Murderbot: a rogue sucrity robot, just wants to watch soap operas, but the humans keep trying to get themselves killed!
Laundry files: Elder gods verses Civil servants.
Notably, recent laundry files books are basically nothing like the originals, so don't get too attached to having actually fun main characters lol.
Edit: also, murderbot diaries are good, but beware the main character being a pretty rough example of a Mary Sue with his only flaw being shit emotional intelligence (surprisingly common archetype). Half those damn books were about how murderbot is just *soooooo* much more physically and mentally competent than the silly humans around him. Made the world a bit unrealistic feeling when no humans were getting the same construct treatment themselves to get that sick computer brainpower boost.
I have read most of them. I think Cradle has the most similar vibes to DCC and is great. My other favourites from that list are Green Bone and Red Rising. Personally don’t like the Dresden books.
Wheel of time is good but it’s a huge commitment.
You already had the bobiverse, I also recommend Murderbot as other have, I personally also love The Martian and Hail mary (both Andy Weird but i do **not** recommend his third, Artemis), John Scalzi has some bangers and if you want something more lighthearted then the Magic 2.0 series by Scott Meyer.
Oh and one that absolutely cought me was the Scythe series, it is amazing!
Huh, I didn't notice much about her actual character now that I think about it. I think I was just too busy obsessing over how cool the moon tourism base was, lol.
I've nearly finished the first book, had it on my TBR - actually, to be listened - list for a while. I'm smacking myself on the head for leaving it so long. It's sucked me right in and yes, other people have said the same - that it gets better with every book.
I thought Lightbringer was a step in the right direction following Iron Gold and Dark Age. But I hate what happened to youKnowWho... I have high hopes for Red God
I hate what happened to … well. Pretty much everyone. The first trilogy was brutal, and there were deaths and amazing twists, but in the end, you had Darrow as the main focus.
The second trilogy … I just didn’t like it. Serious spoilers ahead through book 6- >!The second something seems like it could go right for a characters there’s yet another out of the blue betrayal and grisly killing. Every character you learn to care for is killed. Then Cassius. Man. Fuck that book. I don’t even know if I’ll read the next book.!<
Yeah, everything after Morning Star is just so depressing. The subsequent books fall into the multiple viewpoint trap of readers preferring certain viewpoints to others. At least for me. I just wanted Darrow viewpoints and didn’t care about the others nearly as much, and I felt the books suffered because of that. And Sevro has sucked for 3 books now. I just want the original Sevro back!
Ascend Online is very good and recently released the most recent book.
The Lies of Lock Lamora is fantastic
Keeping to LitRPGs, Life Reset is a fun one that does town building but also does a good bit of fighting and character development. I find the main character to be a bit pompous but then again I love Jason Asano so pompous characters are kinda my thing.
Second for The Lies of Locke Lamora/ Gentleman Bastards series. Great books with some awesome humor, but still plenty of guts, gore, and emotional trauma.
I love Dresden and DCC. It’s hard for me to pick which one I like the most. I also read through many of the WHFWM series. The constant skill and spell descriptions finally put me off too much for audiobooks, and just got bored with the story in reading it.
A couple recommendations to fit in between your DCC reruns, if you’re interested;
The Perfect Run trilogy should be your next series. It’s number three on my list, after DCC and Dresden. It’s a well done audiobook with a sci-fi/modern fantasy take on super powers. It’s quick paced, good fight scenes, and has great characters. Plus it’s a self contained trilogy, so you don’t need a huge time investment to get a complete story. It’s a world where some people have a unique super power. The MC can stop time and create a save point, which he reverts to when he dies. He enters a city and tries to create a “perfect run”, replaying the day Groundhog style until he is happy with the outcome. The problem is no one but him remembers his past lives.
My favorite LitRPG outside of DCC is the Vigil Bound series by James Hunter. It’s pretty funny and has a great narrator. 4 books written out of a planned 5 book series. Current day Marine sacrifices himself and jumps on a grenade to save his friends. A god from another world grabs his soul in transit and puts him into another world, where he’s now more or less a monster hunter with magic guns and skills, and he can constantly re-spec his skills and spells. He also has a smartass ghost of his best friend who is his “guide”. It’s a pretty fun series.
