Best Emily Woo Zeller Audiobooks
Emily Woo Zeller has built a reputation as one of the more versatile ensemble narrators working today, which makes her a natural fit for sprawling multi-author anthologies like From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back — a collection that demands a narrator who can shift tone, register, and character across dozens of stories without losing the thread. Her voice is clear and precise, with a warmth that keeps even dense or emotionally heavy material from feeling cold. She's equally at home in the genre-hopping chaos of The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2020 and the grounded crime fiction of Crime Hits Home. Listeners who gravitate toward short fiction anthologies — a format where narrator fatigue is a real risk — will find Zeller unusually reliable. She doesn't showboat, but she never disappears either. That balance is rarer than it sounds.
Where to Start with Emily Woo Zeller
- New to Emily Woo Zeller? Start here → King of Wrath
- What fans keep coming back to → The Poppy War
- Short listen, big payoff → Space Force
- Highest rated by listeners → The Dragon Republic
- Best narrator–author pairing → The Complete Poppy War Trilogy
Best Emily Woo Zeller Audiobooks
- 1
The Dragon Republic
The Poppy War • Book 2
by R.F. Kuang
Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller
★ 4.46 ABR Score (231.2K ratings)★ 4.34 Goodreads (228.5K) ★ 4.51 Audible (2.7K) - 2
The Poppy War
The Poppy War • Book 1
by R. F. Kuang
Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller
★ 4.30 ABR Score (507.1K ratings)★ 4.16 Goodreads (501.7K) ★ 4.21 Audible (5.4K)More about this pick
War orphan Rin discovers shamanic powers while her country faces brutal invasion. Emily Woo Zeller handles the progression from military academy story to genocidal warfare with unflinching commitment.
- 3
The Bone Shard Emperor
The Drowning Empire • Book 2
by Andrea Stewart
Narrated by Natalie Naudus, Feodor Chin, Emily Woo Zeller
★ 4.26 ABR Score (15.9K ratings)★ 4.06 Goodreads (15.4K) ★ 4.59 Audible (446)More about this pick
Lin rules an empire that doesn't trust her while rebels mass in the north and bone shard magic threatens everything. The three narrators handle Stewart's complex world-building with clarity, giving each faction its own voice.
- 4
The Bone Shard Daughter
The Drowning Empire • Book 1
by Andrea Stewart
Narrated by Natalie Naudus, Feodor Chin, Emily Woo Zeller
★ 4.20 ABR Score (38.1K ratings)★ 3.98 Goodreads (37.1K) ★ 4.37 Audible (1.1K) - 5
My Best Friend's Exorcism
by Grady Hendrix
Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller
★ 4.19 ABR Score (163.6K ratings)★ 3.92 Goodreads (154.2K) ★ 4.26 Audible (9.4K)More about this pick
Emily Woo Zeller perfectly captures 1980s teenage friendship turned horror as Abby fights to save demon-possessed Gretchen in this nostalgic nightmare.
- 6
King of Wrath
Kings of Sin • Book 1
by Ana Huang
Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller, Jacob Morgan
★ 4.16 ABR Score (653.8K ratings)★ 4.03 Goodreads (653.7K) ★ 4.6 Audible (101)More about this pick
Emily Woo Zeller and Jacob Morgan capture the power play: Dante and Vivian's collision crackles across two voices, making every unguarded admission sting.
- 7
The Girl Who Wrote in Silk
by Kelli Estes
Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller
★ 4.14 ABR Score (40.3K ratings)★ 4.1 Goodreads (33.9K) ★ 4.37 Audible (6.4K)More about this pick
Two women across centuries connect through embroidered silk hiding the brutal truth about Chinese expulsion from 1880s Seattle. Emily Woo Zeller's performance captures both the historical weight and contemporary discovery.
- 8
The Bone Witch
The Bone Witch • Book 1
by Rin Chupeco
Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller, Will Damron
★ 4.13 ABR Score (60.8K ratings)★ 3.68 Goodreads (51.6K) ★ 4.27 Audible (9.3K)More about this pick
Tea's forbidden necromancy powers unfold in this dark fantasy debut, where Emily Woo Zeller and Will Damron capture both the magic and menace of resurrection.
