This, our third and final post in this series, will conclude our 2023 Readers’ Choice Awards round up! You can see the top Sci-Fi Books of 2023 list here, and the top Audiobooks of 2023 list here.

Before we jump in, we’d like to thank you all one last time. As we’ve said before, your nominations and votes each year play a pivotal role in this year end showcase featuring the sci-fi reads that best captured readers’ hearts and imaginations in 2023.

Our final top ten roundup features this year’s best in LitRPG! As with audiobooks, this is the first year we’ve had a list dedicated exclusively to LitRPG standouts. We really love this genre—one that combines elements of role playing games with traditional narrative storytelling—and judging by the way our community turned up for our inaugural showdown, you guys do too! 

So, without any further ado, we unveil our 2023 Readers’ Choice Award list, featuring the ten best LitRPG reads of the year as chosen by Discover Sci-Fi readers. Scroll on to check out the top picks! 

10. Of Slicing Men: The Good Guys Book 14 by Eric Ugland

So, remember that whole ‘send Montana to the capital – he’s ready for prime time’ plan?

Yeah. That might’ve been a little bit hasty.

Our hirsute hero really stepped in it. Like, is on the verge of losing his dukedom and everything he’s worked for stepped in it.

The only way out? A little-known technicality that stops Senate proceedings and sends Montana off on what’s most likely an insurmountable quest. One where odds are good that he’ll either die without a respawn or accidentally commit treason against the Empire.

Neat.

Can Montana stop the Dark Queen’s army on his own and hold the line for Glaton? Will he do enough to save Coggeshall from the aristocratic vultures circling? And will he finally find the sword of the gods he lost on his very first day in Vuldranni?

Of Slicing Men is The Good Guys at its finest: gory battles, surprise tactics, and unexpected heroes. Come for the long-term campaign play and rich character progression. Stay for the stupid banter and crazed, demonic inch worms.

Read Of Slicing Men here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

9. Quantum Conjurations: Eldrich Engineer Book One by Kevin McLaughlin and Michael Anderle

His experiment shouldn’t have wrecked his lab, created a portal to another dimension, or sucked him through said portal.

Despite all that, Charles Smith found himself landing atop the emissary of an evil group of mages called the Shadow Council.

Literally on top of him, along with half the gear from his lab, which had the fortunate side-effect of turning the evil sorcerer into paste.

This won Charles the gratitude of King Alfred, ruler of the Kingdom of Kortall and the man who said sorcerer had been threatening moments before Smith’s arrival.

But the reward for a job well done is always more work!

Alfred quickly recruits Charles to help defend his kingdom against the invading army. Wildly outmatched, Alfred’s forces are on the verge of being crushed. If he falls, there will be little to stop the Shadow Council from taking over the entire world.

Charles will need every trick he knows, including a lot of science, some engineering—and maybe even a little bit of magic—if Kortall is to have any hope of surviving!

Grab Quantum Conjurations here on Amazon. 

8. The Primal Hunter Seven by Zogarth

Having arrived at the Order of the Malefic Viper, Jake is eager to improve his alchemy…

However, reality can often be cruel. Because while trying to do just that, Jake will be dealing with the political landscape of the Order. Between hiding his identity as the Chosen of the Big Boss, being forced to attend get-togethers, visiting vampires to sell ancient memorabilia, and trying to actually learn some alchemy, Jake's busier than ever.

Earth also still calls. There, he helps friends deal with family issues by going on a nice road trip with Carmen and Sylphie. On the way, he can hopefully find time to hunt down the final Primas he needs – powerful monsters with unique key fragments – to participate in the upcoming system event dubbed the Seat of the Exalted Prima.

An event that hopefully – no, certainly – won’t have any unforeseen Bloodline-induced shenanigans.

Definitely not.

Grab Primal Hunter here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

7. Quest Academy: Silvers by Brian J. Nordon

Read Quest Academy here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

6. Beware of Chicken Three by Casualfarmer

Jin Rou wanted to be a cultivator. A man powerful enough to defy the heavens. A master of martial arts. A lord of spiritual power. Unfortunately for him, he died, and now I’m stuck in his body.

As Jin, I’m a man of the earth. A wielder of shovels and lord of rice and wheat. And sure, I also had to die and get pulled into another universe to end up here. But guess what? I’m starting to think it was worth it.

I’ve somehow managed to get away from it all. Finally free of the bloodshed of cultivator fights, I figure I’ll live in the slow lane from here on out, my only real concern the rain—or lack thereof.

Unfortunately, I’ve suddenly got a shady organization looking for me, my cat has gone off to fight in a martial arts tournament, and my chicken has uncovered an ancient crystal containing portents of doom. You know, the usual stuff.

I’m not worried though. Sometimes trouble finds you. And while I may not be a master cultivator . . . trouble should know better than to mess with a farmer.

 Grab Beware of Chicken here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

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5. Induction: Welcome to the Multiverse Book One by Sean Oswald

The apocalypse is coming but only those lucky or perhaps unlucky few know.

