Audiobooks Like The Starless Sea

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The Starless Sea deploys six narrators — Dominic Hoffman, Dion Graham, Bahni Turpin, Allan Corduner, Fiona Hardingham, and Jorjeana Marie — to perform the book's architecture of stories folded inside other stories, each voice arriving like a new corridor in an endless underground library. That ensemble structure rewards patience: at 19 hours, the listen never rushes, and the shifting narrators create something closer to audio theater than a traditional audiobook, where a change in voice signals a change in which layer of reality you're standing in. Most of what follows is anchored by Hoffman's narration — he carries a similar unhurried, literary register across nearly all these titles, most of which run close to the same depth — and Morgenstern's other novel is here too, for anyone who isn't ready to fully surface yet.

10 audiobooks for fans of The Starless Sea

  1. 1
    The Night Circus cover

    The Night Circus

    by Erin Morgenstern

    Narrated by Jim Dale

    ★ 4.42 ABR Score (1.1M ratings)
    ★ 4 Goodreads (1.1M) ★ 4.38 Audible (30.5K)
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    Two young magicians unknowingly compete in a deadly game through an enchanting Victorian circus that appears without warning and opens only at night.

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  2. 2
    Soot cover

    Soot

    Smoke • Book 2

    by Dan Vyleta

    Narrated by Allan Corduner, Steve West, Dominic Hoffman, Fiona Hardingham, Katharine Lee McEwan, Nicholas Guy Smith, Deepti Gupta, Juha Sorola, Mark Bramhall

    ★ 3.85 ABR Score (258 ratings)
    ★ 3.31 Goodreads (250) ★ 4.25 Audible (8)
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  3. 3
    The Two Towers cover

    The Two Towers

    Middle-earth • Book 3

    by J.R.R. Tolkien

    Narrated by Rob Inglis

    ★ 4.88 ABR Score (1.2M ratings)
    ★ 4.5 Goodreads (1.1M) ★ 4.88 Audible (50.1K)
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    Rob Inglis's complete performance captures every voice from Gollum's hissing to Treebeard's ancient wisdom across this 16-hour journey through Middle-earth's darkening war.

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  4. 4
    Queen of Shadows cover

    Queen of Shadows

    Throne of Glass • Book 4

    by Sarah J. Maas

    Narrated by Elizabeth Evans

    ★ 4.85 ABR Score (1.5M ratings)
    ★ 4.62 Goodreads (1.4M) ★ 4.81 Audible (21.4K)
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    Aelin returns to Rifthold to reclaim her throne and rescue her imprisoned friends, facing the king who destroyed her family in this high-stakes fantasy.

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  5. 5
    The Gate of the Feral Gods cover

    The Gate of the Feral Gods

    Dungeon Crawler Carl • Book 4

    by Matt Dinniman

    Narrated by Jeff Hays

    ★ 4.82 ABR Score (150.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.55 Goodreads (125.6K) ★ 4.91 Audible (24.5K)
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    Carl and Princess Donut face floating gnome fortresses and haunted crypts in their deadliest floor yet. Jeff Hays continues his exceptional character work, especially with Princess Donut's regal cat attitude amid apocalyptic absurdity.

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  6. 6
    Skin Game cover

    Skin Game

    The Dresden Files • Book 15

    by Jim Butcher

    Narrated by James Marsters

    ★ 4.81 ABR Score (124.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.56 Goodreads (93.2K) ★ 4.88 Audible (31.3K)
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    The Winter Queen forces Harry Dresden to help his worst enemies rob the supernatural equivalent of Fort Knox in this heist-story installment. James Marsters returns with another pitch-perfect performance, capturing both Harry's reluctance and his grudging professionalism.

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  7. 7
    Heir of Fire cover

    Heir of Fire

    Throne of Glass • Book 3

    by Sarah J. Maas

    Narrated by Elizabeth Evans

    ★ 4.80 ABR Score (1.6M ratings)
    ★ 4.45 Goodreads (1.6M) ★ 4.82 Audible (21.7K)
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    Celaena confronts her true heritage while training with an ancient Fae warrior, as Elizabeth Evans captures her internal struggle between assassin and queen.

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  8. 8
    The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook cover

    The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook

    Dungeon Crawler Carl • Book 3

    by Matt Dinniman

    Narrated by Jeff Hays, The Critical Drinker

    ★ 4.79 ABR Score (182.0K ratings)
    ★ 4.43 Goodreads (152.4K) ★ 4.9 Audible (29.6K)
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    Carl and Princess Donut face the impossibly twisted Iron Tangle subway system where up is down and logic doesn't apply. Jeff Hays and The Critical Drinker's dynamic narration perfectly captures this series' blend of absurd humor and genuine stakes.

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  9. 9
    Cold Days cover

    Cold Days

    The Dresden Files • Book 14

    by Jim Butcher

    Narrated by James Marsters

    ★ 4.78 ABR Score (135.9K ratings)
    ★ 4.47 Goodreads (107.2K) ★ 4.87 Audible (28.7K)
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    Back from the dead, Harry Dresden now serves as Winter Knight to Queen Mab, who immediately assigns him an impossible task: kill the immortal Maeve. James Marsters continues to inhabit Dresden perfectly, even in his changed circumstances.

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  10. 10
    Crooked Kingdom cover

    Crooked Kingdom

    Six of Crows • Book 2

    by Leigh Bardugo

    Narrated by Roger Clark, Jay Snyder, Elizabeth Evans, Fred Berman, Brandon Rubin, Kevin T. Collins, Lauren Fortgang, Peter Ganim

    ★ 4.77 ABR Score (797.9K ratings)
    ★ 4.57 Goodreads (779.9K) ★ 4.73 Audible (18.0K)
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    Kaz and his Dregs crew fight for survival in Ketterdam after their Ice Court heist goes sideways. The full ensemble cast returns to handle this action-packed conclusion to the Six of Crows duology.

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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 →