Picked by World-Tree Trilogy fans

Here are 4 books that World-Tree Trilogy fans have personally recommended once you finish the World-Tree Trilogy series. Book DNA is a community of authors and super-readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

Book cover of Domestication

J.J. Thorn Author Of Heavy

From my list on LitRPG for both creative worlds and engaging magic.

Why am I passionate about this?

Though I write, I will always be a LitRPG reader first. I enjoy these stories for their ability to craft interesting magical worlds, their creativity of plot, and their breadth of scope. Some LitRPGs are two-dimensional, which have their place, but each of the stories I’ve listed here are most definitely not. They act as my inspiration, both in how I wish to write and in how I’d like to be more creative overall. My day job is as a technical writer for a software company, and LitRPG stories got me back into reading, forced me to think more creatively, and allowed me to follow my dream of writing my own.

J.J.'s book list on LitRPG for both creative worlds and engaging magic

J.J. Thorn Why J.J. loves this book

This book surprised the heck out of me. In a genre where overpowered main characters are the norm, this story proved that even the greatest of powers can have limitations. It proves that with enough creativity, even the simplest of abilities can astound and amaze. The story also does an amazing job of mixing in intrigue and mystery without needing to constantly explain or do information dumps. I could blather on about this story, but above all else, the way in which it was executed makes it a must-mention on this list.

By Seth Ring ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Domestication as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A world on the precipice of the apocalypse. A secret forged in the flames of war. A chance to start over.

For John Sutton, only one of those three things matters.

Retired from a decade of brutal war, he wants nothing more than a quiet pastoral life while he does his best to stem the steady increase of his Doom Points before they hit 100, signaling the start of the end.

He’s been given a small farm on the outskirts of the empire as a thanks for his service, but no matter how far he travels, it's impossible to escape…


Book cover of Jake's Magical Market

J.J. Thorn Author Of Heavy

From my list on LitRPG for both creative worlds and engaging magic.

Why am I passionate about this?

Though I write, I will always be a LitRPG reader first. I enjoy these stories for their ability to craft interesting magical worlds, their creativity of plot, and their breadth of scope. Some LitRPGs are two-dimensional, which have their place, but each of the stories I’ve listed here are most definitely not. They act as my inspiration, both in how I wish to write and in how I’d like to be more creative overall. My day job is as a technical writer for a software company, and LitRPG stories got me back into reading, forced me to think more creatively, and allowed me to follow my dream of writing my own.

J.J.'s book list on LitRPG for both creative worlds and engaging magic

J.J. Thorn Why J.J. loves this book

Jake's Magical Market has become one of my standout favourites because of how many different ideas can all (logically and cohesively) fit into one story. The initial premise promised a magic system based on internalized decks of cards, but the unfolding story reveals a much more sinister universe filled with mystery, corruption, and intrigue than I could have ever expected from its humble start. Jake meets each challenge head-on, growing stronger along the way, and each new arc in the story is crafted with creativity and very well thought out. A special shoutout to the author’s second series ‘A portal to nova roma,’ which some argue is even better, but Jake’s is still the more memorable read.

By J.R. Mathews ,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Jake's Magical Market as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Meddling gods. A magical card system. An apocalypse no one could have predicted.

Jake is working at the neighborhood market under his apartment when the world ends. He expected nuclear war, a computer virus, or even climate change burning everyone to a crisp to bring about the downfall of civilization. But cruel and arbitrary gods from another world? Who would have guessed that?

When these cruel gods shuffled Earth like a deck of cards, nothing was in the same place anymore. Monsters, dungeons, and magical items appear scattered across the globe. And suddenly, everyone has access to a new, strange…


Book cover of He Who Fights with Monsters

J.J. Thorn Author Of Heavy

From my list on LitRPG for both creative worlds and engaging magic.

Why am I passionate about this?

Though I write, I will always be a LitRPG reader first. I enjoy these stories for their ability to craft interesting magical worlds, their creativity of plot, and their breadth of scope. Some LitRPGs are two-dimensional, which have their place, but each of the stories I’ve listed here are most definitely not. They act as my inspiration, both in how I wish to write and in how I’d like to be more creative overall. My day job is as a technical writer for a software company, and LitRPG stories got me back into reading, forced me to think more creatively, and allowed me to follow my dream of writing my own.

J.J.'s book list on LitRPG for both creative worlds and engaging magic

J.J. Thorn Why J.J. loves this book

One of the behemoths in the LitRPG genre, this story invented a magic system with infinite possibilities that is universally simple to understand as soon as you read how it works. More importantly, the story has some of the best characterizations I’ve ever read, introducing a cast of characters that each have defined motivations and backgrounds, helping to build out the world that the main character has been thrown into. 

It starts as a story about a man whisked into another world, and quickly sets itself apart from other portal fantasies. I have yet to find any magic system like it and I thought of it often when I created my own. 

By Shirtaloon , Travis Deverell ,

Why should I read it?

56 authors picked He Who Fights with Monsters as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Jason wakes up in a mysterious world of magic and monsters.It’s not easy making the career jump from office-supplies-store middle manager to heroic interdimensional adventurer. At least, Jason tries to be heroic, but it's hard to be good when all your powers are evil.He’ll face off against cannibals, cultists, wizards, monsters...and that’s just on the first day. He’s going to need courage, he’s going to need wit, and he’s going to need some magic powers of his own. But first, he’s going to need pants.After cementing itself as one of the best-rated serial novels on Royal Road with an astonishing…


Book cover of Dungeon Crawler Carl

Jake Korell Author Of The Second World

From my list on books that make you laugh (and think) with a little bit of absurdity.

Why am I passionate about this?

Absurdity gets a bad rap in fiction and storytelling, I think. “It’s too silly,” they say. But for those who can take a step back and appreciate how absurd our own world is—our everyday life—there’s nothing more real than absurdity. (I’m saying “absurd” an absurd amount of times. Let’s just say it’s purposeful.) It might be played for laughs at times, but if it’s done right, it gives you perspective. Sometimes we all need to look through a funhouse mirror to realize that we’re only human. These five books share that spirit and have made me laugh, think, and occasionally reevaluate my entire life in a spiral of existential dread—with a smile on my face.

Jake's book list on books that make you laugh (and think) with a little bit of absurdity

Jake Korell Why Jake loves this book

This one leans heavier on the laughter, lighter on the thinking—but sometimes a little bit of fun is exactly what I need.

It’s a chaotic mash-up of The Hunger Games and Ready Player Oneexcept with far more laughs and a talking cat. It’s the first in a long series (which I admittedly haven’t finished yet), but even on its own it’s a blast: action-packed, darkly funny, and weirdly endearing.

I fell in love with the two main characters and happily followed them into the madness.

By Matt Dinniman ,

Why should I read it?

112 authors picked Dungeon Crawler Carl as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The apocalypse will be televised!

A man. His ex-girlfriend's cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible.

In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth—from Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of sheds—collapses in a heap, sinking into the ground.

The buildings and all the people inside have all been atomized and transformed into the dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot. A dungeon so enormous, it circles the entire globe.

Only a few dare venture inside. But once you're…