Best John Scalzi Audiobooks
Where to Start with John Scalzi
- Best entry point → Old Man's War
- Best standalone → Starter Villain
- Start The Interdependency series → The Collapsing Empire
- What fans keep coming back to → Redshirts
- Best narrator for John Scalzi → The Last Colony
- Highest rated by listeners → The Consuming Fire (The Interdependency #2)
Best John Scalzi Audiobooks
- 1
Old Man's War
Old Man\u2019s War • Book 1
by John Scalzi
Narrated by William Dufris
★ 4.43 ABR Score (255.3K ratings)★ 4.23 Goodreads (226.8K) ★ 4.55 Audible (28.5K)9h 55m listening time • Released 2007Scalzi's military sci-fi debut is the most fun you'll have with the genre — Earth's elderly enlist for interstellar war and get young bodies with old wisdom.
- 2
The Consuming Fire
The Interdependency • Book 2
by John Scalzi
Narrated by Wil Wheaton
★ 4.41 ABR Score (50.0K ratings)★ 4.22 Goodreads (37.6K) ★ 4.65 Audible (12.3K)8h 19m listening time • Released 2018Wil Wheaton's deadpan delivery perfectly captures the political scheming and dark humor as Scalzi's empire crumbles from within. A sharper, faster sequel that trades space opera spectacle for intrigue you'll actually care about.
- 3
Head On (Narrated
Lock In Series • Book 2
by John Scalzi
Narrated by Wil Wheaton
★ 4.37 ABR Score (9.9K ratings)★ 4.52 Audible (9.9K)7h 36m listening time • Released 2018 - 4
Fuzzy Nation
Fuzzy Sapiens • Book 7
by John Scalzi
Narrated by Wil Wheaton, John Scalzi - introduction
★ 4.35 ABR Score (46.5K ratings)★ 4.15 Goodreads (32.3K) ★ 4.6 Audible (14.1K)7h 19m listening time • Released 2011Wil Wheaton's deadpan delivery is perfect for Scalzi's wisecracking protagonist—this is a lean, funny SF adventure that moves like a thriller and actually earns its emotional gut-punches.
- 5
The Last Colony
Old Man's War • Book 3
by John Scalzi
Narrated by William Dufris
★ 4.33 ABR Score (84.4K ratings)★ 4.11 Goodreads (73.9K) ★ 4.59 Audible (10.5K)9h 51m listening time • Released 2008 - 6
Starter Villain
by John Scalzi
Narrated by Wil Wheaton
★ 4.32 ABR Score (113.4K ratings)★ 4.11 Goodreads (99.1K) ★ 4.6 Audible (14.3K)8h 5m listening time • Released 2023Wil Wheaton's deadpan delivery turns Scalzi's darkly funny inheritance plot into pure listening gold—he makes every absurd villain trope land with perfect timing and genuine warmth.
- 7
The Last Emperox
The Interdependency • Book 3
by John Scalzi
Narrated by Wil Wheaton
★ 4.32 ABR Score (42.1K ratings)★ 4.14 Goodreads (33.4K) ★ 4.59 Audible (8.8K)8h 7m listening time • Released 2020Wil Wheaton's narration transforms this final Interdependency book into something more intimate than epic—his performance captures the exhaustion and determination of a leader fighting impossible odds with understated brilliance.
- 8
Old Man's War Boxed Set I: Old Man's War, The Ghost Brigades, The Last Colony
Old Man's War #1-3 • Book 2
by John Scalzi
Narrated by William Dufris
★ 4.26 ABR Score (14.9K ratings)★ 4.53 Goodreads (948) ★ 4.48 Audible (14.0K)10h 25m listening time • Released 2008 - 9
The Collapsing Empire
The Interdependency • Book 1
by John Scalzi
Narrated by Wil Wheaton
★ 4.26 ABR Score (81.4K ratings)★ 4.13 Goodreads (60.3K) ★ 4.45 Audible (21.0K)9h 24m listening time • Released 2017Wil Wheaton's dry, measured delivery perfectly captures Scalzi's wit as an empire crumbles around scheming aristocrats who have no idea what's coming. A Hugo winner that's pure fun to listen to.
