Best Fantasy Audiobooks UK: 10 Picks from £8.09

Quick picks

• Best overall: The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan, read by Michael Kramer and Kate Reading, £25.79 to buy. The first of 14 numbered Wheel of Time novels, so it is the start of a very long listen.
• Best budget: Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, read by the author, £8.09 to buy, the lowest price in this guide. A short, low-stakes story about an orc who opens a coffee shop.
• Best for families: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, read by Kristin Atherton, £13.49 to buy. A classic magical story that Amazon lists under children's fiction, at just under 9 hours.

The 10 fantasy audiobooks in more detail

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan, read by Michael Kramer and Kate Reading. Book 1 of 14 in The Wheel of Time (Amazon listing). Audiobook published 31 December 2006. Listening length 29 hours and 57 minutes, unabridged. £25.79 to buy outright on 27 October 2026. When a band of half-human, half-beast creatures attacks the Two Rivers, the mysterious Moiraine persuades Rand al'Thor and his friends to leave home for a much larger and more dangerous world. This is the first novel of The Wheel of Time, which the publisher's description lists as 14 numbered books, and the publisher says this edition includes a bonus interview with the author. The series has also been adapted for Prime Video.

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, read by Travis Baldree. Read by the author; ends with a bonus short story (publisher description). Audiobook published 16 June 2022. Listening length 7 hours and 18 minutes, unabridged. £8.09 to buy outright on 27 October 2026. After decades of adventuring, Viv the orc barbarian hangs up her sword to open the first coffee shop in the city of Thune, where nobody knows what coffee is. Old rivals and the city's shady underbelly get in the way, but new friends arrive from unexpected places. The publisher describes it as cosy, slice-of-life fantasy about found family and fresh starts, and the audiobook ends with a bonus Legends & Lattes short story, Pages to Fill.

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, read by Kristin Atherton. Book 1 of 3 in the Howl's Castle series (Amazon listing). Audiobook published 19 December 2019. Listening length 8 hours and 57 minutes, unabridged. £13.49 to buy outright on 27 October 2026. In the land of Ingary, where seven-league boots and invisibility cloaks exist, young Sophie Hatter is put under a spell by the Witch of the Waste. With nothing left to lose, she heads for the moving castle of the much-feared Wizard Howl, where she meets his apprentice Michael and strikes a pact with Calcifer the fire demon. Amazon lists it under children's fiction, so it is one that older children and adults can share.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, read by Rupert Degas. Book 1 of 2 in The Kingkiller Chronicle (Amazon listing). Audiobook published 6 March 2012. Listening length 28 hours and 3 minutes, unabridged. £20.79 to buy outright on 27 October 2026. Kvothe, now living quietly as an innkeeper called Kote, tells his own story: a childhood with a troupe of travelling players, years as an orphan in a crime-ridden city, and his daring bid to get into a difficult and dangerous school of magic. It is the first book of The Kingkiller Chronicle.

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie, read by Steven Pacey. Book 1 of 3 in The First Law Trilogy (Amazon listing). Audiobook published 3 June 2010. Listening length 22 hours and 15 minutes, unabridged. £17.29 to buy outright on 27 October 2026. Three very different men, the bitter torturer Inquisitor Glokta, the vain young officer Jezal dan Luthar and the Northern warrior Logen Ninefingers, are dragged into the plans of Bayaz, a bad-tempered old man who may be the First of the Magi or a fraud. It opens Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy and is much darker and more violent than the cosy picks in this guide.

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb, read by Joe Eyre. Book 1 of 3 in The Farseer Trilogy (Amazon listing). Audiobook published 29 January 2026. Listening length 16 hours and 35 minutes, unabridged. £16.59 to buy outright on 27 October 2026. With the Six Duchies close to civil war, the crown prince's illegitimate son Fitz grows up in the castle stables, finding comfort only in a few companions and his unusual bond with animals. He is trained as an assassin and in the Farseer family's magic, while a tutor from a rival faction wants him discredited or dead. This HarperVoyager audio edition is read by Joe Eyre.

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, read by Roy Dotrice. Book 1 of 5 in A Song of Ice and Fire (Amazon listing). Audiobook published 3 November 2015. Listening length 33 hours and 45 minutes, unabridged. £29.99 to buy outright on 27 October 2026. Lord Eddard Stark reluctantly becomes Hand of the King and leaves the north for a court full of treachery, while the exiled heir of the deposed Dragon King prepares to claim the Iron Throne. It is the first book of A Song of Ice and Fire, the series HBO's Game of Thrones is based on, and the longest listen in this guide.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, read by Daniel Henning. Book 1 of 2 in the Cerulean Chronicles (Amazon listing). Audiobook published 8 July 2021. Listening length 12 hours and 11 minutes, unabridged. £8.79 to buy outright on 27 October 2026. Linus Baker, a caseworker at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, is sent on a classified assignment to an island orphanage where six magical children live, including the Antichrist, cared for by the enigmatic Arthur Parnassus. The publisher calls it an uplifting, heart-warming queer fantasy about finding family in an unexpected place.

