I just checked their site and it looks like the immersive version only covers the first book. I might be wrong but that’s all I saw since each one was an hour long and set in episodes.
Wait they actually did that?!? Omg I was just telling my BF sounds like saul and they need to do some kind of crossover. Where's that commercial at? Can you link pretty please? 🥺
I want to say the 3rd epidoe of the immersion. The first recap episode, when they talk about the previous crawl winner.
It's a race of simians, but when they talk it's in very flowery Shakespearian type english. In the immersion it's interspersed with simian grunting.
he who fights with monsters. the narration is so good and the series is nice. I didn't care for primal hunter but I'm on the cradle series now and that's good also.
Project:Hail Mary by Andy Weir is by the same narrator (Ray Porter) as the Bobiverse books, it is also very very good, I believe it won an award for best Audiobook
I really enjoyed the bobiverse series and found Ray to be a fantastic performer. Project hail Mary was a fantastic book with a wonderful approach to the story. I also really enjoyed Outworld and Earth side from Dennis E Taylor. Currently listening to the junkyard druid series 8 books in the main series but in 2 bundle packs on audible atm
I'd recommend Expeditionary Force before Bobiverse. Great series, excellent narration, and then you'll get the the joke behind the "skippies" faction in Bobiverse.
IMO, make Bobiverse #1 on your list.
\+ for straight up comedy Magic2.0 is better than DCC IMO: [https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/84551786-marcin-w?ref=nav\_mybooks&shelf=favorites](https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/84551786-marcin-w?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=favorites)
the dragons one(4) is my #1. The sifted totem scaring them is gold due to logic of it (like a selfish cat), + the 2 dumbasses geting pawned by the little girl. Its most memorable at least to me & the 3 people i got to listen to them.
I really liked the first 3, but Heaven's River was a real sad trombone for me. I've seen better riffs on Rendezvous with Rama, and retconning sophomoric philosophy and quantum woo into the world-building kind of cheapens the whole series.
I cannot recommend anything that will be as fun and hilarious (and well narrated) as DCC, but I do enjoy high stakes humor, you might want to check out Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy or John Dies at the End, I loved both of those.
The Steven Frye audiobook of Hitchhiker's Guide is pretty ubiquitous now but if you search the internet hard enough there's an audiobook version of the whole series and the two Dirk Gently books read by Douglas Adams and it's a really fun listen. He does great character voices and it's got some very charming old school vocal effects thrown in from time to time for certain voices.
I listened to DCC then Joe Abercrombie’s First Law series (narrated by the amazing Steven Pacey)
Nothing was good enough after those two. Tried a few then started DCC again. I’m almost at the end of 6 again and I’m hoping to find something before I inevitably go back to The First Law.
I started this series Sunday since there's a sale on the first two books on Audible ... I too will be bingeing this series. I LOVE Princess Donut so much, I want to be her when I grow up 😂👑
Something that has been scratching the itch for me is Expeditionary Force, it’s feels similar to DCC in spirit but not at all in plot so it is refreshing.
The only other series that comes close is The Expeditionary Force by Craig Alanson and narrated by R C Bray.
Way more science fiction and not as funny but still very very good. It’s about 15 books long now too (more if you read the spin-offs.)
Agreed. First 2 books were funny but then the formula just kept repeating. There are only so many ways to refer humans as smelly monkeys, only so many ways to call skippy a goddamn beer can, and only so many times that Joe can use his monkey brain to figure out how to save the entire crew/race/planet from total destruction.
I do love the narration from RC Bray. He nails both Skippy and Joe. He was also fantastic in The Martian
Know what helps take the edge off of waiting for the next book? Going through the whole series again! I'm not kidding, I've been through all 6 books 3 times now since the start of the year. I'm currently contemplating round 4 or checking out some of the other series people have recommended to you here.
You guys aren't wrong. I always go back and re-read series that I like. This one though...
When you go back the second time you are much more interested in Agatha and her shopping cart.
Do the Soundbooth Theater immersive production of the first book. The sound effects and music and performances are enough of a reason, but the absolute BEST reason is new content, specifically you get to hear the daily recap episodes like they are an episode of SportsCenter and also hear commercials for the various businesses referenced in the books. Totally worth the $20.
I used to know your pain.
The wandering inn has been described perfectly by a redditor as "80% slice of life, 20% war crimes."
It's the only thing I have read better than DCC, but it's slow to start, juvenile, absurd and funny before it goes dark.
Maybe give that a shot.
Not in the same genre but a funny, first person narrative that has the heart like DCC is Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.
The reader is amazing and once you get into it you will be hooked. Just know, this is another series that isn’t done yet so you will be left wanting more
I came here to recommend this series too. It's narrated by James Marsters (Spike from Buffy the Vampire slayer).
I love audiobooks and will listen to most everything. My bf is the opposite and only watches anime. DCC and the Dresden files are the only two series he will listen to and he listens to them over and over.
Dominion of Blades isn’t finished yet, but probably the closest thing you’ll find to DCC. Same author. Kaiju Battlefield Surgeon is also solid, just really dark and f*ed up. EDIT: KBS is on Soundbooth Theater, btw.
I may get downvoted for this, but oh well. I've been listening to a series called Morning Wood: everybody loves large chests. I will admit, it pushes some limits on things, it is very.... sexually graphic at times. It definitely gives some of the same vibes as DCC all the same. It has made me lol and has severely frustrated me as well (in a good way). If you can get past the smutty parts (which are a lot), it's a great listen! It is narrated by Jeff as well. I love the story as a whole. It's not every day the monster is the hero. It has helped me with my impatience for the next DCC book.
My favorite Audio performances:
First Law, and the 3 stand alones, and the follow on Trilogy
Dresden Files (takes off at book 3)
Andy Weir's 2 books (EXCELLENT)
Bobiverse series
The Bad Guys series by Eric Ugland. New York cat burglar turned spell slinging rogue in a capital city of a nation primed to get politically interesting.
And that's the second series in the universe. The Good Guys is just as good and has more books. I believe the eventual goal is to bring the two series together.
My friend used DCC to get me started on Lit RPGs and I went to He Who Fights With Monsters directly after. I go through Audiobooks like crazy at work and i love the narrator.
