Best Mark Lawrence Audiobooks

The best Mark Lawrence audiobooks — 11 titles ranked by listening experience across Fantasy, averaging 4.05 ABR stars.

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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.

Mark Lawrence's highest-rated audiobook in our collection is Red Sister, narrated by Heather O'Neill (4.19 ABR stars). Performed by narrators including Heather O'Neill, James Clamp, Tim Gerard Reynolds, and more. Rankings here weight the listening experience — narrator performance and Audible ratings factor alongside reader scores.

Where to Start with Mark Lawrence

  1. 1
    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)
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    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.

  2. 2
    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)
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    Nona Grey studies mystical arts while choosing her path among the convent's orders: warrior, spy, mystic, or bride of the Ancestor.

  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)
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    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.

  4. 4
    Emperor of Thorns cover

    Emperor of Thorns

    Broken Empire • Book 3

    by Mark Lawrence

    Narrated by James Clamp

    4.27 ABR Score (61.2K ratings)
    ★ 4.22 Goodreads (58.0K) ★ 4.58 Audible (3.2K)
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    Prince Jorg's final bid for the throne coincides with the Dead King's apocalyptic gambit in Lawrence's brutal fantasy conclusion.

  5. 5
    King of Thorns cover

    King of Thorns

    Broken Empire • Book 2

    by Mark Lawrence

    Narrated by James Clamp

    4.23 ABR Score (74.4K ratings)
    ★ 4.18 Goodreads (71.0K) ★ 4.54 Audible (3.4K)
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    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.

  6. 6
    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)
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    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. 7
    Prince of Thorns cover

    Prince of Thorns

    Broken Empire • Book 1

    by Mark Lawrence

    Narrated by James Clamp

    3.82 ABR Score (129.6K ratings)
    ★ 3.83 Goodreads (124.2K) ★ 4.17 Audible (5.4K)
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    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.

  8. 8
    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)
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    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.

  9. 9
    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

    3.84 ABR Score (779 ratings)
    ★ 3.98 Goodreads (571) ★ 4.37 Audible (208)
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    This charity anthology features stories from fantasy's biggest names, with multiple narrators bringing each author's unique voice to life.

  10. 10
    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)
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    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.

  11. 11
    Daughter of Crows cover

    Daughter of Crows

    The Academy of Kindness • Book 1

    by Mark Lawrence

    Narrated by Olivia Dowd

    3.88 ABR Score (301 ratings)
    ★ 4.24 Goodreads (278) ★ 4.83 Audible (23)
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    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.

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 →