Directive 51: Audiobook
Book 1 of the Daybreak series
According to The Books Insider's catalog data, the Directive 51 audiobook runs 21.6 hours unabridged, narrated by Susan Ericksen (about 14.4 hours at 1.5× playback speed).
The instrument When will you finish it?
Based on 21.6 hours of listening.
| Your pace | You'll finish in |
|---|---|
| 30 min / day | 44 days |
| 1 hour / day | 22 days |
| 2 hours / day | 11 days |
| 1 hour / day at 1.5× | 15 days |
You'll finish in – by –
Part of The Audiobook Finish-Time Calculator: the same instrument for any audiobook we measure.
What our data says
- At 21.6 hours, it runs longer than 97% of the 13,269 Science Fiction audiobooks in our catalog.
Catching up on Daybreak
This is book 1. Books 1 to 3 run 53.1 hours in all.
| Book | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Directive 51 | 21.6 hrs |
| 2 | Daybreak Zero | 16.7 hrs |
| 3 | The Last President | 14.9 hrs |
More narrated by Susan Ericksen
Susan Ericksen narrates 300 unabridged audiobooks in our catalog, 3,621 hours in all.
About as long, on the Science Fiction shelf
345 Science Fiction audiobooks in our catalog run within 10% of this length. The most popular on the store:
Computed from 409,794 English-language unabridged audiobooks in The Books Insider catalog (store data read November 3, 2026). Lengths are the store's own running times. Methodology.
About this listen
Directive 51 is book 1 of John Barnes's Daybreak series: a 21.6-hour unabridged recording, read by Susan Ericksen, released April 6, 2010, on the Science Fiction shelf.
The listen at a glance
- Length
- 21.6 hrs
- Narrated by
- Susan Ericksen
- Released
- April 6, 2010
- Format
- Unabridged audiobook
- Language
- English
- Store shelves
- Science Fiction
- Series
- Daybreak #1
- ISBN
- 9781441858184
How to listen to Directive 51 free
New members at audiobooks.com get three free audiobooks with the trial.
Separately, the store's catalog carries more than 10,000 audiobooks that are always free to stream.
Start listening freeQuestions listeners ask
How long is the Directive 51 audiobook?
Directive 51 runs 21.6 hours unabridged. At 1.5× speed that drops to roughly 14.4 hours.
Is the Directive 51 audiobook free?
Yes, for new listeners: the trial starts you with three free audiobooks.
Who narrates Directive 51?
Directive 51 is narrated by Susan Ericksen.
Is Directive 51 worth listening to at 1.5× speed?
At 1.5× you'd finish in about 14.4 hours, saving 7.2 hours.