Best William Dufris Audiobooks
William Dufris brings a weathered, adaptable versatility to genres that rarely share the same shelf. His narration of Old Man's War captures Scalzi's sardonic wit with a dry, measured delivery that lets the jokes land without telegraphing them — a harder trick than it sounds. Flip to The Maltese Falcon and he's doing something entirely different: leaning into the hard-boiled cadences of classic noir with a cool, clipped authority that feels genuinely period-appropriate rather than imitative. His work on Ken Scholes' Psalms of Isaak series shows he can also handle sweeping post-apocalyptic world-building without losing the human stakes underneath. Dufris has a mid-register, unhurried voice that rewards patient listeners — he's not flashy, but he's precise, and that precision suits morally complex material well. Fans of literary sci-fi and classic crime fiction will find him an exceptionally reliable guide.
Where to Start with William Dufris
- New to William Dufris? Start here → Old Man's War
- What fans keep coming back to → Cryptonomicon
- Short listen, big payoff → The Naked Sun
- Highest rated by listeners → The Robots of Dawn
- Best narrator–author pairing → The Last Colony
Best William Dufris Audiobooks
- 1
Old Man's War
Old Man\u2019s War • Book 1
by John Scalzi
Narrated by William Dufris
★ 4.43 ABR Score (255.3K ratings)★ 4.23 Goodreads (226.8K) ★ 4.55 Audible (28.5K)More about this pick
John Perry's 75th birthday recruitment into humanity's star-spanning military gets perfectly pitched energy from William Dufris.
- 2
The Naked Sun
Robot • Book 2
by Isaac Asimov, Chris Moore
Narrated by William Dufris
★ 4.42 ABR Score (67.3K ratings)★ 4.2 Goodreads (64.3K) ★ 4.75 Audible (3.0K)More about this pick
William Dufris captures Baley's claustrophobic terror as the Earth detective must solve murder on a Spacer world where humans live in complete isolation.
- 3
The Robots of Dawn
Robot • Book 3
by Isaac Asimov
Narrated by William Dufris
★ 4.41 ABR Score (58.4K ratings)★ 4.2 Goodreads (55.5K) ★ 4.74 Audible (2.9K)More about this pick
Detective Baley investigates roboticide on Aurora, where humanoid robots challenge the Three Laws, and Dufris balances mystery plotting with Asimov's technological philosophy.
- 4
The Last Colony
Old Man's War • Book 3
by John Scalzi
Narrated by William Dufris
★ 4.33 ABR Score (84.4K ratings)★ 4.11 Goodreads (73.9K) ★ 4.59 Audible (10.5K)More about this pick
Retirement on alien soil turns deadly when colonial politics drag John Perry back into galactic warfare. Dufris captures Perry's weary wisdom perfectly, balancing domestic tranquility with mounting dread.
- 5
Old Man's War Boxed Set I: Old Man's War, The Ghost Brigades, The Last Colony
Old Man's War #1-3 • Book 2
by John Scalzi
Narrated by William Dufris
★ 4.26 ABR Score (14.9K ratings)★ 4.53 Goodreads (948) ★ 4.48 Audible (14.0K)More about this pick
Scalzi's galactic war trilogy gets the full treatment here, following humanity's colonial expansion while Earth remains deliberately ignorant of the cosmic situation.
- 6
Cryptonomicon
Baroque Cycle
Narrated by William Dufris
★ 4.26 ABR Score (127.1K ratings)★ 4.23 Goodreads (117.3K) ★ 4.41 Audible (9.8K)More about this pick
Stephenson weaves together WWII codebreakers and modern-day treasure hunters in an epic about cryptography, gold, and conspiracy spanning generations. Dufris tackles the novel's intimidating length and technical complexity, keeping listeners engaged through dense mathematical concepts and historical detail.
- 7
Gravity
Narrated by William Dufris
★ 4.22 ABR Score (18.6K ratings)★ 4.1 Goodreads (17.6K) ★ 4.41 Audible (933)More about this pick
Medical thriller meets space station horror as deadly organisms threaten both orbiting astronauts and Earth below.
