Thank you to all who took part in our 2023 Readers’ Choice Awards for science fiction, the audiobook edition. This is the first year we’ve had additional categories, and we’re thrilled you showed up for it! Your nominations and votes are the beating heart of this annual competition! 

Alright! Drumroll, please…. 

It’s time to present the ten standout sci-fi books of 2023 in the audiobook category! Ready to see which audiobook titles earned the spotlight? Keep scrolling to discover the top picks from fellow sci-fi fans and audiophiles like you!

*You can also see the top Sci-Fi Books of 2023 list here, and the top LitRPG of 2023 list here.

10. Burn Box: Embers, Book One by Bobby Adair narrated by Phil Thron

Trust nothing. Challenge everything. Survive, if you can.

In the chilling dawn of a near-future world, gene hackers, armed with AI and CRISPR's deadly precision, unleash wave after wave of engineered diseases. With food dwindling and trust eroding, nations spiral into authoritarian chaos, battling an unseen enemy while rampant disinformation corrodes the very fabric of society.

Millions, once productive citizens, now languish in their homes, awaiting meager government assistance checks. They peer through windows, fear in their eyes, dreading the ever-present virus police who, with a blast from their notorious Burn Boxes, cleanse the world one contaminated victim at a time.

Amid this tempest of societal decay stands Noah Blanks, an ordinary man burdened with the responsibility of his mortgage and the health of his cherished grandpa. For him, hope is a distant memory of a saner world. But when the virus police arrive at his doorstep, forcibly hauling Grandpa out into the street and turning him to ash within the steel walls of a Burn Box, Noah's passive wait for a better world ignites into an urgent need for action.

Burn Box is more than a survival story. It's an exploration into the depths of humanity in a world teetering on the edge. Can Noah muster the courage to defy this twisted order, or will he be swallowed by the fiery abyss of the dystopian terror?

Listen to Burn Box here on Amazon. Also available on Kindle.

9. System Collapse by Martha Wells narrated by Kevin R. Free

Am I making it worse? I think I'm making it worse.

Everyone's favorite lethal SecUnit is back.

Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits. But if there's an ethical corporation out there, Murderbot has yet to find it, and if Barish-Estranza can't have the planet, they're sure as hell not leaving without something. If that something just happens to be an entire colony of humans, well, a free workforce is a decent runner-up prize.

But there's something wrong with Murderbot; it isn't running within normal operational parameters. ART's crew and the humans from Preservation are doing everything they can to protect the colonists, but with Barish-Estranza's SecUnit-heavy persuasion teams, they're going to have to hope Murderbot figures out what's wrong with itself, and fast!

Yeah, this plan is... not going to work.

Start listening to System Collapse here on Amazon.. Also available on Kindle.

8. Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky narrated by Mel Hudson

The modern classic of space opera that began with Children of Time continues in this extraordinary novel of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet.

Earth failed. In a desperate bid to escape, the spaceship Enkidu and its captain, Heorest Holt, carried its precious human cargo to a potential new paradise. Generations later, this fragile colony has managed to survive, eking out a hardy existence. Yet life is tough, and much technological knowledge has been lost.

Then strangers appear. They possess unparalleled knowledge and thrilling technology–and they've arrived from another world to help humanity’s colonies. But not all is as it seems, and the price of the strangers' help may be the colony itself.

Children of Memory by Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky is a far-reaching space opera spanning generations, species and galaxies.

Get your audio copy of Children of Memory here on Amazon. Also available on Kindle.

7. The Downloaded by Robert J. Sawyer narrated by Brendan Fraser, Luke Kirby, Vanessa Sears 

Take a listen to The Downloaded here on Amazon. 

6. Starter Villain by John Scalzi narrated by Wil Wheaton

Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place.

Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan.

Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie.

But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits. Jake had enemies, and now they're coming after Charlie. His uncle might have been a stand-up, old-fashioned kind of villain, but these are the real thing: rich, soulless predators backed by multinational corporations and venture capital.

It's up to Charlie to win the war his uncle started against a league of supervillains. But with unionized dolphins, hyperintelligent talking spy cats, and a terrifying henchperson at his side, going bad is starting to look pretty good.

In a dog-eat-dog world...be a cat.

Take a listen to Starter Villain  here on Amazon. Also available on Kindle.

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5. Hell Divers X: Fallout by Nicholas Sansbury Smith narrated by R.C. Bray

Much is lost, but hope in one man remains . . .

In a shocking betrayal, Captain Rolo has vaporized the supercarrier Immortal with a nuclear warhead, all but wiping out the Vanguard army. Little does he know that King Xavier and the surviving Hell Diver and Cazador teams from Brisbane were not aboard.

In Panama, Outpost Gateway has suffered a very different disaster: attack by carnivorous vines. Director Rodger Mintel sent out a desperate SOS as the voracious coils ripped into the bunker.

At the Vanguard Islands, Charmer has framed Michael Everhart for two murders. Michael’s wife, Layla, is frantic to prove his innocence as evidence against him mounts.