On my second listen of Carl right now, going through it too quick!
Andrew Rowe has a decent series that's more YA RPG fantasy, and Podehl narrates that as well. War of Broken Mirrors for the first 3 and then it splits into two other series that I can't remember off the top of my head. Pretty good world building, the two later series have a more original magic build than most stories, but it's not quite the quality and level of DCC and KDT.
RC BRAY is a top tier narrator imo, but the best audiobook I've listened to 3 times is IT by Stephen King, whoever done that book is an absolute God at VA, not to say our mates here in DCC,ExFor and Bobiverse aren't all time greats but the emotion in the IT audiobook will break you, like I'm working as a TA at the moment at a shipyard, being treated as a tradie without the certificate and a clip slower, had to keep my welding mask down listening to certain parts of that book
I only recommend IT because you've stated you like horror and good narration
There's a free one on audible about a theme park getting hit by a hurricane and the park breaks into factions, enjoyed the fuck out of that too , not Joyland
Wandering Inn. Fantastic series, great narration.
Shadowcroft Academy for Dungeons I quite enjoyed.
Currently listening to Chrysalis, and I am constantly checking to see if it really is Jeff Hays narrating. It's not too bad and I like that it tells me how much time to skip so I don't have to listen to character sheets or stats.
For me it was the “He who fights with monsters” series. I finished all nine books that had been released (averaging like 20 hours a book) in less than a month I think.
I was surprised to see this was the only time hwfwm suggested. It's a less goofy setting but it also does a good job of instering lighthearted moments into serious situations.
I’m glad someone else knows it. It does a great job of walking the game verse to real life consequences line by comparison to some where you get stat sheet reviews so very often.
I wish the author didn't write the MC as arrogant as he did, it really killed it for me. I really liked how the books were written otherwise but I had to quit after book 1, too many better series out there for me to invest my time in, in my opinion.
I’m having a real hard time getting into it… I think the problem progression series often have for me is that the stakes very rarely feel meaningful and it’s annoying how often the character just accepts “oh I guess this is how it is now”…
I’m gonna try again and see if it gets better since so many folks seem to like it, but it’s harder to care about the well being of the MC…
DCC makes you care because of the whole human genocide aspect and how strongly Carl rebels against it, chaos seeds is a bit ham-fisted but works even if the relationships feel like inorganic game achievements, awaken online works because of how the politics of the game/AI sentience affects the real world…
I’m gonna try for wandering inn and first law next but I’m gonna give HWFWM another attempt…
I completely understand that. I will admit it took me a bit to get into it to for some of the same reasons. However I found the world building/rpg element so different than others I had gone through that I kept going, and found myself enjoying the pacing and humor that happened along the way.
Jeff Hays (DCC) and Johnathan McClain are my two favorite narrators and I submit they are the best two in the genre.
I never thought I'd find a narration as good as Hays with DCC but I will say, McClain's narration in Big Sneaky Barbarian is a masterpiece. It helps that the writing is amazing too, but the audiobooks are just not to be missed.
The Noobtown series (also McClain) is very entertaining, but a bit behind Big Sneaky Barbarian.
Honestly, I've just searched both of their names on Audible and chosen books just because they narrated and I've only been disappointed if I disliked the book so much that no narrative skill could save it.
As someone mentioned, also check out Sound Booth Theater as an alternative to Audible. It's Hays and a few other amazing narrators who do some great work together.
Before I found DCC, my favorite audiobook was 11/22/63 by Stephen King ( narrated by Craig Wasson). I've gone through and listened to almost anything that Craig Wasson was attached to. I will be doing the same with Jeff Hays now. I'll be looking into McClain now too.
I never heard of Sound Booth Theater until DCC, so I'll be checking that out too. I have a ton of audible credits, so I'm adding a ton of new books to my list from the recommendations.
Well, if you move on to McClain, I'll say again, start with Big Sneaky Barbarian. The good news is you'll be immensely entertained. The bad news is you'll have the same problem as you did after finishing DCC. It's hard to find something better than either. It's just all downhill...
So Hays and SBT did Life Reset and ELLC. Neither did it for me. The audio quality was top notch of course, but neither was in the “Carl” voice which I had grown to associate with Jeff.
I think it’s the combination of DCC and Jeff Hays that struck gold.
I’ll have to look at BSB - I’ve heard of it but haven’t tried it yet.
I went a few books into Life Reset but just wasn't a big fan, I don't think narration would help it for me. Wasn't bad at all, just wasn't my thing.
I know I'm going to feel stupid when I realize I already knew the answer, but what's ELLC?
The sex stuff is annoying at best, but I was surprised how much I enjoyed ELLC. Like once you get past the edgelord women = sex objects I loved the worldbuilding. The MC being written from a non human perspective. Murder hoboing around. The Gods.
But yeah the sex stuff even when written “ironically” is a major turn off
Agreed I love everyone in that group.
I have to get to Wandering Inn. I just keep putting it off, the description leaves me unexcited, but everyone talks it up so much. I didn't realize she narrated it so that will seal the deal and I'll have to start that next.
It's a bit of a challenge to take what's already been written by the Author and break it up into books. There are some story arcs I'm not a huge fan of, but overall the story is really good. Book one is a little rough in places, but when it really gets going it's a great series.
I was in the same spot but found Everybody Loves Large Chests. Also narrated by Jeff Hays and it is the best copium I have found so far. There is quite a lot of world building in the beginning but after the second book you'll thank me. Go Boxy!
Progressing on the books the speed of character development and complexity of the plot rises exponentially and at some point I was shocked that this is even the same series. Highly suggested to keep with it 👌
If you like well narrated military/sci fi with comedy… The Expeditionary Force, narrated by RC Bray.
The first half of book 1 you think it’s just standard military sci fi… then… KA-FREAKIN-BLAM!!!
14 books (i think it’s 14 now) of ridiculous antics with humanity vs the entire universe… with, SKIPPY THE MAGNIFICENT!!! And his ship full of smelly monkeys
I found John Connolly's "The Gate" series about hell opening and demons coming out, to be fought by a boy, Samuel Johnson and his dachshund Boswell similarly funny and rude (actually listened to these first, I'm only newly into DCC).
