Which War of the Worlds recording should you buy?
Audible UK sells far more editions of The War of the Worlds than this table holds. Among the ones we read: complete readings running 5 hrs 19 mins to 8 hrs 12 mins, radio plays, a simplified version, and Jeff Wayne's musical drama with Michael Sheen and Taron Egerton.
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Short answer
David Harewood: complete and solo, the Penguin Classics edition. Gerry O'Brien, Steven Crossley, Rupert Degas and the other complete readings in the table run 5 hrs 19 mins to 8 hrs 12 mins; choose on voice. The famous cast belongs to a different thing entirely: the Audible Original of Jeff Wayne's musical drama, with Michael Sheen, Taron Egerton and Theo James, is a production of the musical, not the novel. The BBC Radio 4 play with Blake Ritson and the Classic Radio Sci-Fi edition with Martin Jarvis among its cast are radio dramatisations, though their listings say unabridged. Iman's edition is part of the "Bring the Classics to Life" series, short and marked abridged.
The recordings, compared
| Narrator | Length | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| David Harewood Our pick | 8 hrs 12 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo, the Penguin Classics edition. |
| Gerry O'Brien | 6 hrs 33 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. The same reader and running time appear on a second listing. |
| Steven Crossley | 7 hrs 15 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Chas Burns | 7 hrs 28 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Flo Gibson | 5 hrs 19 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Rupert Degas | 6 hrs 40 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Edward E. French | 6 hrs 32 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Ian Dunnett Jr | 6 hrs 20 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Roger Arnold | 7 hrs 1 min | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Greg Wagland | 6 hrs 59 mins | Unabridged | Complete and solo. |
| Michael Sheen, Taron Egerton, Theo James, Adrian Edmondson, Anna-Marie Wayne | 5 hrs 4 mins | Audible Original, musical drama | Jeff Wayne's musical drama, as an Audible Original with a cast. Not the novel. |
| Blake Ritson, Samuel James and a full cast | 1 hr 53 mins | BBC full-cast dramatisation | A BBC Radio 4 play, although the listing says unabridged. |
| Anthony Jackson, Martin Jarvis and a full cast | 2 hrs 40 mins | Full-cast dramatisation | A radio dramatisation, sold under Classic Radio Sci-Fi, although the listing says unabridged. |
| Iman | 48 mins | Simplified adaptation | Part of a series called "Bring the Classics to Life", and marked abridged. Its description says it has been "carefully abridged and adapted into 10 short, easy-to-understand chapters". A short retelling, not the book cut down. |