My native fantasy world litRPG recommendations:

Dante's Immortality has a strong zero to hero theme for a native to his fantasy world. The MC is worse off than a beggar at the start. Has some magic academy parts. Well written. Some of book 2 is on Royal Road but the author has been re-writing book two for a long time so it may or may not ever be completed.

Threadbare is a quirky litRPG story about a stuffed bear and his attachment to his girl and the friends he makes along the way. This story is full of puns, some clever and some more on the nose but I had a good chuckle several times and had a lot of fun reading this series. As lighthearted as this story appears at first, it does have some grimdark elements and tells a good story. The series actually has a conclusion which is rare enough in this genre so it gets major points for that.

The City and the Dungeon has one of the more interesting magic systems I have seen in litRPG. The characters are all native to the fantasy world. This series is a bit different in that it is written in the form of the MC retelling past events to his sister kind of like how Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles are written as a flashback. The story itself features old school dungeon diving party mechanics which I happen to really like. The fairly original magic system and strength ranking system are very interesting. I did find myself wishing that the author would give more details on stats, character builds, etc., but the plot skips events and advances too quickly. At the same time it over-explains superfluous details like various branches of dungeon religion theory and courtroom law procedures. That was my main complaint, but overall I enjoyed the story. Not sure on status of book 2.

Arcane Ascension This one is strongly represented on the r/ProgressionFantasy subreddit but has some light litRPG elements too. No user interface and on the soft end not having many stats. The world is a native fantasy world with tall RPG like puzzle towers that people try to climb. These books feel more polished and professionally written than most books in the litRPG genre. It is a hybrid story that bounces back and forth between school life (magic academy) and dungeon (tower) diving. I really loved the focus on the Tower exploration and the puzzle solving that was required. The magic academy part of the book is cool as well but I think for specifically litRPG readers it won't be the main appeal.

The magic system is pretty deep, with over 50 different "classes" of magic ability called attunements. For example, Guardian attunements are melee fighters who can strengthen themselves, while Elementalists wield Fire, Air, and Lightning. It is also possible to gain more than one class as well and we see glimpses of characters that are god-like in power while the MC, a first year student, is incredibly weak in comparison. The MC makes the most of his attunement though and crafts clever items to help cover his weaknesses and relies on his friends to fill the other gaps. Crafting magic items is a major focus for the MC which I found entertaining and satisfying.

Kick-started my KU trial with:

Arcane Ascension

1. Sufficiently Advanced Magic: enjoyable read but I'm regretful I didn't read this in chunks as it got a bit overwhelming in some areas and I had to push on.
   
   Completionist Chronicles (easy buy)
   
   
2. Ritualist: read this after the Divine Dungeon and I've noticed some Easter eggs. Puns everywhere.
   
   
3. Regicide: more puns and more snark, good stuff.
   
   Divine Dungeon (easy buy)
   
   
4. Dungeon Born: instantly hooked with the gruesome start and stayed for the potential it showed considering this book mostly set up the foundation for the series.
   
   
5. Dungeon Madness: more interesting than book 1 and my favorite of the series so far
   
   
6. Dungeon Calamity: we've got a baddie and some goals to strive for. The information unveiled near the end definitely had me wanting more.
   
   Awaken Online
   
   
7. Catharsis: too OP, pls nerf. Just kidding, MC is a bit of a glass cannon. Story is a bit cliched but it's pretty well written and does a nice job overall differentiating itself.
   
   Ascend Online: lots of profanity, not enough character development but I'll give book 2 a shot and see if that improves. I wasn't strongly hooked in the beginning but decided to give it a shot.

I just read Changing Faces: New Game Minus, and the MC is a former NPC that becomes a "player", but doesn't know it's a game world. So he's dealing with nonsensical game mechanics (getting exp, getting stronger at a level up, etc.) and fully aware of how ridiculous it would be in a realistic world.

Definitely not clueless or stupid/bashful.

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Changing-Faces-Game-Minus-Book-ebook/dp/B07KMMT9TX

Some other recs:

Drew Hayes' series: Spells, Swords, & Stealth - "NPCs" in a Dungeons and Dragons-esque world have to become adventurers. The main characters definitely are aware of D&D tropes and aren't stupid. This is a really good series, and it's a good time to get into it as the next book is coming out next month.

https://www.amazon.ca/NPCs-Spells-Swords-Stealth-Book-ebook/dp/B00KB2RLKO

Hero of Thera: The MC gets sucked into a new world with game-like mechanics (leveling up, picking classes, new skills, new gear, etc.). So that I guess is an Isekai book. What sets it apart is the great writing and worldbuilding.