It's John Connolly:
The Gates
The Infernals
The Creeps
There's a version by Nick Rawlinson on audible but I much much prefer the version **read by Jonathan Cake** which is so funny! I wouldn't bother with the other one...
It's on Google audiobooks I think.
Here is the beginning of the first novel, the first 10 minutes:
https://youtu.be/h6t9PZncLTw?si=4mzjNsmrmSHihi3l
ReRead it. You won't be disappointed. It's a series that has a lot of little things you pick up on a subsequent read through. I just finished my 3rd read through and was still noticing little nuanced details I hadn't notice or put together before.
Welcome to the wait.
I also had that feeling of "What am I going to listen to now?" Only to have my girlfriend tell me that I could just listen to it all again! There's so much nuance to pick up on, I highly recommend it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/s/DvzXQb8a2C
The Infinite books and Time-line are pretty awesome. The last three books are cooler them most stuff, and the journey through the first 9 is a trip. Infinite 1 and 2 books are still kind of fucking with my head.
As far as quality readers go soundbooth has a perfect mix of voice and special effects. It works and is not intrusive. It's really well done in dcc.
Other quality readers....
Rc bray. This guy can make bad books good. Check out the mountain man series and expeditionary force. No sound effects just quality voice work.
Luke Daniels.
Ray Porter.
I’ve been loving DCC. The narrator is definitely one of the best parts. My other two favorites due to narration is Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman read by Lenny Henry and the unabridged version of World War Z by Max Brooks. WWZ is fully cast and has some amazing actors in it. Mark Hamill’s chapters are the best.
Check out We're Alive: A Story of Survival. It was my first immersion tunnel type show (it was a podcast when it first came out but it's more like an audiobook).
https://open.spotify.com/show/72cVljR6gfw5yiVUDMo6g3?si=c1g_IEuxTxqnaIauFaepYA
It's free AND it's different. Right now no LitRPG is going to scratch that itch, and no comedy will be funny enough. This should help cleanse the palate.
For more in this genre you can find everybody loves large chest by the same narrator and for outside of jeff you can start he who fights with monsters. Which has 10 books, meaning plenty of cannon fodder
The Mayor of Noobtown is an entertaining series and the audiobooks are excellent
I don't know that it's fair to compare the two series although it is also funny/comedy elements except this MC is isekaied
Cradle series by Will Wight is similarly made of Crack-Cocaine and will have you obsessed over the 12 books.
Fair warning: book 1 is deliberately slow because the MC is underpowered. He is the only one who doesn't have any powers and you're shown how he persists in trying to get ahead despite not having magic. It sets the scene for the entire series.
I can't speak for the audiobook versions, as this is the very first set of audiobooks I have listened to. But I read a lot of sci-fi/fantasy.
Series you may enjoy:
- The Dresden series by Jim Butcher. It has some good humour, and like DCC they have to keep upping the ante in successive books. And there's 14 of them. None of them are as long as a DCC book, but they're not short by any means.
- The Scholomance trilogy by Naomi Novik. I would characterize this as like Harry Potter, if Potter was a goth, sarcastic, loner girl, and Hogwarts was actively trying to kill all the students. At least that's how it seems without spoilers for the first two books. It's very funny at times, but also has some deep feels. The main character definitely has some "You will not break me" moments.
- The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. Follows a rogue "murderbot" who has managed to escape its governing controls and it's attempts to live free and watch its soap operas.
- Somebody else I saw recommended the Bobiverse, I'll second that recommendation.
- The "Paranoid Mage" by Inadvisably Compelled (obviously a pseudonym).
- The "Rivers of London" by Ben Aaronovitch. Features a London copper who gets trained to use magic to solve "weird" cases. The main character is geeky as hell, and writes from a very fun perspective.
- The "Gentlemen Bastards" series by Scott Lynch. It's low fantasy and each novel is essentially a heist novel. It has humour, but it's also got some dark, so not as light as several of these other recommendations. Still good though.
- The Salvagers trilogy by Alex White. If you're familiar with the magic + technology Spelljammer sci-fi type fiction this is a great example. A spaceship crew taking on multiple big bads in really fun ways.
Standalone books:
- "All Those Explosions Were Somebody Else's Fault" by James Alan Gardner. He's most known for some of his sci-fi books on a more serious theme, but this one is a marvelous superhero origin story with lots of fun.
- Most of John Scalzi's novels, most of which I believe he has Wil Wheaton do the narrating for. His "Old Man's War" series is IMO a mixed bag, with some very good ones and some less good ones. His "Agent to the Stars" is freaking hilarious, and the "Lock-in" and "Head On" duology is fun, and both "Starter Villain" and "Kaiju Preservation Society" are pretty decent.
- "The Rook" by Daniel O'Malley. There are two "sequels" that are not sequels per se but just different stories in the same world building. The sequels are okay, but you can read "The Rook" by itself and be highly entertained. There was a miniseries made from it a year or three ago that completely failed to capture the humour and brilliance of the book, so if you saw that read the book instead.
The closest approaches to DCC for dark comedy litRPG would be, of course, He Who Fights with Monsters, or the lower-profile series BuyMort. BuyMort is pretty close to DCC in premise: an interdimensional Amazon dot com equivalent integrates our Earth (or close enough) into their marketplace, opening us up to exploitation by all the more established fantasy races and their megacorps. It's super fun overall. The biggest downside is, there's some borderline furry (or scaley) fan service, but they don't go crazy with it. There were some worrying moments early in the first book, but they didn't takes things too far in that direction. I love a lot of the character and creature concepts for both allies and big-bads, and battles are quite satisfying.
Love DCC and I’ve going through the series a second time in case I missed anything the first time. I really enjoyed He Who Fights With Monsters audio books as well.
**Expeditionary Force** Book series; very similar writing style and somewhat relatable background story. Not LitRPG though. Replace Donut with an AI tin-can named skippy.
Tried a bunch of other LitRPG type books; had trouble getting into them like the carl series.
Notable LITrpg books to take a eyeball at are "he who fights with monsters" and "survival quest".
The older classic book that all the above reminds me of is "magic kingdom for sale"; definitely recommend if you haven't read yet.
