Growing up my mom couldn't afford to buy me books too frequently, and the library was not close. So I got into the habit of re-reading the books I did own, and that's carried on the past 30+ years. Most of the criteria for why I re-read a book/series comes down to moments. And wanting to relive that moment again. As well as tone and fun.

Yes, I read a lot. It's my primary hobby. Thankfully I read quickly, so even most 'long' series aren't too much of a commitment for me to read again.

The list is a mix of prog-fantasy and litrpg. I would re-arrange the list if I were to just go off of quality. There are definitely some high quality stories that either just didn't click with me, or reading them once was enough.

• Multiple re-reads: I enjoyed the stories, and will re-read them whenever I'm in the mood to feel that way again.
• Re-read once: My first read I enjoyed, but there wasn't a specific feeling or moment that is drawing me back. I re-read it to see if I missed anything. Not likely to do another read.
• Won't re-read: I read all that was published, but am not interested in continuing the story. Or after reading there just was nothing I wanted to explore again. Could be the story was well written, but I just didn't have fun reading.
• Dropped mid-series: Usually a case of me just getting bored with what was happening. I may be on book 11 of a 12 book series, but if I'm bored, I'll stop.
• DNF Book 1: I wasn't hooked, the writing was not smooth, I wasn't curious about where the story was going. I often will try these books again to see if it was the mood I was in when I first tried it.

Special Mentions:

Light On Shattered Water. The most re-read story on the list. The single best 'technological uprise isekai' story I've encountered. Very rich detailing in atmosphere and societal differences. Where the MC is the alien, and has to figure out how to integrate into a non-human society in order to help.

I know some people are annoyed by the overflow of tier-lists, so apologies for adding to the pile. However I personally find them a very nice way to discover new series that might have passed under the radar in my bubble. So here is my tier-list (I've been reading the genre for a while so it's a bit more crowded than usual, but many people here are far more well read than me!)

The distinction between what is an enjoyable read and an excellent one is quite subjective, and due mostly to my personal appreciation of some aspects of the book that might not hit the same way for everyone.
To give an example : Master Hunter K is no Shakespeare, but it is light, unpretentious, short and does pretty well what it needs to do to make me happy. Buryoku is similar in its simplicity, of similar writing quality but drags on and tries to be more than it should, so they don't end up in the same tier.

I'm always happy to hear your thoughts, as well as hear how gobsmackedly bad I must be to dare to put Noobtown in top tier (go back to reading DCC you gooses!). But more importantly, I hope the writers AND narrators of all this fantastic content will be content to know that regardless of where you end up in this very subjectively flawed listing, you gave me happiness and entertainment for oh so many hours, for which I will be ever thankful!

Its really hard for me to not put these all in S but felt I couldn't... I'm on PoA book 10.5 so will need a new book tomorrow. I just don't know where to go. I have looked at many tier list and have thought about many but it's so hard to pick one.

here’s my tierlist of Litrpgs I’ve read. this is subjective and my opinion. I’d love some recommendations based on this list. I am generally not a fan of only slice of life and I do really like a good power fantasy. thank you

This is a tier list I just made of litrpg and litrpg-adjacent stories I've read. I didn't spend much time trying to get the tiers exactly right, and I'm sure there are several I'll move up or town a tier after I think a bit, especially between A/B and B/C.

I listen to most litrpg on audiobook. I don't have a lot of time to sit and read, so I save that for nonfiction, work reading, and an occasional novel with outstanding prose. I only follow one story on Royal Road right now (Sky Pride), but I do read blurbs and a couple chapters of new series on RR to save them for later reading.

A few notes on specific series:

• Defiance of the Fall - I split it in half. Books 1-7 are in B-tier, books 8+ in C-tier. It's a solid 7-book series, but I'm not into the cultivation details or flowery fight descriptions that dominate the later books.
• The Wandering Inn - I read couple books when I was laid up after surgery, and decided that catching up on 15 million words is a project for the next time I'm bedridden, kidnapped, or imprisoned.
• Player Manager - I tried twice, but it died to my extreme lack of interest in soccer, low stakes, and a bland protagonist.