Also a good time to get into this, as book 2 should be coming out next month.

https://www.amazon.ca/Hero-Thera-LitRPG-Eric-Nylund-ebook/dp/B0719CYNCG

Full disclosure - I edited book 4 of Spells, Swords & Stealth and book 2 of Hero of Thera. But I'd recommend them even if I hadn't.

The Crafter by Outspan Foster. I haven't read this one yet, but I'm pretty pumped. Ordered the paperback. Set in a non-vr world.

Dante's Immortality. Highly recommended on this sub. Book 2 probably won't happen. Probably once a week asks about book 2. Still, so good that it's worth reading book 1 of an unfinished series. I think that's pretty high praise for it.

Sufficiently Advanced Magic. Another sub favorite. People argue whether or not it's LitRPG, most important thing is: it's dope.

Adventures on Brad. Nice slice of life in a non-vr fantasy world with game mechanics. Fun stuff.

A few others:

Adventurer Academy andIs It Wrong to Try and Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon.

Enjoy!

Here are a few that I find myself recommending often, which also seem to fit what I think you're looking for:

1. Threadbare by Andrew Seiple - Game-like world, good world building and magic systems. Looks like a kid's book but it's not. Used to be available for free on Royal Road if you want to check it out first (it still is).
   
2. Completionist Chronicles by Dakota Krout - Kind of standard litrpg fare, but done really well with interesting systems.
   
3. Ten Realms by Michael Chatfield - Transported to game world, portal fantasy. Starts off kind of weird, but gets into the game pretty quick. Interesting world building, especially after book 1.
   
   I typically read, not listen, so I can't speak to the quality of the audiobooks, but I enjoyed all of these a lot.
   
   ​
   
   Edit: Cleaned up links

Hmmm, it is super hero genre, not magic, but the MC in Super Sales on Super Heroes has a pretty unique power

https://www.amazon.com/Super-Sales-Heroes-William-Arand-ebook/dp/B072HQF1B6/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=super+sales+on+supers&qid=1574918522&s=digital-text&sr=1-3

*If you aren't familiar with my Delvers LLC and Nora Hazard series, it's GameLit, light LitRPG--not super crunchy. My crunchy, hard-LitRPG series are First Song and Secret of the Old Ones.

----------

In Accounts Payable, the third and final book of the Nora Hazard series, Nora has grown, matured. She is close to realizing what sort of adventurer, and fighter she may have been destined to become.

As usual, she has terrible luck, but Nora is tough. For such a lethal warrior, she still has her weaknesses, though. Now Nora will have to finally face her past, and decide who she truly is. This last book of the series is emotional, action-packed, and will resonate with anyone who has ever had to wrestle with who they truly are, who they want to become.

Nora Hazard, Accounts Payable is around 120k words long, which is about as long as the first Delvers LLC book.

-----

Book 4 of Delvers LLC (which I’m working on) can be enjoyed without reading Nora, but Nora Hazard readers are going to catch jokes and references that others won’t. They’ll also know Nora's background with various folks over the last four years on Ludus, which will make future events much more entertaining. :)

US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T8P8FJM ....UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07T8P8FJM .....CA: http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07T8P8FJM ....DE: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B07T8P8FJM ....AU: http://www.amazon.com/au/dp/B07T8P8FJM

I will recommend you probably one of the greatest and most realistic LITRPG book I've listened to recently. It's on my top 5 favorites right now

-

Re-Start Level Up Book 1

-

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CKRMLJB

So addictive, very refreshing with a solid narration. You just can't wait just how the mc develops and improves himself.

-

It will probably even inspire and motivate you on how to be a better person in real life.
I can even say that many will probably relate to the scenario if this ever happened to you.

-

It's that good

Carbon Cowboy: A SciFi Harem Adventure Crash Tanner 2018/9/11 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H9HZFJ3

Initiate (Animus Book 1) Joshua Anderle and Michael Anderle 2018/9/11 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H997V1F

The FPS Deity: A Fantasy LitRPG Series- Book 1 Cobyboy 2018/9/12 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HB8KDX1

Half-Breed Hunter: Arrival David Aries 2018/9/12 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HB8HSY9

Infinite Exodus: A SciFi LitRPG (Infinite Exodus Book 1) Noah Whitaker and Remy Whitaker 2018/9/12 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H9J2NDZ

Live Like a God: big adventure in a tiny world Taylor Kole 2018/9/12 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HBKGRH3

XXX Fantasy Online Part One: A LitRPG Harem Fantasy Adventure John Harem and David Belwick 2018/9/13 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HCQSH6S

XXX Fantasy Online Part Two: A LitRPG Harem Fantasy Adventure John Harem and David Belwick 2018/9/13 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HCRV6FR

The Revived: A MMORPG and LitRPG Online Adventure (Second Age of Retha Book 3) A. M. Sohma 2018/9/14 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H78W9WR