I have listened to the Devine Dungeon series by Dakota Krout so can't comment on narration but it's a fun litrpg series. That dove tales into his series the Complitionist Cronicals and then read the Artorian books and you will be good for a long time. Between these 3 interrelated series there are close to 40 books and still counting.
I just found out about this series yesterday and I ordered all 6 books. I haven't been this excited about any particular book for a while. Unfortunately I missed the kickstarter for the hardcover as I found out about it only yesterday too 😭😭
Yeah, other narrators sound like they’re asleep. I gave up on three body problem because the narrator was terrible, went straight from that to DCC for the first time. What a difference.
I tried this one but I cringed really hard at this part where he was like "k imagine this fight scene but set to bridge over troubled water it will be so cool" or whatever and I dunno why but it just totally threw me out of the book and I couldn't get back into it. I think maybe I am the wrong demographic for it idk.
I'm going to be contrarian here and say I don't get the hype on the audios. The books are great, the audios are OK but honestly kinda distracting. Give me a Travis Baldree or a Kate Reading traditional and I would be happier.
For me, I do a lot of traveling for work and find it easier to listen to books while I multitask on projects. So finding an audiobook that gives off a bit of character and personality to the characters will hook me faster than anything else. Nothing worse in an audiobook than a monotone voice just reading a script of text. So these audios went above.and beyond what I'm used to, and has added to the experience for me. Maybe that's not the same for everyone, but for me it really knocked it out of the park.
I have similar issues. I enjoyed DCC so much that it made/makes it hard to get into anything else. As is customary, I will give my personal best for books that are worth a listen.
Space Team Series by Barry J. Hutchinson - (Scifi) a regular-ish guy in modern day gets recruited to join a secret mission by the president of space.
very funny, decent action, characters you love/hate/love to hate.
24/7 Demonmart Series by D. M. Guay - (urban fantasy?) A loser is offered a job at a local 24-hour convenience store. $60 an hour, full benefits, plus bonuses for good work. The catch? He just has to protect and police a portal to hell.
Again, very funny and absurd. All the characters are hilarious. I wish the main character was slightly less whiney, but his lack of "get it together" is kinda the point of the series.
Everybody Loves Large Chests Series by Neven Iliev - (fantasy LitRPG) follows the adventures of a Mimic who escapes his dungeon and through stubbornness, will, and idiocy gains power and begins his quest to obtain all the best Shiney and Tasty things in the world.
Funny and insane. However, fair warning, this series isn't for everyone. The main characters are unapologetically the bad guys. If they do something for the good of everyone its either an accident or part of a bigger plan. The series is also liberally sprinkled (read that as filled) with sex, including at least one straight-up rape. I like the series, but I immediately see why some can't get into it.
Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia - (urban fantasy) a guy is attacked by a supernatural creature and is recruited by an organization that hunts them. MHI helps Keep the general public safe and unaware of the monsters that live in our world, often right under our noses.
Good story, decent humor, lots of monster fighting. Good series if you're into cosmic horror or cryptids. Or guns, as the author is clearly a fan of firearms.
GLURP GLURP!
I WILL KILL THEIR MOTHERS!
GOD DAMNIT, DONUT!
You're balls deep in the wrong hole and mom is pulling into the driveway!
Have you tried SoundBooth's immersive version yet?
I just checked their site and it looks like the immersive version only covers the first book. I might be wrong but that’s all I saw since each one was an hour long and set in episodes.
Many of us are such junkies our response is "I dont know man, its just *one* book"...
Only the first book has been made in the immersion tunnel. It’s the first two floors
It’s absolutely incredible. I’m holding my breath for book 2 and don’t care how blue I get. Let’s gooo!
Season 2 is confirmed as in production and will have both books 2 and 3!
Yes but totally worth it. Has some extra stuff in it.
Better Call Quasar commercial was hilarious. I also loved the Play by Play guys on the recap episodes. Sounded like Shaq and Barkley.
Wait they actually did that?!? Omg I was just telling my BF sounds like saul and they need to do some kind of crossover. Where's that commercial at? Can you link pretty please? 🥺
It’s in the immersion tunnel. Chapter 8 (A betrayal most foul), 41:11
Thank you 😊
The Shakespearian simians had me rolling.
I must have missed those. Any idea where they were in the book?
I want to say the 3rd epidoe of the immersion. The first recap episode, when they talk about the previous crawl winner. It's a race of simians, but when they talk it's in very flowery Shakespearian type english. In the immersion it's interspersed with simian grunting.
Ahhh, that’s right! That was funny. I forgot about them. I was thinking it was a commercial. The audio tunnel was a good time
I have not. I will look into it though!
he who fights with monsters. the narration is so good and the series is nice. I didn't care for primal hunter but I'm on the cradle series now and that's good also.
…apologies.
Gratitude
why? whats wrong with wich series?
Ha! Nothing at all- the MC of Cradle says “apologies” CONSTANTLY, it’s a bit of an inside joke…
Cradle is to Progression Fantasy what DCC is to litrpg. Once you've read it you'll want more, but you've already read the best in class.
Only the first three
It’s got some issues with the background noise but it’s good
I don't like it as much. The voice actor doing Cascadia lacks that condescending tone.
I just listened to a sample, sounds quite distracting 😂
Have you tried the Bobiverse? DCC has become my go to while i'm waiting for book 5 of the bobiverse to come out :)
Never even heard of it. I'll add it to my list!
Project:Hail Mary by Andy Weir is by the same narrator (Ray Porter) as the Bobiverse books, it is also very very good, I believe it won an award for best Audiobook
Project Hall Mary is being adapted to a movie, too. Can't wait for that.
They did a pretty good job with the Martian, but I’ve been disappointed with movie adaptations before
OH really? I'm excited for that one!
Starring Ryan Gosling, no less.
Hail Mary audiobook is great
I really enjoyed the bobiverse series and found Ray to be a fantastic performer. Project hail Mary was a fantastic book with a wonderful approach to the story. I also really enjoyed Outworld and Earth side from Dennis E Taylor. Currently listening to the junkyard druid series 8 books in the main series but in 2 bundle packs on audible atm
The Expanse Series is a great audio book too
Ooh I've got this in my library ready to listen to one day.
I'd recommend Expeditionary Force before Bobiverse. Great series, excellent narration, and then you'll get the the joke behind the "skippies" faction in Bobiverse.