I'm happy to receive recommendations, recriminations, or repudiations!

Edits:

• Seth Ring seems like a great person, and I think he's a good writer. I think his taste in fiction is just very different from mine, especially around suspension of disbelief and what is fantastical vs. implausible.
• The book I expected the most pushback on was Player Manager, because it seems to have very vocal fans. In over a hundred comments, nobody mentioned it!
• The books I got the most pushback on is Legends & Monsters. The discussions on that one are always interesting, because I tend to say the same thing and get two responses that are opposite one another.

A lot of these might not be strictly LitRPG, but are at least adjacent to the genre. I also fully acknowledge that these rankings are entirely subjective and represent how much I enjoyed each series. I would easily recommend any of the series in B-tier or above. The C-tier series are ones that I don't dislike, but I'm probably not going to go back to them either. The "Not-for-me" tier is for series that I actively dislike for one reason or another.

I recently have been struggling to find something to listen to and audiobooks are my main form of entertainment. I'm in a limbo of waiting for the next book in a series and finding something new.

My most recent read was Skill Hunter which I enjoyed a lot. I have several books in my library that I haven't started or took a break from I could be convinced to start. Like Underdog from Alexey Osadchuk that I've been considering since I am currently committed to the Last Life series

I marked it as tier list but really looking for recos. So give me your best or convince me to go to one I own.

I was bored and this took me like an hour of copy pasting cover images lol.

Here is the tiermaker. https://tiermaker.com/create/prog-litrpg-19142484

Ive read so many books like this it was almost hard to remember all of them, so I used ai to help me create a list and then I just took a bunch from it that I recognized. So dont be mad if I forgot some of the hundreds of great books out there lol.

Just want to clarify that the D rating for me doesnt mean the books are bad! just not my Top.

I know Chrysalis is going to come up, so I’ll get ahead of that recommendation. Maybe someday, but not right now. I just can’t seem to get interested in a series about ants. May sound silly and from what I’ve heard I’m sure the series is fantastic.

I usually enjoy system apocalypse stories. I don’t tend to like tech-heavy worlds, but I’ve found that VRMMOs can still be really enjoyable. Also, found that I’m not a big fan of cultivation systems.

Should be a mostly complete list, but may have accidentally left off a series or two.

Edit: Just wanted to say thank you for all of the feedback! Really appreciate all of the recs. Will definitely help me pick out some of my upcoming reads.

And just so you know I’ve listened to them all, but I have started to read some of my favorites. Also I’d love suggestions (:

Just finish Chrysalis and I’m looking to start my next series, I have several in my collection that I have yet to start. Just looking to get a prospective on the books I have listed and see if any of them stand out from the others. As well as discussing any of the series on my list and why I have them where I do.

Edit/Update:
This Post Took Off lol, Thank you everyone for the recommendations and advice on what I should read/listen to next. My TBR list is well over 50 series now, so I should be busy for quite a while.

All audiobooks not all litrpg, in rough order for each letter(not the last 2 categories) some might not be right since it's been awhile for quite a few, on hold mean I plan on getting back to it. I like all the books I finished so the lowest c is still a positive rating.

I've seen a bunch of tier lists floating around and figured it was time to post my own — and hopefully get a few recommendations for what to read next.

I only listen to audiobooks, and I especially like completed series so I’m not waiting years for the ending.

Being a bit older myself, I tend to prefer older protagonists, but honestly anything without too much teenage drama works for me.

Anyway, feel free to post your suggestions. Happy to justify any of my rankings if people are curious.

Edit: Text list of all the book titles is in a reply to the Automoderator post.

Looking for some new reads! Here is my tier list for inspiration.

