Wheel of Time audiobooks

__TOC__The audio versions of the main series books and prequel first came out in the form of cassette tapes, then later CD and digital download. Both abridged and unabridged versions have been published, although the abridged versions are no longer available to purchase. The unabridged versions were originally not available for the commercial market, but solely for the rental and library markets.Author's Table Interview, audiobookcafe (2001)
Robert Jordan did listen to the audio versions of his own books, finding it useful to gain a different perspective:
LAURA WILSON: Are you an audiobooks listener? And if so, what sorts of books do you listen to?
ROBERT JORDAN: I'm afraid the audiobooks I listen to are my own. I don't read my own books, but when I get the new audio tape, I listen to it because I get a different view. It is different than reading it.Audio Renaissance Interview by Marie Curie, 1997
An audio version of The World of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time was recorded by Paul Woodson and published by Bill Fawcett and Associates in 1997.
Unabridged audiobooks in languages other than English do exist. See Wheel of Time translations for a summary.
The Eye of the World and The Wheel of Time Companion have also been published in braille.Blind in Mind, The Eye of the World.Braille Wheel of Time Companion in WorldCat
==Unabridged Versions==
The original versions of the unabridged versions of the books were recorded by husband and wife team Michael Kramer and Kate Reading and released on audio cassette. The publisher later released versions on CD before the cassette versions were phased out entirely. According to Maria Simons, the unabridged audiobook project started just prior to the publication of A Crown of Swords (1996).Dragonmount Interview with Maria Simons, Q4, Mar 19th, 2010
The audiobooks are currently published by MacMillan Audio, formerly Audio Renaissance. Prior to this, they were published by Books On Tape, which was later bought by Random House in 2001.
Robert Jordan had a big influence on making the full-length audiobooks happen, as well as pushing for a male and female narrator for different parts:I very much wanted [The Wheel of Time] to come out unabridged, because I have a first cousin once removed who is dyslexic and she could not manage to read the books very well, and she wanted to. So, I agitated to get an unabridged edition done from the very beginning. And I also pressed for there to be a man to read the male point of view sections and a woman to read the female point of view sections. At first I was told it was not necessary and that it was not done. And I said, "We'd like it done." Various people finally agreed with me.
- Robert Jordan, Interview by Rochelle O'Gorman
The first three books were originally published in two parts and then republished in their entirety at a later date. The dates below are for the first publication in that medium. 
Title 	Running Tme	Cassette	# Cassettes	CD 	# CDs	Digital	Notes
New Spring: The Novel 	12h 38 	2004 	8 	2004	11 	2004 	
The Eye of the World 	29h 57 	1996 	21 	2004	25 	2004 	1996 edition in two parts
The Great Hunt 	26h 34 	1997 	18 	2004	22 	2004 	1997 edition in two parts
The Dragon Reborn 	24h 48 	1997 	17 	2004	22 	2004 	1997 edition in two parts
The Shadow Rising 	41h 13 	1997 	29 	1997	34 	2004 	
The Fires of Heaven 	36h 27 	1997 	25 	1997	29 	2004 	
Lord of Chaos 	41h 32 	1998 	29 	1998	33 	2004 	
A Crown of Swords 	30h 24 	1998 	22 	2006	24 	2006 	CD date need verified
The Path of Daggers 	23h 25 	1998 	16 	2002	19 	2003 	
Winter's Heart 	24h 12 	2000 	18 	2000	20 	2000 	First released in all formats in same year
Crossroads of Twilight	26h 4 	2003 	18 	2003	21 	2003 	
Knife of Dreams 	32h 19 	2005 	21 	2005	26 	2005 	Last published on audio cassette.
The Gathering Storm 	32h 58 	N/A 	N/A 	2009	26 	2009 	One of five nominees for Audie Award for Science Fiction 2010.
Towers of Midnight 	38h 23 	N/A 	N/A 	2010	30 	2010 	
A Memory of Light 	41h 47 	N/A 	N/A 	2013	33 	2013 	Released the same day as the print version
===Rerecordings===
In anticipation for the release of the coming Amazon Prime adaptation of the books, a new version of The Eye of the World was recorded with Rosamund Pike as narrator. Pike plays Moiraine Damodred in this adaptation. As of October 2023, only the first three books have been released by Macmillan Audio. It is unknown if The Shadow Rising is currently being recorded, although there is also no indication that this series will not be continued.
Rosamund Pike won the 2023 Audie award for best female narrator for The Eye of the World and the 2024 Audie award for best Fantasy narration.2024 Audie Award listings, Billboard article, 5 March 2024
These are only available as digital downloads.
Title 	Length	Date
The Eye of the World	32h 55	16-Nov-21
The Great Hunt 	28h 23	02-Aug-22
The Dragon Reborn 	26h 5 	06-Jun-23
The Shadow Rising 	? 	?
==Other Wheel of Time audiobooks==
For completeness we include the availability and running times of River of Souls, A Fire Within the Ways, The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time and Origins of the Wheel of Time. Note running time for the first two are not for the whole anthology, only the Wheel of Time content.
Title 	Year	Publisher 	Narrator 	Length	Notes
The World of RJs WoT 	1997	Bill Fawcatt and Associates	Paul Woodson 	10h 16	Later Tantor Audio
Unfettered 	2014	Audible Studios 	Michael Kramer 	0h 30 	Anthology including River of Souls.
