Best Kevin R. Free Audiobooks
Kevin R. Free is an audiobook narrator who has become closely identified with Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries series, having narrated Network Effect, All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Fugitive Telemetry, and System Collapse. His narration of the series' misanthropic, socially anxious construct protagonist — a security robot that has hacked its own governor module and mostly wants to watch television serials in peace — is widely regarded as a significant part of the series' appeal. Free captures Murderbot's deadpan interiority, the contrast between its violent capabilities and its awkward social interactions, and the genuine emotional growth it undergoes across the series, all without sentimentality. He also narrated Ann Leckie's Glasshouse, demonstrating his range in science fiction more broadly. Free's voice has a quality of careful reserve that suits outsider perspectives, and his work has helped make the Murderbot Diaries one of the most beloved science fiction audio properties of recent years.
Where to Start with Kevin R. Free
- New to Kevin R. Free? Start here → All Systems Red
- What fans keep coming back to → Artificial Condition
- Short listen, big payoff → Rogue Protocol
- Highest rated by listeners → System Collapse
Best Kevin R. Free Audiobooks
- 1
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.
- 2
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.
- 3
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.
- 4
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.
- 5
Playground
by Richard Powers
Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini, Robin Siegerman, Eunice Wong, Pun Bandhu, Krys Janae, Kevin R Free
★ 4.24 ABR Score (47.6K ratings)★ 4.14 Goodreads (46.5K) ★ 4.53 Audible (1.1K)More about this pick
Powers connects four lives across decades and continents in this oceanic meditation on technology and nature. The ensemble cast guides listeners through underwater Montreal, Pacific naval bases, and AI boardrooms with distinct vocal textures.
- 6
The Come Up: An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop
by Jonathan Abrams
Narrated by Dion Graham, Diontae Black, Torian Brackett, Langston Darby, James Fouhey, Kevin R. Free, Dominic Hoffman, JD Jackson, Terrence Kidd, January LaVoy, Adam Lazarre-White, Leon Nixon, Reynaldo Piniella, Malik Rashad
★ 3.95 ABR Score (782 ratings)★ 4.22 Goodreads (730) ★ 4.73 Audible (52)More about this pick
Multiple narrators embody the original voices behind hip-hop's rise, transforming this oral history into something closer to a documentary you're hearing firsthand from the legends themselves.
- 7
Glasshouse
Narrated by Kevin R. Free
★ 3.78 ABR Score (12.1K ratings)★ 3.88 Goodreads (11.7K) ★ 4.14 Audible (389)More about this pick
Robin awakens with missing memories in the 27th century, hunted by unknown enemies in this identity thriller. Stross imagines a future where personalities can be edited and histories censored.
- 8
Whiteout
Blackout • Book 2
by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon
Narrated by Danielle Shemaiah, Nic Stone, Shayna Small, Bahni Turpin, Alaska Jackson, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Kevin R. Free, James Fouhey, Korey Jackson
★ 3.77 ABR Score (7.2K ratings)★ 3.6 Goodreads (7.2K) ★ 4.46 Audible (78)More about this pick
Multiple narrators each voicing their own character make this snowy Atlanta romance feel like eavesdropping on real conversations between friends, turning an ensemble story into something genuinely intimate.
- 9
You've Got a Place Here, Too: An Anthology of Black Love Stories Set at HBCUs
by Ebony LaDelle
Narrated by Jelani Alladin, Preston Butler, Nicole Cash, Kevin R. Free, iiKane, Ozzie Jacobs, Ebony LaDelle, Angel Pean, Malik Rashad, Andre Santana, Jaime Lincoln Smith, Zenzi Williams, Bahni Turpin
★ 3.77 ABR Score (351 ratings)★ 4.06 Goodreads (344) ★ 4.57 Audible (7)More about this pick
Thirteen narrators bring individual voices to these HBCU-set love stories exploring hope, endurance, and legacy. Each performance captures the unique campus atmosphere where Black romance and academic life intertwine.
- 10
Brooklyn Noir
Brooklyn Noir • Book 1
by Tim McLoughlin
Narrated by Michael Braun, Adam Chase, Karen Chilton, Paul L. Coffey, Jane Cramer, Kevin R. Free, Tim Gerard Reynolds
★ 3.57 ABR Score (506 ratings)★ 3.51 Goodreads (491) ★ 3.67 Audible (15)More about this pick
Crime stories span Brooklyn's neighborhoods from Coney Island to Park Slope, exploring the borough's criminal legacy through contemporary voices. Seven narrators including Tim Gerard Reynolds capture each story's distinct voice and local atmosphere.
- 11
Never Never
Never Never #1-3 • Book 1
by Colleen Hoover, Tarryn Fisher
Narrated by Kevin R. Free, Elizabeth Evans
★ 3.23 ABR Score (219.4K ratings)★ 3.29 Goodreads (218.7K) ★ 3.75 Audible (747)More about this pick
Kevin R. Free and Elizabeth Evans split this memory-loss mystery with such convincing uncertainty that you'll question which version of their love story is real.