Best Kevin R. Free Audiobooks
Kevin R. Free is an audiobook narrator who has become closely identified with Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries series, having narrated Network Effect, All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Fugitive Telemetry, and System Collapse. His narration of the series' misanthropic, socially anxious construct protagonist — a security robot that has hacked its own governor module and mostly wants to watch television serials in peace — is widely regarded as a significant part of the series' appeal. Free captures Murderbot's deadpan interiority, the contrast between its violent capabilities and its awkward social interactions, and the genuine emotional growth it undergoes across the series, all without sentimentality. He also narrated Ann Leckie's Glasshouse, demonstrating his range in science fiction more broadly. Free's voice has a quality of careful reserve that suits outsider perspectives, and his work has helped make the Murderbot Diaries one of the most beloved science fiction audio properties of recent years.
Where to Start with Kevin R. Free
- New to Kevin R. Free? Start here → A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
- What fans keep coming back to → All Systems Red
- Short listen, big payoff → Artificial Condition
- Highest rated by listeners → Network Effect
- Best narrator–author pairing → Rogue Protocol
Best Kevin R. Free Audiobooks
- 1
Network Effect
The Murderbot Diaries • Book 5
by Martha Wells
Narrated by Kevin R. Free
★ 4.61 ABR Score (138.9K ratings)★ 4.46 Goodreads (129.2K) ★ 4.74 Audible (9.8K)12h 47m listening time • Released 2020Kevin R. Free's deadpan delivery transforms Murderbot from a sardonic loner into someone genuinely worth rooting for—the audiobook does what the best narration does, making you hear the heart beneath the snark.
- 2
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder • Book 1
by Holly Jackson
Narrated by Bailey Carr, Marisa Calin, Michael Crouch, Gopal Divan, Robert Fass, Kevin R. Free, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Carol Monda, Patricia Santomasso, Shezi Sardar, Amanda Thickpenny, Various
★ 4.60 ABR Score (1.8M ratings)★ 4.28 Goodreads (1.8M) ★ 4.57 Audible (10.2K)10h 53m listening time • Released 2020 - 3
Artificial Condition
The Murderbot Diaries • Book 2
by Martha Wells
Narrated by Kevin R. Free
★ 4.49 ABR Score (232.1K ratings)★ 4.25 Goodreads (219.8K) ★ 4.67 Audible (12.3K)3h 21m listening time • Released 2018 - 4
Rogue Protocol
The Murderbot Diaries • Book 3
by Martha Wells
Narrated by Kevin R. Free
★ 4.47 ABR Score (186.1K ratings)★ 4.24 Goodreads (176.3K) ★ 4.68 Audible (9.8K)3h 46m listening time • Released 2018 - 5
Fugitive Telemetry
The Murderbot Diaries • Book 6
by Martha Wells
Narrated by Kevin R. Free
★ 4.47 ABR Score (113.8K ratings)★ 4.29 Goodreads (106.7K) ★ 4.68 Audible (7.1K)4h 24m listening time • Released 2021 - 6
System Collapse
The Murderbot Diaries • Book 7
by Martha Wells
Narrated by Kevin R. Free
★ 4.40 ABR Score (81.0K ratings)★ 4.25 Goodreads (76.8K) ★ 4.66 Audible (4.2K)6h 36m listening time • Released 2023 - 7
All Systems Red
The Murderbot Diaries • Book 1
by Martha Wells
Narrated by Kevin R. Free
★ 4.33 ABR Score (402.1K ratings)★ 4.11 Goodreads (379.7K) ★ 4.49 Audible (22.4K)3h 17m listening time • Released 2017 - 8
Playground
by Richard Powers
Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini, Robin Siegerman, Eunice Wong, Pun Bandhu, Krys Janae, Kevin R Free
★ 4.24 ABR Score (47.6K ratings)★ 4.14 Goodreads (46.5K) ★ 4.53 Audible (1.1K)13h 51m listening time • Released 2024Richard Powers orchestrates four interconnected lives with a cast of narrators who each bring devastating specificity to their characters, turning a sprawling mystery into something that feels like overhearing four truths at once.
- 9
The Come Up: An Oral History of the Rise of Hip-Hop
by Jonathan Abrams
Narrated by Dion Graham, Diontae Black, Torian Brackett, Langston Darby, James Fouhey, Kevin R. Free, Dominic Hoffman, JD Jackson, Terrence Kidd, January LaVoy, Adam Lazarre-White, Leon Nixon, Reynaldo Piniella, Malik Rashad
★ 3.92 ABR Score (782 ratings)★ 4.22 Goodreads (730) ★ 4.73 Audible (52)18h 10m listening time • Released 2022Multiple narrators embody the original voices behind hip-hop's rise, transforming this oral history into something closer to a documentary you're hearing firsthand from the legends themselves.
- 10
You've Got a Place Here, Too: An Anthology of Black Love Stories Set at HBCUs
by Ebony LaDelle
Narrated by Jelani Alladin, Preston Butler, Nicole Cash, Kevin R. Free, iiKane, Ozzie Jacobs, Ebony LaDelle, Angel Pean, Malik Rashad, Andre Santana, Jaime Lincoln Smith, Zenzi Williams, Bahni Turpin
★ 3.80 ABR Score (351 ratings)★ 4.06 Goodreads (344) ★ 4.57 Audible (7)9h 10m listening time • Released 2025A stellar ensemble cast brings these HBCU love stories to vivid life, with each narrator perfectly matched to their story's voice and emotional core.
- 11
Glasshouse
Narrated by Kevin R. Free
★ 3.78 ABR Score (12.1K ratings)★ 3.88 Goodreads (11.7K) ★ 4.14 Audible (389)13h 34m listening time • Released 2011 - 12
Whiteout
Blackout • Book 2
by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon
Narrated by Danielle Shemaiah, Nic Stone, Shayna Small, Bahni Turpin, Alaska Jackson, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Kevin R. Free, James Fouhey, Korey Jackson
★ 3.77 ABR Score (7.2K ratings)★ 3.6 Goodreads (7.2K) ★ 4.46 Audible (78)7h 17m listening time • Released 2022Multiple narrators each voicing their own character make this snowy Atlanta romance feel like eavesdropping on real conversations between friends, turning an ensemble story into something genuinely intimate.
- 13
Brooklyn Noir
Brooklyn Noir • Book 1
by Tim McLoughlin
Narrated by Michael Braun, Adam Chase, Karen Chilton, Paul L. Coffey, Jane Cramer, Kevin R. Free, Tim Gerard Reynolds
★ 3.56 ABR Score (506 ratings)★ 3.51 Goodreads (491) ★ 3.67 Audible (15)11h 20m listening time • Released 2014Multiple narrators bring Brooklyn's neighborhoods to life with distinct voices, turning this crime anthology into a immersive tour through the borough's cultural heart and underworld.
- 14
I Should Be Extremely Happy in Your Company
by Brian Hall
Narrated by Robertson Dean, Kevin R. Free, Graham Halstead, George Newbern, Tanis Parenteau
★ 3.56 ABR Score (490 ratings)★ 3.35 Goodreads (474) ★ 3.38 Audible (16)18h 7m listening time • Released 2021Multiple narrators bring the expedition's fractured perspectives to life, turning a historical journey into an intimate mystery about what people can never truly know about each other.
- 15
Never Never
Never Never #1-3 • Book 1
by Colleen Hoover, Tarryn Fisher
Narrated by Kevin R. Free, Elizabeth Evans
★ 3.24 ABR Score (219.4K ratings)★ 3.29 Goodreads (218.7K) ★ 3.75 Audible (747)9h 48m listening time • Released 2024