Silas is inducted into the System becoming the last in a long line of
Earth's 'Forerunners.'

The rewards are great but the danger is greater.

We are not alone in the universe. The fate of five worlds hangs on how their forerunners perform.

Will Silas have what it takes to win Earth a place in the multiverse or will Earth become another mining
world stripped of all resources and left a barren husk floating in the cosmos?

A system enforced secret... a deadly challenge... and only a year to go.

The countdown begins now!

Get your copy of Induction here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

4. Wolf in the Void: The Grand Game Book Five by Tom Elliot

A House in waiting. A Wolf on the run. And with his foes multiplying, can Michael accomplish all that he must?

Michael has taken the Game by the throat. No longer content to lurk in the shadows, he has started down a path that will inevitably bring him into conflict with the Powers.

But the Powers are no easy foes. Nor are they Michael’s only adversaries.
Other enemies stir. Some confront him openly, while others watch patiently from the sidelines. A lone wolf no more, and with many of his own pieces in play, Michael may find himself more exposed than he believes.

The stakes are high. And the schemes of the players convoluted.
Evading entanglement will not be simple. Avoiding the ire of the Powers will be even harder. And escaping the attention of beings beyond his ken may well be impossible. Can Michael trace a delicate balance between obscurity and strength? Or will his dreams for House Wolf end in ashes?

Grab Wolf in the void here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

3. Forge Master: Tower Book One

Ascending should have been the easy part...

But after being thrown into the void, Thorn finds himself stranded in a strange world filled with even stranger creatures.

Together with his cute battle pet, the mysterious god beast Hati, and a sentient AI named Eve, Thorn must forge a place for himself in this new world. Unfortunately, the local guilds all have other ideas and soon the Titan finds himself embroiled in plots that even his famed strength cannot help him with.

Rallying his strengths and learning how to fix his weaknesses will be the absolute minimum Thorn needs to survive, but if he wants to thrive, he’ll be forced to take risks that put his life and the lives of his friends on the line.

Dive into Forge Master here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

2. He Who Fights With Monsters Book Ten by Shirtaloon 

A subterranean power creates strange bedfellows for Jason and his friends in the epic next installment of He Who Fights with Monsters.

Following the devastating attack on Yaresh, its people are left to pick up the pieces. The city lies in ruins, but its decimated defenders have more to deal with than just reconstruction. Jason's actions during the battle have brought unwelcome attention from allies and enemies alike. While the adventurers question his loyalty, the messengers question his very nature. Both have designs on Jason that he intends to thwart, but a danger comes to light that shifts everyone's agenda.

Deep underground, a hidden civilization has survived by tapping into a long-buried power. That power's growing instability has become both a threat and an opportunity to the warring surface factions. Neither side can stop or claim the power alone, leading to an uneasy alliance with a reluctant Jason at the center. The adventurers, messengers, and Jason himself all have intentions for the power but little idea what awaits them below ground. There are more players involved than any of them realize, and soon, they will have greater problems than each other.

Get your copy of He Who Fights With Monsters
here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

1. The Eye of the Bedlam Bride: Dungeon Crawler Carl Book Six by Matt Dinniman 

A pantheon of forgotten gods. An old grudge between a talk show host, an heiress, and the man they shattered along the way. A rapidly deteriorating AI system. An inconvenient tiara upon the head of a friend.

It's bedlam on the eighth floor. 

As management reels from the unexpected conclusion of the seventh level, the surviving crawlers stumble onto the eighth and find themselves scattered. It’s a map based on Earth’s final days before the collapse, where ethereal, intangible ghosts of humanity go about their lives, oblivious of the impending doom. Living amongst these ghosts are monsters based in Earth lore. “Legendary” creatures tied to the geographical location they inhabit.

Each team of crawlers is given a task: find and capture six of these beasts. The captured monsters will be turned into cards. Cards that can be summoned into battle again and again. The stronger, the deadlier, the better.

At the end of the floor, the bad guys will also have decks, and they will have some of the most powerful cards available. So it’s crucial to assemble the toughest squad possible.

But, like always, there is a catch. There’s always a catch.

As Carl and Donut know all too well, just because someone is captured, it doesn’t mean they have been tamed.

Her name is Shi Maria. She’s easily the most powerful monster in their area. If they want to survive, they must capture her. But she is no ordinary beast. She’s intelligent. She was once married to a god, a god who is now missing. Her special attack is known to drive one insane. They call her the Bedlam Bride.

Get your copy of The Eye of the Bedlam Bride here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

How many of the 2023 Readers' Choice top 10 LitRPG books have you read? Which ones are you adding to the top of your TBR for 2024? Any stellar LitRPG titles you think didn't get their due? Let us know here in the comments or over in the Discover Sci-Fi Facebook Group! 

*All book-related copy in this post was pulled from Amazon, Goodreads & Wikipedia, unless otherwise credited.