Ascend online gets a big recommendation from me. It is well written, has a good plot, great execution of RPG elements, and cool village building theme which I like.
And more importantly, Ascend Online is free on promotion on Amazon Kindle for a few days right now so even if you aren't going to read it yet, I would go and snag it before it goes back to normal price. The Audiobook becomes discounted heavily after owning the kindle version! https://www.amazon.com/Ascend-Online-Luke-Chmilenko-ebook/dp/B01M01ET8E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504215682&sr=8-1&keywords=ascend+online
Luke Daniels narrates the audiobook for Ascend Online and he is a big name A-List narrator. He is also the narrator who did all the hilarious voices in the extremely popular comedy book "Off to be the Wizard" by Scott Meyer.
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!
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.
Great post, and thanks for including my book! I appreciate it very much.
Some LitRPGs that I like:
In terms of published Western LitRPGs, I'd say <strong>Ascend Online</strong> is my favorite. The central protagonist isn't a complete psychopath like a lot of LitRPG protagonists, and he immediately starts treating the highly intelligent AI NPCs as people. That's a huge selling point for me, since it's so rare to see LitRPG protagonists that are friendly to NPCs.
Also, rather than immediately jumping into save the world stuff, it's reasonably paced. The main character doesn't start out with any crazy game breaking abilities, and the setting itself feels largely realistic - it feels very similar to a futuristic version of Everquest.
My other favorite Western LitRPG is <strong>Threadbare</strong>, which focuses on a bunch of teddy bear (golem) gradually learning about the world around it, and undertaking a determined quest to protect his little girl “owner”. It’s both heartwarming and surprisingly insightful.
In terms of non-Western LitRPGs, <strong>Log Horizon</strong> is my favorite. The author has clearly played MMORPGs, and the tactics used in there - both by the main character and other characters - feel like the types of things real people would do in a MMO setting. Once again, the main character also takes NPCs seriously and treats them well, which is a big plus for me. Shiroe for Log Horizon is probably the closest character I've seen to someone with my own background in a book.
I also love <strong>So I'm a Spider, So What?</strong>, which is a hilarious story about a girl who gets reincarnated into an RPG setting as a tiny spider monster. Fortunately, she can grind to get stronger! It's a bit of a strange one, but tons of fun. Note that this one is not strictly going into a VR game - they're just reincarnated in a world with RPG stats. It's a little different, but similar.
If you like the idea of a protagonist exploiting a bunch of bugs, check out <strong>Kono Sekai ga Game da to Ore dake ga Shitteiru</strong>. I enjoyed the first book a ton. The second book started getting into tropes I didn’t enjoy quite as much.
One of my other recent favorites is <strong>The Tutorial is Too Hard</strong>, which focuses on a main character transported into a dungeon on “Hell” difficulty that needs to make his way through to the top floor. We see a lot of his analytical process, which makes the story much more enjoyable to someone like me. This is probably my favorite ongoing story.
I looked these books up and both are litrpgs. Are these the correct ones? https://www.amazon.com/gp/kindle/series/B07D9PD6DP https://www.amazon.com/Ascend-Online-Luke-Chmilenko-ebook/dp/B01M01ET8E
> Ascend Online – Luke Chmilenko (Ascend Online, Book 1) https://www.audible.com/pd/Ascend-Online-Audiobook/B073PG4DX8
And for anyone who's getting this, the Kindle version is free today too, as I saw in /r/FreeEBooks. I think the usual Whispersync price is $7.49, so the sale still saves you money.
Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:
Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites. I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.
Hi everyone!
I am super happy to announce that Glory to the Brave is now ready for pre-order and will be available on September 15th for your reading pleasure! (And will be available on KU on release!) It’s been a wild ride in getting this book finished, and I hope that you will all enjoy it! Weighing in at a heart stopping 333,000 words this book should hopefully keep you awake for the several nights once it's out as you see the newest adventure that Lyrian and the others have to offer.
In excitement of Glory to the Brave’s upcoming release, I’ve put the whole Ascend Online series on sale for the next few days! If you haven’t had a chance to grab the remaining books or start the series, now’s your chance!
Ascend Online book 1 is FREE until Saturday September 12th!
Ascend Online: Hell to Pay is 99 cents, until September 14th!
Ascend Online: Legacy of the Fallen is 99 cents until September 14th!
Ascend Online: Glory to the Brave can be found here!
Audiobook listeners – keep a sharp eye out on audible this week for Glory to the Brave’s Pre-order! It will be going up any day now, and we will be pushing as fast as we can for a pre-christmas release! Stay tuned for more details!
