Virtual Reality

Path of Relics: Aether Shard (The Lore Seeker Odyssey Book 1)

He entered the contest to win cash...

Now millions could die.

Random gigs and ramen noodles... that's how out-of-shape gamer Terry survives the job-starved future of 2044. Until he's accepted into the Path of Relics tournament—the most anticipated virtual reality RPG event of the decade—where he has the chance to win some real loot.

But does he have a fighting chance against the world's top Active-VR athletes?

Not to mention the ancient dungeons, puzzles, scorpion-wolves, and all-too-realistic NPCs the game world throws at him. And just how advanced is this "Portal Rig" that lets him physically experience the fantasy world as if he were transported there?

Worse, could his suspicions be true?

Are the strange and deadly malfunctions plaguing Manhattan somehow triggered by Path of Relics?

Now, outmatched and exhausted, can Terry's mysterious ability to level-up quickly and his meager martial arts skills help him avert catastrophe in the real world?

Eternal Dominion Book 1: Restart

Year 2286 Alex Bell has put in 20 years of work in the VR game Eternal Dominion a full dive fantasy VRMMO game that accounts for around 20% of the world's economy. He had risen to the top as a vice guild leader and thanks to his work his guild was steps away from truly standing with the other top guilds. Only fate decided to rip it all away at the last moment. After his fall Alex awakens to see his 18 year old self looking back at him in the mirror. It's 2266 and Eternal Dominion is set to launch in a matter of hours, this time things will be different. This time he will succeed in life and make sure his friends and family are along for the ride even if he has to drag them along to do so.

Gates of Thunder (Loner Book #1): LitRPG Series

Arktania is a virtual game with a steampunk style. It's a place where magic spells, enchanted artifacts, steam-powered machines, firearms and mechanical golems are a part of everyday life.

Gamer Andrew Falk begins his journey in a small village on the border of Orcish territory. The locals are the keepers of many secrets, but their behavior is too realistic for characters in a game; so realistic, in fact, that Andrew starts to treat them as if they were real people. Maybe because of the way he plays, or maybe just thanks to good luck, he becomes one of a mysterious class of people known as "sliders,” allowing him to control electricity and earn the favor of Elenia, the goddess of fate.

But as he advances through levels, the pain threshold in his character settings gradually begins to drop, making the game increasingly more dangerous. Andrew is facing a hard choice: either to keep on playing, risking eventual death by pain shock, or to abandon his gamer pod altogether. Still, his digital adventures just won’t let him go, immersing him ever deeper into VR…

Lotus Lake: Rise of the Mystic Mage

Reborn five years in the past. A second chance to do everything over. What would you do?

For Ashlyn, being reborn five years in the past is both a boon and a bane. She’s reborn in the wreckage of tragedy, forced to deal with a life that she messed up before. Now, all she has to show for her life is five years of accumulated knowledge in the greatest virtual reality game ever released - Elysium - and the pain of friendships lost.

This time, Ashlyn is going to make a difference. This time, she’s going to fix the mistakes she made and save the relationships she lost. And to do that, she’s going to use all the knowledge she gained from the future to blaze her way to the top with a new class: the Mystic Mage.

Unbound: A Dark Fantasy LitRPG (Arcana Unlocked Book 1)

A game too good to be true. A golden opportunity. A nightmare he can’t escape.

If Arthur Mallory plays one more steaming pile of garbage disguised as a virtual role-playing game, he might hang up his gaming hat for good. When he discovers the new “deep dive” game Worlds Unbound, he decides it might be worth a try. If it sucks, he'll just return it the next day and cancel the financing.

The game is everything he could have wanted, even without elves or dwarves or character creation. The magic system has him hooked.

He’s willing to overlook the mangled sleep schedule and crippling nightmares if it means feeling that power running through his veins. But when an accident leaves his headset broken, he realizes he might be cut off from the magic – and the game – for good.

He’s not going to let that happen.