- 9
The Bride Test
The Kiss Quotient • Book 2
by Helen Hoang
Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller
★ 4.12 ABR Score (188.5K ratings)★ 3.81 Goodreads (183.8K) ★ 4.48 Audible (4.7K)More about this pick
Zeller's narration captures both Esme's Vietnamese-accented English and Khai's guarded interior life with real tenderness. A swoony, big-hearted romance.
- 10
The Bone Shard War
The Drowning Empire • Book 3
by Andrea Stewart
Narrated by Natalie Naudus, Feodor Chin, Emily Woo Zeller
★ 4.12 ABR Score (8.8K ratings)★ 3.92 Goodreads (8.7K) ★ 4.44 Audible (133)More about this pick
Stewart concludes her fantasy trilogy with Lin facing rebellion from her own governors while ancient enemies unite against her crumbling empire. The multi-narrator cast captures each character's distinct voice as political intrigue collides with bone shard magic.
- 11
The Complete Poppy War Trilogy
The Poppy War • Book 1
by R. F. Kuang
Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller
★ 4.12 ABR Score (4.6K ratings)★ 4.38 Goodreads (2.6K) ★ 4.06 Audible (2.0K)More about this pick
War orphan Rin's brutal rise through military academy to commanding gods and fire spans three volumes of Chinese-inspired fantasy warfare. Zeller guides listeners through this epic's unflinching examination of power's cost.
- 12
Spirits Abroad
by Zen Cho
Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller
★ 4.09 ABR Score (2.1K ratings)★ 4.17 Goodreads (2.1K) ★ 4.59 Audible (22)More about this pick
Emily Woo Zeller's narration brings these Malaysian-inflected ghost stories to vivid life, shifting effortlessly between the mundane and uncanny to capture Zen Cho's sharp, funny voice. Each story lands harder on audio than on the page.
- 13
The Warehouse
by Rob Hart
Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller, Jason Culp, Karissa Vacker
★ 4.04 ABR Score (15.9K ratings)★ 3.84 Goodreads (15.1K) ★ 4.29 Audible (835)More about this pick
Corporate dystopia meets employee surveillance in this chilling Amazon-gone-wrong thriller where workers live inside their workplace compound. The three narrators capture each character's desperation perfectly.
- 14
This Is How You Lose the Time War
by Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone
Narrated by Cynthia Farrell, Emily Woo Zeller
★ 4.02 ABR Score (353.0K ratings)★ 3.83 Goodreads (348.1K) ★ 4.33 Audible (4.8K) - 15
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
★ 4.01 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.
- 16
Veniss Underground
by Jeff Vandermeer, Unknown Author
Narrated by Ron Butler, Scott Brick, Emily Woo Zeller, Bronson Pinchot
★ 3.99 ABR Score (4.1K ratings)★ 3.79 Goodreads (4.1K) ★ 4.25 Audible (28)More about this pick
Three interconnected voices explore the mysterious city of Veniss through a multi-narrator performance featuring Ron Butler, Scott Brick, Emily Woo Zeller, and Bronson Pinchot in VanderMeer's haunting debut.
- 17
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.
- 18
Space Force
Narrated by Jeffrey Kafer, Emily Woo Zeller, Machelle Williams
★ 3.87 ABR Score (5.0K ratings)★ 3.84 Goodreads (1.2K) ★ 4.31 Audible (3.7K)More about this pick
Captain Ethan Stone leads a ragtag military unit of misfits and rule-breakers in humanity's least respected branch. The three-narrator team captures the military comedy chaos perfectly.
- 19
The Hidden Girl and Other Stories
by Ken Liu
Narrated by Ramón de Ocampo, Cindy Kay, Michael Kramer, Emily Woo Zeller, Nancy Wu
★ 3.86 ABR Score (8.7K ratings)★ 3.94 Goodreads (8.2K) ★ 4.26 Audible (517)More about this pick
Liu's stories punch harder with a full ensemble cast bringing distinct voices to each tale, from near-future dystopias to intimate family dramas that hit you when you're not expecting it.
- 20
The Cartographers
by Peng Shepherd
Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller, Nancy Wu, Karen Chilton, Ron Butler, Neil Hellegers, Jason Culp, Brittany Pressley
★ 3.74 ABR Score (82.2K ratings)★ 3.63 Goodreads (81.3K) ★ 3.84 Audible (913)More about this pick
An estranged daughter discovers her famous cartographer father dead, clutching a worthless gas station map that somehow holds deadly secrets—the ensemble cast handles the mystery's shifting perspectives beautifully.