Best Rebellion Against Authority Sci-Fi Audiobooks

The highest-rated sci-fi audiobooks featuring rebellion against authority, ranked by listeners. Browse 20 titles.

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The best sci-fi audiobooks featuring the rebellion against authority trope, ranked by listener and reader ratings from Audible and Goodreads.

Rebellion Against Authority shows up across many genres, but it plays out differently in sci-fi — these are the highest-rated examples.

  1. 1
    Morning Star cover

    Morning Star

    Red Rising • Book 3

    by Pierce Brown

    Narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds

    4.81 ABR Score (468.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.55 Goodreads (414.3K) ★ 4.82 Audible (54.2K)
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    Darrow's revolution reaches its bloody crescendo as he leads the rebellion against Gold tyranny in this explosive finale that Tim Gerard Reynolds narrates with fierce intensity.

  2. 2
    Golden Son cover

    Golden Son

    Red Rising • Book 2

    by Pierce Brown

    Narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds

    4.79 ABR Score (560.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.5 Goodreads (505.3K) ★ 4.81 Audible (55.5K)
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    Darrow continues his infiltration of Gold society while planning revolution from within the ruling class. Tim Gerard Reynolds captures the escalating political intrigue and brutal space battles with commanding intensity.

  3. 3
    Catching Fire cover

    Catching Fire

    The Hunger Games • Book 2

    by Suzanne Collins

    Narrated by Tatiana Maslany

    4.79 ABR Score (4.2M ratings)
    ★ 4.36 Goodreads (4.2M) ★ 4.89 Audible (16.7K)
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    Tatiana Maslany captures Katniss's unraveling with such raw intensity that you feel the rebellion igniting in real time—her performance transforms the sequel into something darker and more dangerous than the first.

  4. 4
    Mockingjay cover

    Mockingjay

    The Hunger Games • Book 3

    by Suzanne Collins

    Narrated by Tatiana Maslany

    4.66 ABR Score (3.8M ratings)
    ★ 4.12 Goodreads (3.8M) ★ 4.86 Audible (17.0K)
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    Tatiana Maslany's raw, fractured performance captures Katniss at her most broken and angry—she makes the final rebellion feel like a tragedy, not a victory lap.

  5. 5
    Red Rising cover

    Red Rising

    Red Rising • Book 1

    by Pierce Brown

    Narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds

    4.64 ABR Score (899.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.27 Goodreads (820.6K) ★ 4.71 Audible (79.2K)
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    Darrow infiltrates the ruling Gold caste to destroy their color-coded society from within, starting with their brutal Institute. Tim Gerard Reynolds' dynamic narration propels this violent, addictive space opera.

  6. 6
    Dust cover

    Dust

    Silo • Book 3

    by Hugh Howey

    Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini

    4.42 ABR Score (144.4K ratings)
    ★ 4.23 Goodreads (141.0K) ★ 4.69 Audible (3.4K)
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    Jules must prevent the destruction of Silo 18 while grappling with the truth about the outside world in Howey's trilogy conclusion that questions whether some lies are worth preserving.

  7. 7
    Red Rising (Part 1 of 2) (Dramatized Adaptation) cover

    Red Rising (Part 1 of 2) (Dramatized Adaptation)

    Red Rising • Book 1

    by Pierce Brown

    Narrated by full cast, Stewart Crank, John Kielty, Richard Rohan, Stephanie Németh-Parker, Jenna Sharpe, Kay Eluvian, Jon Vertullo, Ian Russell, Alejandro Ruiz, Andrew Colford, Bradley Foster Smith

    4.24 ABR Score (2.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.39 Goodreads (1.6K) ★ 4.71 Audible (947)
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    A Red miner infiltrates the ruling Gold class to destroy their society from within in this full-cast dramatization of the dystopian sci-fi classic.

  8. 8
    Rhino: The Rise of a Warrior (Hell Divers) cover

    Rhino: The Rise of a Warrior (Hell Divers)

    Hell Divers

    by Nicholas Sansbury Smith

    Narrated by Ray Porter

    4.20 ABR Score (1.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.4 Goodreads (561) ★ 4.75 Audible (1.0K)
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    Set centuries before the main series, this prequel follows a young warrior's rise against the empire that enslaved his people in the radioactive wasteland.

  9. 9
    Freedom's Challenge cover

    Freedom's Challenge

    Catteni • Book 3

    by Anne McCaffrey

    Narrated by Susie Breck, Dick Hill

    4.14 ABR Score (8.2K ratings)
    ★ 4 Goodreads (7.4K) ★ 4.68 Audible (751)
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    Human colonists on planet Botany refuse to surrender their hard-won home to alien overseers in McCaffrey's resistance tale.

