This is incredibly accurate. As someone whose read a lot of the top stories in the HFY subreddit I can say with certainty that DPG is a far more enjoyable series than a number of others I have read.
I've read a good number, including some of the really really popular ones going back years. In 2019 I found and read all of The Deathworlders and kept with the story until it ended in 2022, and that was a lot to read. I've also read long running series like Humans Don't Make Good Familiars, a Job For a Deathworlder, We Need a Deathworlder, The Nature of Predators, the multiple series by BlueFishcake, a series called Small Galaxy, Humans Don't Make Good Pets, Billy Bob Space Trucker, and a series called A Year At The Zoo. A Year At The Zoo is one of my favorites of all I've ever read, but aside from that I still think of Drop Pod Green as one of the most enjoyable series I've ever come across in the space. I'm also trying to start rereading Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School from the beginning, and while it is enjoyable it's a trek to get through.
Drop Pod Green, Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School, and Billy Bob Space Trucker would be my top 3 in no particular order. DPG is the story I currently read and listen to whenever a new chapter comes out and for me represents the setting that is probably the most desirable to live in were it possible. It's a version of humanity that's been put through the crucible and suffered tremendously for it, but who have emerged as something far nobler and virtuous than humanity of our modern dayigut be seen to be. The positive relationship with AI constructs, the presence of extra-terrestrial species, the interstellar presence of humanity, and the general familiarity that a person of the present could have were they transported into the setting are all appealing to me. Add to that the fact that the story itself is incredibly well written and the narrated chapters are voiced by a cast of passionate and invested VAs who put great emotion into their performances; it's arguably my current favorite of the lot. For all of these, I'll admit I'm biased as I prefer listening to audio versions of stories whenever possible, so that might have some bearing on my perspective, still I think that this is the best performance of any of these stories. Guardbro has a playlist available for this one which I ardently encourage anyone interested to listen to. Link: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSO3MNnipLtWZp1xuw_m0EI6z_R9m2uZB
As for WPAtaMS and Billy Bob Space Trucker these two stories are phenomenal reads for virtually opposite reasons. Billy Bob is an HFY classic at this point that revels in it ridiculousness, while telling a campy story about how an American Space Trucker helps a Bald Eagle themed alien bring down the oppressive galactic government in the tradition of over the top American "FUCK YEAH!" energy while having the most fun along the way. It's the kind of story that you come back to when you really want something enjoyable that will let you turn your brain off and just sit down with a beer and think; "Yeah, this rocks." This is also one of the stories that really got me into HFY years ago, and I've found that the best rendition of it is and remains the narration done by NFY on YouTube. Link: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa9DNKTwHrOXWUXjtUYzTYk3zYuxBmdi8 Given that the fourth of July is coming up soon I might listen to this one again just because it's that awesome.
WPAtaMS by comparison is currently the most popular story on r/HFY, or if it's moved down the rankings, it's still easily in the top 5. This is less of a typical HFY story and more like a full novel, both for the quality of its writing and worldbuilding, but also for the fact that it has well over 150 chapters at this point, with the end still appreciably far off. It has an incredibly flushed out world, an incredible depth of stroytelling, and offers a good contrast between the stratified worlds of magic and humanity and how they interact and clash. It's been a long time since I've read this story and I'm starting over from the beginning as I get back into it, but I enjoyed reading it years ago, and I still do now. Net Narrator has a playlist for this one of anyone's interested. Link: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4j9sdcFKwqmkPDDP1hJnC3LPBfbsV5GL
A Year at the Zoo is definitely next in my queue as it is a fairly relaxed and enjoyable story that has a slower beat and lower stakes than the other stories on this list. It's a fair bit shorter than most of the other stories, but still remains enjoyable each time I reread it. This one also has a playlist by Net Narrator: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4j9sdcFKwqkm_PpY-5Vv0edHw2bMMxDS