Unfettered III 	2019	Audible Studios 	Michael Kramer 	2h 38 	Anthology including A Fire Within the Ways
Origins of The Wheel of Time	2022	Tor 	Michael Kramer and Kate Reading	9h 34 	
==Abridged versions==
Abridged versions of the books were published by The Publishing Mills on cassette tape and narrated by Mark Rolston. They were considerably shorter than the full novels. Robert Jordan was highly critical of the decision to make abridged versions and pushed for the full versions to become available:
I don't like abridged versions, and particularly with something as long as my own books. In the abridged versions as much as 90 percent of the book has to be cut out, so I don't like them. As a matter of fact, I made sure that no one could do an abridged version of this latest book. I still own those particular rights, specifically defined, and I do not intend to let anybody do it.
I do not believe in abridgments. I think abridgments tell people that they are getting a dumbed down version of something. What people think they're getting is an easier or faster version, but what they are actually getting is the version for dummies.
- Robert Jordan, Interview by Rochelle O'GormanThe "latest book" mentioned here would have been Winter's Heart as the above is dated 2001. Indeed, The Path of Daggers was the last to be recorded in abridged form, albeit with less cut than the previous installments.
Details are provided below. Some of these were also available in CD format, but only the information for cassettes is given here:
Title 	Year	Length (approx.)	Number 	Notes
The Eye of the World 	1994	3h 	2 cassettes 	The first two books have later publication dates than books 3-5.
The Great Hunt 	1994	3h 	2 cassettes 	
The Dragon Reborn 	1992	3h 	2 cassettes 	Print version 1991.
The Shadow Rising 	1992	3h 	2 cassettes 	First version released the same year as the print version.
The Fires of Heaven 	1993	3h 	2 cassettes 	
Lord of Chaos 	1994	3h 	2 cassettes 	When compared with the unabridged version, this is 93% shorter.
A Crown of Swords 	1996	6h 	4 cassettes 	
The Path of Daggers 	1998	12h 	8 cassettes 	Last abridged version.
Best of Robert Jordan	2000	24h 	10 cassettes	Books 4-7 above
==Galleries==
===Unabridged Digital (Kramer and Reading)===
As of 2023, these are the most recent cover art for the unabridged audiobooks narrated by Michael Kramer and Kate Reading:
NS_audio_KR.jpg|New Sspring
TEOTW_audio_KR.jpg|The Eye of the World
TGH_audio_KR.jpg|The Great Hunt
TDR_audio_KR.jpg|The Dragon Reborn
TSR_audio_KR.jpg|The Shadow Rising
TFOH_audio_KR.jpg|The Fires of Heaven
LOC_audio_KR.jpg|Lord of Chaos
ACOS_audio_KR.jpg|A Crown of Swords
TPOD_audio_KR.jpg|The Path of Daggers
WH_audio_KR.jpg|Winter's Heart
COT_audio_KR.jpg|Crossroads of Twilight
KOD_audio_KR.jpg|Knife of Dreams
TGS_audio_KR.jpg|The Gathering Storm
TOM_audio_KR.jpg|Towers of Midnight
AMOL_audio_KR.jpg|A Memory of Light
===Unabridged Digital (Pike)===
TEOTW_audio_RP.jpg|The Eye of the World
TGH_audio_RP_orig.jpg|The Great Hunt (original artwork)
TGH_audio_RP.jpg|The Great Hunt
TDR_audio_RP.jpg|The Dragon Reborn
===Other Wheel of Time audiobooks===
WOWOT_audio.jpg|The World of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time
Origins_audio.jpg|Origins of Wheel of Time
=== Unabridged physical (selection) ===
Some CD and cassette editions of the Kramer and Reading recordings.
NS_audio_CD_KR.jpg|New Spring CD edition
TEOTW_audio_CD_KR.jpg|The Eye of the World CD edition
TEOTW_audio_CD_KR_back.jpg|The Eye of the World CD edition (back)
TGH_audio_CD_KR.jpg|The Great Hunt CD edition
TGH_audio_CD_KR_back.jpg|The Great Hunt CD edition (back)
ACOS_audio_CD_KR.jpg|A Crown of Swords CD edition
ACOS_audio_CD_KR_back.jpg|A Crown of Swords CD edition (back)
WH_audio_cass_KR.jpg|Winter's Heart cassette edition
WH_audio_cass_KR_back.jpg|Winter's Heart cassette edition (back)
COT_audio_CD_KR.png|Crossroads of Twilight CD edition
KOD_audio_CD_KR.jpg|Knife of Dreams CD edition
AMOL_audio_CD_KR.jpg|A Memory of Light CD edition
AMOL_audio_CD_KR_back.jpg|A Memory of Light CD edition (back)
===Abridged (selection)===
Some cassette and CD versions of the Mark Rolston editions.
TEOTW_audio_abr.jpg|The Eye of the World cassettes 
TGH_audio_abr.jpg|The Great Hunt cassettes
TSR_audio_abr.jpg|The Shadow Rising cassettes
LOC_audio_abr.jpg|Lord of Chaos cassettes
ACOS_audio_abr.jpg|A Crown of Swords CDs
POD_audio_abr.jpg|The Path of Daggers cassettes
POD_audio_abr_mac.jpg|The Path of Daggers cassettes (Macmillan audio)
Best_of_audio.jpg|"Best of Robert Jordan" cassette collection
Best_of_audio_back.jpg|"Best of Robert Jordan" cassette collection (back)
==External links==
*WorldCat results for Robert Jordan audiobooks
Category:Main Series