  10. 10
    Into the Shadows cover

    Into the Shadows

    Agenda 21 • Book 2

    by Glenn Beck

    Narrated by Jeremy Lowell, January LaVoy

    4.03 ABR Score (2.4K ratings)
    ★ 4.1 Goodreads (1.8K) ★ 4.55 Audible (678)
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    Escapees from the oppressive Republic face new dangers while searching for true freedom in Beck's dystopian sequel. Jeremy Lowell and January LaVoy handle the dual perspectives of this Agenda 21 continuation.

  11. 11
    Reclamation cover

    Reclamation

    Rise • Book 3

    by Devon C. Ford, Nathan Hystad

    Narrated by Ray Porter

    4.03 ABR Score (1.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.32 Goodreads (324) ★ 4.58 Audible (803)
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    The failed Gateway attack sparks global resistance as Alec receives messages from UK allies while Dex plans his next move. Ray Porter manages multiple storylines across this occupied Earth thriller.

  12. 12
    1637: The Volga Rules cover

    1637: The Volga Rules

    1632 Universe/Ring of Fire • Book 19

    by Eric Flint, Paula Goodlett, Gorg Huff

    Narrated by George Guidall

    3.96 ABR Score (861 ratings)
    ★ 4.15 Goodreads (667) ★ 4.66 Audible (194)
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    Five years after Grantville's arrival in 1632, American ideals of freedom and revolution spread to Mother Russia with world-changing consequences.

  13. 13
    Warlord Conquering (The Great Insurrection) cover

    Warlord Conquering (The Great Insurrection)

    The Great Insurrection • Book 3

    by David Beers

    Narrated by Bradley Foster Smith, Catherine Aselford, Chris Stinson, Colleen Delany, Danny Gavigan, David Jourdan, James Konicek, Nanette Savard, Nora Achrati, Terence Aselford, Rob McFadyen

    3.83 ABR Score (379 ratings)
    ★ 4.48 Goodreads (360) ★ 4.79 Audible (19)
  14. 14
    Defiance cover

    Defiance

    The Defiance • Book 1

    by Devon C. Ford

    Narrated by Greg Tremblay

    3.76 ABR Score (220 ratings)
    ★ 4.41 Goodreads (107) ★ 4.34 Audible (113)
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    In a post-apocalyptic world ruled by iron-fisted authorities, revolution stirs in the ruins. Tremblay's performance captures both the oppressive atmosphere and growing rebellion across all three books.

  15. 15
    High-Opp cover

    High-Opp

    by Frank Herbert

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    3.71 ABR Score (897 ratings)
    ★ 3.45 Goodreads (509) ★ 4.35 Audible (388)
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    Herbert's lost dystopia divides society by opinion poll scores, with high-ranking citizens enjoying luxury while low-scorers face persecution. Scott Brick's narration suits the sociological speculation and class warfare themes.

  16. 16
    Marvel: Black Panther: The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda: A Novel cover

    Marvel: Black Panther: The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda: A Novel

    The Nameless Republic

    by Suyi Davies Okungbowa

    Narrated by William DeMeritt, Bahni Turpin

    3.66 ABR Score (55 ratings)
    ★ 3.93 Goodreads (29) ★ 4.62 Audible (26)
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    William DeMeritt and Bahni Turpin split narration duties in this adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates' run, where Wakanda's lost king faces a tyrannical space empire.

  17. 17
    The Eyes of Heisenberg cover

    The Eyes of Heisenberg

    by Frank Herbert

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    3.59 ABR Score (2.2K ratings)
    ★ 3.44 Goodreads (2.2K) ★ 4.13 Audible (78)
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    Herbert explores genetic manipulation in a future where parents can watch surgeons alter their unborn children—but never do. When one couple breaks protocol, revolution follows in this early Herbert mind-bender.

  18. 18
    Utopia 58 cover

    Utopia 58

    by Daniel Arenson

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    3.56 ABR Score (313 ratings)
    ★ 3.69 Goodreads (219) ★ 3.67 Audible (94)
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    Scott Brick's voice cuts through this dystopian nightmare with surgical precision, making the horror of enforced sameness feel disturbingly intimate and impossible to shake.

  19. 19
    Arch-Conspirator cover

    Arch-Conspirator

    by Veronica Roth

    Narrated by Dion Graham, January LaVoy

    3.55 ABR Score (7.4K ratings)
    ★ 3.42 Goodreads (7.3K) ★ 3.55 Audible (20)
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    Roth reimagines Antigone in a post-apocalyptic world where the last city guards humanity's genetic archive from complete extinction.

  20. 20
    The Little Green Book of Chairman Rahma cover

    The Little Green Book of Chairman Rahma

    by Brian Herbert

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    3.53 ABR Score (188 ratings)
    ★ 2.9 Goodreads (174) ★ 3.57 Audible (14)
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    America's environmental dictatorship faces corporate rebellion in this green dystopia where pollution is banned but freedom died with it. Scott Brick navigates the political complexity expertly.

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 →