Audiobooks Like Cibola Burn

Jefferson Mays narrates The Expanse with the exacting character differentiation that a genuinely large ensemble novel demands — each viewpoint character sounds distinct without the voices becoming caricatures, and the 20-hour political thriller unfolds with a procedural rigor that the series has earned by this fourth entry. The hard-SF politics and the first contact tension are handled with equal weight. Mays narrates another of the recommendations himself, and nearly all of them are among the most highly rated sci-fi titles we carry, built for listeners who want the same rigorous human-scale drama at genuine epic length.

10 audiobooks for fans of Cibola Burn

  1. 1
    The Mercy of Gods cover

    The Mercy of Gods

    Captive's War • Book 1

    by James S. A. Corey

    Narrated by Jefferson Mays

    ★ 4.31 ABR Score (4.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.54 Audible (4.2K)
    14h 54m listening time • Released 2024
    Listen Free on Audible
  2. 2
    Too Like the Lightning cover

    Too Like the Lightning

    Terra Ignota • Book 1

    by Ada Palmer

    Narrated by Jefferson Mays

    ★ 3.78 ABR Score (16.8K ratings)
    ★ 3.81 Goodreads (15.9K) ★ 4.17 Audible (865)
    20h 19m listening time • Released 2016
    Listen Free on Audible
  3. 3
    Morning Star cover

    Morning Star

    Red Rising • Book 3

    by Pierce Brown

    Narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds

    ★ 4.81 ABR Score (468.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.55 Goodreads (414.3K) ★ 4.82 Audible (54.2K)
    21h 50m listening time • Released 2016

    Tim Gerard Reynolds delivers a career-best performance across 22 hours of revolutionary fervor—his voice work transforms the final Red Rising installment into an unforgettable emotional and political reckoning that justifies the entire trilogy's brutal setup.

    Listen Free on Audible
  4. 4
    Golden Son cover

    Golden Son

    Red Rising • Book 2

    by Pierce Brown

    Narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds

    ★ 4.79 ABR Score (560.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.5 Goodreads (505.3K) ★ 4.81 Audible (55.5K)
    19h 3m listening time • Released 2015

    Tim Gerard Reynolds transforms this brutal space opera with a voice that captures both Darrow's rage and vulnerability, making the 19-hour listen feel essential rather than exhausting.

    Listen Free on Audible
  5. 5
    Zero Hour cover

    Zero Hour

    Expeditionary Force • Book 5

    by Craig Alanson

    Narrated by R.C. Bray

    ★ 4.63 ABR Score (56.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.37 Goodreads (14.8K) ★ 4.81 Audible (41.4K)
    17h 20m listening time • Released 2018

    R.C. Bray's deadpan delivery transforms Alanson's chaos into comedy gold—he nails every shift from absurd banter to genuine stakes, making this sprawling space opera feel intimate despite the galactic scale.

    Listen Free on Audible
  6. 6
    Black Ops cover

    Black Ops

    Expeditionary Force • Book 4

    by Craig Alanson

    Narrated by R.C. Bray

    ★ 4.61 ABR Score (58.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.34 Goodreads (16.5K) ★ 4.8 Audible (41.7K)
    16h 44m listening time • Released 2017

    R.C. Bray brings such genuine warmth and humor to Alanson's ragtag crew that you're hooked by their banter alone—the sci-fi plot just makes the ride wilder.

    Listen Free on Audible
  7. 7
    The Dark Forest cover

    The Dark Forest

    Remembrance of Earth's Past • Book 2

    by Liu Cixin, Joel Martinsen

    Narrated by P. J. Ochlan

    ★ 4.56 ABR Score (243.0K ratings)
    ★ 4.4 Goodreads (224.9K) ★ 4.65 Audible (18.1K)
    22h 36m listening time • Released 2015
    Listen Free on Audible
  8. 8
    A Civil Campaign cover

    A Civil Campaign

    Vorkosigan Saga (Publication Order) • Book 12

    by Lois McMaster Bujold

    Narrated by Grover Gardner

    ★ 4.48 ABR Score (23.4K ratings)
    ★ 4.41 Goodreads (20.4K) ★ 4.74 Audible (2.9K)
    18h 48m listening time • Released 2007

    Grover Gardner's deadpan delivery transforms Miles' elaborate romantic scheming into comedy gold, making this Hugo winner feel less like hard sci-fi and more like a perfectly timed farce where every character's chaos spirals hilariously out of control.

    Listen Free on Audible
  9. 9
    Children of Time cover

    Children of Time

    Children of Time • Book 1

    by Adrian Tchaikovsky

    Narrated by Mel Hudson

    ★ 4.40 ABR Score (221.0K ratings)
    ★ 4.3 Goodreads (180.0K) ★ 4.47 Audible (41.1K)
    16h 31m listening time • Released 2017

    Mel Hudson's narration transforms this Hugo-winning epic into something genuinely immersive, shifting seamlessly between human desperation and an entirely alien intelligence that feels genuinely *other*. A sprawling, idea-drunk sci-fi masterpiece that justifies every minute of its 16-hour runtime.

    Listen Free on Audible
  10. 10
    Mirror Dance cover

    Mirror Dance

    Vorkosigan Saga (Publication Order) • Book 8

    by Lois McMaster Bujold

    Narrated by Grover Gardner

    ★ 4.37 ABR Score (26.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.32 Goodreads (23.4K) ★ 4.64 Audible (2.8K)
    18h 6m listening time • Released 2007

    Grover Gardner's sharp, precise narration transforms this Hugo winner into a taut psychological thriller where Miles Vorkosigan confronts his clone and unravels in ways that feel devastatingly real.

    Listen Free on Audible

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How We Rank Audiobooks

Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.

Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.

We don't accept paid placements or prioritize new releases. These rankings reflect what listeners actually enjoy, not what's being promoted.

Rankings update periodically as new ratings come in and new titles are added to the collection.

Read our full ranking methodology →