Best Craig Alanson Audiobooks
Where to Start with Craig Alanson
- Best entry point → Columbus Day
- Start the Mavericks series → Deathtrap
- Underrated but highly rated → Failure Mode
- What fans keep coming back to → Paradise
- Best narrator for Craig Alanson → SpecOps
- Highest rated by listeners → Critical Mass (Expeditionary Force #10)
Best Craig Alanson Audiobooks
- 1
Critical Mass
Expeditionary Force • Book 10
Narrated by R.C. Bray
★ 4.71 ABR Score (34.3K ratings)★ 4.52 Goodreads (9.1K) ★ 4.89 Audible (25.2K)19h 25m listening time • Released 2020R.C. Bray's deadpan delivery makes the chaos sing—he nails every comedic beat while keeping the existential stakes brutally real. If you've loved the series, this one escalates everything.
- 2
Fallout
Expeditionary Force • Book 13
Narrated by R.C. Bray
★ 4.69 ABR Score (26.0K ratings)★ 4.52 Goodreads (7.2K) ★ 4.89 Audible (18.8K)22h 29m listening time • Released 2021R.C. Bray's comedic timing and character work elevate this space opera into something genuinely funny—he makes you laugh out loud at the banter between Joe and Skippy while keeping the stakes high.
- 3
Match Game
Expeditionary Force • Book 14
Narrated by R.C. Bray
★ 4.64 ABR Score (19.8K ratings)★ 4.5 Goodreads (6.6K) ★ 4.86 Audible (13.2K)20h 20m listening time • Released 2022R.C. Bray's deadpan delivery of an AI's god-complex monologues is comedy gold, and he nails the tonal shifts when humanity actually becomes useful. Fourteen books in and this series still lands its humor and stakes perfectly.
- 4
Brushfire
Expeditionary Force • Book 11
Narrated by R.C. Bray
★ 4.64 ABR Score (28.8K ratings)★ 4.44 Goodreads (8.1K) ★ 4.85 Audible (20.7K)19h 18m listening time • Released 2020R.C. Bray delivers peak form here, nailing the worn humor of soldiers adjusting to peace while everything still wants to kill them. A perfect blend of character depth and sci-fi action that justifies the eleven-book commitment.
- 5
Zero Hour
Expeditionary Force • Book 5
Narrated by R.C. Bray
★ 4.63 ABR Score (56.2K ratings)★ 4.37 Goodreads (14.8K) ★ 4.81 Audible (41.4K)17h 20m listening time • Released 2018R.C. Bray's deadpan delivery transforms Alanson's chaos into comedy gold—he nails every shift from absurd banter to genuine stakes, making this sprawling space opera feel intimate despite the galactic scale.
- 6
Armageddon
Expeditionary Force • Book 8
Narrated by R.C. Bray
★ 4.62 ABR Score (34.1K ratings)★ 4.42 Goodreads (10.5K) ★ 4.82 Audible (23.5K)17h 51m listening time • Released 2019R.C. Bray's deadpan delivery makes Alanson's wisecracks land perfectly—eight books in and this series still nails the balance between laugh-out-loud humor and genuine stakes.
- 7
Failure Mode
Expeditionary Force • Book 15
Narrated by R.C. Bray
★ 4.62 ABR Score (25.7K ratings)★ 4.48 Goodreads (6.4K) ★ 4.82 Audible (19.3K)19h 22m listening time • Released 2022R.C. Bray's deadpan delivery of Skippy's existential crisis hits different when you're trapped in a losing battle with no exit strategy. The desperation lands harder in audio.
- 8
Breakaway
Expeditionary Force • Book 12
Narrated by R.C. Bray
★ 4.61 ABR Score (20.2K ratings)★ 4.48 Goodreads (7.8K) ★ 4.83 Audible (12.4K)19h 22m listening time • Released 2021R.C. Bray's delivery of Joe Bishop and Skippy's banter is so sharp and perfectly timed that twelve books in, the humor still lands harder than the space battles. If you've made it this far in the series, Breakaway doubles down on what works: character chemistry that feels lived-in and dialogue that crackles with personality.
- 9
Black Ops
Expeditionary Force • Book 4
Narrated by R.C. Bray
★ 4.61 ABR Score (58.2K ratings)★ 4.34 Goodreads (16.5K) ★ 4.8 Audible (41.7K)16h 44m listening time • Released 2017R.C. Bray brings such genuine warmth and humor to Alanson's ragtag crew that you're hooked by their banter alone—the sci-fi plot just makes the ride wilder.