- 8
The Maltese Falcon
The Maltese Falcon • Book 1
by Dashiell Hammett
Narrated by William Dufris
★ 3.94 ABR Score (119.2K ratings)★ 3.86 Goodreads (116.4K) ★ 4.24 Audible (2.8K)More about this pick
Sam Spade's hunt for a legendary jeweled falcon pulls him into a web of murder, lies, and double-crosses in 1930s San Francisco. The classic noir gets solid treatment as Spade navigates dangerous clients and deadly rivals seeking the priceless bird.
- 9
Canticle
Psalms of Isaak • Book 2
by Ken Scholes
Narrated by Scott Brick, William Dufris, Eliza Foss, Peter Larkin
★ 3.78 ABR Score (1.6K ratings)★ 3.94 Goodreads (1.5K) ★ 4.15 Audible (149)More about this pick
Rudolfo inherits the Androfancine Order's power while expecting his first child, but transcribing ancient knowledge unleashes unexpected consequences.
- 10
Woken Furies
Takeshi Kovacs • Book 3
by Richard K. Morgan
Narrated by William Dufris
★ 3.67 ABR Score (37.2K ratings)★ 4.01 Goodreads (32.5K) ★ 3.83 Audible (4.6K)More about this pick
Takeshi Kovacs faces biomachines and betrayal on his home planet, where consciousness-swapping technology makes death negotiable. William Dufris captures the noir-cyberpunk tone of this complex series finale.
- 11
Miami Noir (Akashic Noir)
Akashic noir Series
by Les Standiford, Kevin Allen, Preston L. Allen, Lynne Barrett, David Beaty, John Bond, Tom Corcoran, John Dufresne, Anthony Dale Gagliano, Carolina Garcia-Aguilera, James W. Hall, Vicki Hendricks, Christine Kling, Paul Levine, Barbara Parker, George Tucker, Jeffrey Wehr
Narrated by Scott Brick, William Dufris, Joe Barrett, Jonathan Davis, Ray Porter, R.C. Bray, Elizabeth Evans
★ 3.62 ABR Score (194 ratings)★ 3.7 Goodreads (179) ★ 4.07 Audible (15)More about this pick
Seventeen authors explore Miami's criminal underbelly through tales of corruption, violence, and moral decay. Multiple narrators match the diverse voices exploring the city's dark heart.
- 12
Lamentation
Psalms of Isaak • Book 1
by Ken Scholes
Narrated by Stefan Rudnicki, Scott Brick, William Dufris, Maggi-Meg Reed
★ 3.59 ABR Score (3.5K ratings)★ 3.7 Goodreads (3.2K) ★ 3.96 Audible (269)More about this pick
A mysterious weapon obliterates an entire city in an instant, setting multiple narrators loose on this epic fantasy's sprawling cast and world-building.
- 13
D.C. Noir
D.C. Noir • Book 1
by George P. Pelecanos, Quintin Peterson, James Grady, Jim Beane, Rubén Castañeda, Jennifer Howard, Lester Irby, Robert Andrews, David Slater, Jim Fusilli, Robert Wisdom, Richard Currey, Laura Lippman, James M. Patton, Kenji Jasper, Norman W. Kelley
Narrated by Lisa Renee Pitts, Cassandra Campbell, William Dufris, Mirron Willis, Carol Monda, Ray Porter, Nick Sullivan, Victor Bevine
★ 3.56 ABR Score (636 ratings)★ 3.42 Goodreads (610) ★ 3.88 Audible (26)More about this pick
Sixteen authors explore Washington's criminal underbelly across neighborhoods from Dupont Circle to Southeast. Multiple narrators guide you through each district's distinct flavor of corruption.
- 14
Black Sam: Prince of Pirates
by Mat McLeod, James Lewis
Narrated by Alex Hyde-White, Roy Dotrice, Scott Brick, Stefan Rudnicki, William Dufris, Jayne Entwistle, Simon Vance, R.C. Bray
★ 3.47 ABR Score (324 ratings)★ 3.65 Goodreads (96) ★ 3.79 Audible (228)More about this pick
Sam Bellamy's transformation from out-of-work sailor to pirate captain to win a debutante's hand. Eight different narrators handle this sweeping maritime adventure across multiple perspectives.