Back in Queensland, knights of the Coral Castle dragged captive Hell Diver Kade Long to their leader, known as the Forerunner, before locking him in a cell in the Coral Castle.

The truth of what happened at Brisbane is spreading, and so is radiation from the nuclear blast. The fallout threatens everything in its path, putting the Coral Castle and X’s remaining forces in dire peril.

Listen to Hell Divers X: Fallout here on Amazon. Also available on Kindle.

4. Aftermath: Expeditionary Force, Book 16 by Craig Alanson, narrated by R. C. Bray

What happens in the wake of Failure Mode?

The Aftermath of a stunning victory—especially an unexpected, complete, and final victory—should be high-fives all around, listening to politicians give boring congratulatory speeches, and a well-deserved rest for the Merry Band of Pirates. Yes, the galaxy is still a freakin' mess, but that is nothing new, and for a change, that can be someone else's problem.

Until, you know, something really bad happens, and only the Pirates can deal with the problem... Or not.

Dive into Aftermath here on Amazon. Also available on Kindle.

3. Earthside: Quantum Earth, Book Two by Dennis E. Taylor narrated by Ray Porter

The fate of mankind is in the hands of a group of 20-something science nerds in the sequel to Outland, by the Audible #1 best-selling author of the “Bobiverse” series.

The Yellowstone super-eruption has put an end to modern civilization. As cities and countries continue to fall, the colony of Rivendell in the alternate Earth known as Outland looks more and more like the only real hope for humanity. But life in Rivendell isn’t getting any simpler, either. Bill and Kevin continue to discover new worlds; the population continues to rise; winter is approaching; and everyone has their own opinion about how things should be run.

Then, a garbled plea for help from Omaha sends most of the security forces back Earthside to investigate, leaving Monica’s police force understaffed just as a large group of refugees arrive with its own ideas and power structure. With threats from both inside and outside, will the colony even survive until spring?

Dive into Earthside here on Amazon. Also available on Kindle.

2. Alpha Wave: The Sleepers War, Book One by Jonathan Mayberry and Weston Ochse narrated by Ray Porter

Created to defeat the invaders. Forgotten in victory. They will rise again …

We were outnumbered, outfought. Mankind was about to fall to the alien Flock. Our only chance was a desperate gamble, transforming Tier One SpecOps agents into deadly super soldiers.

In the end, we won the war, but we lost the peace. The Flock surrendered and spent the next two hundred years making reparations, indentured to humanity, doing everything humans did not want to do. And the evolved super soldiers were consigned to an endless sleep. Ready if ever needed, but in time they became myths. Abandoned and forgotten.

And then, when we were content in our dominance, the Flock revolted against all of humanity across the whole of the galaxy. We fell in a single day.

Which is when the dreams began. People across the settled worlds began dreaming of the Sleepers. The evolved saviors. Acts of rebellion and terrorism swept the galaxy, and in response the Flock ground us under heel.

Lexi Chow, descendant of a hero of the Flock War, believes the Sleepers are real, and are humanity’s only chance against the alien conquerors. With a crew of misfits, criminals, and believers, she sets out to wake the Sleepers. Hoping they will once more save us.

If the betrayed Sleepers are willing. If the Sleepers are even human.

If the Sleepers are on our side at all …

Alpha Wave by New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry and master storyteller Weston Ochse launches a new, sprawling military science fiction adventure that will span the whole of a galaxy at war!

Dive into Alpha Wave
here on Amazon. Also available on Kindle.

1. Singularity by Jeremy Robinson narrated by R.C. Bray

Cherry Bomb, an A.I. made human—and immortal—is out for revenge against her creator, Will, who left her on the Galahad, a ship full of unholy monsters, traversing the universe from beginning to end, ad infinitum.

Countless years pass, giving her more than enough time to plot her revenge. Upon gaining control of the ship, she sets her plan in motion, building a vast army and reforming the universe as she sees fit.

On Earth, heroes are brought together. Miah, and his team of immortal gods, Titans, angels, and demons join with Dark Horse and the crew of the Bitch’n, along with Delgado, Wini, and a colorful cast of characters from around the world and the universe. They’re quickly thrown into a series of grueling missions, defending the Earth against all-out attack while attempting to uncover Cherry Bomb’s endgame.

Taking losses along the way, the horrible truth is finally uncovered. A planet sharing Earth’s orbit rounds the sun, on a collision course. It’s a desperate place populated by unspeakable creatures now flooding through portals to Earth. A planet…called Torment. And if Miah, Dark Horse, and the others can’t stop it, our reality is doomed.

Start listening to Singularity
here on Amazon. Also available on Kindle.

How many of the 2023 Readers' Choice top 10 audiobooks have you listened to? Which ones are you adding to the top of your TBR for 2024? Any stellar audiobooks you think didn't get their due? Let us know here in the comments, or over in the Discover Sci-Fi Facebook group! 

*All book-related copy in this post was pulled from Amazon, Goodreads & Wikipedia, unless otherwise credited.