The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor

The man forsaken by the world, the man a slave to money and the man known as the legendary God of War in the highly popular MMORPG Continent of Magic. With the coming of age, he decides to say goodbye, but the feeble attempt to earn a little something for his time and effort ripples into an effect none could ever have imagined. Through a series of coincidences, his legendary avatar is sold for 3 billion 90 million won ($2.7 million), bringing great joy to him, only to plunge him into despair at losing almost all of it to vicious loan sharks. With revelation of money through gaming, he rises from the abyss with new found resolve and steps forward into the new age of games led by the first ever Virtual Reality MMORPG, Royal Road.

This is the legend of Lee Hyun on his path to becoming Emperor with only his family loving heart, his boundless desire for money, his unexpected mind, his diligently forged body and the talent of hard work backing him. This is the legend of the lowest becoming the strongest. This is the legend of WEED.

The Heaven's Boxer: Scifi LitRPG - Esports - Mecha Battles (Overdrive Book 1)

Who wouldn't want to pilot giant robots for a living?

The Overdrive Corporation has announced another Selection, the exclusive tryout process for aspiring Fortress Masters. Designing maps for the Mech battling virtual reality RPG is Julian's dream come true, but a brutal defeat against superstar sniper Dynamic has destroyed his confidence.

Hoping to find a stronger machine, Julian enters an immensely challenging map that promises ultra-rare Mech frames.

During the ill-fated mission, he finally learns what it takes to get better. It's not the strength of the machine that matters most - it's the skill of the pilot.

Julian rebuilds his gameplay from the ground up, seeking out the strongest opponents and the most challenging dungeons. He explores the countless aspects of Overdrive that he's inadvertently ignored. Waiting for him is a rematch with the sniper he's never beaten, with a spot in the Selection on the line.

The fifth novel from writer Ryan Tang, a veteran of the esports industry and high school sports coach, The Heaven's Boxer will delight fans of LitRPG, sports stories, and mecha anime.

Condition Evolution: A LitRPG / Game-lit Adventure

Having problems coping with life but have nowhere to turn for help?

Why not try a crazy new therapy!

The early research data shows getting thrown into a fantasy land full of mythical creatures to fight for your survival will give you a fresh perspective on your existence.

That’s what Shaun, the ex-roofer, turned couch-potato did, and it’s working a treat!

His objectives? Avoid being eaten, deal with unrequited love, level up as fast as possible and save the Kingdom of Anatoli from an apocalypse.

His rewards? Become a legend in the real world.

The Heroic Villain 3

After a night of drunken debauchery following the defeat of the academy's headmistress, Lucas awakens to trouble on all fronts. The steady balance of power within the Imperium has been shaken by his presence, and the resulting aftermath is a town full of heavily armed and well-staffed enemies that seek Lucas's death. Lucas must not only survive their assault but also manage his own slowly crumbling internal affairs when his party begins to fracture. Angered by Lucas's increasingly selfish actions, some of his closest allies are tempted to turn against him.

Follow our protagonist while he tries to grow his influence within the empire, survive the daggers in his back from Imperium traitors, and restore the relationship he truly wants with the woman he has slowly fallen in love with in this epic litrpg adventure from Charles Dean.

Shattered Sword: A LitRPG Adventure (Eternal Online Book 1)

A broke gamer. A deadly online world. Can Dahlia level up fast enough to keep the debt collectors at bay?

Dahlia has to pay off her dead father’s bills or risk her life in the lithium mines. Which... no thank you. Besides, the world is run by tech, and this gamer girl is determined to explore the virtual world her father was so obsessed with and get rich while she’s at it.

So, she sells everything and rents a premium VR pod to play Eternal Online.

Enter the toughest realm available? Check.

Discover the fastest way to loot without dying?… in progress.

But when Dahlia finds an epic quest chain that others have overlooked, she thinks she’s struck gold. What she doesn’t expect is to make friends with two deadly warriors and one powerful creature, or find a world boss gunning for them all.

