Best Richard Powers Audiobooks

The best audiobooks narrated by Richard Powers — 9 titles spanning Horror, Sci-Fi, Business, Non-Fiction, Literature & Fiction, averaging 3.80 ABR stars.

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Richard Powers has built a quiet reputation narrating the kind of literary fiction and genre work that demands intellectual range rather than showmanship. His voice is measured and precise — the kind of narrator who trusts the material and never oversells it. He's closely associated with Richard Matheson's work, lending his controlled, unhurried delivery to both The Best of Richard Matheson and Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, where his restraint actually amplifies the dread rather than deflating it. He also tackles the sprawling ambition of Larry Kramer's The American People, a performance that requires stamina and tonal consistency across enormous emotional and historical terrain. Powers is the narrator for listeners who find histrionics exhausting — he keeps you anchored in the text rather than in the performance. If you love classic speculative fiction or dense, serious literary work, he's exactly the kind of steady presence that makes long listening sessions feel effortless.

Where to Start with Richard Powers

  1. 1
    Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales cover

    Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales

    by H.P. Lovecraft, Les Edwards, Stephen Jones

    Narrated by Richard Powers, Bronson Pinchot, Stephen R. Thorne, Keith Szarabajka, Adam Verner, Tom Weiner, Patrick Cullen

    ★ 4.27 ABR Score (23.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.23 Goodreads (16.6K) ★ 4.32 Audible (7.1K)
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    Multiple narrators tackle Lovecraft's cosmic horror collection, bringing different voices to tales of Cthulhu and the alien Elder Gods that influenced generations of horror.

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  2. 2
    The Best of Richard Matheson cover

    The Best of Richard Matheson

    by Richard Matheson, Victor LaValle

    Narrated by Donald Corren, Peter Berkrot, Richard Powers, Hillary Huber, Traber Burns, Scott Brick, Devon Sorvari, Kevin Kenerly

    ★ 3.98 ABR Score (2.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.16 Goodreads (2.3K) ★ 4.47 Audible (341)
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    Eight different narrators tackle Matheson's chilling short stories, each voice perfectly suited to these tales that inspired countless Twilight Zone episodes.

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  3. 3
    The ringworld engineer cover

    The ringworld engineer

    Ringworld • Book 1

    by Larry Niven

    Narrated by Richard Powers

    ★ 3.98 ABR Score (132.0K ratings)
    ★ 3.93 Goodreads (129.6K) ★ 4.28 Audible (2.4K)
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    Larry Niven's massive artificial ring around a star becomes the setting for survival adventure when an exploration team crashes and faces an impossibly long journey home.

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  4. 4
    Nightmare at 20,000 Feet: Horror Stories cover

    Nightmare at 20,000 Feet: Horror Stories

    by Richard Matheson, Stephen King

    Narrated by Julia Campbell, Richard Powers, Malcolm Hillgartner, Arte Johnson, Jay Karnes, Ray Porter, Yuri Rasovsky, Lorna Raver

    ★ 3.96 ABR Score (9.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.05 Goodreads (8.4K) ★ 4.17 Audible (1.1K)
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    Eight narrators elevate Matheson's paranoia masterpieces. The psychological horror that defined the Twilight Zone still beats modern scares.

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  5. 5
    The Hour Between Dog and Wolf cover

    The Hour Between Dog and Wolf

    by John Coates

    Narrated by Richard Powers

    ★ 3.90 ABR Score (2.7K ratings)
    ★ 3.92 Goodreads (2.2K) ★ 4.5 Audible (526)
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    Former Wall Street trader turned neuroscientist Coates examines how biology drives financial behavior during market stress. Richard Powers's authoritative narration guides listeners through complex connections between hormones, risk-taking, and economic crashes.

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  6. 6
    The New Space Opera 2 cover

    The New Space Opera 2

    by Gardner Dozois, Jonathan Strahan

    Narrated by Tom Weiner, Bahni Turpin, Caroline Shaffer, Richard Powers, Hillary Huber, Marguerite Gavin, Xe Sands, Erica Sullivan

    ★ 3.62 ABR Score (1.0K ratings)
    ★ 3.79 Goodreads (977) ★ 3.59 Audible (44)
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    Heavyweight sci-fi authors including Robert Charles Wilson and Peter Watts craft interstellar tales that span galaxies. Eight different narrators tackle the varied voices, creating a rich anthology experience across 23 hours.

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  7. 7
    Journeys Home: Inspiring Stories, Plus Tips and Strategies to Find Your Family History cover

    Journeys Home: Inspiring Stories, Plus Tips and Strategies to Find Your Family History

    by Andrew McCarthy, National Geographic Society

    Narrated by Traber Burns, Patrick Lawlor, Adam Verner, Shaun Grindell, Richard Powers

    ★ 3.53 ABR Score (94 ratings)
    ★ 3.74 Goodreads (92) ★ 4 Audible (2)
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    Real people trace their family roots across continents, combining detective work with emotional discovery in twenty-six compelling stories.

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  8. 8
    The American People, Vol. 1 cover

    The American People, Vol. 1

    The American People • Book 1

    by Larry Kramer

    Narrated by full cast, Robertson Dean, Traber Burns, Keith Szarabajka, Ray Porter, Kate Reading, Richard Powers

    ★ 3.50 ABR Score (21 ratings)
    ★ 3.86 Audible (21)
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  9. 9
    21st Century Dead cover

    21st Century Dead

    Dead of Night #1.1 Jack and Jill

    by Christopher Golden, John M. McIlveen, Rio Youers

    Narrated by Scott Brick, Cassandra Campbell, Bernadette Dunne, Richard Powers, Kirby Heyborne, Malcolm Hillgartner, Chris Patton, John Pruden, Renée Raudman, Stefan Rudnicki

    ★ 3.49 ABR Score (897 ratings)
    ★ 3.45 Goodreads (790) ★ 3.75 Audible (107)
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    This zombie anthology spans from Robopocalypse tie-ins to unpublished Stephen King, with ten different narrators handling each story's unique voice and terror.

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Browse Related Lists

Richard Powers — Narrator Profile Scott Brick Ray Porter Adam Verner Michael Kramer Abby Craden Maxine Mitchell Grover Gardner Dick Hill Luke Daniels George Guidall Simon Vance Robertson Dean Simon Prebble Barrie Kreinik R.C. Bray Nick Podehl Andrea Parsneau Bahni Turpin Travis Baldree January LaVoy Tim Gerard Reynolds Edoardo Ballerini Julia Whelan Davina Porter Alex Jennings Best Fantasy Best Sci-Fi Best Thriller Best Mystery Best Horror Best Literature & Fiction

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 →