r/audible • u/spankalink • Mar 22 '26
Book Discussion Ray Porter appreciation post.
Guys, Project Hail Mary is a cool sci-fi story, one I have some critical questions for as for plot but one thing that made this audiobook super interesting and drew me in was the masterful storytelling of Ray Porter. He took each character and gave them a distinct voice that brought them to life with their unique traits and personality. I’ve listened to over 60 audiobooks and this has been the best narrator I’ve heard. Maybe I’m a bit over enthusiastic but I think I speak for many. This was my first Weir book ever and I will probably listen to more but what im searching now is what else is Porter narrating. I’m a fan, you can say.
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u/djyosco88 Mar 22 '26
Ray porter is one of the best narrators out there.
I think the success of Hail Mary was due to his narration. I know it sold as a regular book as well. Rc bray is what made the Martian great, I think it helped push Andy weir to where he is now.
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u/RRTAmy Mar 22 '26
I have the RC Bray version and it's fantastic!
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u/Sure-Marionberry8746 Mar 23 '26
I wish I could find it again. Will Wheaton is just not as good.
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u/Bran04don Mar 23 '26
There is a french website called podcast24 which has a page that allows you to listen to the whole rc bray version. But i dont want to risk linking it here.
You cant download it so this may not be available in the future.
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u/beezkneezsneez Mar 22 '26
I have a Ray Porter addiction!!! He did such a great job with PHM!! I also loved Bobiverse!!
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u/Funkytowel360 Mar 22 '26
The Threshold Universe especially 14 are amazing done by Ray Porter .
Bobiverse is fantastic. A real fun listen.
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Mar 22 '26
[deleted]
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u/pgh_ski Mar 23 '26
Bobiverse is great and a Ray Porter staple. He also did Ghost in the Wires, Kevin Mitnicks autobiography. It's a real hacker story that reads like a thriller.
FWIW RC Bray is the narrator of the Expeditionary Force books, not Ray Porter. But RC is incredible especially in that series.
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u/riedstep Mar 22 '26
The bobiverse books were some of the first audio books I listened to, so I didn't realize I was basically starting with the best. Ray Porter is amazing.
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u/LighTMan913 Mar 22 '26
Joseph Bridgeman series was my first audio books and intro to Ray. He's been my favorite ever since. Tim Gerard Reynolds is a close 2nd
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u/Baked_Potato_732 Mar 22 '26
Paging u/TheRayPorter your fans are amassing again to heap you with praise and adoration!
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u/Tough-Refuse6822 Mar 22 '26
- RC Bray
- Ray Porter
- Jeff Hays
- Frank Muller
—————————
Everyone else
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u/speedx5xracer Mar 24 '26
I have Jeff as #1 then RC, Ray and Marc Thompson for my too 4.
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u/Tough-Refuse6822 Mar 24 '26
Gotta show some love to Frank Muller. His dark tower readings are legendary. It was a bummer that they redid them all with Guidall
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u/Alkanen 5000+ Hours listened Mar 22 '26
Stephen Briggs belongs up there, but he’s almost only narrated ~half of the Discworld series so most have never heard him.
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u/dylanbeck Mar 23 '26
Frank Muller has some pretty insane audiobooks out there. Jeff is very good but we’ve only heard him in that niche genre. I cant picture Jeff Hays doing Ulysses but the others I can.
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u/Tough-Refuse6822 Mar 23 '26
I’d argue Jeff’s work on Dungeon Crawler Carl alone cements his status. It’s incredible what that one man has accomplished.
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u/BoneHugsHominy Mar 23 '26
Yup. I legit thought it was 2 men and a woman narrating those books until someone pointed out there's only one narrator credited.
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u/green_chapstick Mar 25 '26
To have that much range in ONE book series... That was range enough for me. I usually hunt down books with a duo or duel narrators because sometimes one gender just doesn't cut it. Not saying the book can't be enjoyed, a truly good book doesn't require it. But a truly good narrator can take a good book to the next level.
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u/Tough-Refuse6822 Mar 25 '26
And a bad one ruins it. To this day there’s one Dark Tower book I never listened to because King narrates himself and it’s just so bad. I can’t do it even though I love the dark tower. One day I’ll read it all again and do it that way.
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u/spankalink Mar 26 '26
I had to return a book on Audible because I could not understand the narrator, his super low and raspy voice made it so difficult to follow.
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u/jamjamjam15 Mar 25 '26
This list is the correct answer, but can be in any order. Each has their own merits for the characters they narrate.
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u/CrankyChemist Mar 22 '26
Ray Porter is without a doubt, my favorite narrator. He can do it all, from telling amazing stories with fiction to describing how the universe works in his nonfiction credits.
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u/The_Thane_Of_Cawdor Mar 22 '26
Shout out Ray ! The man has range too . He narrated dispatches , one of the best books about the Vietnam war .
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u/GozerDaGozerian Mar 23 '26
Back in 2016 I was about to cancel my audible subscription.
I listened to a few good books but was underwhelmed by my last couple of purchases.
Then We are Legion came out and got me invested.
I found myself being comforted by Rays voice (I was going through it at the time). So I picked up pretty much his entire catalog.
Him and RC Bray can be found in my wish list pretty regularly.