First Song, Book One (Anthem of Infinity 1) Blaise Corvin and Outspan Foster 2018/9/14 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HD2VQ9W

XXX Fantasy Online Part Three: A LitRPG Harem Fantasy Adventure John Harem and David Belwick 2018/9/14 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HD3HP2J

XXX Fantasy Online 4: A LitRPG Harem Fantasy Adventure John Harem and David Belwick 2018/9/14 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HDG91KL

How To Tame Your Dragon I: A Litrpg Harem Adventure Kimiko Petaway 2018/9/14 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HD656JK

Conquer: An Epic Fantasy Harem (Conquering the Kingdom Book 1) Aron Stone and Caterina Kalymniou 2018/9/15 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HDM2VBQ

Eburnean Passage: A LitRPG Mystery Richter Solaire 2018/9/15 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GVQ7MM4

Kill Code: A Gamelit Adventure Jamie Hawke and Justin Sloan 2018/9/16 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HF9KFC9

XXX Fantasy Online 5: A LitRPG Harem Fantasy Adventure John Harem and David Belwick 2018/9/17 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HFMLW7N

Hero's Dungeon: A Superhero Dungeon Core Novel Nick Ryder 2018/9/17 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HFZ2F7F

The Wang is the Hardest Part (Caverns and Creatures) Robert Bevan and Joan Reginaldo 2018/9/17 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HGLWJ4L

Welcome to Gorgoth (How To Avoid Death On A Daily Basis Book 7) V. Moody 2018/9/17 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H2R2L3Q

Vampire Hunter (Superheroes Online Book 2) Dante Steel 2018/9/18 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HH3K64Q

Southern Kingdom: Evolution Online II D. L. Harrison 2018/9/18 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FZ7DPFT

The Great Game J. Conrad Matthews 2018/9/18 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HHM4MT6

The New Magic (The Outworlders Book 2) Joseph Malik 2018/9/18 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GCVHZGW

Bunker Core (Core Control Book 1) Andrew Seiple and Amelia Parris 2018/9/20 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HKV8BRN

Cavern of Spirits: A LitRPG and GameLit Adventure (Stonehaven League Book 3) Carrie Summers 2018/9/20 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HB6L6X9

Killdozer (Arbiter Core Book 1) Cory Gaffner 2018/9/20 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HK54JHL

Blademage Shadowstalker (Blademage Book 3) Deck Davis 2018/9/20 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HKT1PZ6

Enthralled: Book 4: System Ascension Prax Venter 2018/9/20 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HDQ796C

The Handsome Menace: A LitRPG Adventure (Scar Tours Book 1) S.R.R. Saint 2018/9/20 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HH511H6

If you like Savage Divinity and don't like MMO-ish rulesets, you might considering checking out Xianxia. I'd consider it kind of a LitRPG-adjacent genre, I guess? Clear stages of power progression without any sort of Game Mechanics or blue boxes at all. There a quite a few web novels translated from Chinese you might like, but the starting point I recommend is Coiling Dragon (on the web here or on KU here), and if you like it you have a TON of web-based reading material ahead of you my friend. If you want an English-native take on the genre /u/Will_Wight is doing a great job with his Cradle series.

Just powered through First Song, and was pleasantly surprised. Very lite on the RPG bits, but I think that may change in later books (literally the only distributable stat point occurs in the last chapter or two). 99% of book 1 is setting up for what will hopefully be kick-butt future books, with only 2 real action scenes in the whole book (one right at the beginning, one very near the end), but it was still enjoyable.

MC is basically a bard with social skills, living a redemption arc in an attempt to set up a chance for humanity not to be completely wiped out by some very OP aliens. Great for fans of town-building/society-building.


Been keeping up with Towers of Heaven, a relatively new RR fiction that comes from the author of Desire (which is great) and Zombie Slayer! (which is bad enough that I'm not linking).

Finally started Mother of Learning, after literally months of it being recommended on this sub. 3 chapters in, so I can't really say how I feel about it. Mostly excited that RR says it is 2.5k pages, I guess. Been awhile since I had a story I could really binge on, I keep finding little 2-3 hundred page stories that randomly get dropped.

Life Reset Book 1 and its sequel both have audiobooks (my favorite litrpg on Amazon currently).

Dungeon Heart doesn't have an audiobook format, but it is a personal favorite and I highly recommend it anyways.

Awaken Online has a series where most have audiobooks.

I personally enjoyed Rogue Dungeon and Dungeon Deposed (both audiobooks), but they might not be everyone's cup of tea.

Hope these are what you're looking for.

I'd go with Ascend Online if you're looking for a book with an actual game.

If you want more of a fantasy with game elements, Sufficiently Advanced Magic is where it's at. (While I admit that I know the author personally and have some bias, it's an Amazon Bestseller.)

