TOP-10 LitRPG books by English-speaking authors

Fans of sci-fi and fantasy literature are constantly in search of new stories, fascinating universes and original plot moves in the narrative. But it so happens that most of them limit themselves only to mainstream trends, forgetting about such niche, but very fascinating fiction. One genre that can become a pleasant discovery for bookworms (no offense, just liked the word) is LitRPG.

A brief history of the genre and its features

The term LitRPG stands for Literally Role-playing Game, and is a sub-genre of fiction largely based on gamer culture. Specifically, those who play Dungeons&Dragons-type board games, computer RPGs, and MMO RPGs (World of Warcraft, Lineage, EVE Online, and others). The central figures in the story are usually people who find themselves in a virtual reality that lives according to gamified rules, or who face changes in their real world that make it similar to the game world. The narrative often includes descriptions of game mechanics, level progression, use of abilities, and other RPG elements.

Although the genre is quite young, it still has much older roots than many might think. Isekai into virtual reality was described by many science fiction authors, including the fathers of cyberpunk. And getting into a computer game appeared as early as in the works of the 90s. But a new breath in this direction breathed fanfics on popular MMO RPGs, which were written by Korean gamers. Very soon this idea was picked up by Russian little-known writers, published through self-publishing services, and then they were joined by professional authors who saw the potential in the genre.

A selection of books to familiarize you with the LitRPG genre from English-speaking authors

Among Western readers, the LitRPG genre is also gaining popularity, but there are certain problems that prevent people from perceiving such literature. The main one is the difficulty of translation. Since the market is dominated by Russian-speaking authors, some books are either not translated at all, or localized for sale in the English-speaking segment of the Internet. And translation is always a loss of cultural nuances, linguistic peculiarities, and other things that make the work of a particular writer special.

Fortunately, every year more and more Western authors release LitRPG works in their native language. And this allows fans of the genre to get access to content that is easier for them to perceive due to their mentality and language peculiarities. Below are a few examples of such novels – with a loyal fanbase and high scores from readers.

Ascend Online

Marcus, along with his friends, likes to visit virtual worlds, escaping from the daily routine. And when a new revolutionary video game with the effect of total immersion was released, the company immediately decided to play it together. Only in the first minutes after getting into the new reality things did not go well for the young man. First he lost contact with his friends, and then had to fight off a horde of goblins attacking a small village.

This was the beginning of an epic adventure, where Marcus had to face challenges far more dangerous than a pack of marauding goblins. Later the world of the game is developed in other books – Legacy of the Fallen, Hell to Pay, Glory to the Brave. They, too, were warmly received by fans of the genre. And, remarkably, they were mostly bought in audiobook format rather than e-books.

He Who Fights with Monsters: A LitRPG Adventure

Jason is an unremarkable young man who works as a manager at a stationery store and spends all his free time playing video games. But it’s one thing to be safe and participate in adventures at home on the computer, and quite another when your life is at stake. That’s exactly what happened to Jason, who was caught up in an interdimensional journey and forced to become a hero willy-nilly. But real heroism is a bit different from pressing keyboard buttons, so the guy has a long way to go.

The Wandering Inn

This book is the kind of book that appeals to both newcomers to the LitRPG genre and avid fans of this line of fiction who have reread more than a dozen works. Beginning readers will appreciate the fact that there are not so many statistics and highly specialized game terminology. Whereas experienced fans will surely like the local plot. The narrative is conducted not on behalf of the next salvation of mankind, crushing insidious villains, but from the perspective of an ordinary girl.

Erin Solstice (that’s the main character’s name) tries to avoid any conflicts, not considering it necessary to fight even with low-level goblins. Instead of fighting, she has another passion – she likes to work as a bartender. Do you think it’s boring to read about the working life of an innkeeper? Not at all. After all, she will serve not only ordinary people, but also a variety of monsters, magical creatures. And this will lead to a whole series of unusual situations, many of which will jeopardize Erin’s life.

Queen in the Mud

The theme of isekai – the transfer of inhabitants of one world to another (usually ordinary people in fantasy universes) – is not new to art. It can be found in comics, games, anime and books in many different variations. But the story of cheerful teenager Naomi is somewhat different from the standard plot of most isekai. The girl is not just transported to a fantasy virtual world, but is reborn in the body of a strange lizard-like creature. The fact that everything going on around is terribly real, as well as the dangers generated by this world adds additional fascination to the adventure.