- 10
Renegades
Expeditionary Force • Book 7
Narrated by R.C. Bray
★ 4.61 ABR Score (37.7K ratings)★ 4.37 Goodreads (12.0K) ★ 4.82 Audible (25.7K)17h 7m listening time • Released 2019R.C. Bray's deadpan delivery elevates Alanson's sarcastic sci-fi humor into something genuinely hilarious—he's the perfect voice for a ragtag crew that keeps accidentally saving the world.
- 11
Valkyrie
Expeditionary Force • Book 9
Narrated by R.C. Bray
★ 4.60 ABR Score (32.6K ratings)★ 4.43 Goodreads (10.0K) ★ 4.79 Audible (22.6K)19h 45m listening time • Released 2020R.C. Bray's delivery transforms this ninth book into pure momentum—his timing on the humor is so sharp it cuts, making you forget you're listening to a 20-hour audiobook about saving Earth from annihilation.
- 12
Task Force Hammer
Expeditionary Force • Book 17
Narrated by R.C. Bray
★ 4.58 ABR Score (11.8K ratings)★ 4.47 Goodreads (4.0K) ★ 4.85 Audible (7.8K)22h 9m listening time • Released 2024R.C. Bray's delivery transforms this 22-hour sci-fi mystery into pure momentum—his timing on the reveals hits harder than the plot twists themselves, making the escalating stakes genuinely unsettling.
- 13
Paradise
Expeditionary Force • Book 3
Narrated by R.C. Bray
★ 4.56 ABR Score (67.3K ratings)★ 4.25 Goodreads (18.7K) ★ 4.77 Audible (48.7K)15h 53m listening time • Released 2017R.C. Bray's delivery transforms this into pure narrative gold—his timing on the dark comedy hits perfectly while keeping the survival stakes genuinely tense. Paradise is where Alanson stops playing it safe and lets things get messy.
- 14
Columbus Day
Expeditionary Force • Book 1
Narrated by R.C. Bray
★ 4.53 ABR Score (84.3K ratings)★ 4.25 Goodreads (34.1K) ★ 4.71 Audible (50.2K)16h 23m listening time • Released 2016R.C. Bray's delivery transforms this sci-fi romp into something genuinely compelling—his deadpan humor and perfect timing make the protagonist's voice so effortlessly likable you'll devour all 16 hours in days.
- 15
Mavericks
Expeditionary Force • Book 6
Narrated by R.C. Bray
★ 4.53 ABR Score (46.1K ratings)★ 4.28 Goodreads (14.1K) ★ 4.75 Audible (32.0K)17h 21m listening time • Released 2018R.C. Bray's deadpan delivery transforms Alanson's chaotic space comedy into pure audio gold—his timing on the jokes lands harder than any book could manage, making this the most fun installment yet.
- 16
Gateway
Expeditionary Force • Book 18
Narrated by R.C. Bray
★ 4.52 ABR Score (9.9K ratings)★ 4.42 Goodreads (3.3K) ★ 4.83 Audible (6.6K)19h 26m listening time • Released 2025R.C. Bray's delivery transforms this high-stakes space opera into pure propulsive storytelling—his timing on the humor and tension makes eighteen books in feel like you're catching up with old friends in crisis.
- 17
SpecOps
Expeditionary Force • Book 2
Narrated by R.C. Bray
★ 4.50 ABR Score (58.5K ratings)★ 4.24 Goodreads (22.5K) ★ 4.71 Audible (36.0K)15h 50m listening time • Released 2017R.C. Bray's delivery transforms Alanson's chaotic military humor into something genuinely compelling—he nails the deadpan timing that makes this space opera both hilarious and surprisingly human.
- 18
Aftermath
Expeditionary Force • Book 16
Narrated by R.C. Bray
★ 4.50 ABR Score (11.7K ratings)★ 4.38 Goodreads (5.1K) ★ 4.79 Audible (6.7K)19h 10m listening time • Released 2023R.C. Bray's deadpan delivery turns Alanson's irreverent sci-fi comedy into pure gold—his timing on the jokes and character work across 19 hours proves why this series keeps hitting after 16 books.
- 19
Deathtrap
Mavericks • Book 1
Narrated by R.C. Bray
★ 4.46 ABR Score (15.4K ratings)★ 4.31 Goodreads (3.9K) ★ 4.75 Audible (11.5K)15h 3m listening time • Released 2019R.C. Bray makes this alien military romp genuinely funny and propulsive—his deadpan delivery of the humor lands harder than the explosions, and he nails every underdog soldier's voice.
- 20
Freefall
Mavericks • Book 2
Narrated by R.C. Bray
★ 4.43 ABR Score (11.9K ratings)★ 4.3 Goodreads (2.7K) ★ 4.76 Audible (9.2K)19h 19m listening time • Released 2020R.C. Bray's delivery transforms this space-heist sequel into something genuinely funny and propulsive—his deadpan timing on the chaos makes 19 hours vanish.