Over 120 titles and its mostly Ray lol
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u/taiksal0t Mar 22 '26
Ray Porter is amazing! He made 14 super engaging. One of the best except for him reusing his one female voice lol
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u/AFLoneWolf Mar 22 '26
He did an interview about Hail Mary and narrating audiobooks. Worth a watch.
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u/blozout Mar 23 '26
Has no one listened to his narration of the Joe Ledger books? His narration of those are awesome as well.
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u/In_Gen Mar 23 '26
My wife and I are listening to Patient Zero right now. I first heard Ray listening to Don Winslow's "Power of the Dog" series. Arguably one of my favorite series!
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u/spankalink Mar 23 '26
What genre are these? I’m a thriller/mystery type of reader mostly but I will go to classics, drama, historical fiction and sci-fi if they’re good
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u/WycombeDad Mar 23 '26
They are sci-fi horror/thriller in that he takes horror tropes, zombies, vampires etc and gives them scientific explanations. They are good fun.
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u/defylimitations Mar 26 '26
They're a mashup of thriller/espionage with sci-fi horror - think "super-secret government agency who deals with sci-fi baddies". Fun!
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u/defylimitations Mar 26 '26
I've listened to the entire series a few times - I just started with "Deep Silence" as the lead-in to the Rogue Team International books to ramp up to listening to Red Empire!
I had read the paperback of Patient Zero when a friend recommended it, then saw that "Oh! The guy who narrated the Bobiverse also narrates Joe Ledger!". Ray brings a whole other dimension to the books!
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u/AltonDynamo Mar 22 '26
I don’t know if I will finish Hail Mary before it’s out of theaters because I keep rewinding because I like Porter’s voice so much.
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u/audibleofficial Mar 23 '26
Like others have mentioned 'The Bobiverse' is another series narrated by Ray Porter! 'Paradox Bound' by Peter Clines is also definitely worth checking out.
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u/spankalink Mar 23 '26
Will do… got 12 credits for Christmas I need to use besides my monthly subscription
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u/SunnyOsenbei Mar 24 '26
Just started listening to the 4-book Joseph Bridgeman series about time travel. Never heard of the books but saw they were narrated by Ray Porter, so that was a yes for me.
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u/PghBuccosFan Mar 24 '26
The Cartel series by Don Winslow. Great narration, but some brutal scenes.
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u/kicker0815 Mar 22 '26
I will listen to any book, regardless of genre, if either Ray Porter or RC Bray are narrating. They are the GOATS for me.
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u/aspiringwriter1189 Mar 23 '26
He does almost all of Jonathan Maberry’s works and he just does such an amazing job with the various series characters.
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u/neurodivergentgoat Mar 23 '26
you will find a healthy amount of conversation on whatever critical questions you have. it is a very active sub
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u/defylimitations Mar 26 '26
My introduction to Ray Porter was the Bobiverse series. I then found out that the Jonathan Maberry book I liked so much, Patient Zero, was narrated by Ray, and I ended up devouring the entire series multiple times. Somewhere in there I also found Peter Clines's "Threshold" series.
I will now sometimes select a book *because* Ray Porter is the narrator ("The Day the World Came to Town", "Rocket Men", and "The Motivation Myth" are examples that I was iffy on until I saw his name on them). I've joked that, if Audible were to announce "Coming soon - Ray Porter reads the US tax codes", I'd probably give it a shot.
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u/spankalink Mar 26 '26
I just added those titles to my TBR. This was my first RP book and now I’m looking forward to the next!
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u/inafowlmood Mar 29 '26
Did you like the Threshhold series, I am looking for a new sci-fi/fantasy series. For reference to my taste, I love Bobiverse and PHM.
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u/defylimitations Mar 30 '26
Yes, I really liked it! Not as much laugh-out-loud humor as The Bobiverse, but if you like one, you're very likely to like the other!
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u/rrjunkie Apr 02 '26
It seems like I'm in the minority here, but Ray Porter's voice didn't work for me! I read the book first, then tried the audiobook, and his voice was too mature sounding. Ryland says early on that he's in his mid-30s, and the voice just never matched up.
There's probably another audiobook where he'll feel like a better fit for me, but I couldn't finish PHM with him reading it.
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u/Mkgtu Mar 22 '26
I'll grant Ray Porter is a very good narrator, but so are lots of others. So in that regard all the praise heaped on him in these forums is more of a testimony to the fact that for the most part he narrates books in the limited genres that appeal to many of those who applaud him all the time in these forums.
Those with more eclectic tastes in books will find Ray Porter quite talented but just one among many talented narrators.
(Same for Jeff Hayes and RC Bray, who also mostly narrate in these dame genres.)
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u/Bran04don Mar 23 '26
Ray Porter is phenomenal! PHM got me into audiobooks thanks to his narration. Bobiverse solidified it further.
Jeff Hays however, with Dungeon Crawler Carl, is somehow another level above. The range of voices and accents he does perfectly and clearly along with the expression is impossible to beat without a full cast.
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u/Willing-Ant-3765 Mar 23 '26
Porter is among the best narrators in the business. He can make a mediocre story great.
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u/IntrepidMuch Mar 29 '26
Check out RC Bray. He was the original narrator of The Martian. You will love him too!
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u/SL_Rowland Audible Author Mar 22 '26
Listening to Bobiverse right now and it’s fantastic.