Separately I would like to praise the author of the book for his approach to creating a well-developed universe – a lot of atypical creatures, characters, simple and understandable magic system. Fans of playing tabletop RPGs or computer games in the MMO genre will surely be satisfied with the realistic description of the game elements.

Sufficiently Advanced Magic

The events of the book are not set in a virtual space. However, this fantasy world lives by rules similar to the concepts of computer role-playing games. Our protagonist, on behalf of whom the story is narrated, must also solve puzzles, search for treasures, participate in battles and pump up his level. Only this progression is not computerized, but quite real – allowing him to acquire more and more powerful magical abilities. To follow the complex training of the main character and his transformation into a strong wizard is really interesting. All the more so because the book is written in a pleasant syllable and is read with enthusiasm.

Realm of Arkon

Older gamers may remember such projects as the first Diablo and Everquest. So! The world of Arkon is a kind of symbiosis of these two universes. And this literature is clearly not for beginners, but a very hardcore (if you can say that about the book) reading for fans of computer games. For the story focuses a lot of attention on the passage of dungeons, and the reader is constantly bombarded with tons of statistics from the category of “Hero raises the level”. And this is quite normal, because the hero has to pass his storyline on a nightmarish level of difficulty, where you have to die, die and die again.

The Game Is Life

A book that can introduce the LitRPG genre to a young reading audience – fans of teenage atiutopias like Divergent or The Hunger Games. Here, too, the plot revolves around young people in their early 20s, who are having romances, fighting, making peace, solving some of their own teenage problems, and (without it) fighting for their lives in an unfair world. In this case, we’re talking about some realistic video game that allows professional cyber athletes to score points that entitle them to privileges and a luxurious life in a society where most can’t afford it. The stakes in the game are high, and the losers risk condemning themselves to poverty for the rest of their lives.

The Game Is Life is a good book to familiarize yourself with the genre and can be read by absolutely all science fiction fans. You can’t understand something without fear. Simply because there are no state indicators, role-playing distributions and other attributes of so-called Hard LitRPGs here at all. It’s a simple and engaging story, intertwined with gaming themes in many ways.

Opening Moves: The Gam3

Imagine a world where all disputes between warring parties are resolved not on the battlefield, but in an extremely realistic virtual reality computer game where the fate of all mankind is at stake. So that’s exactly what the plot of Opening Moves: The Gam3 will be about. In the universe of the book, mankind has long gone to contact with extraterrestrial civilizations, and the galactic conflict with other alien races is conducted in VR. The protagonist is forced to participate in this game to protect the Earth.

One of the advantages of the book is the interesting setting and descriptions of the rules by which this fictional world lives. Anime fans will surely notice the similarities of some moments with Dragon Ball Z or Sword Art Online, while gamers will appreciate the parallels with the MMO project Anarchy Online. The only thing that can spoil the impression of the book is the idiotic actions of the main character and his direct falling under the type of “Mary Sue” (if anyone does not know, this is the name given to characters who have practically no weaknesses, by default know how to do everything and can do everything, and therefore do not cause an emotional response from most readers).

Dungeon Crawler Carl

In this universe, humanity has become a plaything in the hands of more advanced civilizations, who watch from the sidelines as the last survivors are forced to fight for life in a giant labyrinth encircling the entire planet. It turns out to be another variation on the Hunger Games theme. The protagonist has to make a show for rich viewers from all over the galaxy, so that they grant him the means to survive. Despite the funny concept, the story is generally dark and full of black humor.

Death March

Playing video games is fun – but only when you’re safe in your own home. But playing games with the risk of losing your only life will only be accepted by crazy extreme people and those who need to win for an important goal. Chris, the hero of this sci-fi dystopia/LitRPG, is just the latter. He is ready to risk his life to get his brother pardoned, and the game will give him such a chance.

Conclusion

Despite the fact that the LitRPG genre is now dominated by the advantage of Russian/Russian-speaking authors, whose books are often not translated into other languages at all, the English-speaking audience also has something to read. The above examples are just a drop in the ocean of interesting books in this direction of fantasy literature. And every year they are becoming more and more. So be sure to add this page to your bookmarks, so you don’t miss updates of the selection, and help us to complete it by telling us in the comments about your favorite books in the genre of literary RPGs.