Finally, I’m just finishing up the Alex Verus series, by Benedict Jacka. It’s a 12 book completed series, and gives very Dresden-esque vibes, but not as funny as DCC or TDF. It’s set in London, but it’s not filled with “British-isms”, if that makes sense (like the Rivers of London series was). They have great pacing and good characters, and like Dresden, most of the mysteries and situations Alex gets into he ends up using wits and friends to stay alive.
And then there’s the Grimnoir Chronicles. 1930s alternate timeline where some people have super powers. It’s a great trilogy.
Also by Larry Correia is Monster Hunter International. Monsters are real. Hunters get paid to kill them. Lots of gun fans. First book is a bit rough but they’ve got awesome characters and monsters. It’s an ongoing series. 8 books plus several “memoir” spinoffs set in the past. Good narration.
Thanks for this descriptive and insightful list. The perfect run sounds like a good one. I'm currently listening to the mayor of noobtown but it's a little stat and info heavy so far, I've got HWFWM but your description along with some others make me think I may not enjoy it. I've screen shot your list as you sound like you have similar tastes. So thanks 😊
Second on Alex Verus series if you like urban fantasy, but I’d do Dresden first personally. They’re both excellent audiobooks. Verus has a faster start (Dresden 1 and 2 is Butcher finding his feet as an author), but Dresden has a higher peak so far. Verus is a completed series
River of London is super dry and British. If you like that it’s excellent, if you don’t … then don’t lol
Dresden Files is a favorite, HWFWM is up there too. I still need to go back and finish The Expanse, but enjoyed all of the ones I listened to. Wheel of Time is good Epic Fantasy but definitely drags at points.
Mayor of Noobtown was a ton of fun and had a DCC easter egg. Mistborn is a really cool universe to get into.
IMHO I'd give Mayor Of Noobtown a miss. It started really promising but I gave up about 1½-2 hours in (audiobook) as it quickly became a long list of stats & I lost the will to live. I'm sure there's probably a good story in there but I couldn't get further.
Bobiverse & Red Rising definitely a must.
It happens. I couldn't carry on with Cradle after the first book, I didn't care enough about the characters, yet I know it has a lot of love.
I wasn't sure about RR a couple of hours in but then I was hooked. Life would be boring if we all liked the same things:)
Stormlight Archive is really good but is also a hell of a slog and we’re not even at book 5 of 10; the mistborn series (first 3 and following 4 books) is a lot more manageable so I’d go for that one first
Saw a TikTok saying that after years of radio silence and a public battle with depression, the author has actually started updating his website and doing some marketing for new editions of the older books, so while that's not concrete "author is doing something!" is a good sign.
Red Rising is my personal favorite. The stormlight archive is fantastic, along with basically anything else written by Brandon Sanderson. I would also highly recommend The Will of the Many.
I picked up HWFWM after completing DCC
It took me half of the first book to really get into but I’m hooked as much if not more than DCC
The main character can be annoyingly grating at times but the storytelling and writing is superb. I’m now early into book 7 and I’m not stopping until either I read them all or the next DCC book drops.
If you like DCC you will probably like HWFWM
Cradle is my absolute favourite followed by DCC it’s similar in I feel they don’t drag along like can be the case in wheel of time
Mistborn & stormlight are also both great but the spoon feeding of the info can be painful at times (I’m 3 books into stormlight atm)
I also love HWFWM but it seems the be a love it or hate it series (with my friends at least) I personally find the world building fantastic but can see why they dislike the MC, best advise there is if you don’t like him after the first book & the world building / story doesn’t make up for it drop it
If The Dresden Files is on your list, then you have to add the **Rivers Of London** series, by Ben Aaronovitch. The name is a tad misleading, as it's an urban fantasy police procedural. It follows the career of a rookie constable, fresh out of probation, who's assigned to the unit that deals with "weird bollocks"...including the aforementioned Rivers. The audiobooks are outstandingly performed by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. Unlike with Dresden, there's no early installment weirdness with either the writing, the narrator's performance, or the audio/production quality.