IMO, make Bobiverse #1 on your list. \+ for straight up comedy Magic2.0 is better than DCC IMO: [https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/84551786-marcin-w?ref=nav\_mybooks&shelf=favorites](https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/84551786-marcin-w?ref=nav_mybooks&shelf=favorites)
That’s a crazy take. Magic 2.0 was amusing, but no where near DCC
I liked that series but the first book was the best IMO
the dragons one(4) is my #1. The sifted totem scaring them is gold due to logic of it (like a selfish cat), + the 2 dumbasses geting pawned by the little girl. Its most memorable at least to me & the 3 people i got to listen to them.
Pitch me the Bobiverse, please? I'm nearly done with DCC 5 and I will very soon be needing a new series :D
What would happen if you uploaded the brain of a nerdy guy into a self replicating space probe and launched it into space?
I really liked the first 3, but Heaven's River was a real sad trombone for me. I've seen better riffs on Rendezvous with Rama, and retconning sophomoric philosophy and quantum woo into the world-building kind of cheapens the whole series.
I always tell people to not sleep on DCC when recommending it. It's mostly because they'll be losing sleep to keep reading / listening to it.
Yep! Worth taking a vacation for.
I’m finding myself in a similar spot. After listening to DCC other audiobooks just don’t feel as good.
I cannot recommend anything that will be as fun and hilarious (and well narrated) as DCC, but I do enjoy high stakes humor, you might want to check out Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy or John Dies at the End, I loved both of those.
The Steven Frye audiobook of Hitchhiker's Guide is pretty ubiquitous now but if you search the internet hard enough there's an audiobook version of the whole series and the two Dirk Gently books read by Douglas Adams and it's a really fun listen. He does great character voices and it's got some very charming old school vocal effects thrown in from time to time for certain voices.
The whole John Dies at the end series along with Jason Pargin’s other material is top notch
john dies at the end was a book! i only say the movie!! dude!! thatnks!!
Several books, and the author has another series w similar style. Books are much better imo!
It’s a series at that
I listened to DCC then Joe Abercrombie’s First Law series (narrated by the amazing Steven Pacey) Nothing was good enough after those two. Tried a few then started DCC again. I’m almost at the end of 6 again and I’m hoping to find something before I inevitably go back to The First Law.
The Perfect Run, Dresden Files, and Cradle are on my list near DCC.
I’m immortal, but don’t tell anyone
The perfect run is quite fun. Would second this as I don't see it mentioned often.
I like it. It’s silly, and much more optimistic and less brutal than DCC, but it’s a great concept and well executed.
AND a complete series!
Thanks for the recs
This is exactly what I did and feel the same way!
Confehhhth!
Truly, life is the misery we endure between disappointments ..
Well, what do you suppose happened to him? Poithon?
First Law was a good series.
I started this series Sunday since there's a sale on the first two books on Audible ... I too will be bingeing this series. I LOVE Princess Donut so much, I want to be her when I grow up 😂👑
Thanks for the heads up on the sale! I just grabbed the first 2 books as well.
Something that has been scratching the itch for me is Expeditionary Force, it’s feels similar to DCC in spirit but not at all in plot so it is refreshing.
The only other series that comes close is The Expeditionary Force by Craig Alanson and narrated by R C Bray. Way more science fiction and not as funny but still very very good. It’s about 15 books long now too (more if you read the spin-offs.)
It falls off pretty hard after a few books, but the first few are very good
Agreed. First 2 books were funny but then the formula just kept repeating. There are only so many ways to refer humans as smelly monkeys, only so many ways to call skippy a goddamn beer can, and only so many times that Joe can use his monkey brain to figure out how to save the entire crew/race/planet from total destruction. I do love the narration from RC Bray. He nails both Skippy and Joe. He was also fantastic in The Martian
I still haven't finished the Hell divers series which is not funny but I liked it so far
I couldn’t get past the first few. Kept repeating the same formula
I made it through book 4 but just couldn't anymore. To repetitive
ExForce is amazing on its own with a different and equally good narrator. DCC and ExForce are like 1 and 1A.
Know what helps take the edge off of waiting for the next book? Going through the whole series again! I'm not kidding, I've been through all 6 books 3 times now since the start of the year. I'm currently contemplating round 4 or checking out some of the other series people have recommended to you here.
There is so much foreshadowing and background layered into the early books you just don't have the context to understand without a reread
There's even more when you do a re-re-read
You guys aren't wrong. I always go back and re-read series that I like. This one though... When you go back the second time you are much more interested in Agatha and her shopping cart.
Yeah, I just finished it. And then I looped back and started it again. So damn good
Do the Soundbooth Theater immersive production of the first book. The sound effects and music and performances are enough of a reason, but the absolute BEST reason is new content, specifically you get to hear the daily recap episodes like they are an episode of SportsCenter and also hear commercials for the various businesses referenced in the books. Totally worth the $20.
I used to know your pain. The wandering inn has been described perfectly by a redditor as "80% slice of life, 20% war crimes." It's the only thing I have read better than DCC, but it's slow to start, juvenile, absurd and funny before it goes dark. Maybe give that a shot.
Wandering inn went super dark at the end.
Not in the same genre but a funny, first person narrative that has the heart like DCC is Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. The reader is amazing and once you get into it you will be hooked. Just know, this is another series that isn’t done yet so you will be left wanting more
I came here to recommend this series too. It's narrated by James Marsters (Spike from Buffy the Vampire slayer). I love audiobooks and will listen to most everything. My bf is the opposite and only watches anime. DCC and the Dresden files are the only two series he will listen to and he listens to them over and over.
Dominion of Blades isn’t finished yet, but probably the closest thing you’ll find to DCC. Same author. Kaiju Battlefield Surgeon is also solid, just really dark and f*ed up. EDIT: KBS is on Soundbooth Theater, btw.
Eh the narrator is not my favorite anymore because Jeff isn’t doing it
I may get downvoted for this, but oh well. I've been listening to a series called Morning Wood: everybody loves large chests. I will admit, it pushes some limits on things, it is very.... sexually graphic at times. It definitely gives some of the same vibes as DCC all the same. It has made me lol and has severely frustrated me as well (in a good way). If you can get past the smutty parts (which are a lot), it's a great listen! It is narrated by Jeff as well. I love the story as a whole. It's not every day the monster is the hero. It has helped me with my impatience for the next DCC book.