If you prefer something modern-day and like a good zombie story, The Alpha Virus is a great read, though it's still a work-in-progress.

For a series with great characters and emotional impact, The Wandering Inn is an ongoing web serial of considerable length, and updates frequently.

Thanks! The book is finished! Now it is in Pre-order at Amazon. At the 7th of November it'll appear at the Kindle.

If you liked this book, please consider leaving a review. It’s very important for me and my translators. I have this book translated out of pocket, and your review will help me to fund the translation of the rest of the series as quickly as possible.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JR4S88K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540724072&sr=8-1&keywords=starsky+valery

Thanks ahead! Have a nice day!

I'm not well-read in the genre so I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're looking for, but Will Wight's Cradle series sounds as though it might interest you. The series isn't complete, but there are five completed novels in it.

Amazon link for the first book, Unsouled

Amazon link for the first three as a package deal.

I would recommend it if you're a fan of cultivation, spiritual techniques, and the zero to god journey. It also has a more western style prose that for me was more enjoyable to read.

That's great! All my books happen to be free too! You can find them on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Ascend-Online-Luke-Chmilenko-ebook/dp/B01M01ET8E


It'll say that the book costs $6 there, but that's because I'm running a sale for the next forever. During this sale each book comes with a sense of pride and accomplishment for being able to help an author eat and warm his house this winter.

I hope you take advantage of it! This sale will only last until the end of time!

• "The Wandering Inn" for best world building, and best slice of life mixed with an epic story
  https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/10073/the-wandering-inn
  
  
  
  
• "The Snake Report", for best reincarnation into a monster, ALL HAIL THE TINY SNAKE GOD!
  https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/14396/the-snake-report
  
  
  
  
• "Cradle", for a Xianxia with a non jerk protagonist and a mentor + sect/faction that you can root for
  https://www.amazon.com/Unsouled-Cradle-Book-Will-Wight-ebook/dp/B01H1CYBS6
  
  
  
  
• "Savage Divinity", for a nice Wuxia like story with a sometime depressed but always nice protagonist (and lot of floofs!)
  https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/5701/savage-divinity
  
  
  
  
• "There is no epic loot here, only puns", for best light hearted dungeon core story
  https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/15935/there-is-no-epic-loot-here-only-puns
  
  
  
  
• Daniel Black series for a Male Adult Power Fantasy with sex and a harem that still has a story if you remove the sex
  (guilty pleasure)
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KZ41LHM/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

I strongly recommend a KU (Kindle Unlimited) subscription on amazon, typically there are deals this time of year

the genre is blessed in that practically every litrpg book of note is available on KU

among KU, I'd recommend starting with Life Reset and Ascend Online

for online litrpg, as mentioned Royal Road is a great source. Some of the ones of note there:

• Azarinth Healer - brawling tank (female protag, and don't let the title fool you, it's a bit of a running joke where people underestimate her because she's 'just a healer', then she beats the crap out of them)
  
• Delve - deep dive into the math and system geekery
  
• Chrysalis - reincarnated as an ant
  
  adjacent to litrpg is progression fantasy, which is all about, well, progressing from weak to strong and small to big
  
  on KU the Cradle series is based on eastern cultivation novels and Divine Dungeon is a fantastic intro to the dungeon core genre
  
  on RR, Mother of Learning is absolutely stunning
  
  
  there aren't many with female protags, but of the ones there are, practically all of them are OP, including Siphon and Metaworld Chronicles. Among the ones that aren't, you have Stonehaven League and Forge of Destiny (also cultivation like Cradle, you can keep up with the original quest here)

Hey! It's you! Loving your book :D

Everyone go check this guy's book! It's awesome and hilarious :D

https://www.amazon.com/Still-Aint-Dead-Wife-Odyssey-ebook/dp/B07VSCF92T/

Highly recommend!

The following each only have one book sadly as not many books in the genre have a lot yet, some have second books coming soon.

The Game of Gods by Joshua Kern

The Great Filter by Russell Wilbinski

Advent (Red Mage) by Xander Boyce

Core Punk by Paul Bellow

First Song (Anthem of Infinity) by Blaise Corvin

This next one has three books but it also has a lot of sex, the story is good if you can get past that or enjoy that sort of thing.

Apocalypse Gates by Daniel Schinhofen

This next one is post-apocalyptic but the world ended a long time ago, it has 2 books. I should note that the "system" aspect is new in the book, it didn't happen when the world fell.

Radioactive Evolution by Richard Hummel

Lastly an honorable mention because while you wouldn't think it's post apocalyptic from the description it absolutely is which may be a spoiler but not big one. Again those the world ended a long time ago. It has three books.