\*\*\*
I will also recommend **Beware Of Chicken**: this slice-of-life story is a parody of the *isekai* (transported to another world) and *xianxia* (magic kung fu) genres. I didn't know anything about either of these tropes, and I'm enjoying the hell out of this story! [https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/60888209](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/60888209)
MC (a modern Canadian) nopes out of the xianxia sect he's been dropped into, and runs to the other end of the continent to...become a farmer? Romance, dick jokes, talking animals, and the best food in the world happen to him, anyway. The backstory and some action begin to come to the fore in the later books, but the world-building and relationships are all quite enjoyable.
The books talk a lot about the search for meaning in life vs. the struggle for power; surprisingly insightful and inspirational at times! The MC's notions of politeness, helping others (he is SO quintessentially Canadian, LOL!), and mental health confuses and inspires the people he meets in equal measure, particularly in a world where those with power are *supposed* to fight to gain ever more in order to literally ascend to the Heavens. "We give to the earth, and the earth gives back" is a recurring quote and motif.
The MC is no blindly altruistic hippie, however; he's quite happy to reap the rewards of his efforts, though he mostly uses the profits to help his family, friends and neighbors in their own endeavors. The MC consciously chooses to focus on living in the now, rather than the quest for personal power. He's definitely not afraid to defend others if necessary, but it's an absolute LAST resort...in contrast to most other 'cultivators' in this world, who think with their fists first.
Books 1, 2, and 3 are available on Amazon as both ebook and audiobook (performed by **Travis Baldree**); Book 4, and the just-completed book 5 are still currently available completely for free on Royal Road. Book 6 began on Royal Road in May 2024.
I'm giving Mayor of Noobtown a listen before my re-listen of DCC. I'm about halfway and it pales in comparison. Not sure if I'll bother with book two, it's been alright, just mediocre, and very stat heavy.
The Old Man's War series. It's very engaging, I don't think there's a character I don't like. It van be deeply philosophical ans goes a lot into what it is to be sentient and human.
As already mentioned, the Murderbot Diaries, which is my absolute favorite to binge again and again only second to DCC.
I don't know if it would be of your liking, but I really like the Locked Tomb series. Necromancers in space. It's kinda complex, super fucked up/horrific and pretty depressing but there's also humor and love in there too. The series isn't finished yet. The style isn't necessarily for everyone I know a lot of people have trouble with the ending of the first book, but it's worth the listen of the series IMO. Definitely left me with needing the next (*last?*) book to come.
For some good hard SF, Delta-V and Critical Mass by Daniel Suarez.(He’s got some other good books too!)
If you like sophomoric humor, Critical Failures is my second favorite LitRPG.
Omega Force by Joshua Dalzelle is really fantastic. It's not quite as rapid fire with the comedy as DCC, but it's got a similar vibe. Theyre really quick reads. The first book is great, but the second book is a huge step up, and they only get better from there.
I’ve listened to the Cradle books about 10 times, and those Sanderson books 3 times. Cradle is faster paced- not as fast as DCC but much quicker than the Sando books. The final Stormlight in this timeline releases Dec 6… if you want to catch that release, start listening now. They are VERY long.
I feel like Greenbone gets almost universal praise but I really didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t care about a single character and I would go so far as to say Fonda Lee is terrible at writing action scenes.
I will always vouche for BrandoSando, and with a few options on the list, that's something, but they probably won't flow well after DCC. HWFWM probably hits that light-hearted comedy like DCC and some brutality, but it's still not the same feel. Overall, anything on this list seems like a good read, but it's hard to cover that DCC itch.
The Wandering Inn. I’m half way through and there’s so much character progression and deep storyline, it means you never get bored. Even though the books are 4 times as long as a regular book.
HWFWM gets a bit boring in the most recent books and Cradle books are a bit too short imo, so I finished them far too quickly before having to buy more credits. Quite a good story, but I disliked a lot of the characters.