- 10
The Kaiju Preservation Society
by John Scalzi
Narrated by Wil Wheaton
★ 4.19 ABR Score (86.0K ratings)★ 3.98 Goodreads (72.6K) ★ 4.47 Audible (13.3K)8h 2m listening time • Released 2022Wil Wheaton's deadpan delivery makes Scalzi's witty, fast-paced adventure impossible to put down—a Hugo winner that's pure fun without sacrificing heart or intelligence.
- 11
Agent to the Stars
by John Scalzi
Narrated by Wil Wheaton
★ 4.14 ABR Score (40.4K ratings)★ 3.93 Goodreads (24.1K) ★ 4.45 Audible (16.3K)8h 49m listening time • Released 2010Wil Wheaton's delivery transforms what could be a lightweight premise into genuinely charming sci-fi comedy—his timing on the fish jokes lands perfectly, and he nails the ego-driven Hollywood agent voice that anchors the whole thing.
- 12
Lock In
Lock In • Book 1
by John Scalzi
Narrated by Wil Wheaton
★ 4.13 ABR Score (89.7K ratings)★ 3.92 Goodreads (72.3K) ★ 4.41 Audible (17.5K)9h 56m listening time • Released 2014Wil Wheaton's crisp, intelligent narration makes this near-future sci-fi mystery feel like a conversation with someone who actually understands the world he's describing. Scalzi's premise is clever, but Wheaton's performance is what transforms it into something genuinely compelling.
- 13
The Android's Dream
The Android's Dream • Book 1
by John Scalzi
Narrated by Wil Wheaton
★ 4.12 ABR Score (37.2K ratings)★ 3.99 Goodreads (24.2K) ★ 4.41 Audible (12.9K)10h 34m listening time • Released 2010Wil Wheaton's delivery transforms Scalzi's absurdist diplomat-on-a-mission romp into something genuinely hilarious—he nails the deadpan timing that makes a plot about saving Earth with a sheep actually work.
- 14
Redshirts
by John Scalzi
Narrated by Wil Wheaton
★ 4.02 ABR Score (142.6K ratings)★ 3.87 Goodreads (118.6K) ★ 4.26 Audible (24.0K)7h 41m listening time • Released 2012Wil Wheaton's delivery transforms this meta sci-fi comedy into something genuinely moving—he nails both the irreverent humor and the emotional gut-punches that make the premise matter.
- 15
When the Moon Hits Your Eye
by John Scalzi
Narrated by Wil Wheaton
★ 3.81 ABR Score (20.4K ratings)★ 3.78 Goodreads (18.5K) ★ 4.21 Audible (1.9K)10h 5m listening time • Released 2025Wil Wheaton's deadpan delivery transforms Scalzi's absurdist premise into genuine tension—he sells the impossible cheese moon with such straight-faced conviction that the chaos actually lands.
- 16
Tor.com: Selected Original Fiction, 2008-2012
by Tor Books, Sylvia Day, Brandon Sanderson, Charles Stross, Ken MacLeod, Lee Mandelo, Rachel Swirsky, Meghan McCarron, John Scalzi
Narrated by Luke Daniels, R.C. Bray, Amy McFadden, MacLeod Andrews, Kathleen Gati, Cassandra Campbell, Jill Redfield, Gideon Emery
★ 3.49 ABR Score (305 ratings)★ 3.32 Goodreads (104) ★ 3.76 Audible (201)10h 9m listening time • Released 2013 - 17
Rip-Off!
by Gardner Dozois, John Scalzi, Jack Campbell, Mike Resnick, Tad Williams, Elizabeth Bear, Mary Robinette Kowal, Robert Charles Wilson, Allen M. Steele, Daryl Gregory, Lavie Tidhar, Nancy Kress, Paul Di Filippo, James Patrick Kelly, David Marantz, Dina Pearlman, Allyson Johnson, Marc Vietor, Ilyana Kadushin, Nicola Barber
Narrated by Wil Wheaton, Scott Brick, Christian Rummel, Jonathan Davis, Stefan Rudnicki, L. J. Ganser, Khristine Hvam
★ 3.29 ABR Score (2.5K ratings)★ 3.39 Goodreads (914) ★ 3.7 Audible (1.6K)11h 58m listening time • Released 2012A stellar cast of narrators elevates this clever anthology where top sci-fi writers hijack famous opening lines and spin them into wildly inventive original stories that feel both playful and genuinely surprising.