10 Best Male Audiobook Narrators of All Time

The last few years have seen a soaring rise in the number of audiobook narrators as well as listeners. Almost all books now have their audio versions available with some audiobook platform. Sometimes these books are narrated by their authors themselves! The most crucial part of audiobooks, though, is the narration. It can make or break the matter. A good narrator can elevate a mediocre book to a great experience. On the other hand, a bad narrator can reduce the appeal of even the best book to rubble. Today, we’ve made a list of the 10 best male audiobook narrators of all time.

Jeremy Irons

You may know this man as the Academy award winning actor of ‘Reversal in Fortune’ and for his roles in West End’s many Shakespeare plays. However, this man is alos exceptionally skilled in voice modulation and narration – he has narrated the famous role of Scar in The Lion Kind. Moreover, he also has titles of Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita, Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist and Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited. His ‘deep, gravelly tones’ as linguist Andrew Linn has called them, have resulted in his voice being extremely close to the ideal voice according to scientists.

Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is the author of a magnanimous amount of literary work in the genres of fantasy, science fiction, horror, magical realism and mythology. However, that is definitely not the only feather in his cap. He himself has narrated the audiobooks of many of his literary work spanning over 25 books. His voice matches the tone of his novels perfectly – it has an eerie, otherworldy feel to it. In fact, it would be hard to find someone whose mind, voice and pen are so in sync with each other.

George Guidall

George Guidall is a talented theatre actor who also doubles as a wonderful audiobook narrator. He had recorded more than 1270 audiobooks in 2014, and the sheer quantity od his work makes him eligible to be on his list. If he wasn’t as great, why would he be offered so many audiobooks? From Thomas Pynchon’s ‘Gravity’s Rainbow’ to John Irwing’s ‘A Widow for One Year,’ he is best known for his mystery and suspense narrations. With several awards honouring his work, he remains a leader in this field.

Wil Wheaton

Some of you might know this man as the character in Big Bang Theory. Others may know him as the actor in the Star Trek TV show. But he is also a great audiobook narrator, credited to the voices in Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One and John Scalzi’s Redshirts. He is most known for his work in the science fiction and dystopian genres, where his boyish voice has caught everyone’s attention.

Sunil Malhotra

This man has rendered the wonderful and moving memoir of Paul Kalanithi called ‘When Breath Becomes Air.’ This poignant story needs to be narrated with sensitivity and a quiet, subtle power which Sunil Malhotra has mastered. In addition to this, he has also narrated Rainbow Rowell’s ‘Eleanor and Park’ and Fatima Mirza’s ‘A Place for Us’ – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. As an audiobook narrator, he can pull off both dramatic, passionate books and delicate, subtle books.

Stephen Fry

Apart from being an actor and comedian, Fry is also a video game and animation narrator/ This means that he was already well versed with the art of audio narration when audiobooks started kicking in. He features in a lot of sci-fi audio renditions of books, such as Douglas Adams ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.’ He has also narrated the definitive Sherlock Holmes collection for Audible, for which everyone lauded him. His distinctive and singular voice has proven to be his strength while narrating audiobooks, video games and the like.

Jim Dale

This prodigious man brought to life the series that defined our whole childhood – the harry Potter series. And if that isn’t enough, he moulded his voice into 134 different voices for the purpose of this narration! His voice is exactly the way we imagine it to be in our heads – absolutely magical. Together with J K Rowling’s magical universe and the characters that she has forever etched in our hearts, this one had to make it on to our list. And to add to the mix, he has also narrated Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol and Erin Morningstar’s Night Circus.

David Sedaris

Like most narrators on this list, Sedaris is also a multifaceted guy known for his audiobooks, radio stints and books. However, he is most famous for his comedy as a humourist. He has narrated his own book, namely ‘Dress Your Family in Corduroy or Denim’ as well as ‘Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls’ and ‘Me Talk Pretty One Day.’ One of the only ones on this list who can pull off humour, Sedaris is special and surely one to look out for.

Will Patton

‘The Canyon’ actor Will Patton has brought to life an audiobook series that all fantasy lovers absolutely adore – the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. His other notable renditions include ‘Light in August’ by William Faulkner, ‘Deliverance’ by James Hickey and a bunch of Stephen King’s novels. The grit and seriousness of his voice has definitely enhanced the appeal of these books.

Frank Muller

Muller was a seasoned television actor of ‘All My Children’ and ‘Harry and The Hendersons’. However his major success was as an audiobook narrator, where he narrated books by renowned authors such as John le Carre, John Grisham, Stephen King. He also narrated Charles Dicken’s ‘Tale of Two Cities’ and Clive Barker’s ‘Coldheart Canyon.’ He won several awards for his narrations and garnered love for his sizzling, hypnotic voice.

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