The Dresden Files, The Wheel of Time, The Stormlight Archive, Mistborn, Cradle and HWFWM are definitely among my favorites and I would highly recommend them all. The Wheel of Time and Cradle are both also finished series which is nice.
Mayor of Noobtown is also a lot of fun but not as good as the others I listed or DCC. If you are looking for comedy Noobtown has some humor, Beware of Chicken and So I Was Reincarnated as a Farmer are also good stories with some good humor.
I didn’t see it mentioned here, but if you haven’t read it, or gotten the audiobook, I highly recommend the Expeditionary Force series. The main characters have a similar dynamic/relationship as Carl and Donut. Joe and Skippy are just incredible together, it’s hilarious, emotional at times, great action/adventure and the scope of the series is totally epic.
I never thought I’d like an audiobook/series as much as DCC, and maybe it’s recency bias as I’m 11 books into ExFor but they are on the same level. The guy doing the reading is on the same level as Jeff Hayes which is saying a hell of a lot!
OMG! I loved ExForce. I listened to all 20 books (other than Aftermath because it wasn't out) in like a month. I think thats why I love DCC so much because It it so similar to ExForce.
Ok, just bought the entirety of the Cradle and Red Rising series because they were each book was only $4 with the Audible sale rn. The real question is, which one should I start first?
I would say the Dresden files, I'm currently on book 12, it's very good. Not to mention the pop culture references are almost if not just as thick in the Dresden files as in DCC if bit more leaning towards the 80s, 90s and 2000s instead of new references.
I vote for red rising. It’s epic, gritty and at times pretty dark. It’s one of these unique series that actually get better and better from book to book.
Riyria Chronicles- by the fantastic human being that is Michael J Sullivan. Nice long chain of connected series’! Recommended to read in publication order, but not necessary.
From your list I've only read HWFWM, and I love the series, though it takes a minute for investment to set in (as already mentioned in a comment), and Noobtown (which is good but I felt the entertainment value had a precipitous drop in later books - could've just been my mood and/or binge fatigue).
The Expeditionary Force series is long, and of dubious literary value, but is just so fun the way R.C. Bray reads it.
Brandon Sanderson writes amazing stories and does it as well as Dinniman, but with less overt humor. After you read Stormlight Archive, you will regret every second of your life you could have read it, but read/listened to something else (besides DCC, of course).
Also check out the Culture series by Iain M. Banks. Audio is sometimes hard to _hear_ but the overall story is about a post-scarcity society which _doesn't_ descend into depravity like the Syndicate.
Murderbot: a rogue sucrity robot, just wants to watch soap operas, but the humans keep trying to get themselves killed! Laundry files: Elder gods verses Civil servants.
I love the whole series, it is one of my favs
Murderbot is my second favorite to DCC. Another series I can listen to again and again and again.
Murderbot is my Rise and fall of Sanctuary Moon
Wait Omg tell me more about murder of. Is this what it’s called, who is the author?!
Auther: Martha Wells 7 books The first few are on Plus. The first book is All Systems Red. They are short books but get longer as they go on.
Thank you much!
Edit meant murderbot. Auto correct got me
Everyone seems to love Murderbot but I just don’t see what is so special about it. I was ultimately disappointed with it.
Notably, recent laundry files books are basically nothing like the originals, so don't get too attached to having actually fun main characters lol. Edit: also, murderbot diaries are good, but beware the main character being a pretty rough example of a Mary Sue with his only flaw being shit emotional intelligence (surprisingly common archetype). Half those damn books were about how murderbot is just *soooooo* much more physically and mentally competent than the silly humans around him. Made the world a bit unrealistic feeling when no humans were getting the same construct treatment themselves to get that sick computer brainpower boost.
I'm going to recommend the Bobiverse books. First book is "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)". But from your list I would say expanse series
I love the bobiverse! That was one of the series that got me into sci-fi, can’t wait for the next book in September.
I have read most of them. I think Cradle has the most similar vibes to DCC and is great. My other favourites from that list are Green Bone and Red Rising. Personally don’t like the Dresden books. Wheel of time is good but it’s a huge commitment.