,

Darkworlds Paris: A Cthulhu LitRPG

,

The Great Old Ones are stirring. In the Virtual Reality Game Darkworlds, it's 1927 in Paris and something weird is happening in the Bois de Boulogne. Fresh from the terrors of London, Adam Harker is sent to play again and fathom the secrets of gameworld Paris. But this time, he's got something growing in his head.

7 Days Later: A Post Apocalyptic Gamelit Survival Horror

Craft, build, search for loot and fight to survive in a vast post-apocalyptic game world.

It’s been seven days since the old world fell and now my girlfriend, Sayōnara and I must battle for our survival. We’ll harvest wood, mine metal, grow our own food and craft better equipment.

Then we will build our base, secure it with traps, fortified walls and defend it till the end.

The monsters that ended the old world are out there, hunting the night and gathering into hordes that will attack us once a week. But zombies and mutants are not the only threat.

From mysterious enemy NPC factions, to hostile player bandits and ravenous packs of wild animals, the open world of 7 Days Later is filled with danger.

Only by working together can Sayōnara and I hope to live through the horror.

But are we ruthless enough to survive?

Grab your guns, tools and item upgrades and enter the apocalypse!

Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon: A LitRPG Adventure

Fantasy meets horror in this gore-soaked, standalone LitRPG adventure!

It had seemed like a dream offer. Paint a mural. $15,000. How could Duke not jump at the chance?

But it came with a catch, as these things often do. He had to first see what his client wanted him to paint.

A private server. A digital playground. An alliance of the world’s most sadistic, most depraved minds. A place to bring their prey, to hone their skills.

Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon. Survival horror. One of the most brutal, most terrifying full-immersion games ever made. A place where fantasy characters such as elves and dwarves clash with technology, where giant monsters roam the hills, entrusted with protecting the gates of heaven from the demons who would tear it all down.

A game where one plays the last of the battlefield surgeons: a healer tasked with keeping the behemoths alive at all costs.

But on this server, they don’t care about the game. That’s not why they’re here. They’ve come because of the game’s most unique feature: Full pain. Realistic anatomy. The ability to bring their victims well beyond the body’s normal breaking point. And most importantly, the ability to bring them back and do it all over again.

Trapped in a bloody, merciless nightmare, Duke only has one goal. To survive. And in order to survive, he must play the game. He must win the game. And to do that, he must become the most cruel, most ruthless monster of them all.

Ruins Of Majesta: Vol. 2.1 - Creatures and Cupcakes

Mayah, Grax, and Margaret, better known as The Royal Death Claws, have just entered the prize dungeon they won in the paladin’s tournament. Now they just have to survive in the bowels of a sprawling, massive underground world filled with dangers around every corner, and under every leaf. It’s a gamers paradise, but there’s one small problem.

Our tiny heroine, Pretty Princess Cuddle Fluff, is still stuck in the expansive VR game world of Majesta. It isn’t half bad until Grax and Margaret log out and she gets reminded that her life is on the line.

With her logout button inoperable and a malicious AI searching for her in-game, she’s struggling to get as strong as possible to survive the inevitable clash for her survival. Because in the dungeon her chances of dying have just risen significantly. 

This novel contains big hammers, cats, enchanting, snark, grenades, necromancy, leveling, fetch quests, beeps and boops, misunderstandings of the deadliest kind, olfactory and gustatory offenses, grandmothers, Evil sentient computer viruses, truces, crafting, duels, getting gear, friendship, Happiness and sweet, sweet XP.

Safe for the kids. Great for the adults.

Bibliomancer: A Completionist Chronicles Series (Wolfman Warlock Book 1)

The vaunted power of the Mage’s College. Unbounded freedom among the Wolfmen. The best of both worlds.

Recent college grad Sam King was hoping for a backpacking trip across Europe as a graduation present. Instead he’s going to get a different kind of trip: a three-month stint in the ultimate immersive gaming experience. As a lifelong geek, gamer, and outsider, it’s a better gift then he’d ever dreamed.