Threadbare by Andrew Seiple

Given time i could probably think of a few others but these were just the ones that came to me the quickest and ones I can say having read them are all good. I also avoided the ones you mentioned or other people have already recommended. Hope this helps!

You might like Unbound Deathlord - the MC is fairly amoral in that one.

Awaken Online might also be to your liking.

I also like to recommend Unsouled, which is basically a xianxia novel written by an American. IMO cultivation / xianxia novels are basically litrpgs, with weird names slapped on top of the numbers.

Another one that kinda sorta straddles the line of LitRPG is Super Sales on Super Heroes - it's a superhero novel, and the MC's power is that he can spend "points" to upgrade things.

Was hoping you were announcing that it was actually released... not i gotta wait till December.. QQ

As for recommendations...

Just finished the two Underworld books. They were pretty good. Looking forward to the next one.

Also am in the middle of crystal shards and it's good as well. A couple nice twists, and a good take on dystopian litrpg.

What is interesting is that LitRPG is basically a sub-genre of the "Portal Fantasy", like Narnia or The Chronicles of Amber. There are a number of LitRPG examples where the story has the main character transported to a fantasy world where everyone has "levels".

The "Chaos Seeds" Series by Aleron Kong has the main character transported to a world where all people have stats, levels, and skills.

The Arcane Emperor web series has a similar conceit - everyone in that land has stats, levels, and skills and a "character sheet".

Hero of Thera and Worth the Candle also has the MC transported to a fantasy/sci-fi world with a character sheet. (Worth The Candle, BTW, is excellent and updates regularly.)

In Super Sales on Super Heroes the main character gets a super power where he has character sheet "in the real world" - this is sort of LitRPG adjacent (Harem warning, Slavery warning). Decent book, even if the MC is a bit amoral.

One of the things I like about the genre is that there a many roads to the "game". Some are just VR based, others are a portal fantasy, while still others have game-like elements in "real life". There are a ton of approaches.

I am excited to see how the genre grows as new authors enter the space and we move further from the "Light Novel" origins. I can't wait to get further away from Asian style grinding and Russian style misogyny and misanthropy.

I have a sci-fi GameLit called Grow Up, although I will stress that it is definitely GameLit and not LitRPG.

Some of the other books suggested will definitely scratch the LitRPG itch much better, i just mention Grow Up as there isn't as wide of a selection of sci-fi stuff yet and so keen readers can get through them pretty quick!

Here's the link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VWLQL6N/

If you haven't already read the Gam3 I would start there first, it's both a solid LitRPG and a great Sci-fi book.

As other’s have already recommend the best book that satisfies your criteria while being good is Cradle series by Will Wight

Book 1 is called Unsouled. Latest book is #6. New book comes out every six months. If you look at reviews across the entire series they are very high with the latest book having more reviews than even the first because there was so much hype surrounding its release and a lot of new people joined the series at the time.

I’ve read a lot of books where MC is OP. This is the only book where it actually makes sense and doesn’t turn everything into a joke

Threadbare is my favorite example of this genre, though some of the violence in that is replaced by humor. If you're n audio book listener then I highly suggest getting these, if not then it's still more than worth it imo.

https://www.amazon.com/Threadbare-Stuff-Nonsense-Andrew-Seiple-ebook/dp/B078KGS4V4

Shameless plug for my own web-serial on Royal Road, it also takes place in its own world with an "RPGs magic system." Can't claim it's as good as Dante's, but it's free and I love hearing feedback!

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/19452/nameless-ascent

>quintessential LitRPG novel -- the best one that's also the best example of the genre and its style

A single one doesn't exist yet.

https://www.amazon.com/Land-Founding-LitRPG-Chaos-Seeds-ebook/dp/B0172GEB68 is often how most people find the genre based solely on marketing/promotions. However, if you read the book after reading high quality fantasy novels it's likely you'll be disappointed.

The best books are in sister genres. https://www.amazon.com/Unsouled-Cradle-Book-Will-Wight-ebook/dp/B01H1CYBS6 for cultivation, and https://www.amazon.com/Sufficiently-Advanced-Magic-Arcane-Ascension-ebook/dp/B06XBFD7CB for progression fantasy.

Hello, nice to meet you! My book is recently launched, so I'm just hoping for potential eyeballs, yes:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KMMT9TX/

I'd be happy to have you review the book, and we can message/email as suits your fancy. As for your forum, I haven't participated there yet - would it be a faux pas to promote there? I'm generally open to all options, as I'm just starting out.

GameLitCrit seems nice enough, but if they only accept messages via Facebook I'm not going to be able to do anything with them for now.

The System Apocalypse series might be what you're thinking of.

Advent (Red Mage Series) is a good first novel of the same type.

​

Myself and others actually refer to this sub-genre as "System Apocalypse" just because it describes it perfectly and I can't think of anything better, even though there was other stuff in this style that came before Tao Wong's series.

