Books Like Dungeon Crawler Carl: 10 Series Readers Recommend

Books like Dungeon Crawler Carl are easy to name and hard to rank, so we counted. We read five large Reddit threads where finished DCC readers asked what to read next, tallied the top-level comments that named each series, and kept the ten LitRPG and progression fantasy series named most often, plus Matt Dinniman's own standalone. Every series below has its book count, book-1 narrator and length from Audible, and its Goodreads rating as of October 10, 2026. No spoilers.

Key Takeaways

• Most recommended after DCC: Cradle (83 comments), He Who Fights with Monsters (81), The Wandering Inn (56), The Primal Hunter and Chrysalis (44 each), in five threads with 1,547 top-level comments.
• Same narrator: Chrysalis is narrated by Jeff Hays and Annie Ellicott on Audible, the closest listening match.
• Finished series: Cradle (12 volumes, complete) and Matt Dinniman's standalone Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon.
• For laughs: Mage Tank, which Aethon pitches as "perfect for fans of Dungeon Crawler Carl"; for something gentler, Beware of Chicken.
• Outside LitRPG, DCC readers most often named Red Rising (90 comments), Project Hail Mary (59) and the Bobiverse books (44).

Overview: how we picked these books like Dungeon Crawler Carl

Dungeon Crawler Carl is Matt Dinniman's LitRPG series, eight books so far and 668k ratings at a 4.42 average on Goodreads (checked October 10, 2026). For the order and audiobook lengths of all eight, see our Dungeon Crawler Carl reading order.

We did not pick these from memory or claim to have read them. On October 10, 2026 we opened five Reddit threads where readers asked for something after DCC: two in r/DungeonCrawlerCarl ("DCC got me back into reading, what next?", 300 top-level comments, and "Struggling to find a good book after DCC", 301) and three in r/litrpg ("Audiobook listener need a suggestion for next", 345; "Suggestions to read next?", 278; "I desperately need recs", 323). We counted each top-level comment that named a series, by title or a common short form (HWFWM or "He Who Fights", DotF, TWI, "Hail Mary", "We Are Legion" for the Bobiverse), once per comment.

"Books on Goodreads" is the number of primary works on each Goodreads series page; it can include a book that is announced but not yet out. A tally measures how often a series comes up, not how good it is, and long-running series get named more simply because more people have read them.

The 10 series, ranked by reader recommendations

1. Cradle by Will Wight

• What it is: a 12-book progression fantasy series; Will Wight's site calls it "12 volumes, complete".
• Why it made the list: named in 83 top-level comments, more than any other LitRPG or progression fantasy series in the five threads. It is finished, so there is no wait for the next book.
• Stat line: book 1 Unsouled on Audible is narrated by Travis Baldree, 8 hours 52 minutes; publisher Hidden Gnome Publishing. Goodreads: 4.13 from 63.8k ratings.
• Best for: readers who want a complete series with short books.
• One caveat: it is cultivation fantasy rather than a game-system story, and one reader in our threads says it takes "a few short books to get hooked" (see our Cradle guide).

Full order, page counts and every audiobook length: Cradle series reading order.

Cover: Audible product page (Hidden Gnome Publishing)

2. He Who Fights with Monsters by Shirtaloon

• What it is: a LitRPG series by Shirtaloon (Travis Deverell), first posted on Royal Road; its blurb opens "Jason wakes up in a mysterious world of magic and monsters."
• Why it made the list: 81 comments, the second most of any series in the tally, two behind Cradle.
• Stat line: Goodreads lists 13 books; book 13 came out October 6, 2026 (Aethon Books). Book 1 on Audible: narrated by Heath Miller, 28 hours 56 minutes, Podium Audio, March 9, 2021. Goodreads book 1: 4.33 from 53.9k. Royal Road status: "Original STUB".
• Best for: audiobook listeners who want a long series with one narrator.
• One caveat: the books are long; book 1 alone is almost 29 hours. Every book's date and length: He Who Fights with Monsters reading order.

u/todd311 put it simply in the "what next" thread: "If you're into audio books, (I drive a lot) He who fights with monsters is a REALLY good listen. Heath miller is a close second in narration to Jeff Hays" (comment, August 23, 2026).

Cover: Audible product page (Podium Audio)

3. The Wandering Inn by pirateaba

• What it is: a fantasy series by pirateaba, published as ebooks and Audible audiobooks; Goodreads lists 23 primary works, the most on this list.
• Why it made the list: 56 comments, mostly in the three r/litrpg threads.
• Stat line: volume 1 on Audible is narrated by Andrea Parsneau, 48 hours 7 minutes, Podium Audio, September 10, 2019. Goodreads volume 1: 4.20 from 17.1k ratings.
• Best for: readers who want a very long series to settle into.
• One caveat: it is very long; volume 1 alone runs 48 hours on audio.

