The Best Immersive Full Cast Audiobooks Across Genres

Daisy Jones and the Six is a historical fiction book with elements of romance, which follows the story of a rock band from the 70’s. 

Written in the format of an extended interview one might find in an edition of the Rolling Stones, the reader sees the development of the band from just The Six to Daisy Jones and the Six and what leads to their ultimate breakup. 

Daisy sings and lives with an addiction. Billy, the male frontman, deals with addiction while his wife and kids are at home, and women throw themselves at him. There’s jealousy, love, and a shared passion to make beautiful music.

The audiobook breathes magic into this story. While the audio could sound like a boring interview, each narrator makes you want to stay for five more minutes, hear more tea, or maybe learn a never-before-mentioned fact about a fictional band. 

Daisy Jones and the Six is the ultimate book for anyone who loves interviews with bands, music, or the film Almost Famous.

Have you ever wondered what happened to Lydia Bennett after her unfortunate marriage to Mr. Wickham in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice? Enter Sarah Page, who answers this question through Lydia’s eyes. 

The story follows Lydia as she tries to handle her husband’s continuous infidelity, her family’s disapproval, and the eventual death of a parent. While this book has a happily ever after, it’s not without roadblocks along the way.

Lydia’s sass shines through with her narrator. You'll relive her pain and her lack of patience as she finds her husband with yet another woman. The rest of the cast keeps the story entertaining and makes this novella a perfect companion to the original  Pride and Prejudice.

Take everything you know about Abraham Lincoln, add in the grief surrounding Willie Lincoln’s death, and a supernatural realm, and you'll get Lincoln in the Bardo. 

This book explores the realm between the living and the dead, posing philosophical questions about love, grief, and other existential concerns. George Saunders does a masterful job of weaving together fact and fiction, even drawing from quotes found in other books, such as Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

This audiobook features a full cast of 166 narrators and won the 2018 Audie award for Audiobook of the Year. While this amount could easily be overwhelming, each narrator imbues their character with emotion (even a performer with one line), and it's no surprise that this audiobook won an award. 

This is a beautiful story and well worth a listen, especially if you enjoy a blend of historical fiction and a supernatural realm.

Red Rising follows the story of Darrow, a Red, who is the lowest caste in this society. He lives on Mars, or rather underneath the surface, as one of its employees to help make the planet hospitable for those left on Earth.

What transpires is an uprising as he discovers the lies he’s been told and that Mars has already been colonized, especially following the hanging of both his father and wife, EO.

Red Rising is part of the graphic audio collection, and along with the full cast, the audiobook makes full use of sound effects, adding to the ambiance.

One of the most heartwarming and emotional moments in this audiobook is EO’s song right before her death. Trust me, you'll be holding back tears as the narrator sings.

Imagine a world with multiple planets where vampires and werewolves also exist. Clean Sweep weaves science fiction and fantasy together seamlessly for an original tale.

The story follows Dina Daville, who runs an inn in Texas. Except the inn, meant to lodge those from various planets, gives her powers, and is a place of neutrality. Her permanent guest is an intergalactic aristocrat who might be a cannibal. 

When trouble with large teeth comes to her town, Dina feels a responsibility to help her neighbours, with the help of Alpha-strain werewolf Sean and intergalactic vampire Arland.

An audio produced by Graphic Audio will always entertain, and this one excels at its entertainment value. The narrators bring the two potential love interests to life, and you'll find yourself giggling when the aristocrat appears with her hilarious descriptions. Dina’s southern drawl and sass shine in this audiobook, and they're a wonderful blend of both genres.

Dunetakes place in the far distant future, with multiple locations across planets. The story follows the son of the Duke, Paul Leto of the House of Atreides, as he and his family arrive on Dune.

This complex story explores the unintended consequences of seeking power, whether intentionally or not. A valuable spice also plays a vital role in the story, along with a prophecy that Paul will become Kwisatz Haderach, the messiah of the Fremen.

The audiobook’s cast does a phenomenal job of bringing this classic science fiction book to a broader audience, breathing life into a book written in 1965. Paul’s voice will soothe you, and the rest of the cast will make you want to finish the story in one sitting.

Meet Mercy Thompson, a biracial Indigenous coyote shapeshifter who works as a car mechanic —a job she landed after the werewolf pack that raised her threw her out because they disapproved of her relationship.

When a newly turned and lone werewolf turns up at Mercy’s shop looking for work, she decides to help him out. A local pack helps take him in, only he ends up dead along with other pack members, and the Alpha and his daughter are kidnapped. With the help of her old pack, Mercy sets out to find answers.

Mercy is a no-nonsense individual, and her narrator showcases her character well. The rest of the cast really engages and entertains, making you want to binge not only this book, but the rest of the series... Like, now.

Meet Violet, a young woman who, until recently, lived and trained as a scribe. At the behest of her mother, she suddenly finds herself amongst the dragon riders, those who train to join the war.

Unfortunately, she’s small and lives with chronic pain and chronic illness, which means she has to find workarounds to succeed. There’s newfound friendship, enemies to lovers, and a realization that not everything may be as it seems.

The sound effects of a Graphic Audio lend to each production, but this one stands out. From the beginning, with the muffled conversation between Violet’s mother and sister, Fourth Wing’s (and the rest of the books in The Empyrean Series ) immersive audio will pull you in and make this romantasy hard to put down.

While reading the physical book connects the reader to each moment characters go through, the audiobook puts the characters right there as Violet proves herself time and time again.

Crescent City follows Bryce Quinlan, a young woman with a seemingly perfect life, in an urban fantasy with aesteri (parasitic race of near god-like conquerors), power drops, drugs, cell phones, and fae. 

When her best friend, Danika, and Danika’s pack end up murdered, Bryce suddenly finds herself with questions and an endless supply of grief. Enter bounty-hunter Hunt Athalar. Together, and not without a lot of distrust, they begin unraveling the why and the how. 

With a stellar supporting cast, the mystery, and the relationships, you'll want nothing more than to stay in this world forever.

From every painful and grief-stricken moment to every second of joy, Graphic Audio has a slam dunk with House of Earth and Blood. From the moment of agony of discovering Danika’s death, to screams of pain, the sound effects in this audiobook elevate the cast. 

Listening to Bryce’s sass and her early moments with Danika makes you feel like they’re hanging out with best friends. Having a full cast helps this book really feel like a ‘movie for one’s ears'.