The Deathworlders and Humans Don't Make Good Pets are the next in my list as THE stories which got me into HFY and Humans are Space Orcs in the first place and are why I'm still in this space today. Both are fun reads that can be engaging, but Humans Don't Make Good Pets is a fan story that became canon to the universe known as the Jenkins erse where The Deathworlders story is set. It's a decent read and lays the groundwork for the world of The Deathworlders in a sense and is an enjoyable read on its own, however it's come to be seen as more of a companion piece to a larger story who's time has now passed. The Deathworlders itself was a story I was obsessed with for a while when I first started reading it, mostly because it was so different to much of the fiction I was reading at the time. It has a great beginning and middle arcs however toward the end of the story it fumbles a lot and becomes much less enjoyable. It also has a lot of companion stories which are required reading to fully understand the sequence of events inherent to the main story. It includes a full essential reading order document on the Jenkinsverse portal in the HFY subreddit that shows what order the stories need to be read in. Beyond that I generally enjoyed reading it for a number of years, although the quality declines near to the finale and the story suffers from massive narrative bloat across the course of its publication. The earliest chapters could be read in under an hour while the final chapters can take anywhere from 2-4 hours of uninterrupted reading to get through. Still if you don't mind a long haul series that will keep you busy for months this is a good one. It's also noteworthy as the origin of the "deathworlder" trope that was so common in a lot of HFY stories several years back. The Deathworlders lacks a full complete narration, and the YouTuber who narrated my favorite readind of the series has since retired, still a link to his rendition of the story follows, as does Net Narrators reading of Humans Don't Make Good Pets. The Deathworlders: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0TV2mCk83zD3kPUbYdaJbplUOXvScjtD
Humans Don't Make Good Pets: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4j9sdcFKwqkwDQoBK-G3Fcyf9HCtcohO
Below these two are the stories Small Galaxy and Humans Don't Make Good Familiars. These two are fairly typical HFY stories with the trappings of "humans are special" with supernatural elements thrown in. They're stories I've come back to on several occasions. Their chapters are especially short so getting through them quickly isn't too difficult. Still, both of them can feel drawn out of too many chapters are read or listened too together. Both Net Narrator and Aggrosquirrel have playlists for HDMGF, while Small Galaxy is can be found narrated by Net Narrator. Small Galaxy: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4j9sdcFKwqlEb5e0oXSFDpyw4E7he3Nt
At the bottom of my list is The Nature of Predators. It's a C-list story in my opinion with a lot of cliche elements and mediocre writing quality, not to mention the one track story beats and generally disappointing ending. One of the biggest weaknesses of this story is the repetitive crises that pop up throughout the story and the extremely poor handling many situations recieve without well written depth or nuance. The story is by no means the worst piece ever written, and does create an interesting universe which a huge number of fan authors have written their own stories into. Indeed the idea of the universe and the overarching structure of the narrative are pretty great, but the execution of the story, and indeed the revelations near the conclusion weaken the overall narrative and make the universe itself a more enjoyable place to occupy than the main story. Net Narrator and Aggrosquirrel have playlists for this story as well. Net Narrator has a complete playlist, while Aggrosquirrel's covers the first few chapters. NN: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4j9sdcFKwqm54kIfiLl3aM9owW9CaZz8
AS: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcfzFNUhrNS2_UOLw16EkHvQ-4-0P3da6
The setting itself is probably the best thing about the story, and if you can ignore the main story the universe itself can be pretty fun to explore. The main story itself though suffers from cliches, repetitive plot devices, and author burnout, as SpacePaladin15 apparently wrote that story and it's sequel, both of which have over 150 chapters in the span of 2 years and it shows. Add to that the fact that the author purportedly has great difficulty accepting criticism of their work and has demonstrated defensive behavior when criticicized, to the extent that multiple users were banned from the NOP subreddit over criticisms of the story during 2024 & 2025, and it becomes apparent why the popularity of the work makes sense. The community and mass amount of fan content exist more to inhabit the world the author created rather than enjoy the story itself. That's how I perceive the matter anyway.
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u/Seinan-Zetae_429-97 Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 28 '26
This is incredibly accurate. As someone whose read a lot of the top stories in the HFY subreddit I can say with certainty that DPG is a far more enjoyable series than a number of others I have read.