I definitely noped out of a sci-fi audiobook (can’t recall the title) a few minutes into one. And I hated the one Expanse book that was narrated by Erik Davis - it was like listening to a robot.
Actually yes, quite often. I think a bad narrator can ruin a good book, and the other way around.
All. The. Time.
A good Narrator can make a mediocre book enjoyable, and a poor Narrator can make a great book unbearable.
Somehow, the right Narrator just kind of syncs up with my mind and the story just flows in. Otherwise you have to actually focus on listening which can be tedious.
On the audible website you can search by Narrator.
I had the audio version of one of Sam Harris’s books a while ago and I swear the narrator pronounced every sentence like it ended with an exclamation mark! It was exhausting and I couldn’t stick with it past the first chapter.
Funnily enough I’m currently listening to the first Expanse book, which is narrated pretty well by Jefferson Mays.
I’ve been very tempted, but I end up enduring until I become numb to it lol. The hardest is when a narrator changes between books in a series.