Hi everyone!
I am super happy to announce that Glory to the Brave is now ready for pre-order and will be available on September 15th for your reading pleasure! (And will be available on KU on release!) It’s been a wild ride in getting this book finished, and I hope that you will all enjoy it! Weighing in at a heart stopping 333,000 words this book should hopefully keep you awake for the several nights once it's out as you see the newest adventure that Lyrian and the others have to offer.
In excitement of Glory to the Brave’s upcoming release, I’ve put the whole Ascend Online series on sale for the next few days! If you haven’t had a chance to grab the remaining books or start the series, now’s your chance!
Ascend Online book 1 is FREE until Saturday September 12th!
Ascend Online: Hell to Pay is 99 cents, until September 14th!
Ascend Online: Legacy of the Fallen is 99 cents until September 14th!
Ascend Online: Glory to the Brave can be found here!
Audiobook listeners – keep a sharp eye out on audible this week for Glory to the Brave’s Pre-order! It will be going up any day now, and we will be pushing as fast as we can for a pre-christmas release! Stay tuned for more details!
I am on the lookout for things to read myself I am on mobile so horrible formatting incoming
From litrpg top picks are:
Ascend Online by Luke Chmilenko. Very well rounded and balanced read
Completionist Chronicles by dakota krout. Protagonist is quite OP here
The Land by Aleron Kong (only as audiobook). This is a controversial pick because Aleron Kong is a) complete and total dick b) his writing is quite weak and amateurish. However as an audiobook The Land is awesome due to its narrator. Also Aleron probably does the best job of world and base building. Main character is crazy OP here and getting more OP with each book
Divine Dungeon by Dakota Krout. A litrpg from the perspective of a dungeon. Fun and different from others
From fantasy in general
Cradle series which I already mentioned. Its like drugs in book format
Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson . This is a 10/10 Epic story. Think on the scope of Lord of the Rings. Also I can recommend anything by Brandon Sanderson
Wings of war. Amazing and brutal. Many beloved characters die and suffer horribly despite expectations, different from other books out there
Sci-fi
Too lazy to remember more at this point
I'm sure you're looking for free content, but if you're open to spending some money and you can manage listening to an Audiobook, check this out. It's a story about a group of people playing a total immersion game (think Ready Player One) MMORPG. But the main protagonist get's hit with a bug on launch and gets separated from his crew. I'm on book 3 now, and it's very enjoyable to see the guy unlocking new abilities and uncovering the lore of the world he's playing in.
The voice acting in here is really well done. But if you're not into audiobooks, it looks like there's a paper version.
https://www.amazon.com/Ascend-Online-Luke-Chmilenko-ebook/dp/B01M01ET8E
https://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/Ascend-Online-Audiobook/B073PG4DX8
Some LitRPG recommendations:
In terms of published Western LitRPGs, I'd say <strong>Ascend Online</strong> is my favorite. The central protagonist isn't a complete psychopath like a lot of LitRPG protagonists, and he immediately starts treating the highly intelligent AI NPCs as people. That's a huge selling point for me, since it's so rare to see LitRPG protagonists that are friendly to NPCs.
Also, rather than immediately jumping into save the world stuff, it's reasonably paced. The main character doesn't start out with any crazy game breaking abilities, and the setting itself feels largely realistic - it feels very similar to a futuristic version of Everquest.
In terms of non-Western LitRPGs, <strong>Log Horizon</strong> is my favorite. The author has clearly played MMORPGs, and the tactics used in there - both by the main character and other characters - feel like the types of things real people would do in a MMO setting. Once again, the main character also takes NPCs seriously and treats them well, which is a big plus for me. Shiroe for Log Horizon is probably the closest character I've seen to someone with my own background in a book.
I also love <strong>I'm a Spider, So What?</strong>, which is a hilarious story about a girl who gets reincarnated into an RPG setting as a tiny spider monster. Fortunately, she can grind to get stronger! It's a bit of a strange one, but tons of fun.
More recently, I am currently reading and enjoying <strong>Kono Sekai ga Game da to Ore dake ga Shitteiru</strong>, which is very similar to a style of LitRPG I almost ended up publishing before Sufficiently Advanced Magic. (It focuses on exploiting bugs in a bug-riddled game, which appeals to my background as a game designer - and all the bugs and exploits I've seen thus far are very plausible.)
My book is called Ascend Online which you can find here on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ascend-Online-Luke-Chmilenko-ebook/dp/B01M01ET8E
It's pretty much my mental picture of what a perfect MMORPG would be!