Warhammer reads from the first half of 2024.
Well, that’s the end of this latest list. As you can see, there have been some very good audiobooks out in the first half of 2024. It will be interesting to see which books make the cut later in the year, especially as I currently have several major 2024 audiobooks currently sitting on my phone, waiting to be listened to. While I get to that, make sure to let me know what your favourite audiobooks of 2024 so far are in the comments below.
The Unseen Library 