Ace Books has published eight books in Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl series so far, with two more titles still to come. The books follow a Coast Guard veteran and a prize show cat as they navigate a dungeon, all while being recorded for an alien reality TV show. The series has crossed over into mainstream attention as the first English-language LitRPG to do so. A Peacock series adaptation is in development, produced by Seth MacFarlane, and a tabletop role-playing game is also on the horizon.
Key facts box:
– Dungeon Crawler Carl: 8 books out, 2 more to come (Ace Books)
– He Who Fights With Monsters: 13 books; Adventurer out Sept. 8, Hero Oct. 13
– The Wandering Inn: ~15M words since 2016, Harper Voyage; No Killing Goblins Sept. 22
– Defiance Of The Fall: 17 books by TheFirstDefier (J.F. Brink), unprinted
– The System Apocalypse: 12-volume series, concluded 2022
Here are five other LitRPG books worth picking up if you’ve finished the series and are still craving more of the same.
Travis Deverell’s He Who Fights With Monsters
Deverell’s series has been compared to Dinniman’s for its success. He began publishing on his own using the pen name Shirtaloon, though his debut novel, Outlander, reached the New York Times bestseller list after being rereleased by Aethon Books in July.
Jason is a middle manager at an office supply store who wakes up in another world with magic powers that seem pretty evil. He needs to figure out how to use those scary abilities for good to face monsters, cultists, and cannibals as an adventurer. So far, Deverell has written 13 books in the series.
The author’s second work, Adventurer, appeared in print on Sept. 8, while his third volume, Hero, follows right behind it, set for release on Oct. 13. For readers who want more, there will be no long wait between these two books.
Django Wexler’s How To Become The Dark Lord And Die Trying
Davi began life as an ordinary woman. One morning she found herself stripped of clothing in a fantasy world, where she was informed she had been marked by fate to rescue humanity from the peril of the Dark Lord. She assembled the kingdom’s warriors, took up magic and fighting arts to ward off invaders, yet she kept failing — each defeat sent her back to the beginning, restarting her mission once more.
This time, instead of fighting against him, she has chosen to take on the role of the Dark Lord herself. That means she must work out the fastest path to raise her powers, gather a band of orcs, and eliminate her rivals without making errors that would send her back to the very start.
Wexler doesn’t focus much on actually gamifying the setting with levels, systems, and classes. How To Become The Dark Lord And Die Trying is an approachable intro to the LitRPG genre. Davi’s quest to break free of the cycle she’s trapped in continues with the 2025 book Everybody Wants To Rule The World Except Me.
Pirateaba’s The Wandering Inn
Since 2016, Pirateaba has posted some 15 million words of The Wandering Inn, a web series that Harper Voyage started publishing in August. The story follows Erin Solstice, a regular woman who lands in a fantasy world where individuals can advance their ranks and acquire classes. Rather than pursuing a career as an adventurer, she seizes control of an inn and transforms it into a sanctuary, posting a “No Killing Goblins” sign on the door to make her expectations clear from the start.
While Erin faces numerous threats and schemes, the story shares more with the slower-paced progression fantasy of Travis Baldree’s Legends & Lattes than the power fantasy found in most LitRPG novels. The second book, No Killing Goblins, comes out on Sept. 22.
J.F. Brink’s Defiance Of The Fall
TheFirstDefier wrote 17 Defiance Of The Fall books under the name J.F. Brink. Like Dungeon Crawler Carl, the series starts with the hero already behind. Zac was alone in the forest and armed only with a hatchet when Earth became part of a multiverse where civilizations fight for dominance.
In order to return to his family, he must battle demons and perilous creatures while learning to augment his own strength within a realm where any person might possess godlike power. The novel Defiance Of The Fall mixes LitRPG elements with the older xianxia style, which joins Chinese mythology and Taoist thought for tales of individuals pursuing immortality and extraordinary abilities.
The series hasn’t made it into print yet, but it’s a significant presence online.
Tao Wong’s Life In The North
There is no need to dread a lengthy run of installments fading out or to put up with waiting for the next one when it comes to Tao Wong’s The System Apocalypse. The 12-volume series concluded in 2022, and every book is now accessible online.
While on a hiking and camping trip in the Yukon, John Lee finds himself caught up in an Earth-changing event. Suddenly, all technology stops working, yet a strange energy appears that lets people rise in rank, acquire abilities, and finish tasks. He has to learn the system’s workings, battle altered creatures, and avoid new dangers as he works his way out of the wilds.
His journey centers on solving the riddle of the System while safeguarding fellow survivors against aliens who trade safety for liberty.
A Genre Built On Repeat Business
What draws readers to LitRPG is its clear set of rules within a fantasy setting. Characters rise in rank, earn new powers, and encounter dangers that match their growing strength.
After Aethon republished Deverell’s Outlander, it became a bestseller, which points to the genre reaching a wider audience. The crossover success of Dungeon Crawler Carl also supports that idea.
This list features five works that can be read in full. Many of them are still appearing in installments. The field keeps expanding.
Ace Books has released 8 volumes of Dungeon Crawler Carl, with 2 more on the way. The He Who Fights With Monsters saga stands at 13 titles, with Adventurer due Sept. 8 and Hero following in Oct. 13. The Wandering Inn, a novel of over 15 million words spanning from 2016 onward, is published by Harper Voyage, with No Killing Goblins arriving Sept. 22. Defiance Of The Fall, by TheFirstDefier, has reached 17 books but remains unprinted. And The System Apocalypse concluded its 12-volume run in 2022, existing solely in digital form.
This genre remains a new field, and the crossover hit has yet to establish its full franchise. But the books listed below are all currently available for readers to enjoy.
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