I really did it. It is a trilogy. The first book on Amazon, second - coming soon.

At thirty years old, Phil is an unemployed gamer who struggles to make ends meet. His only source of income is freelance writing (when he feels inspired enough to add another article to his less-than-popular blog). His wife has just walked out on him, leaving him without money, purpose, or food in the fridge.

On the day his wife dumps him, Phil receives a mysterious piece of wetware. A game interface seems to have been implanted in his brain which allows him to see the world through the eyes of an RPG player.

Now that Phil discovers his real-life stats, he can see they're far below average. With 4 pt. Agility, 6 pt. Strength and 3 pt. Stamina, his most advanced life skill is predictably gaming.

Luckily, real-life stats can be leveled up just like virtual ones. But will it help Phil get his wife back? Can he stop being such a couch potato? Would the new game help him become fitter? Or more successful? Can his gaming skills finally come in handy in real life?

Last but not least, can he find out who could have uploaded the mysterious game to his brain? And how is he supposed to deal with this unknown but apparently omnipotent force?

Underworld: Level Up Or Die has a mildly broken system due to how important Wisdom is. It's not quite the one stat to rule them all but Wisdom becomes VITALLY important due to it governing how fast you regenerate mana, and in a world where every class except pure melee relies on mana and the only limit to your power is how much mana you can physically push into a spell....

fun ones you might like are Super Sales on Super Heroes by William D. Arand or the Waldo Rabbit series by Nelson Chereta

How about the Cradle Series by Will Wight? It's Xianxia as imagined by a Western author, and actually really good. Characters get stronger by 'cultivating' and using consumable spiritual aids to gain power.

If you enjoy the comedy of Aleron's books you make like my new novel "Still Ain't Dead."

https://www.amazon.com/Still-Aint-Dead-Wife-Odyssey-ebook/dp/B07VSCF92T/

I recently finished both Eric Uggland's "Good Guys" series and Dan Sugralinov's "Level Up" series (or perhaps caught up is more appropriate, as at least one of those is still going). I really enjoyed both series, and the latter left me with a desire to check out some more slice of life types.

I'm currently reading Dakota Krout's "Divine Dungeon" series. I had initially passed over it, having no real desire to read about a dungeon crawl (which I mistakenly believed to be what it was about), but decided to give it a shot after reading his Completionist Chronicles series.

I had initially planned to go with ten realms before divine dungeon, but there was a bit too much cussing for me to listen to it with little kids in the car, but it will likely be next.

I didn't see my books in that list.

https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Eye-Land-Dreams-Book-ebook/dp/B07GH9KXVW

Have you read the Apocalypse: Reborn book 1 yet? I liked it a lot. So much so that I went to Royal Road and read his in progress book 2 there.

https://www.amazon.com/Reborn-Apocalypse-LitRPG-Story-1-ebook/dp/B07RNNJB8K

It's one of those go back in time to save everybody stories, but the system and world is really interesting.

The Cradle.

Good Western Wuxia, good writer and a good intro to the genre without the... oddities... of translations.

Life Reset, MC is a goblin who, do to circumstances, essentially becomes an NPC raid boss. Good book overall, some of it was pretty dry but the audio book was fun to listen to.

https://www.amazon.com/Life-Reset-LitRPG-Novel-Online-ebook/dp/B074N1P685/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505746503&sr=8-1&keywords=life+reset

I'd recommend "Life in the North", by Tao Wong.

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It belongs to a sub-genre of apocalyptic LitRPG in which, rather than people logging into a game, the game system is actually imposed over Earth as a whole (leading to an apocalypse, Tao's series is called "System Apocalypse" for that reason).

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"Life..." is not particularly long, but there are currently 6 or 7 books in the series, so assuming you like it, it should check your "boatloads of pages" box. =)

My favorite LitRPG read for 2019 so far has been The Crafting of Chess. IIRC the author has stated he couldn't afford an editor or to commission cover art, so he did everything flying solo. And boy, can you tell.The cover art is basically stick figures, he seems to think "martial" (as in law) should be spelled "marshall," (as in sheriff) and on and on...but if he'd not published it I'd have felt I was missing out. Dunno. 🤷‍♂️ But it sounds like he brought the book to market for effectively no money out of pocket, so it can be done.

Having said that, I think it was the cover art on Travis Bagwell's books that made me immediately gravitate to them. So different from typical LitRPG covers, yet so arresting in their own right. (I think he said his sister in law does them. Lucky him.)

The Crafting of Chess kind of fits from what I remember. There are plots about past situations, game company things, but most of what he MC does meets that description.

https://www.amazon.com/Crafting-Chess-LitRPG-adventure-ebook/dp/B07P1YRHTX

Spinward an artifical dreamstate novel also works. It takes place almost entirely in the game.

https://www.amazon.com/Spinward-Artificial-Dream-State-Novel-ebook/dp/B01KQOSHYK

Also look at: You need a bigger sword, Battle Spire, Codename Freedom, Stonehaven league.

