Via Booklist Online, the 2014 Audies Finalists have been announced. My first thoughts are 1. that I’m thrilled to see Kim Stanley Robinson’s Shaman named as a finalist in the Science Fiction category. And 2, I can’t recall a previous year with such a broad base of audio publishers. The big 5/6 and Amazon’s imprints, along with independents both big (Recorded Books, Blackstone, Tantor, and GraphicAudio) and small: Podium (who continues to produce an extremely high quality of well-curated and well-cast audiobooks), Spokenworld, “MountainWhispers.com Audiobooks” and more. Split across 29 categories, here are the titles of speculative interest:

AUDIO DRAMA

The Fall of the Kings; by Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman; Narrated by Ellen Kushner, Nick Sullivan, Neil Gaiman, Simon Jones, Katherine Kellgren, Robert Fass, Richard Ferrone, and Tim Jerome; SueMedia Productions for Neil Gaiman Presents/Audible, Inc. [Kobo | Kindle]

Marvel Civil War; by Stuart Moore; Narrated by Richard Rohan, Richard Cutting, Tim Getman, James Keegan, Kimberly Gilbert, and a full cast; GraphicAudio [Kindle]

War of the Worlds; by M.J. Elliott and H.G. Wells; Narrated by The Colonial Radio Players; The Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air [Kindle]

[among others]

CLASSIC

Frankenstein; by Mary Shelley; Narrated by Dan Stevens; Audible, Inc.

[among others]

FANTASY

Kill City Blues; by Richard Kadrey; Narrated by MacLeod Andrews; HarperAudio [Kobo | Kindle]

The Republic of Thieves; by Scott Lynch; Narrated by Michael Page; Tantor Media [ IndieBound MP3-CD | IndieBound CD | Kobo | Kindle | Amazon MP3-CD | Amazon CD]

The Rithmatist; by Brandon Sanderson; Narrated by Michael Kramer; Macmillan Audio [IndieBound CD | Kobo | Kindle | Amazon CD]

Swords of Waar; by Nathan Long; Narrated by Dina Pearlman; Audible, Inc. [Kobo | Kindle]

Wisp of a Thing; by Alex Bledsoe; Narrated by Stefan Rudnicki; Blackstone Audio Inc. [IndieBound MP3-CD | IndieBound CD | Kobo | Kindle | Amazon MP3-CD | Amazon CD]

FICTION

Doctor Sleep; by Stephen King; Narrated by Will Patton; Simon & Schuster Audio [IndieBound CD | IndieBound MP3-CD | Kobo | Kindle | Amazon MP3-CD | Amazon CD]

The Golem and the Jinni; by Helene Wecker; Narrated by George Guidall; HarperAudio [Kobo | Kindle]

The Ocean at the End of the Lane; by Neil Gaiman; Narrated by Neil Gaiman; HarperAudio [IndieBound CD | Kobo | Kindle | Amazon CD]

[among others]

LITERARY FICTION

The Curiosity; by Stephen Kiernan; Narrated by Kate Udall, Erik Bergmann, Jason Culp, and George Guidall; HarperAudio [Kobo]

[among others]

MULTI–VOICED PERFORMANCE

Ender’s Game Alive; by Orson Scott Card; Narrated by a full cast; Audible, Inc.

The Fall of the Kings; by Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman; Narrated by Ellen Kushner, Nick Sullivan, Neil Gaiman, Simon Jones, Katherine Kellgren, Robert Fass, Richard Ferrone, and Tim Jerome; SueMedia Productions for Neil Gaiman Presents/Audible, Inc. [Kobo | Kindle]

William Shakespeare’s Star Wars; by Ian Doescher; Narrated by Daniel Davis, Jonathan Davis, January LaVoy and Marc Thompson; Random House Audio/Books on Tape [Kobo | Kindle]

World War Z: The Complete Edition; by Max Brooks; Narrated by Max Brooks and full cast; Random House Audio/Books on Tape [IndieBound CD | Kobo | Kindle | Amazon CD]

[among others]

NARRATION BY THE AUTHOR or AUTHORS

The Ocean at the End of the Lane; by Neil Gaiman; Narrated by Neil Gaiman; HarperAudio [IndieBound CD | Kobo | Kindle | Amazon CD]

[among others]

ORIGINAL WORK

Ender’s Game Alive; by Orson Scott Card; Narrated by a full cast; Audible, Inc.

