The 10 best audiobooks

[Garrovick]

Based on nonspecific and general Trek stories?

Some info:

KRAD is my favorite author

TNG and VOY are my favorite series because of the "ships in space" thing.

And for non Trek books, my Lord of the Rings triology has a permanent place on my iPod and CD player.

Seems like reading printed books is fast becoming impossible. I'm curious about a list from other well read Trek fans about books that can be listened to over and over again for like forever and covers a general spectum of the Trek adventure.

Just asking..

 

[KRAD]

KRAD is my favorite author

Well, your taste is obviously suspect....

Unfortunately, the only one of my Trek works that's been put into audio form is "Horn and Ivory" in the Gateways: What Lay Beyond audio.

The older audios were read by either George Takei or James Doohan, with additional material by Leonard Nimoy. Takei is an excellent reader, Doohan not so much. I also can strongly recommend the joint reading of Q-in-Law by John deLancie and Majel Barrett.

 

[Mysterion]

The two (or was it three) Sulu audio stories they did a few years back were pretty spiffy, IMO. These were original, though, and not adapted from novels.

 

[CommanderJMic]

Though not Trek-related, I've been listening to the audio versions of the Harry Potter books (I've never read them), and they are quite good. The voice actor (Jim Dale) is very very good.

 

[Dayton Ward]

I don't know about "best," but a few of my favorites offhand are:

Strangers from the Sky, read by George Takei with Leonard Nimoy (though this one suffers from a particularly savage editing to get it down to 90 minutes)
Federation, read by Mark Lenard
Eugenics Wars, Volume 1, read by Anthony Stewart Head
Eugenics Wars, Volume 2, read by Rene' Auberjonois
Crossover, read by Jonathan Frakes
and I second Keith's recommendation of Q-in-Law.

For non-fiction, I also enjoy(ed) Inside Star Trek, read by Herb Solow and Bob Justman.

 

[T J]

KRAD is my favorite author

Well, your taste is obviously suspect....

Unfortunately, the only one of my Trek works that's been put into audio form is "Horn and Ivory" in the Gateways: What Lay Beyond audio.

You wrote Gateways: What Lay Beyond, the one they made for audio?! I'm sooo glad to talk to you! While I haven't read the whole series I got my hands on this audio book a few days ago and have to say they didn't do you justice. It was the most confusing audio book I've ever listened to. I was like the whole time. Though that serves me right for getting into a story and not starting at the beginning.

I'm sure it's a good series but the audio book was just nutty!

On topic I think my favorite Trek audio book is I.Q then Federation.

 

[Defcon]

You wrote Gateways: What Lay Beyond, the one they made for audio?! I'm sooo glad to talk to you! While I haven't read the whole series I got my hands on this audio book a few days ago and have to say they didn't do you justice. It was the most confusing audio book I've ever listened to. I was like the whole time. Though that serves me right for getting into a story and not starting at the beginning.

I'm sure it's a good series but the audio book was just nutty!

O.K., I have to ask: You do know that What lay Beyond was a short story/novella anthology, where each of the six stories was the conclusion of six separate novels written by six different authors, right?

 

[ClayinCA]

I second KRAD's recommendation of the Q-in-Law audiobook. It really is well done; I wish there could be an unabridged version.

As for other audiobooks, the whole abridgement question has been a thorn in my side when comes to enjoying Trek on audio. Even when the abridgement is well done (cf. Q-in-Law), it's still galling to not have the complete book. That said, I did enjoy Jonathan Frakes' reading of Imzadi (though his attempt at Troi's accent is not very successful), and Mark Lenard's recording of Federation (my all-time favourite Star Trek book) is really good, too. I also recommend Leonard Nimoy's reading of Vulcan's Forge; I think it's the only Trek audiobook fully read by Nimoy, and it's just too bad they couldn't get him to do the rest of the Vulcan's Noun books.

Eugenics Wars, Volume 1, read by Anthony Stewart Head
Eugenics Wars, Volume 2, read by Rene' Auberjonois

Haven't heard these! I'll have to seek those out, as I loved the books. This does remind me, though, that the audiobook of the DS9 novel Fallen Heroes, read by Rene Auberjonois, is also quite good (Auberjonois does a great Quark voice).

 

[CheapTrick]

The Stand (complete and unabridged...35 hours)
His Dark Materials trilogy
The Star Wars: Dark Empire trilogy
The Star Wars Radio Drama

Star Trek Movie Memories
Q In-law
The Rise of Khan books 1 and 2 (haven't got To Reign in Hell yet)

 

[Turtletrekker]

^I agree about NPR's Star Wars radio dramatization, which I enjoyed almost as much as the movie itself. At six and a half hours, it added welcome layers and sub-plots to the story. The Empire Stirkes Back adaptation was also very good, but "only" five hours. Really, the only good thing about Return of the Jedi adaptation was that they were able to at least finish out the trilogy, but the lack of Mark Hamill was a negative and being only three hours long it was unable to expand the story the way the previous two adaptations did.

For those who are unfamiliar the SW radio dramas, Hamill did Luke for SW and TESB, Anthony Daniels was Threepio for all three and Billy Dee Williams was Lando in TESB only.

Other casting of note included John Lithgow as Yoda, Ed Asner as Jabba the Hut, and Brock "Joseph Sisko/Admiral Cartwright" Peters as Darth Vader.

For Trek audio, you simply can't go wrong with Q in Law or A.C. Crispen's Zar books.

 

[Therin of Andor]

it's still galling to not have the complete book.

