Audiobooks Like King of Thorns

James Clamp narrates King of Thorns with a controlled brittleness that fits a king who has survived by becoming harder — the voice carries menace without theatrics, across a 14-hour story told in two timelines that Clamp distinguishes with subtle shifts in register rather than obvious character voices. The grimdark atmosphere settles in early and doesn't let up. Seven of these recommendations come from Mark Lawrence's own catalog, and the rest carry the same dark-fantasy weight and moral ambiguity.

10 audiobooks for fans of King of Thorns

  1. 1
    Grey Sister cover

    Grey Sister

    Book of the Ancestor • Book 2

    by Mark Lawrence

    Narrated by Heather O'Neill

    4.41 ABR Score (42.9K ratings)
    ★ 4.35 Goodreads (38.6K) ★ 4.68 Audible (4.3K)
    15h 47m listening time • Released 2018
  2. 2
    Prince of Fools cover

    Prince of Fools

    The Red Queen's War • Book 1

    by Mark Lawrence

    Narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds

    4.02 ABR Score (39.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.05 Goodreads (35.5K) ★ 4.35 Audible (4.3K)
    14h 38m listening time • Released 2014
  3. 3
    Holy Sister cover

    Holy Sister

    Book of the Ancestor • Book 3

    by Mark Lawrence

    Narrated by Heather O'Neill

    4.36 ABR Score (35.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.3 Goodreads (31.8K) ★ 4.66 Audible (3.4K)
  4. 4
    Daughter of Crows cover

    Daughter of Crows

    The Academy of Kindness • Book 1

    by Mark Lawrence

    Narrated by Olivia Dowd

    3.76 ABR Score (279 ratings)
    ★ 4.24 Goodreads (278) ★ 5 Audible (1)
    14h 30m listening time • Released 2026
  5. 5
    Red Sister cover

    Red Sister

    Book of the Ancestor • Book 1

    by Mark Lawrence

    Narrated by Heather O'Neill

    4.19 ABR Score (70.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.16 Goodreads (63.4K) ★ 4.47 Audible (6.8K)
    19h 21m listening time • Released 2017
  6. 6
    Unfettered III: New Tales cover

    Unfettered III: New Tales

    The Chathrand Voyage #Thasha's cure for cabin fever • Book 3

    by Shawn Speakman, Tad Williams, Naomi Novik, Megan Lindholm, John Gwynne, David Anthony Durham, Callie Bates, Jason Denzel, Carrie Vaughn, Deborah A. Wolf, Anna Stephens, Patrick Swenson, Ramon Terrell, Peter Orullian, Terry Brooks, Lev Grossman, Seanan McGuire, Delilah S. Dawson, Mark Lawrence, Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, Todd Lockwood, Cat Rambo, Robert V.S. Redick, Ken Scholes, Scott Sigler, Anna Smith Spark, Marc Turner

    Narrated by Khristine Hvam, Natasha Soudek, Mark Bramhall, Michael Page, Vikas Adam, Tim Gerard Reynolds, Andrew Wincott, Luke Daniels, Brian Nishii

    3.85 ABR Score (779 ratings)
    ★ 3.98 Goodreads (571) ★ 4.37 Audible (208)
    27h 36m listening time • Released 2019
  7. 7
    Unfettered II: New Tales cover

    Unfettered II: New Tales

    Gunnie Rose #0.0 - The Gunnie

    by Shawn Speakman, Naomi Novik, Brandon Sanderson, Jim Butcher, Charlaine Harris, Michael J. Sullivan, Janny Wurts, Bradley P. Beaulieu, Mark Lawrence, Seanan McGuire, Peter Orullian, Aidan Moher, Erin Lindsey, John A. Pitts, Anthony Ryan, Scott Sigler, Django Wexler, Rachel Caine, Sarah Beth Durst, David Farland, Terry Brooks

    Narrated by Sarah Coomes, Michael Kramer, Emily Woo Zeller, Nick Podehl, Erin Mallon, Tim Gerard Reynolds

    3.78 ABR Score (1.5K ratings)
    ★ 3.92 Goodreads (1.1K) ★ 4.25 Audible (340)
    20h 17m listening time • Released 2017
  8. 8
    Unbound cover

    Unbound

    Annwn Cycle #The Dead's Revenant • Book 1

    by Shawn Speakman, Terry Brooks, Seanan McGuire, Mark Lawrence, Anthony Ryan, Tim Marquitz, Brian Staveley, Michael J. Sullivan, John Marco, Peter Orullian, Kat Richardson, Sam Sykes, Kristen Britain, Mazarkis Williams, Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine, Harry Connolly, Delilah S. Dawson, David Anthony Durham, Jason M. Hough, Mary Robinette Kowal, Joe Abercrombie

    Narrated by Dick Hill, Tim Gerard Reynolds, Nick Podehl, Allyson Johnson, Christian Rodska, Emily Bauer

    3.74 ABR Score (1.3K ratings)
    ★ 3.96 Goodreads (1.0K) ★ 4.13 Audible (246)
    20h 55m listening time • Released 2016

    A star-studded anthology where twenty-three fantasy masters tell exactly the stories they want, each perfectly matched to a narrator who elevates the prose—Dick Hill's gravitas, Tim Gerard Reynolds' intensity—making this feel less like a collection and more like a curated experience.

  9. 9
    Carl's Doomsday Scenario cover

    Carl's Doomsday Scenario

    Dungeon Crawler Carl • Book 2

    by Matt Dinniman

    Narrated by Jeff Hays

    4.78 ABR Score (217.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.51 Goodreads (187.5K) ★ 4.89 Audible (30.0K)
    11h 28m listening time • Released 2021

    Jeff Hays transforms this LitRPG sequel into something genuinely unhinged—his voice work sells the escalating absurdity and real stakes so completely that you'll forget you're listening to a story about a pantless guy surviving a digital hellscape.

  10. 10
    Skin Game cover

    Skin Game

    The Dresden Files • Book 15

    by Jim Butcher

    Narrated by James Marsters

    4.77 ABR Score (124.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.56 Goodreads (93.2K) ★ 4.88 Audible (31.3K)
    15h 49m listening time • Released 2014

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.

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