While audiobooks are a great way to read on the go, some go above and beyond in immersing the reader. While it offers a great way to accessibly read, audiobooks with full casts often give a richer experience, which is accompanied by stellar production quality. When every character has a different voice actor, it allows the actor’s performances to shine and brings out the characters in a way you can’t get with a single narrator. Here are some of the best audiobooks with a full cast that will keep you fully immersed in the story from start to end.
Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes by Tony Kushner
Angels in America is originally a two-part theatre production written by American playwright Tony Kushner in 1991. The first half of the play, Millennium Approaches, debuted on Broadway in May of 1993 and ran for one year. It was nominated for nine Tony Awards. In 2003, HBO adapted the play into a six-episode mini-series. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1993. The audiobook features the original cast of the National Theatre Broadway revival in 2018, starring Nathan Lane and Andrew Garfield. The play is set in the 80s during the height of the AIDS crisis and follows an ensemble cast of New Yorkers during the politically charged Regan era as two men grapple with their AIDS diagnosis and how it impacts their sexuality and identity. The cast gives an absolutely stellar performance; you’ll feel like you’re on stage beside them when you are listening to it.
Lincoln on the Bardo by George Saunders
Saunders’s first novel makes for an incredible listening experience as he weaves the historically realized father-son relationship between Abraham Lincoln and his terminally ill son in the span of one evening in a graveyard. Saunders speaks on familial love with a supernatural and thrilling twist on this historical truth. The audiobook features award-winning actors and musicians, with a total of 166 cast members — some of which include Saunders’s close family, friends, and members of his publishing team.
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
The first book in a YA sci-fi space epic, Illuminae, is set in 2075 as Kady’s planet is invaded. Two mega corporations are fighting for the planet’s resources, and Kady and her ex-boyfriend, Ezra, must flee with their enemies in hot pursuit. But their problems are just getting started. A plague has mutated and is spreading like wildfire, while the fleet’s AI might be the real enemy. Kady and Ezra — who she swore never to speak to again — must uncover the truth by deciphering data, emails, interviews, maps, medical reports, and more. The book’s unique format makes it an equally compelling listen.
The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean
Ever since Detective Chelsey Calhoun’s sister disappeared 20 years ago, she’s been searching for clues as to where she’s gone, searching for closure. Then, Ellie Black, a local teen from Washington State who went missing two years ago, returns. Except, Ellie isn’t acting right. She won’t say what happened or tell anyone about who she’s protecting, so it’s up to Chelsey to find answers before another girl goes missing. This mystery will have you on the edge of your seat and is perfect for listening.
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
When graduate student Zachary Ezra Rawlins discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks, he is surprised to turn the page and read a story from his childhood. Desperate to understand how his own story came to be recorded in the pages, he finds three clues: a key, a bee, and a sword. The journey for answers takes him to a masquerade ball and a secret library underneath the earth. But it’s so much more than the library. As he explores this magical world, he searches for his answers within the world and his real life.
Sadie by Courtney Summers
Sadie feels like it was meant to be an audiobook. We follow our titular character, Sadie, who’s had a rough upbringing and was left alone to raise her little sister Mattie. When Mattie turns up dead, Sadie’s world is shattered, and after the sham of a police investigation, she hits the road to follow the meager clues and bring Mattie’s killer to justice. When Sadie’s story reaches West McCray, a radio personality working on a project about forgotten small towns in America, he creates a podcast to follow her journey. The podcast built into the novel makes it a perfect listen. It’s paired with amazing production quality and voice performances to make a great audiobook. It won the 2019 Audie Award and the 2019 Odyssey Award.
No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister
No Two Persons highlights the beauty of books to connect with readers and change their lives as we follow Alice, a talented writer whose debut book changes the lives of nine individuals with their own stories. Some of her readers include a teenager hiding her homelessness, a bookseller searching for love, and an artist furious at the world. All of them read her novel and discovered something new. It won the 2024 Audie Award for Muti-voiced Performance.
When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed
When Stars are Scattered is a graphic novel for young readers (and a National Book Award Finalist) that gives us a heartbreaking, hopeful, intimate look at refugee life. Omar and his younger brother Hassan have spent most of their lives in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. At the camp, every day is a struggle The days are dull, food is scarce, and there is a lack of access to healthcare, which Omar knows his brother, who is non-verbal, needs. When Omar gets the opportunity to go to school, the very thing that could secure their future, he knows it means leaving his brother alone all day. It’s been perfectly adapted for audio with music and special effects, perfect for listeners of any age.
Whether you’re looking for a suspenseful mystery or an epic space opera, these audiobooks give you everything you need in a book and more with their amazing casts, stellar performances, and great production.
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