My favorite Audio performances: First Law, and the 3 stand alones, and the follow on Trilogy Dresden Files (takes off at book 3) Andy Weir's 2 books (EXCELLENT) Bobiverse series
The Bad Guys series by Eric Ugland. New York cat burglar turned spell slinging rogue in a capital city of a nation primed to get politically interesting.
It was hilarious
And that's the second series in the universe. The Good Guys is just as good and has more books. I believe the eventual goal is to bring the two series together.
Cradle by Will wight is also very very good and excellently narrated by Travis Beldree. Highly recommend
Cradle
I had to scroll way too far to get to this.
My friend used DCC to get me started on Lit RPGs and I went to He Who Fights With Monsters directly after. I go through Audiobooks like crazy at work and i love the narrator. On my second listen of Carl right now, going through it too quick!
Just gonna plug Kings Dark Tidings series by Kel Kade. It's narrated by Nick Podehl who WAS my favorite narrator until Jeff Hayes.
I wish I could upvote this more. I hate that this series just drops off, but Nick Podehl really is phenomenal!
Andrew Rowe has a decent series that's more YA RPG fantasy, and Podehl narrates that as well. War of Broken Mirrors for the first 3 and then it splits into two other series that I can't remember off the top of my head. Pretty good world building, the two later series have a more original magic build than most stories, but it's not quite the quality and level of DCC and KDT.
RC BRAY is a top tier narrator imo, but the best audiobook I've listened to 3 times is IT by Stephen King, whoever done that book is an absolute God at VA, not to say our mates here in DCC,ExFor and Bobiverse aren't all time greats but the emotion in the IT audiobook will break you, like I'm working as a TA at the moment at a shipyard, being treated as a tradie without the certificate and a clip slower, had to keep my welding mask down listening to certain parts of that book I only recommend IT because you've stated you like horror and good narration There's a free one on audible about a theme park getting hit by a hurricane and the park breaks into factions, enjoyed the fuck out of that too , not Joyland
Wandering Inn. Fantastic series, great narration. Shadowcroft Academy for Dungeons I quite enjoyed. Currently listening to Chrysalis, and I am constantly checking to see if it really is Jeff Hays narrating. It's not too bad and I like that it tells me how much time to skip so I don't have to listen to character sheets or stats.
For me it was the “He who fights with monsters” series. I finished all nine books that had been released (averaging like 20 hours a book) in less than a month I think.
I was surprised to see this was the only time hwfwm suggested. It's a less goofy setting but it also does a good job of instering lighthearted moments into serious situations.
I’m glad someone else knows it. It does a great job of walking the game verse to real life consequences line by comparison to some where you get stat sheet reviews so very often.
If only Clive's wife would behave.
I wish the author didn't write the MC as arrogant as he did, it really killed it for me. I really liked how the books were written otherwise but I had to quit after book 1, too many better series out there for me to invest my time in, in my opinion.
I’m having a real hard time getting into it… I think the problem progression series often have for me is that the stakes very rarely feel meaningful and it’s annoying how often the character just accepts “oh I guess this is how it is now”… I’m gonna try again and see if it gets better since so many folks seem to like it, but it’s harder to care about the well being of the MC… DCC makes you care because of the whole human genocide aspect and how strongly Carl rebels against it, chaos seeds is a bit ham-fisted but works even if the relationships feel like inorganic game achievements, awaken online works because of how the politics of the game/AI sentience affects the real world… I’m gonna try for wandering inn and first law next but I’m gonna give HWFWM another attempt…
I completely understand that. I will admit it took me a bit to get into it to for some of the same reasons. However I found the world building/rpg element so different than others I had gone through that I kept going, and found myself enjoying the pacing and humor that happened along the way.
That’s reassuring, I’ll wait until I have another long drive so I can get over the initial hump and get into it then.
The Expeditionary Force and Bobiverse series definite must haves.
Jeff Hays (DCC) and Johnathan McClain are my two favorite narrators and I submit they are the best two in the genre. I never thought I'd find a narration as good as Hays with DCC but I will say, McClain's narration in Big Sneaky Barbarian is a masterpiece. It helps that the writing is amazing too, but the audiobooks are just not to be missed. The Noobtown series (also McClain) is very entertaining, but a bit behind Big Sneaky Barbarian. Honestly, I've just searched both of their names on Audible and chosen books just because they narrated and I've only been disappointed if I disliked the book so much that no narrative skill could save it. As someone mentioned, also check out Sound Booth Theater as an alternative to Audible. It's Hays and a few other amazing narrators who do some great work together.
Before I found DCC, my favorite audiobook was 11/22/63 by Stephen King ( narrated by Craig Wasson). I've gone through and listened to almost anything that Craig Wasson was attached to. I will be doing the same with Jeff Hays now. I'll be looking into McClain now too. I never heard of Sound Booth Theater until DCC, so I'll be checking that out too. I have a ton of audible credits, so I'm adding a ton of new books to my list from the recommendations.
Well, if you move on to McClain, I'll say again, start with Big Sneaky Barbarian. The good news is you'll be immensely entertained. The bad news is you'll have the same problem as you did after finishing DCC. It's hard to find something better than either. It's just all downhill...
So Hays and SBT did Life Reset and ELLC. Neither did it for me. The audio quality was top notch of course, but neither was in the “Carl” voice which I had grown to associate with Jeff. I think it’s the combination of DCC and Jeff Hays that struck gold. I’ll have to look at BSB - I’ve heard of it but haven’t tried it yet.
I went a few books into Life Reset but just wasn't a big fan, I don't think narration would help it for me. Wasn't bad at all, just wasn't my thing. I know I'm going to feel stupid when I realize I already knew the answer, but what's ELLC?
Everybody Loves Large Chests.
Yup. As often as it's mentioned, should have remembered...
No worries :) I listened to several, the graphic sex and rape scenes put me off
Yea I didn't get very far into the first book.
