Best Martha Wells Audiobooks
Martha Wells built her reputation on one of science fiction's most unexpectedly lovable protagonists: Murderbot, a part-human, part-machine security construct that would rather watch serialized TV dramas than deal with the humans it's contractually obligated to protect. The Murderbot Diaries — starting with All Systems Red — runs on wry, deadpan humor and a surprisingly tender examination of autonomy, anxiety, and what it means to want things. Wells writes with sharp economy: her prose is lean and propulsive, her action sequences clean and fast, but the emotional undercurrent catches you off guard. Network Effect expands the world without losing the intimate voice that makes the series work. Readers who are tired of self-serious space opera and want something funny, humane, and genuinely hard to put down will find exactly what they're looking for here.
Where to Start with Martha Wells
- Best entry point → All Systems Red
- Start the Star Wars: Legends series → Razor's Edge: Star Wars Legends
- What fans keep coming back to → Artificial Condition
- Best narrator for Martha Wells → Rogue Protocol
- Highest rated by listeners → Network Effect (Murderbot Diaries #5)
Best Martha Wells Audiobooks
- 1
Network Effect
Murderbot Diaries • Book 5
by Martha Wells
Narrated by Kevin R. Free
★ 4.61 ABR Score (139.1K ratings)★ 4.46 Goodreads (129.2K) ★ 4.74 Audible (9.9K)More about this pick
Kevin R. Free's deadpan delivery transforms Murderbot from a sardonic loner into someone genuinely worth rooting for—the audiobook does what the best narration does, making you hear the heart beneath the snark.
- 2
Artificial Condition
The Murderbot Diaries • Book 2
by Martha Wells
Narrated by Kevin R. Free
★ 4.49 ABR Score (232.1K ratings)★ 4.25 Goodreads (219.8K) ★ 4.67 Audible (12.3K)More about this pick
Murderbot teams up with a sarcastic AI research vessel to investigate its own dark past at a mining facility. Kevin R. Free perfectly balances the android protagonist's deadpan humor with genuine vulnerability.
- 3
Rogue Protocol
The Murderbot Diaries • Book 3
by Martha Wells
Narrated by Kevin R. Free
★ 4.47 ABR Score (186.1K ratings)★ 4.24 Goodreads (176.3K) ★ 4.68 Audible (9.8K)More about this pick
Murderbot infiltrates a corporate research facility while dodging questions about its past, mixing sci-fi action with social anxiety humor. Kevin R. Free perfectly captures the SecUnit's deadpan internal monologue and reluctant heroism.
- 4
Fugitive Telemetry
Murderbot Diaries • Book 6
by Martha Wells
Narrated by Kevin R. Free
★ 4.47 ABR Score (113.9K ratings)★ 4.29 Goodreads (106.7K) ★ 4.68 Audible (7.2K) - 5
System Collapse
The Murderbot Diaries • Book 7
by Martha Wells
Narrated by Kevin R. Free
★ 4.40 ABR Score (81.0K ratings)★ 4.25 Goodreads (76.8K) ★ 4.66 Audible (4.2K)More about this pick
Kevin R. Free perfectly captures Murderbot's anxiety spiral as corporate rescue missions and ethical dilemmas collide on a colonized planet in crisis.
- 6
All Systems Red
The Murderbot Diaries • Book 1
by Martha Wells
Narrated by Kevin R. Free
★ 4.33 ABR Score (402.1K ratings)★ 4.11 Goodreads (379.7K) ★ 4.49 Audible (22.4K)More about this pick
A security android who's hacked its own protocols just wants to watch TV shows, but keeps getting dragged into protecting humans from corporate conspiracies. Kevin R. Free perfectly captures Murderbot's sardonic internal monologue and social anxiety.
- 7
From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars • Book 39
by Elizabeth Schaefer, Mark Oshiro, Rob Hart, Michael Moreci, Mike Chen, Beth Revis, Zoraida Córdova, Kiersten White, Lilliam Rivera, Mackenzi Lee, Amy Ratcliffe, Catherynne M. Valente, Emily Skrutskie, Tracy Deonn, C.B. Lee, Karen Strong, Delilah S. Dawson, Lydia Kang, Adam Christopher, Cavan Scott, R.F. Kuang, Tom Angleberger, S.A. Chakraborty, Seth Dickinson, Alexander Freed, Jason Fry, Christie Golden, Hank Green, Michael Kogge, John Jackson Miller, Daniel José Older, Anne Toole, Austin Walker, Martha Wells, Django Wexler, Gary Whitta, Brittany N. Williams, Charles Yu, Jim Zub, Katie Cook, Sarwat Chadda
Narrated by Jonathan Davis, Sean Kenin Elias-Reyes, Dion Graham, Jon Hamm, January LaVoy, Soneela Nankani, Marc Thompson, Sam Witwer, Emily Woo Zeller
★ 3.93 ABR Score (7.5K ratings)★ 3.85 Goodreads (5.9K) ★ 4.4 Audible (1.6K)More about this pick
Forty writers and an all-star cast of narrators (including Jon Hamm and Sam Witwer) transform Empire into a anthology of revelation, making you hear the galaxy's most pivotal moments through entirely new eyes.
- 8
Razor's Edge: Star Wars Legends
Star Wars: Legends • Book 1
by Martha Wells
Narrated by January LaVoy
★ 3.65 ABR Score (886 ratings)★ 4 Goodreads (13) ★ 4.16 Audible (873)