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/20451/who-says-this-ol-cant-become-a-splendid-slime

Office Lady reincarnated as a slime. A little worried that the author's slowing down is turning into the author stopping this series.

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https://www.amazon.com/That-Reincarnated-Slime-light-novel-ebook/dp/B076H132D2/ref=pd_cp_351_1/131-0686409-1127854?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B076H132D2&pd_rd_r=1040ec8c-2170-481c-b955-6b04dc76527e&pd_rd_w=glHS3&pd_rd_wg=hzJUj&pf_rd_p=ef4dc990-a9ca-4945-ae0b-f8d549198ed6&pf_rd_r=N3XZPC8B5H02AJQ4705Q&psc=1&refRID=N3XZPC8B5H02AJQ4705Q

Office Worker reincarnated as a slime. Really fun series, Eventually City management/politics with big battles.

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https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/20568/tree-of-aeons-an-isekai-story

Guy reincarnates as a sentient tree. Slow paced skill growth into city building/unit management.

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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CQMYQT5/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title

Reincarnated as a Lovecraftian horror: Yuri princess edition

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Oh, just noticed you also said born as a monster....

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/8894/everybody-loves-large-chests

MC is a monster, one of the best litrpg monster series I've read, HOWEVER, it does have lots of raunchy NSFW content mixed in there. The Amazon versions (starting with https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076NSQ6JT/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title ) toned down the sex scenes but it does still have a lot of them.

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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NNWZT9M/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i3

A skeleton from an world set up like an RPG gets teleported in space and begins a Sci-Fi adventure on an abandoned spaceport.

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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078KGS4V4?notRedirectToSDP=1&ref_=dbs_pwh_calw_&storeType=ebooks

Toy Golem leveling up and fighting to rescue his owner.

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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071LHHY85/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title

A goblin joins a camp of bandits.

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So, so many reincarnated as a dungeon core novels, but not sure if that fits in with your "monster" request.

https://www.amazon.com/Re-Start-Level-Up-Book-LitRPG-ebook/dp/B07CKRMLJB Is finished. Good read to, though i wish there was more!

Good book. World needs more rational MCs who don't have harems.

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Like, https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GH9KXVW/

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RLitRPG?

Cradle series by Will Wight

Good series, not sure if id consider it strictly pure litrpg but still has the idea of leveling and learning skills etc. Deffo worth a read though!

I recommend Threadbare which is a series of three books and about ~320K words. Completed and on Amazon, also available on SpaceBattles and Sufficient Velocity.

Ohh. I see.

Cradle Series

Overgeared

Red Mage

The Gam3

Limitless Lands

Divine Dungeon

Mirror World

The Good guys

War Aeternus

Dest March

Bushido Online

Dark Elf Chronicles

Djinn Tamer

Hero of Thera

Morning Wood

The Two Week Curse

Party Hard

Axe Druid

Ryan DeBruyn
Equalize: A Post-Apocalyptic LitRPG (Ether Collapse Book 1)

The way of the shaman

Galactagon

You forgot the link :) https://www.amazon.com/Life-Reset-LitRPG-Novel-Online-ebook/dp/B074N1P685

Crafting of Chess gives us a sense of the rl characters life and issues

https://www.amazon.com/Crafting-Chess-LitRPG-adventure-ebook/dp/B07P1YRHTX/ref=nodl_.

Paradise Clash follows a pi who is hunting a missing person in a game


https://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Clash-Bounty-L-Price-ebook/dp/B07Q8WQPSR/ref=nodl_

[The Crafting of Chess](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P1YRHTX/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1550725087&sr=1-1&keywords=crafting+of+chess)

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My book just got up. I would like it on this list.

This month's releases:

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R.A. Mejia , Joshua Swayne, et al. 2019/7/1 Project Alpha: Book 2 (Project Alpha series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TBSKRQF

Shane Walker 2019/7/1 All Trades Book 1: Master of None https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T2XMCH4

Blaise Corvin 2019/7/2 Accounts Payable (Nora Hazard Book 3) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T8P8FJM

Wyatt Kane 2019/7/2 Enhancer 5 (The Enhancer Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T1FQ1CK

Arlo Adams 2019/7/8 Breaking Ground: A Fantasy LitRPG Gamelit Adventure (Enora Online Book 4) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TD73DPH

Elian Tars 2019/7/10 Gloominess +1: Gleam of Darkness. A LitRPG Adventure: Book 1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TSBQ2W6

Nathan Thompson 2019/7/11 Lighting Distant Shores (Challenger's Call Book 4) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T6F55JM