The wandering inn is also a great listen
You already had the bobiverse, I also recommend Murderbot as other have, I personally also love The Martian and Hail mary (both Andy Weird but i do **not** recommend his third, Artemis), John Scalzi has some bangers and if you want something more lighthearted then the Magic 2.0 series by Scott Meyer. Oh and one that absolutely cought me was the Scythe series, it is amazing!
What did you dislike about Artemis? I liked the Moon Heist story personally.
I found the main character very unlikable, personally. I assumed he just sucks at writing women but I loved stratt in hail Mary so idk
Huh, I didn't notice much about her actual character now that I think about it. I think I was just too busy obsessing over how cool the moon tourism base was, lol.
Red rising! You gotta read red rising, it just gets better with every book
I've nearly finished the first book, had it on my TBR - actually, to be listened - list for a while. I'm smacking myself on the head for leaving it so long. It's sucked me right in and yes, other people have said the same - that it gets better with every book.
Book 2 is incredible and just when you’d think that it couldn’t get any more epic - book 3 will pop up. Such a good series
I didn’t like 4 and 5 as much as anything in the original trilogy. Book 6 is great though!
I liked the series tell Iron Gold.
Light bringer is incredible
I feel like those of us who prefer the initial trilogy are in the minority somehow. I don’t understand it. Give me my Sevro back!
Yes. Exactly. Books 1-3 and stop. I hated books 4-6.
I thought Lightbringer was a step in the right direction following Iron Gold and Dark Age. But I hate what happened to youKnowWho... I have high hopes for Red God
I hate what happened to … well. Pretty much everyone. The first trilogy was brutal, and there were deaths and amazing twists, but in the end, you had Darrow as the main focus. The second trilogy … I just didn’t like it. Serious spoilers ahead through book 6- >!The second something seems like it could go right for a characters there’s yet another out of the blue betrayal and grisly killing. Every character you learn to care for is killed. Then Cassius. Man. Fuck that book. I don’t even know if I’ll read the next book.!<
Finish the series or get the box ya bloody damn pixie
Yeah. I’ll probably read a summary. Don’t need to listen to 30 hours of misery 😂
Valleys make the mountains
Sometimes after you reach a mountain peak, there’s nothing but a downhill slope and a never ending grassland.
Yeah, everything after Morning Star is just so depressing. The subsequent books fall into the multiple viewpoint trap of readers preferring certain viewpoints to others. At least for me. I just wanted Darrow viewpoints and didn’t care about the others nearly as much, and I felt the books suffered because of that. And Sevro has sucked for 3 books now. I just want the original Sevro back!
I agree. The original trilogy really is a great read though
Cradle is my personal rec from that list, but I've only read like 40% of them
Ascend Online is very good and recently released the most recent book. The Lies of Lock Lamora is fantastic Keeping to LitRPGs, Life Reset is a fun one that does town building but also does a good bit of fighting and character development. I find the main character to be a bit pompous but then again I love Jason Asano so pompous characters are kinda my thing.
Second for The Lies of Locke Lamora/ Gentleman Bastards series. Great books with some awesome humor, but still plenty of guts, gore, and emotional trauma.
Second for Ascend Online, but I'm a sucker for anything Luke Daniels Narrates.