Cover: Audible product page (Podium Audio)

4. The Primal Hunter by Zogarth

• What it is: a system apocalypse LitRPG; Audible's blurb starts "On just another average day, Jake finds himself in a forest filled with monsters, dangers, and opportunity."
• Why it made the list: 44 comments; its blurb, like DCC's, drops an ordinary person into a world of monsters.
• Stat line: Goodreads lists 17 books. Book 1 on Audible: Travis Baldree, 20 hours 9 minutes, Aethon Audio, March 8, 2022. Goodreads book 1: 4.23 from 25.4k. Royal Road status: "Original STUB".
• Best for: readers who liked the system and leveling side of DCC.
• One caveat: with 17 books listed, it is a big commitment; 16 are out on Aethon as of October 10, 2026. Full order and audio dates: Primal Hunter reading order.

Cover: Audible product page (Aethon Audio)

5. Chrysalis by RinoZ

• What it is: a LitRPG series by RinoZ; book 1 is Chrysalis: The Antventure Begins.
• Why it made the list: 44 comments, tied with The Primal Hunter, and the closest listening match: Audible credits Jeff Hays and Annie Ellicott as narrators.
• Stat line: Goodreads lists 9 books. Book 1 on Audible: Jeff Hays and Annie Ellicott, 17 hours 18 minutes, June 7, 2022 ("©2022 Aethon Books"). Goodreads book 1: 4.15 from 4,876.
• Best for: DCC audiobook fans who want Jeff Hays in another series.
• One caveat: the fewest Goodreads ratings of the top five, so less reader data to go on.

Cover: Audible product page (Aethon Audio)

6. Mark of the Fool by J.M. Clarke

• What it is: a progression fantasy whose Audible tagline is "The gods chose him. He said no."
• Why it made the list: 40 comments, mostly in r/litrpg.
• Stat line: Goodreads lists 10 books. Book 1 on Audible: Travis Baldree, 19 hours, Aethon Audio, September 20, 2022. Goodreads book 1: 4.28 from 11.7k.
• Best for: listeners who like Travis Baldree, who also narrates Cradle, The Primal Hunter and Beware of Chicken on Audible.
• One caveat: 10 books on Goodreads already, a long catch-up.

Cover: Audible product page (Aethon Audio)

7. Mage Tank by Cornman

• What it is: an isekai LitRPG that Aethon describes as "A hilarious new Isekai LitRPG adventure perfect for fans of Dungeon Crawler Carl and Full Murderhobo."
• Why it made the list: 37 comments, several of them for its humor (see the quote below).
• Stat line: Goodreads lists 6 books. Book 1 on Audible: Daniel Wisniewski, 20 hours 37 minutes, Aethon Audio, March 4, 2025. Goodreads book 1: 4.23 from 3,893.
• Best for: readers who came to DCC for the jokes.
• One caveat: the newest series here (2025), so fewer ratings so far.

u/Phog_of_War, in the "struggling to find a good book after DCC" thread: "You might try Mage Tank. It's kiiiinda got that DCC vibe and eventually gets into a world spanning plot among Gods. 5 books so far and the only other LitRPG that has made me laugh more than DCC" (comment, September 21, 2026).

Cover: Aethon Books

8. Defiance of the Fall by TheFirstDefier

• What it is: a long series by TheFirstDefier (J.F. Brink on Goodreads), first posted on Royal Road.
• Why it made the list: 35 comments.
• Stat line: Goodreads lists 18 books; the Royal Road page says "Books 1-12 are now on Amazon/Kindle Unlimited/Audible". Book 1 on Audible: Pavi Proczko, 23 hours 29 minutes, June 8, 2021. Goodreads book 1: 4.34 from 17.2k. Royal Road status: "Original STUB".
• Best for: readers who want a long series with many books already out.
• One caveat: 18 books on Goodreads, the most on this list after The Wandering Inn.

Cover: Audible product page

9. Beware of Chicken by Casualfarmer

• What it is: a cultivation series; Audible titles book 1 Beware of Chicken: A Xianxia Cultivation Novel.
• Why it made the list: 29 comments, usually as the "something lighter" pick.
• Stat line: Goodreads lists 6 books. Book 1 on Audible: Travis Baldree, 12 hours 35 minutes, Podium Audio, May 24, 2022. Goodreads book 1: 4.45 from 15.8k, the highest book-1 average on this list.
• Best for: a palate cleanser between long crawls.
• One caveat: readers use it as the lighter option between series, so do not expect DCC's pace.

u/seaoffriendscorsair, in the same r/DungeonCrawlerCarl thread: "for something lighter, I listen to one of the Beware of Chicken books between series" (comment, September 21, 2026).