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst, read by Caitlin Davies. Book 1 of 4 in The Spellshop series (Amazon listing). Audiobook published 11 July 2024. Listening length 12 hours and 10 minutes, unabridged. £8.79 to buy outright on 27 October 2026. When the Great Library of Alyssium goes up in flames, librarian Kiela and her assistant Caz, a sentient spider plant, flee with the spellbooks they can save to the island where she grew up. There she decides to open a spellshop, even though sharing magic with commoners is punishable by death. The publisher describes it as cottagecore cosy fantasy with stolen spellbooks, unexpected friendships, sweet jams and a romance.

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett, read by Colin Morgan, with Bill Nighy and Peter Serafinowicz. Book 1 of 41 in Discworld (Amazon listing). Audiobook published 7 July 2022. Listening length 7 hours and 58 minutes, unabridged. £11.99 to buy outright on 27 October 2026. Rincewind, the Discworld's worst wizard, is given the job of looking after the world's first tourist, and their trip across the Disc brings robbers, monsters, mercenaries and Death himself. Colin Morgan reads this recording, with Bill Nighy reading the footnotes and Peter Serafinowicz as the voice of Death, according to the publisher. The publisher also notes the book was first published in 1983.

How we chose these fantasy audiobooks

• Epic and cosy. We picked five epic fantasy series starters (The Eye of the World, The Name of the Wind, The Blade Itself, Assassin's Apprentice, A Game of Thrones) and five cosier or lighter listens (Legends & Lattes, Howl's Moving Castle, The House in the Cerulean Sea, The Spellshop, The Colour of Magic), so there is something for long winter evenings and something for a gentle, shorter listen.
• One pick per author and series. Every audiobook comes from a different author, and for each series we chose the first book, so you can start at the beginning.
• Different from our other guides. None of the 10 titles appears in our other audiobook guides. Tolkien, Philip Pullman and Brandon Sanderson are left out here because their books already feature in other 10Deals audiobook guides.
• Out now, not pre-order. Every pick could be downloaded straight away when we checked.
• A real price. Each pick showed a price to buy the audiobook outright on its Amazon UK listing on 27 October 2026. We used the price shown in the Buy row, not any struck-through list price, and skipped anything without a price.
• Unabridged only. All 10 picks are marked unabridged on their listings.

How to choose a fantasy audiobook

• Decide between epic and cosy. Epic fantasy usually means big worlds, wars and large casts of characters across several books. Cosy fantasy keeps the stakes lower and the focus on friendship, home and small-scale magic. Legends & Lattes, The Spellshop and The House in the Cerulean Sea are all described as cosy by their publishers.
• Check the length. The cosier picks here run from 7 hours and 18 minutes (Legends & Lattes) to about 12 hours. The epic picks are much longer: The Name of the Wind runs 28 hours and 3 minutes, The Eye of the World 29 hours and 57 minutes and A Game of Thrones 33 hours and 45 minutes.
• Think about the series. Starting an epic series is a big commitment. Amazon lists The Eye of the World as book 1 of 14, A Game of Thrones as book 1 of 5 and The Name of the Wind as book 1 of 2, so check how many books are out before you start. Discworld is different: the publisher says the novels can be listened to in any order.
• Pick a narrator you enjoy. You will spend a long time with one voice in a big fantasy novel. The Eye of the World has two narrators, Legends & Lattes is read by its author, and The Colour of Magic adds Bill Nighy for the footnotes and Peter Serafinowicz as Death.
• Check the tone. The Blade Itself and A Game of Thrones include violence and darker themes, while the cosy picks are much gentler. For younger listeners, Howl's Moving Castle is the only pick here that Amazon lists under children's fiction.

Buy outright or use a membership?

Each title above can be bought outright on Amazon UK, and you keep it. Prefer a membership? At the time of writing, eligible new Audible members can get Audible Standard for £0.99 a month for 3 months, then it renews at the standard monthly price shown on Amazon. Offer ends 17 December 2026; terms apply, cancel anytime. See the Audible offer box near the top of this page for the details.

Prices were checked on Amazon UK on 27 October 2026 and can change at any time. Check the current price on Amazon before you buy.