Aaron Oster and Richard Sashigane 2019/7/12 Skyflare (Rise To Omniscience Book 3) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T61SRXF

R.R. Virdi 2019/7/15 Beast Queen: A LitRPG/GameLit Action Adventure (Monster Slayer Online Book 2) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TLG2KCN

Dmitry Bilik 2019/7/17 The Time Master (Interworld Network Book I): LitRPG Series https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QWMRR8M

Michael Anderle 2019/7/19 Controlling The Goddess (Chronicles Of KieraFreya Book 2) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TDN98S4

Benjamin Douglas 2019/7/23 Quest for Vengeance: A LitRPG Saga (Hero Online Book 1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07R4H9XCZ

Ivan Shaman 2019/7/23 Cannibal. Demon of the Mind. A Post-Apocalyptic Survival LitRPG Series https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RS4ZZJN

Troy Osgood 2019/7/30 Sky Realms Online: Grayhold: A LitRPG Adventure https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TKDQ34L

P.A. Wikoff and Sean Lenahan 2019/7/31 Imprisoned Online: Gaming the System (A LitRPG Adventure Book 1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T7KTDKD

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More books searchable through https://litrpg-newsletter.com/filter/ https://litrpg-newsletter.com/new-releases/ and https://litrpg-newsletter.com/upcoming-releases/

Life Reset is my favorite Town Building book. Not sure if it matches the scale you are looking for as far as the building goes though.

[Sufficiently Advanced Magic]
[Survival Quest]
[Occultist]
[The Completionist Chronicles]

Cradle series by Will Wight.

https://www.amazon.com/Unsouled-Cradle-Book-Will-Wight-ebook/dp/B01H1CYBS6/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_sspa?keywords=cradle+will+wight&qid=1563374918&s=gateway&sprefix=cradle+wil&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1

Last Horizon : Beta - https://www.amazon.com/Last-Horizon-Beta-Daniel-Schinhofen-ebook/dp/B01M1MUC76/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1481679084&sr=1-1&keywords=last+horizon

Ascend Online - https://www.amazon.com/Ascend-Online-Luke-Chmilenko-ebook/dp/B01M01ET8E/ref=pd_sim_351_5?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01M01ET8E&pd_rd_r=1BDVG5RGH85K4YT0TXRN&pd_rd_w=hzRJZ&pd_rd_wg=k0sHQ&psc=1&refRID=1BDVG5RGH85K4YT0TXRN

Spinward - https://www.amazon.com/Spinward-Artificial-Dream-State-Novel-ebook/dp/B01KQOSHYK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1481679158&sr=1-1&keywords=spinward

try "life reset"

https://www.amazon.com/Restart-Level-Up-Book-LitRPG-ebook/dp/B07CKRMLJB/ kinda sorta?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/First-Song-Book-Anthem-Infinity-ebook/dp/B07HD2VQ9W

Cowritten by Blaise Corvin and Outspan Foster

Transformation litrpg by Valery Starsky. There is MC

Life reset is the first

book in what looks like it will

be a revenge story: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B074N1P685


__
^^^-english_haiku_bot

Life reset is the first book in what looks like it will be a revenge story:
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B074N1P685

the cover looks like it, but just stumbled across - no idea how it is

https://www.amazon.com/First-Song-Book-Anthem-Infinity-ebook/dp/B07HD2VQ9W/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1537126075&sr=1-1

First Song, Book One (Anthem of Infinity 1)

I'm a part-time author, 19 books, 20th out early next year. And although a long time ago I wrote a book that prefigures LitRPG in a lot of ways, I've been on a steep learning curve this year to catch up with where LitRPG is at. Firstly, as a reader, I've come to appreciate that the usual criteria for enjoying a book don't fully apply. I get hooked by following an MC in a gaming system, especially one with levels and skill tipping points and stay up much later than I intended to read on. This despite weak stories, poor writing, errors, etc. I'm into literary fiction as well and appreciate a book that leaves me deeply moved. But these days I'd rather read LitRPG. Of course, I prefer well-written LitRPG (Kit Falbo's Crafting of Chess and Travis Bagwell's Awaken Online spring to mind) but it's really interesting that there is a hook in LitRPG done right which is, frankly, new to fiction. If an author comes to the genre thinking they understand it (me a year ago) but don't deliver that sweet, addictive engagement with progressing in the game, then that author is going to disappoint readers, and see correspondingly negative posts. My experience here in the reddit community though, has been overwhelmingly positive and nothing like the territorial hostility and downright bullying I've seen in the LitRPG / GameLit Facebook groups. I think the reddit community is now so large that proprietorial authors and their epigones can no longer whip up a storm against new writers.

TL;DR: you should come back to the genre.