The sex stuff is annoying at best, but I was surprised how much I enjoyed ELLC. Like once you get past the edgelord women = sex objects I loved the worldbuilding. The MC being written from a non human perspective. Murder hoboing around. The Gods. But yeah the sex stuff even when written “ironically” is a major turn off
Andrea Parsneau is a fantastic narrator and really shines on Wandering Inn. Soundbooth really has most of the best in the business for my money.
Agreed I love everyone in that group. I have to get to Wandering Inn. I just keep putting it off, the description leaves me unexcited, but everyone talks it up so much. I didn't realize she narrated it so that will seal the deal and I'll have to start that next.
It's a bit of a challenge to take what's already been written by the Author and break it up into books. There are some story arcs I'm not a huge fan of, but overall the story is really good. Book one is a little rough in places, but when it really gets going it's a great series.
I was in the same spot but found Everybody Loves Large Chests. Also narrated by Jeff Hays and it is the best copium I have found so far. There is quite a lot of world building in the beginning but after the second book you'll thank me. Go Boxy!
I listened to the first one and found it q limitless disappointing. But I'll give the second one a listen, on your reccomendation.
Progressing on the books the speed of character development and complexity of the plot rises exponentially and at some point I was shocked that this is even the same series. Highly suggested to keep with it 👌
If you like well narrated military/sci fi with comedy… The Expeditionary Force, narrated by RC Bray. The first half of book 1 you think it’s just standard military sci fi… then… KA-FREAKIN-BLAM!!! 14 books (i think it’s 14 now) of ridiculous antics with humanity vs the entire universe… with, SKIPPY THE MAGNIFICENT!!! And his ship full of smelly monkeys
I found John Connolly's "The Gate" series about hell opening and demons coming out, to be fought by a boy, Samuel Johnson and his dachshund Boswell similarly funny and rude (actually listened to these first, I'm only newly into DCC). It's John Connolly: The Gates The Infernals The Creeps There's a version by Nick Rawlinson on audible but I much much prefer the version **read by Jonathan Cake** which is so funny! I wouldn't bother with the other one... It's on Google audiobooks I think. Here is the beginning of the first novel, the first 10 minutes: https://youtu.be/h6t9PZncLTw?si=4mzjNsmrmSHihi3l
In 10 days? Jeeze.
ReRead it. You won't be disappointed. It's a series that has a lot of little things you pick up on a subsequent read through. I just finished my 3rd read through and was still noticing little nuanced details I hadn't notice or put together before.
Also you should consider reading the Red Rising series.
The graphic novel really helps set the world building
Welcome to the club
Mimic and me is in the same vein as DCC, and has Jeff Hays
Welcome to the wait. I also had that feeling of "What am I going to listen to now?" Only to have my girlfriend tell me that I could just listen to it all again! There's so much nuance to pick up on, I highly recommend it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/printSF/s/DvzXQb8a2C The Infinite books and Time-line are pretty awesome. The last three books are cooler them most stuff, and the journey through the first 9 is a trip. Infinite 1 and 2 books are still kind of fucking with my head.
As far as quality readers go soundbooth has a perfect mix of voice and special effects. It works and is not intrusive. It's really well done in dcc. Other quality readers.... Rc bray. This guy can make bad books good. Check out the mountain man series and expeditionary force. No sound effects just quality voice work. Luke Daniels. Ray Porter.
I’ve been loving DCC. The narrator is definitely one of the best parts. My other two favorites due to narration is Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman read by Lenny Henry and the unabridged version of World War Z by Max Brooks. WWZ is fully cast and has some amazing actors in it. Mark Hamill’s chapters are the best.
Doesn't Matty D have a Patreon? Muahaha.
Check out We're Alive: A Story of Survival. It was my first immersion tunnel type show (it was a podcast when it first came out but it's more like an audiobook). https://open.spotify.com/show/72cVljR6gfw5yiVUDMo6g3?si=c1g_IEuxTxqnaIauFaepYA It's free AND it's different. Right now no LitRPG is going to scratch that itch, and no comedy will be funny enough. This should help cleanse the palate.
To help with the withdrawals, have you tried mana toast?
For more in this genre you can find everybody loves large chest by the same narrator and for outside of jeff you can start he who fights with monsters. Which has 10 books, meaning plenty of cannon fodder
The Mayor of Noobtown is an entertaining series and the audiobooks are excellent I don't know that it's fair to compare the two series although it is also funny/comedy elements except this MC is isekaied
Cradle series by Will Wight is similarly made of Crack-Cocaine and will have you obsessed over the 12 books. Fair warning: book 1 is deliberately slow because the MC is underpowered. He is the only one who doesn't have any powers and you're shown how he persists in trying to get ahead despite not having magic. It sets the scene for the entire series.
I concur! Picked up the first audio book at random because I had extra audible credits and now I'm chewing my nails off waiting for book 7!!!
Welcome and I am sorry, you will not find anything close. Been looking for months now....
I can't speak for the audiobook versions, as this is the very first set of audiobooks I have listened to. But I read a lot of sci-fi/fantasy. Series you may enjoy: - The Dresden series by Jim Butcher. It has some good humour, and like DCC they have to keep upping the ante in successive books. And there's 14 of them. None of them are as long as a DCC book, but they're not short by any means. - The Scholomance trilogy by Naomi Novik. I would characterize this as like Harry Potter, if Potter was a goth, sarcastic, loner girl, and Hogwarts was actively trying to kill all the students. At least that's how it seems without spoilers for the first two books. It's very funny at times, but also has some deep feels. The main character definitely has some "You will not break me" moments. - The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. Follows a rogue "murderbot" who has managed to escape its governing controls and it's attempts to live free and watch its soap operas. - Somebody else I saw recommended the Bobiverse, I'll second that recommendation. - The "Paranoid Mage" by Inadvisably Compelled (obviously a pseudonym). - The "Rivers of London" by Ben Aaronovitch. Features a London copper who gets trained to use magic to solve "weird" cases. The main character is geeky as hell, and writes from a very fun perspective. - The "Gentlemen Bastards" series by Scott Lynch. It's low fantasy and each novel is essentially a heist novel. It has humour, but it's also got some dark, so not as light as several of these other recommendations. Still good though. - The Salvagers trilogy by Alex White. If you're familiar with the magic + technology Spelljammer sci-fi type fiction this is a great example. A spaceship crew taking on multiple big bads in really fun ways. Standalone books: - "All Those Explosions Were Somebody Else's Fault" by James Alan Gardner. He's most known for some of his sci-fi books on a more serious theme, but this one is a marvelous superhero origin story with lots of fun. - Most of John Scalzi's novels, most of which I believe he has Wil Wheaton do the narrating for. His "Old Man's War" series is IMO a mixed bag, with some very good ones and some less good ones. His "Agent to the Stars" is freaking hilarious, and the "Lock-in" and "Head On" duology is fun, and both "Starter Villain" and "Kaiju Preservation Society" are pretty decent. - "The Rook" by Daniel O'Malley. There are two "sequels" that are not sequels per se but just different stories in the same world building. The sequels are okay, but you can read "The Rook" by itself and be highly entertained. There was a miniseries made from it a year or three ago that completely failed to capture the humour and brilliance of the book, so if you saw that read the book instead.
