Best Mark Lawrence Audiobooks
Mark Lawrence writes darkness the way other fantasy authors write light — as something essential, not decorative. His Broken Empire trilogy, beginning with Prince of Thorns, announces its intentions immediately: a morally compromised antihero narrating his own brutal rise through a post-apocalyptic medieval world that doesn't flinch from what that actually looks like. Lawrence's prose is lean and menacing, his plotting constructed around revelation — the kind of worldbuilding where the full picture only clicks into focus pages before the end. His Book of the Ancestor series, starting with Red Sister, shows the same razor craft applied to a young woman's journey through a martial convent, with a warmth that surprises readers who came in expecting only grimness. If you want fantasy that takes moral ambiguity seriously, builds to genuine payoffs, and trusts you to keep up, Lawrence is one of the genre's sharpest practitioners.
Where to Start with Mark Lawrence
- Best entry point → Red Sister
- Start the Broken Empire series → Prince of Thorns
- What fans keep coming back to → King of Thorns
- Best narrator for Mark Lawrence → Grey Sister
- Highest rated by listeners → Holy Sister (Book of the Ancestor #3)
Best Mark Lawrence Audiobooks
- 1
Grey Sister
Book of the Ancestor • Book 2
Narrated by Heather O'Neill
★ 4.41 ABR Score (42.9K ratings)★ 4.35 Goodreads (38.6K) ★ 4.68 Audible (4.3K)More about this pick
Nona Grey studies mystical arts while choosing her path among the convent's orders: warrior, spy, mystic, or bride of the Ancestor.
- 2
Holy Sister
Book of the Ancestor • Book 3
Narrated by Heather O'Neill
★ 4.36 ABR Score (35.2K ratings)★ 4.3 Goodreads (31.8K) ★ 4.66 Audible (3.4K)More about this pick
Nona Grey's journey concludes as she faces final trials while the empire crumbles under ice and invasion. Heather O'Neill guides listeners through the climactic battles and revelations.
- 3
Emperor of Thorns
Broken Empire • Book 3
Narrated by James Clamp
★ 4.27 ABR Score (61.2K ratings)★ 4.22 Goodreads (58.0K) ★ 4.58 Audible (3.2K)More about this pick
Prince Jorg's final bid for the throne coincides with the Dead King's apocalyptic gambit in Lawrence's brutal fantasy conclusion.
- 4
King of Thorns
Broken Empire • Book 2
Narrated by James Clamp
★ 4.23 ABR Score (74.4K ratings)★ 4.18 Goodreads (71.0K) ★ 4.54 Audible (3.4K)More about this pick
Prince Jorg has claimed his throne through brutality, but keeping it proves even bloodier in this dark fantasy sequel. James Clamp captures every shade of Jorg's ruthless ambition.
- 5
Red Sister
Book of the Ancestor • Book 1
Narrated by Heather O'Neill
★ 4.19 ABR Score (70.2K ratings)★ 4.16 Goodreads (63.4K) ★ 4.47 Audible (6.8K)More about this pick
Young Nona Grey enters a convent where girls train as holy assassins, wielding rare blood talents in a dying world orbiting a red sun. Heather O'Neill captures both the brutal training and mystical elements with fierce precision.
- 6
Prince of Fools
The Red Queen's War • Book 1
Narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds
★ 4.02 ABR Score (39.8K ratings)★ 4.05 Goodreads (35.5K) ★ 4.35 Audible (4.3K)More about this pick
Prince Jalan prefers wine and women to warfare, but a Norse warrior's magical curse forces him on a quest across Lawrence's brutal Broken Empire alongside an undead companion.
- 7
Daughter of Crows
The Academy of Kindness • Book 1
Narrated by Olivia Dowd
★ 3.88 ABR Score (301 ratings)★ 4.24 Goodreads (278) ★ 4.83 Audible (23)More about this pick
Lawrence launches a brutal new series about an academy that creates agents of divine retribution. Olivia Dowd's narration perfectly captures the dark atmosphere of this Fury-inspired fantasy.
- 8
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
★ 3.84 ABR Score (779 ratings)★ 3.98 Goodreads (571) ★ 4.37 Audible (208)More about this pick
This charity anthology features stories from fantasy's biggest names, with multiple narrators bringing each author's unique voice to life.
- 9
Prince of Thorns
Broken Empire • Book 1
Narrated by James Clamp
★ 3.82 ABR Score (129.6K ratings)★ 3.83 Goodreads (124.2K) ★ 4.17 Audible (5.4K)More about this pick
Jorg Ancrath is fantasy's most compelling antihero—a teenage sociopath plotting to claim his throne through murder and manipulation. James Clamp captures every ounce of Jorg's chilling charisma without making him cartoonish.
- 10
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)More about this pick
Twenty-one fantasy heavyweights contribute original stories to this charity anthology, creating a sampler that showcases the genre's current masters across multiple narrative styles.
- 11
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)More about this pick
Twenty-three fantasy authors contribute unrestrained tales without thematic constraints in this genre celebration. The six-narrator ensemble including Tim Gerard Reynolds and Nick Podehl brings remarkable variety to each story.