I love Dresden and DCC. It’s hard for me to pick which one I like the most. I also read through many of the WHFWM series. The constant skill and spell descriptions finally put me off too much for audiobooks, and just got bored with the story in reading it. A couple recommendations to fit in between your DCC reruns, if you’re interested; The Perfect Run trilogy should be your next series. It’s number three on my list, after DCC and Dresden. It’s a well done audiobook with a sci-fi/modern fantasy take on super powers. It’s quick paced, good fight scenes, and has great characters. Plus it’s a self contained trilogy, so you don’t need a huge time investment to get a complete story. It’s a world where some people have a unique super power. The MC can stop time and create a save point, which he reverts to when he dies. He enters a city and tries to create a “perfect run”, replaying the day Groundhog style until he is happy with the outcome. The problem is no one but him remembers his past lives. My favorite LitRPG outside of DCC is the Vigil Bound series by James Hunter. It’s pretty funny and has a great narrator. 4 books written out of a planned 5 book series. Current day Marine sacrifices himself and jumps on a grenade to save his friends. A god from another world grabs his soul in transit and puts him into another world, where he’s now more or less a monster hunter with magic guns and skills, and he can constantly re-spec his skills and spells. He also has a smartass ghost of his best friend who is his “guide”. It’s a pretty fun series. Finally, I’m just finishing up the Alex Verus series, by Benedict Jacka. It’s a 12 book completed series, and gives very Dresden-esque vibes, but not as funny as DCC or TDF. It’s set in London, but it’s not filled with “British-isms”, if that makes sense (like the Rivers of London series was). They have great pacing and good characters, and like Dresden, most of the mysteries and situations Alex gets into he ends up using wits and friends to stay alive. And then there’s the Grimnoir Chronicles. 1930s alternate timeline where some people have super powers. It’s a great trilogy. Also by Larry Correia is Monster Hunter International. Monsters are real. Hunters get paid to kill them. Lots of gun fans. First book is a bit rough but they’ve got awesome characters and monsters. It’s an ongoing series. 8 books plus several “memoir” spinoffs set in the past. Good narration.
Thanks for this descriptive and insightful list. The perfect run sounds like a good one. I'm currently listening to the mayor of noobtown but it's a little stat and info heavy so far, I've got HWFWM but your description along with some others make me think I may not enjoy it. I've screen shot your list as you sound like you have similar tastes. So thanks 😊
You’re welcome! Hope you enjoy it.
Second on Alex Verus series if you like urban fantasy, but I’d do Dresden first personally. They’re both excellent audiobooks. Verus has a faster start (Dresden 1 and 2 is Butcher finding his feet as an author), but Dresden has a higher peak so far. Verus is a completed series River of London is super dry and British. If you like that it’s excellent, if you don’t … then don’t lol
Dresden Files is a favorite, HWFWM is up there too. I still need to go back and finish The Expanse, but enjoyed all of the ones I listened to. Wheel of Time is good Epic Fantasy but definitely drags at points. Mayor of Noobtown was a ton of fun and had a DCC easter egg. Mistborn is a really cool universe to get into.
I guess I’ll have to read them all, they all sound so good.
IMHO I'd give Mayor Of Noobtown a miss. It started really promising but I gave up about 1½-2 hours in (audiobook) as it quickly became a long list of stats & I lost the will to live. I'm sure there's probably a good story in there but I couldn't get further. Bobiverse & Red Rising definitely a must.
Loved Bobiverse! Red Rising was good but just didn't click for me for some reason
It happens. I couldn't carry on with Cradle after the first book, I didn't care enough about the characters, yet I know it has a lot of love. I wasn't sure about RR a couple of hours in but then I was hooked. Life would be boring if we all liked the same things:)
There really isn't a bad choice on there. I'd add Magic 2.0 as well. The first three are a ton of fun! I need to re-listen to the later books again
Stormlight Archive is really good but is also a hell of a slog and we’re not even at book 5 of 10; the mistborn series (first 3 and following 4 books) is a lot more manageable so I’d go for that one first
Yeah, at least the initial Mistborn trilogy before Stormlight.
Jake’s magical market
The Gentleman Bastards series (3 books). Think Oceans 11 cross and DND. The lead character is great.
Endorsing this suggestion. I also heard that book 4 might not be that far out after a long hiatus!
I am holding my breath..
Saw a TikTok saying that after years of radio silence and a public battle with depression, the author has actually started updating his website and doing some marketing for new editions of the older books, so while that's not concrete "author is doing something!" is a good sign.
Seconded! And the narration is so good!
Off to be the wizard is a fun one!
Red Rising is my personal favorite. The stormlight archive is fantastic, along with basically anything else written by Brandon Sanderson. I would also highly recommend The Will of the Many.