Cover: Audible product page (Podium Audio)

10. Azarinth Healer by Rhaegar

• What it is: a LitRPG series by Rhaegar; book 1 is Azarinth Healer: Book One.
• Why it made the list: 26 comments, mostly in the audiobook-request thread in r/litrpg.
• Stat line: Goodreads lists 7 books. Book 1 on Audible: Andrea Parsneau, 24 hours 53 minutes, Portal Books, December 8, 2022. Goodreads book 1: 4.44 from 11k.
• Best for: listeners who liked Andrea Parsneau, who also narrates The Wandering Inn.
• One caveat: a long first book for a series you are trying out.

Cover: Audible product page (Portal Books)

Honorable mentions

• Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon by Matt Dinniman: named in 6 comments. Goodreads describes it as a "gore-soaked, standalone LitRPG adventure" and shows 3.87 from 6,831 ratings (checked October 10, 2026). It is a single, horror-leaning book ("Fantasy meets horror", per the same blurb).
• Noobtown (25 comments), Ripple System (20), Iron Prince and Heretical Fishing (18 each), Mother of Learning (17) and Path of Ascension (16) were the next most named LitRPG and progression fantasy series in our tally.
• Outside the genre, many DCC readers point elsewhere entirely: Red Rising (90 comments), Project Hail Mary (59), the Bobiverse (44), the Dresden Files (30) and Murderbot (16) all came up often, mostly in the r/DungeonCrawlerCarl threads.

Which one should you pick?

• You loved the audiobooks: Chrysalis (Jeff Hays and Annie Ellicott) or He Who Fights with Monsters (Heath Miller).
• You want a finished story: Cradle, 12 volumes, complete.
• You want the jokes: Mage Tank.
• You want a long series with many books out: The Primal Hunter (17 on Goodreads) or Defiance of the Fall (18).
• You need a break from the dungeon: Beware of Chicken.

Our take

Based on the tally and the facts above, Cradle and He Who Fights with Monsters are the two safest next steps: one is finished and short per book, the other is long and built for listening. If DCC's narration was the hook, Chrysalis is the most direct match on this list because Audible credits the same narrator. Mage Tank is the best bet for the humor, with the caveat that it is the youngest series and has the fewest ratings.

How we checked this

On October 10, 2026 we read all 1,547 top-level comments of the five Reddit threads from their thread data and counted the comments naming each series (one count per comment, title or common short form; the matching terms are in our source file). For each series we opened the Audible product page for book 1 (narrator, length, release date, publisher line), the Goodreads search listing for book 1 (average and rating count) and the Goodreads series page (number of primary works), plus Will Wight's site for Cradle, Aethon's pages for Mage Tank and HWFWM 13, and the Royal Road pages for HWFWM, The Primal Hunter and Defiance of the Fall. A separate fact-check pass then compared the numbers with our source table and re-opened the key pages; the fixes it found are in this version.

More reading guides

• Books like Cradle: the same kind of tally for readers who finished Cradle.
• New LitRPG books, October 2026: HWFWM 13 and this month's other releases.
• Books Like He Who Fights with Monsters: 12 Reader Picks: what HWFWM readers name most in 10 r/litrpg threads.
• Best LitRPG Audiobooks: 12 Series Listeners Name Most: the audiobook series listeners name most, with narrators and lengths.
• Dungeon Crawler Carl Audiobook Guide: 8 Books, 159 Hours: Jeff Hays, guest voices, the Immersion Tunnel and where to listen.
• All books-like lists

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I read after Dungeon Crawler Carl? In our tally of five Reddit threads, the most named LitRPG and progression fantasy series were Cradle, He Who Fights with Monsters, The Wandering Inn, The Primal Hunter and Chrysalis.

Is there a book like Dungeon Crawler Carl with the same narrator? Chrysalis by RinoZ: Audible lists Jeff Hays and Annie Ellicott as narrators of book 1.

Which books like Dungeon Crawler Carl are finished? Cradle (12 volumes, complete) and the standalone Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon.

What is the funniest LitRPG like Dungeon Crawler Carl? Mage Tank is the usual answer in the threads we read; Beware of Chicken for something cozy.

Did Matt Dinniman write other books? Yes, including the standalone Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon.

References

• Reddit r/DungeonCrawlerCarl: "DCC got me back into reading, what next?"
• Reddit r/DungeonCrawlerCarl: "Struggling to find a good book after DCC"
• Reddit r/litrpg: "Audiobook listener need a suggestion for next"
• Will Wight: Cradle
• Audible: He Who Fights with Monsters
• Audible: Chrysalis: The Antventure Begins
• Aethon Books: Mage Tank
• Royal Road: Defiance of the Fall
• Goodreads: Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon
• Goodreads: He Who Fights with Monsters series