I've usually already read the novel, so I buy audios for the ST actor performances, which is why I began to miss S&S going with their non-ST stable of narrators.

There are some (quite expensive) unabridged titles, but not from Simon & Schuster Audioworks:

"Star Trek Nemesis" by J.M. Dillard, read by Grover Gardner, Sound Library/BBC Audiobooks America, 2002, 347 min.

"Vulcan's Soul, Book 1: Exodus" by Josepha Sherman and Susan Shwartz, read by Richard Poe, Recorded Books, 2004, 510 min.

"Vulcan's Soul, Book 2: Exiles" by Josepha Sherman and Susan Shwartz, read by Richard Poe, Recorded Books, 2006, 630 min.

"Vulcan's Soul, Book 3: Epiphany" by Josepha Sherman and Susan Shwartz, read by Richard Poe, Recorded Books, 2007, 694 min.

Re: Khan books: Haven't heard these! I'll have to seek those out

The complete list:
http://therinofandor.blogspot.com.au/2007/05/i-hear-star-trek.html

that the audiobook of the DS9 novel Fallen Heroes, read by Rene Auberjonois, is also quite good (Auberjonois does a great Quark voice).

My favourites (not necessarily in order):
"New Frontier: Stone and Anvil" by Peter David, read by Joe Morton, 2003, 240 min.

"Strangers from the Sky" by Margaret Wander Bonanno, read by Leonard Nimoy and George Takei, 1987, 90 min. (Amazing how much story is squeezed in here.)

"Q-in-Law" by Peter David, read by Majel Barrett and John de Lancie, 1992, 90 min.

"Fallen Heroes" by Dafydd ab Hugh, read by Rene Auberjonois, 1994, 120 min. (As gripping as the book.)

"Sarek" by A.C. Crispin, read by Mark Lenard, 1994, 180 min.

"Klingon: A Fully Dramatized Adventure" by Hilary Bader, directed by Jonathan Frakes, read by Michael Dorn, Robert O'Reilly, and a full cast, 1996, 72 min.

"Borg: A Fully Dramatized Adventure" by Hilary Bader, directed by James L. Conway, read by Howard McGillin, John de Lancie and a full cast, 1996, 135 min.

"The Ashes of Eden" by William Shatner with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, read by William Shatner, 1995, 180 min.

"Gateways: What Lay Beyond" by Diane Carey, Peter David, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Christie Golden, Robert Greenberger and Susan Wright, read by David Kaye, 2001, 240 min.

"Inside Star Trek" by Gene Roddenberry, performed by Gene Roddenberry, William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, Mark Lenard and Isaac Asimov, CBS Inc., 1976, 54 min. (Non-fiction LP). Also available as:

"Inside Star Trek" [revised release] by Gene Roddenberry, performed by Gene Roddenberry, William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, Mark Lenard and Isaac Asimov, newly introduced by Nichelle Nichols, Columbia/Legacy, 1998, 64 min. (Non-fiction bonus CD accompanying "Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Original Soundtrack, 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition".)

 

[Greg Cox]

The Stand (complete and unabridged...35 hours)

The Rise of Khan books 1 and 2 (haven't got To Reign in Hell yet)

Alas, the third Khan novel is not available on audio. So you're going to have to read the book!

 

[PaulSimpson]

The Stand (complete and unabridged...35 hours)

The Rise of Khan books 1 and 2 (haven't got To Reign in Hell yet)

Alas, the third Khan novel is not available on audio. So you're going to have to read the book!

Ah go on, Greg - you know you want to do your own reading of it!!

 

[T J]

You wrote Gateways: What Lay Beyond, the one they made for audio?! I'm sooo glad to talk to you! While I haven't read the whole series I got my hands on this audio book a few days ago and have to say they didn't do you justice. It was the most confusing audio book I've ever listened to. I was like the whole time. Though that serves me right for getting into a story and not starting at the beginning.

I'm sure it's a good series but the audio book was just nutty!

O.K., I have to ask: You do know that What lay Beyond was a short story/novella anthology, where each of the six stories was the conclusion of six separate novels written by six different authors, right?

Yes, I'm not trying to say any of the authors did a bad job, I'm just saying the audio book was confusing... just my personal experience.

 

[Garrovick]

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[MajRichter]

Quite honestly, one of my favorite audiobooks was The Kobayashi Maru written by Julia Ecklar and read by James Doohan. He did the voices of all of the characters very well and just had a great way of reading the story.

 

[Garrovick]

KRAD is my favorite author

Well, your taste is obviously suspect....

Actually for a second, a life time for Data, years ago, I did think that "Old Man PocketBooks" ( I have no idea who that would be now) could set up a KRAD Boxed set in the DVD style. Sell it on Amazon

To go with my Shatner set.

 

[CheapTrick]

The Stand (complete and unabridged...35 hours)

The Rise of Khan books 1 and 2 (haven't got To Reign in Hell yet)

Alas, the third Khan novel is not available on audio. So you're going to have to read the book!

Already have. Great frakkin book. Loved the whole trilogy. I was really hoping that John Byrne would at least reference aspects of your books. Any more books about Gary Seven planned? Maybe a follow up with Roberta and her new assisstant?

 

[DS9forever]

If you can find it, The 34th Rule by Armin Shimmerman was a good listen and Legends of the Ferengi is a riot.

I also thought Warped made for an interesting listen, read by Rene Auberjonois whose voice matches the dark, weird tone of the book rather well.

Shimerman did a fantastic job with the Legends of the Ferengi audiobook. John Beach also did some voices for it. He has a fantastic website:

http://www.voiceguy.org/