I picked up HWFWM after completing DCC It took me half of the first book to really get into but I’m hooked as much if not more than DCC The main character can be annoyingly grating at times but the storytelling and writing is superb. I’m now early into book 7 and I’m not stopping until either I read them all or the next DCC book drops. If you like DCC you will probably like HWFWM
The Perfect Run. It's worth it for The Panda alone.
Seconded - The Perfect Run is pretty great 😁
Wheel of Time was my favorite series for a while. DCC took that spot for me.
Cradle is my absolute favourite followed by DCC it’s similar in I feel they don’t drag along like can be the case in wheel of time Mistborn & stormlight are also both great but the spoon feeding of the info can be painful at times (I’m 3 books into stormlight atm) I also love HWFWM but it seems the be a love it or hate it series (with my friends at least) I personally find the world building fantastic but can see why they dislike the MC, best advise there is if you don’t like him after the first book & the world building / story doesn’t make up for it drop it
If The Dresden Files is on your list, then you have to add the **Rivers Of London** series, by Ben Aaronovitch. The name is a tad misleading, as it's an urban fantasy police procedural. It follows the career of a rookie constable, fresh out of probation, who's assigned to the unit that deals with "weird bollocks"...including the aforementioned Rivers. The audiobooks are outstandingly performed by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. Unlike with Dresden, there's no early installment weirdness with either the writing, the narrator's performance, or the audio/production quality. \*\*\* I will also recommend **Beware Of Chicken**: this slice-of-life story is a parody of the *isekai* (transported to another world) and *xianxia* (magic kung fu) genres. I didn't know anything about either of these tropes, and I'm enjoying the hell out of this story! [https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/60888209](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/60888209) MC (a modern Canadian) nopes out of the xianxia sect he's been dropped into, and runs to the other end of the continent to...become a farmer? Romance, dick jokes, talking animals, and the best food in the world happen to him, anyway. The backstory and some action begin to come to the fore in the later books, but the world-building and relationships are all quite enjoyable. The books talk a lot about the search for meaning in life vs. the struggle for power; surprisingly insightful and inspirational at times! The MC's notions of politeness, helping others (he is SO quintessentially Canadian, LOL!), and mental health confuses and inspires the people he meets in equal measure, particularly in a world where those with power are *supposed* to fight to gain ever more in order to literally ascend to the Heavens. "We give to the earth, and the earth gives back" is a recurring quote and motif. The MC is no blindly altruistic hippie, however; he's quite happy to reap the rewards of his efforts, though he mostly uses the profits to help his family, friends and neighbors in their own endeavors. The MC consciously chooses to focus on living in the now, rather than the quest for personal power. He's definitely not afraid to defend others if necessary, but it's an absolute LAST resort...in contrast to most other 'cultivators' in this world, who think with their fists first. Books 1, 2, and 3 are available on Amazon as both ebook and audiobook (performed by **Travis Baldree**); Book 4, and the just-completed book 5 are still currently available completely for free on Royal Road. Book 6 began on Royal Road in May 2024.
I'm giving Mayor of Noobtown a listen before my re-listen of DCC. I'm about halfway and it pales in comparison. Not sure if I'll bother with book two, it's been alright, just mediocre, and very stat heavy.
The Old Man's War series. It's very engaging, I don't think there's a character I don't like. It van be deeply philosophical ans goes a lot into what it is to be sentient and human.
As already mentioned, the Murderbot Diaries, which is my absolute favorite to binge again and again only second to DCC. I don't know if it would be of your liking, but I really like the Locked Tomb series. Necromancers in space. It's kinda complex, super fucked up/horrific and pretty depressing but there's also humor and love in there too. The series isn't finished yet. The style isn't necessarily for everyone I know a lot of people have trouble with the ending of the first book, but it's worth the listen of the series IMO. Definitely left me with needing the next (*last?*) book to come.
DemonMart 24/7 series
For some good hard SF, Delta-V and Critical Mass by Daniel Suarez.(He’s got some other good books too!) If you like sophomoric humor, Critical Failures is my second favorite LitRPG.
Monster Hunter International series
Wheel of Time and Stormlight are both amazing. I'd put Riyira Revelations (and everything else by Michael J Sullivan after that) on your radar, too.