METAtropolis: Green Space; by Jay Lake, Elizabeth Bear, Karl Schroeder, Seanan McGuire, Tobias S. Buckell, Mary Robinette Kowal, Ken Scholes; Narrated by Dion Graham, Robin Miles, Mark Boyett, Scott Brick, Allyson Johnson, Sanjiv Jhaveri, Jennifer Van Dyck, Jonathan Davis; Audible, Inc.

Rip-Off!; by John Scalzi, Jack Campbell, Mike Resnick, Allen Steele, Lavie Tidhar, Nancy Kress, and Gardner Dozois; Narrated by Wil Wheaton, Scott Brick, Christian Rummel, Jonathan Davis, Stefan Rudnicki, and L.J. Ganser; Audible, Inc.

Thirteen; by Scott Harrison and others; Narrated by Barnaby Edwards et al.; Spokenworld Audio/Ladbroke Audio Ltd

[among others]

PACKAGE DESIGN

Clockwork Angels: The Watchmaker’s Edition; by Kevin J. Anderson; Narrated by Neil Peart; Brilliance Audio [IndieBound MP3-CD | IndieBound CD | Kobo | Kindle | Amazon MP3-CD | Amazon CD]

The Time Machine; by H.G. Wells; Narrated by Sir Derek Jacobi; Random House Audio/Books on Tape

[among others]

PARANORMAL

Ever After; by Kim Harrison; Narrated by Marguerite Gavin; HarperAudio [Kobo | Kindle | IndieBound Library MP3-CD | IndieBound Library CD]

Inferno; by Sherrilyn Kenyon; Narrated by Holter Graham; Macmillan Audio [IndieBound CD | Kobo | Kindle | Amazon CD]

Red Moon; by Benjamin Percy; Narrated by Benjamin Percy; Hachette Audio [IndieBound CD | Kobo | Kindle | Amazon CD]

Reviver; by Seth Patrick; Narrated by Ari Fliakos; Macmillan Audio [Kobo | Kindle]

Warbound; by Larry Correia; Narrated by Bronson Pinchot; Audible, Inc. [Kindle]

SCIENCE FICTION

Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance; by Lois McMaster Bujold; Narrated by Grover Gardner; Blackstone Audio Inc. [IndieBound MP3-CD | IndieBound CD | Kobo | Kindle | Amazon MP3-CD | Amazon CD]

Extinction Machine; by Jonathan Maberry; Narrated by Ray Porter; Macmillan Audio [Kobo | Kindle]

MaddAddam; by Margaret Atwood; Narrated by Bernadette Dunn, Bob Walter, and Robbie Daymond; Random House Audio/Books on Tape [IndieBound CD | Kindle | Amazon CD]

The Martian; by Andy Weir; Narrated by R.C. Bray; Podium Publishing [Kobo | Kindle]

Protector: Foreigner Sequence 5, Book 2; by C.J. Cherryh; Narrated by Daniel Thomas May; Audible, Inc. [Kobo | Kindle]

Shaman; by Kim Stanley Robinson; Narrated by Graeme Malcolm; Hachette Audio [Kobo | Kindle]

SOLO NARRATION — FEMALE

NOS4A2; by Joe Hill; Narrated by Kate Mulgrew; HarperAudio [Kobo | Kindle]

[among others]

SOLO NARRATION — MALE

Dimension of Miracles; by Robert Sheckley; Narrated by John Hodgman; Audible, Inc. [Kobo | Kindle]

Doctor Sleep; by Stephen King; Narrated by Will Patton; Simon & Schuster Audio [IndieBound CD | IndieBound MP3-CD | Kobo | Kindle | Amazon MP3-CD | Amazon CD]

Frankenstein; by Mary Shelley; Narrated by Dan Stevens; Audible, Inc.

In a Glass Grimmly; by Adam Gidwitz; Narrated by Johnny Heller; Recorded Books

Warbound; by Larry Correia; Narrated by Bronson Pinchot; Audible, Inc. [Kindle]

[among others]

Whew! Quite a few categories not mentioned here, including Romance, Teens, Thriller/Suspense, Short Stories/Collections, Humor, History, Biography/Memoir, and various non-fiction categories, along with two Children’s categories (which include Lemony Snicket’s The Dark performed by Neil Gaiman, among others). Check out the whole list, and play along via The Armchair Audies!