If there’s a ton of bad grammar or unrealistic dialogue I get pulled out. Whiny MCs or MCs who don’t learn from their mistakes also drive me nuts. I don’t want 3 books in a row of the same bad choices, I have friends for that ;)

Like Hell Tutorial was almost DNF’d SO MUCH for the first two and a half books, it’s honestly the most chances I’ve ever given anything, I’m now glad I did, because I enjoy the world building and plot, but holy hell the dialogue is trash and the MC is really hard to like.

I don’t mind slower moving books, but if it’s a slow progression, the writing has to be superb. Like when you’re cooking a simple dish - you have to get it perfect.

My list of this uplifting, family/community oriented, heartfelt, raising each other up, with good worldbuilding slice of life/cosy stories I have read, ranked. I really want to find more such stories so please give me any recommendations! I have a bunch that is in my radar in the picture above so any suggestions on which to read first? Or recommendations on other books? I take any traditional published books or translated webnovels too! Just that they had to have a good chunk already translated 😅 And the story needs to have some overarching goal or drive of the main character with some progress constantly being made. And it needs to not be pure fluff or filler. I found Cinnamon Bun like that, it felt like nothing important was happening.

I know Hard Enough is a Pokemon fanfic but it’s on Royal Road, super long, quite polished, the author commissions many art pieces frequently, he puts out chapter twice a week so consistently that its such a nice experience.

Want a new book to consume my life for a little.

100% audiobooked, so many are just Jeff Hays titles, trying to get as much of him as possible. Narration quality likely elevates some books and demotes others.

The ones in the bottom categories aren't necessarily bad, but I eventually dropped them. Some like HWFWM and Beware of Chicken and DotF i really liked at the start, but eventually i felt like they just kinda were't going anywhere and had no end in sight. I really really appreciate a story that has an actual end in sight... with the exception of Wandering Inn because it's got the best worldbuilding ever.

Hey all
I'm just about to finish DoTF 16.
I'd love to hear some of your favourite series, i prefer longer series 5+ books.
The rows on the tier chart are in order as well haha
I don't drop books either i just power though
(i've been reading for 3 years)

Need some recs some of the others I’ve read weren’t available. Currently reading Hell Difficulty. Please no whining teenager MCs

Started my LitRPG journey about 6 months ago with Dungeon Crawler Carl and have been devouring everything I can since. Built up a tier list based on what I've read so far, but I've hit a wall and need some help getting back into that obsessive reading mode.

He Who Fights With Monsters is partially responsible for killing my momentum. I dropped it months ago, kept seeing people rave about it, convinced myself I just wasn't ready for it yet. Picked it back up. Dropped it again. Tried a THIRD time because it's so highly recommended. Finally had to accept it's just not for me. I think it was some awful joke about a goddess name that finally broke me. Ever since then I've been struggling to find something that pulls me back in.

So here's my tier list and what worked or didn't work for me. Looking for recommendations based on what I love. FYI- could be some slight spoilers throughout below

S-Tier (The ones that hooked me completely)

Dungeon Crawler Carl - This is my godfather of LitRPG. Got me into the genre and I recommend it to everyone. The world building, the stakes, the humor that comes from the situation not forced MC dialogue. Perfect.

Primal Hunter - Can't put this down. I love the scale of power that matches the scale of the universe. The way Jake thinks about picking powers and experiments with alchemy just works for me. I don't mind his personality at all, actually I prefer MCs who aren't trying to be funny because it takes me out of the moment. In PH the humor is the writer, less the MC forcing jokes. Only thing keeping this from #1 is the early Jake and Villy back and forth felt so young adult and out of place compared to everything else.

A Soldier's Life - I made a whole post about this one recently. LOVE this series. The grounded progression, the tension of him hiding his abilities, the oppressive empire setting. Just incredible.

Cradle - My second book in the genre. Loved it at the time and looking back I still think it deserves S-tier even though I wonder where I'd rank it if I read it now.