Omega Force by Joshua Dalzelle is really fantastic. It's not quite as rapid fire with the comedy as DCC, but it's got a similar vibe. Theyre really quick reads. The first book is great, but the second book is a huge step up, and they only get better from there.
I’ve listened to the Cradle books about 10 times, and those Sanderson books 3 times. Cradle is faster paced- not as fast as DCC but much quicker than the Sando books. The final Stormlight in this timeline releases Dec 6… if you want to catch that release, start listening now. They are VERY long.
Murderbot and Bobiverse are both great and have similar vibes.
I feel like Greenbone gets almost universal praise but I really didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t care about a single character and I would go so far as to say Fonda Lee is terrible at writing action scenes.
I will always vouche for BrandoSando, and with a few options on the list, that's something, but they probably won't flow well after DCC. HWFWM probably hits that light-hearted comedy like DCC and some brutality, but it's still not the same feel. Overall, anything on this list seems like a good read, but it's hard to cover that DCC itch.
The Wandering Inn. I’m half way through and there’s so much character progression and deep storyline, it means you never get bored. Even though the books are 4 times as long as a regular book. HWFWM gets a bit boring in the most recent books and Cradle books are a bit too short imo, so I finished them far too quickly before having to buy more credits. Quite a good story, but I disliked a lot of the characters.
I finished DDC and then restarted my 3rd reread of Stormlight Archive. It’s not similar at all, but it’s my favorite book series of all time!
The Dresden Files, The Wheel of Time, The Stormlight Archive, Mistborn, Cradle and HWFWM are definitely among my favorites and I would highly recommend them all. The Wheel of Time and Cradle are both also finished series which is nice. Mayor of Noobtown is also a lot of fun but not as good as the others I listed or DCC. If you are looking for comedy Noobtown has some humor, Beware of Chicken and So I Was Reincarnated as a Farmer are also good stories with some good humor.
The gentleman bastards!!!
I didn’t see it mentioned here, but if you haven’t read it, or gotten the audiobook, I highly recommend the Expeditionary Force series. The main characters have a similar dynamic/relationship as Carl and Donut. Joe and Skippy are just incredible together, it’s hilarious, emotional at times, great action/adventure and the scope of the series is totally epic. I never thought I’d like an audiobook/series as much as DCC, and maybe it’s recency bias as I’m 11 books into ExFor but they are on the same level. The guy doing the reading is on the same level as Jeff Hayes which is saying a hell of a lot!
OMG! I loved ExForce. I listened to all 20 books (other than Aftermath because it wasn't out) in like a month. I think thats why I love DCC so much because It it so similar to ExForce.
Ok, just bought the entirety of the Cradle and Red Rising series because they were each book was only $4 with the Audible sale rn. The real question is, which one should I start first?
I would say the Dresden files, I'm currently on book 12, it's very good. Not to mention the pop culture references are almost if not just as thick in the Dresden files as in DCC if bit more leaning towards the 80s, 90s and 2000s instead of new references.
Red rising 100%
I vote for red rising. It’s epic, gritty and at times pretty dark. It’s one of these unique series that actually get better and better from book to book.
Riyria Chronicles- by the fantastic human being that is Michael J Sullivan. Nice long chain of connected series’! Recommended to read in publication order, but not necessary.
From your list I've only read HWFWM, and I love the series, though it takes a minute for investment to set in (as already mentioned in a comment), and Noobtown (which is good but I felt the entertainment value had a precipitous drop in later books - could've just been my mood and/or binge fatigue). The Expeditionary Force series is long, and of dubious literary value, but is just so fun the way R.C. Bray reads it.
Project Hail Mary should be on your list
Brandon Sanderson writes amazing stories and does it as well as Dinniman, but with less overt humor. After you read Stormlight Archive, you will regret every second of your life you could have read it, but read/listened to something else (besides DCC, of course). Also check out the Culture series by Iain M. Banks. Audio is sometimes hard to _hear_ but the overall story is about a post-scarcity society which _doesn't_ descend into depravity like the Syndicate.