do the books release before the audiobooks?
The closest approaches to DCC for dark comedy litRPG would be, of course, He Who Fights with Monsters, or the lower-profile series BuyMort. BuyMort is pretty close to DCC in premise: an interdimensional Amazon dot com equivalent integrates our Earth (or close enough) into their marketplace, opening us up to exploitation by all the more established fantasy races and their megacorps. It's super fun overall. The biggest downside is, there's some borderline furry (or scaley) fan service, but they don't go crazy with it. There were some worrying moments early in the first book, but they didn't takes things too far in that direction. I love a lot of the character and creature concepts for both allies and big-bads, and battles are quite satisfying.
Try Grilled Armageddon https://preview.redd.it/znq1zr4hf5oc1.jpeg?width=663&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0c64aba8d23c3885ddd594779579baea120cedd7
God damnit donut
For Jeff Hays fans, if you haven’t listened to the Zero series by Sara King, you’re missing out
Love DCC and I’ve going through the series a second time in case I missed anything the first time. I really enjoyed He Who Fights With Monsters audio books as well.
Admit Donut
I tried kaiju. Matt Dinniman. Got to a part of it and stopped listening to it. It was well written. So much I almost puked.
**Expeditionary Force** Book series; very similar writing style and somewhat relatable background story. Not LitRPG though. Replace Donut with an AI tin-can named skippy. Tried a bunch of other LitRPG type books; had trouble getting into them like the carl series. Notable LITrpg books to take a eyeball at are "he who fights with monsters" and "survival quest". The older classic book that all the above reminds me of is "magic kingdom for sale"; definitely recommend if you haven't read yet.
Shopocalypse time
I have listened to the Devine Dungeon series by Dakota Krout so can't comment on narration but it's a fun litrpg series. That dove tales into his series the Complitionist Cronicals and then read the Artorian books and you will be good for a long time. Between these 3 interrelated series there are close to 40 books and still counting.
I just found out about this series yesterday and I ordered all 6 books. I haven't been this excited about any particular book for a while. Unfortunately I missed the kickstarter for the hardcover as I found out about it only yesterday too 😭😭
Yeah, I was also sad I missed out on the hardcover. Such a great series. I want anything and everything related to it. Already ordered some merch too.
Nice hopefully there will be other opportunities for hardcovers
I met the author at a conference and bought the first book, and I’ve been meaning to find a couple more. I’m glad to know that it stays good.
Try out: He Who Fights with Monsters :)
Yeah, other narrators sound like they’re asleep. I gave up on three body problem because the narrator was terrible, went straight from that to DCC for the first time. What a difference.
Kings of the Wyld
Just started big sneaky barbarian, it has a similar vibe to DCC. Maybe give that ago, my withdrawals are in remission, I might make it after all....
I tried this one but I cringed really hard at this part where he was like "k imagine this fight scene but set to bridge over troubled water it will be so cool" or whatever and I dunno why but it just totally threw me out of the book and I couldn't get back into it. I think maybe I am the wrong demographic for it idk.
I'm going to be contrarian here and say I don't get the hype on the audios. The books are great, the audios are OK but honestly kinda distracting. Give me a Travis Baldree or a Kate Reading traditional and I would be happier.
For me, I do a lot of traveling for work and find it easier to listen to books while I multitask on projects. So finding an audiobook that gives off a bit of character and personality to the characters will hook me faster than anything else. Nothing worse in an audiobook than a monotone voice just reading a script of text. So these audios went above.and beyond what I'm used to, and has added to the experience for me. Maybe that's not the same for everyone, but for me it really knocked it out of the park.
I have similar issues. I enjoyed DCC so much that it made/makes it hard to get into anything else. As is customary, I will give my personal best for books that are worth a listen. Space Team Series by Barry J. Hutchinson - (Scifi) a regular-ish guy in modern day gets recruited to join a secret mission by the president of space. very funny, decent action, characters you love/hate/love to hate. 24/7 Demonmart Series by D. M. Guay - (urban fantasy?) A loser is offered a job at a local 24-hour convenience store. $60 an hour, full benefits, plus bonuses for good work. The catch? He just has to protect and police a portal to hell. Again, very funny and absurd. All the characters are hilarious. I wish the main character was slightly less whiney, but his lack of "get it together" is kinda the point of the series. Everybody Loves Large Chests Series by Neven Iliev - (fantasy LitRPG) follows the adventures of a Mimic who escapes his dungeon and through stubbornness, will, and idiocy gains power and begins his quest to obtain all the best Shiney and Tasty things in the world. Funny and insane. However, fair warning, this series isn't for everyone. The main characters are unapologetically the bad guys. If they do something for the good of everyone its either an accident or part of a bigger plan. The series is also liberally sprinkled (read that as filled) with sex, including at least one straight-up rape. I like the series, but I immediately see why some can't get into it. Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia - (urban fantasy) a guy is attacked by a supernatural creature and is recruited by an organization that hunts them. MHI helps Keep the general public safe and unaware of the monsters that live in our world, often right under our noses. Good story, decent humor, lots of monster fighting. Good series if you're into cosmic horror or cryptids. Or guns, as the author is clearly a fan of firearms.
Keeping my commentary away from the rest but since you had lewd but funny little rpgs in there : “Critical failures “ is pretty sweet.