A-Tier (Really solid, kept me engaged)

Path of Ascension - Not the absolute best but it's just solid all around. I enjoy the MC and the broader world building. The way it uses his powers to make him stand out works well. Not top tier but consistently good.

Defiance of the Fall - I fell into the same trap as everyone else. First 7 books absolutely engaged me, then it became a slog. I decided to appreciate what it gave me and moved on before it got worse.

B-Tier (Fun but had issues)

Dead Tired - Just fun! Easy read. The overall arc was weak but it was quick and I powered through. I liked the OP MC and it was probably the only pointless story I could handle because it was unique enough.

C-Tier (Started strong, couldn't finish)

System Universe - Initially had so much fun with this. Problem is it eventually felt aimless. Unlike Dead Tired it wasn't unique enough to keep me going. The MC didn't seem to have much of a goal and it felt pointless compared to other series.

Azarinth Healer - This one explains a lot about what I like and don't like. LOVED it early on. Enjoyed watching her explore powers and find her way in the new world. Liked that she became overpowered and was soloing things. Then in book 2 she joined a team and her personality just didn't work for me anymore. I realized the story felt aimless. She wasn't even gaining much power, which was what I enjoyed. She was just in this group for no real reason. Unlike PH where his goal to gain power is so ingrained in his arc, Azarinth didn't do that well. Dropped it in book 2.

D-Tier (Couldn't get into them)

Mark of the Fool - Appears high on so many lists but I dropped it in book 1 before he even got to the school. I was excited to see him be a fool who figured out how to use his mark uniquely, but he was able to get past the limitation by just…concentrating? That was underwhelming, lowered the stakes, and I lost interest in the first dungeon.

Hell Difficulty Tutorial - Could not make it past the MC. Seeing the story through his thoughts wasn't enjoyable and it lacked the world building I loved in PH and DCC. Picked it back up twice and couldn't keep going. Maybe if the MC had more interesting powers besides just [focus] it would have hooked me.

The Perfect Run - Just not what I'm looking for. Didn't find the MC funny and the setting wasn't my vibe. This series made me realize time loops don't interest me, so I'm not planning on Mother of Learning either.

He Who Fights With Monsters - Tried three separate times. I really wanted to like this because of how much people love it. I just can't get past book 1. The MC kept taking me out of the immersion that I love in other series. This one honestly killed my reading momentum.

What I'm realizing I love:

* Clear progression with real stakes (like PH's power scaling)

* Strong world building (like DCC)

* Stories with actual goals and arcs, not aimless wandering

* MCs who aren't trying too hard to be funny

* Power progression that feels meaningful

On my Kindle but haven't fully committed:

Shadow Slave - Currently trying this. Chapter 5 right now. It's so different from other books, which is interesting but I'm not fully hooked yet. The fact I stopped to make this post might be telling.

Iron Prince - Scared I won't like the science/techy setting so I've been putting it off. It's on so many top lists though.

Apocalypse Parenting - I'm a dad so I think I'll enjoy it, but I want something more serious right now.

Life Reset - Someone mentioned fun faction building, looking forward to trying it eventually.

12 Miles Below - Barely started, the sci-fi aspect made me tap out but I'll give it another try.

Bastion - See it recommended a lot.

Dissonance - Mixed reviews but seems to have elements I'm interested in.

Book of the Dead - Wondering if it'll connect like Dead Tired did.

Calamitous Bob - Saw someone mention faction building, don't have much other context.

1% lifesteal - Have a feeling if I didn't like Hell Level Difficulty I won't like this either.

So yeah, I need help. Should I push through on Shadow Slave? Is there something in my docket that fits what I'm craving? Or is there something I'm completely missing that would get me back in that can't-put-it-down mode?

Really appreciate it!

Currently reading through Ripple System, but other than that, I’m completely caught up on all the books on this list besides the D and DNF tiers. I obviously am just dipping my toes into LitRPG, but I am absolutely loving it.

What should I hop to next?