The best science fiction and fantasy audiobooks of 2025, according to editors of AudioFile magazine:
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor, narrated by Liz Femi, Anthony Oseyemi, Jason Culp and Chris Djuma
Liz Femi is the primary narrator of this meta-narrative about a paraplegic Nigerian American woman and her unexpected rise to fame. Suddenly unemployed, Zelu risks writing a novel unlike any she’s ever written before, a futuristic sci-fi epic about androids who exist after humanity becomes extinct. Femi’s distinct voices complement each character’s personality, thoroughly enriching this audiobook.
(16.25 hrs)
Down in the Sea of Angels by Khan Wong, narrated by Eunice Wong
Eunice Wong does an outstanding job of narrating this combination of dystopian fantasy, historical fiction, and sci-fi. She captures the atmosphere of each of the three timelines, and the result is an intimate, thought-provoking performance. Wong establishes distinct personalities for the three main characters, as well as supporting characters within each timeline. She conveys the characters’ emotions with no extra drama, which gives them a feeling of authenticity.
(11.25 hrs)
The Hymn to Dionysus by Natasha Pulley, narrated by Sid Sagar
Sid Sagar immediately draws listeners into this riveting novel, set in ancient Thebes. Phaidros is a soldier who was raised to fight. Now he’s in his 30s, lonely and grieving the loss of his sworn companion. When chaotic things begin to happen in Thebes—singing, dancing, and an explosion of wild nature, even though the city is suffering from a terrible drought—Phaidros finds himself caught up in political machinations and caught in the orbit of a compelling witch healer named Dionysus.
(16 hrs)
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang, narrated by Morag Sims and Will Watt
Morag Sims and Will Watt provide fittingly erudite performances of this layered audiobook. Cambridge is home to a top-tier academic Magick program. When an esteemed professor is killed, star graduate students Alice and Peter embark on a quest to rescue him from hell. The satire on higher education is rich, yet the larger themes about one’s purpose and ideas are gripping. Sims captures studious yet vulnerable Alice, while Watt provides a foil in Peter, an academic star with secrets.
(18.5 hrs)
The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson, narrated by Daphne Kouma
Narrator Daphne Kouma wows in this epic fantasy/murder mystery/political thriller. In a society built around eight powerful animal spirits, a new emperor is chosen every 24 years when those vying for the throne compete in a series of trials. When the Raven palace’s contender is found dead, scholar Neema Kraa finds herself simultaneously taking her place in the trials and investigating her murder. It’s a wonderfully immersive and satisfying performance of a richly imagined novel.
(24 hrs)
The Winter Goddess by Megan Barnard, narrated by Aoife McMahon and Aidan Kelly
Aoife McMahon and Aidan Kelly manifest a pantheon of Irish gods in this enchanting story of family and loss. After killing dozens with a never-ending frost, Cailleach is forced to live multiple lives to learn the responsibility of godhood. McMahon’s stunning narration reveals the fierce regality of the mother goddess Danu and the ever-growing maturity of Cailleach. While the story centers the divine, it’s really about human grief and the love that makes loss worth enduring.
(9 hrs)
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