But when he jumps feet first into the world of Eternium, run by CAL, the Certified Altruistic Lexicon, it’s not exactly what he expected. All he wants is to quest, game, grind some levels, and get his hands on awesome loot. You know, have fun! But the Mage’s College seems to have a very different definition of fun, one involving study, blisteringly strict regulations, aristocratic hierarchy, and tons of pay to play.

Sam crosses the College and finds himself running for his life with a back-talking book that is far more than it seems and a class that no one has even heard of. If he can navigate the deadly College politics and the looming war with the barbaric Wolfmen, he might just find the fun and adventure he was looking for.


Illusion (The Blacklight Chronicles Book 1)

When an overly powerful guild threatens to take over an entire server in the worlds premier crime game, it falls to a new player and his small but powerful crew of friends to stop them.

The Life of Crime is Blacklight Industries second major immersive experience. Everyone played their first, the world famous fantasy game Brescia Online. Now, years later, the company has focused on a different genre entirely. Once plugged into the game world, you feel as though you're back in the early 21st century, and thanks to their powerful immersive AI, have all the freedom to shape the world around you one could hope for. Players build Crews, Crews control Turf, and fight one another tooth and nail for it, rising to great power and status along the way. Each server houses a major metropolitan city, and the west coast US server, Illusion, is being threatened with total takeover by an unscrupulous and power hungry Crew named GoonStorm.

Kurt joins the game three years after its release, at the request of his lifelong friend Jimmy, and in response to getting kicked out of college. The pair falls in with The Getaway Gal, The Life's most famous driver, and joins her campaign to stop Illusions most powerful guild from taking over the server entirely. Kurt sets off on a series of elaborate and harrowing heists and guerilla warfare actions towards this goal, making powerful allies and enemies along the way.

Clockwork: The Return: Book 2

I recall enjoying the 1st book in this series, but I also read it when it was originally published four years ago. I liked how the main character (MC) chose the unpopular race option when he was forced into the game and how interesting the combination of the clockwork race was with the RPG and crafting system. 

However, things shift in book 2. The beginning is a little hard to follow as there is no recap and it’s been a really long time since book 1 came out. By 10% mark, I’d sort of recalled who everyone was and the story. However, a combination of the POV changing every chapter and the petulant main character (MC) made the story a lot harder to like. By the time it got to the action and dungeon diving, I’d sort of lost interest and nothing in the story ever regained it. I mean, the 1st book brought in the clockwork people and some interesting development of both tech and culture. This one doesn’t do that, and instead jumps right into summarized adventuring. Not a terrible story or anything, but it wasn’t interesting either.

Score: 5 out of 10

Aurora's Rift (Celestial Arcanists Book 1)

Evie Winterbourne has had it.

After five exhausting years of video game marketing for a struggling MMORPG and one too many instances of her ideas getting ignored by her boss, Evie's fortunes seem to change when a chance encounter introduces her to her company's rival just as she quits her nightmare job.

Evie's dream was to work on games themselves until her ex cheated her and her team out of their beloved project's success--and it seems that the rival CEO knows her story and her potential. As a gift, he gives her the chance to play his blockbuster single-player fantasy game Aurora's Rift, and the world within might just change Evie's life forever...inside the game and out.

*** 

The rift begins a new Age, splitting time itself with magic older than the forgotten gods. It is a moment of chaos and upheaval, when alliances fracture along fault lines and peoples are raised up to thrive…or brought low. Anything is possible. Anything can happen. Ancient secrets are revealed, futures forged or broken.

Aurora’s Rift demands heroes to shape what comes next.

It is the anvil upon which your mettle is tested.

It is the arena in which you will wrest your future from the ashes of the past.

Take your place among legends.

Who you’ll be is who you truly are.

Who will you become?

All Trades Book 1: Master of None

Alex is broke. He's pretty much always been broke. A misspent youth led to mistakes which led to convictions and plea deals. No career, no education, no hope.

Now he has a chance to make things right for him and his family when the newest immersive MMO comes with the ability to convert money earned in the game into real currency. Well, it's cryptocurrency but that's real-ish, right? Seeing an opportunity, Alex joins The Realms as Jack Alltrades, looking to make money any way he can. He may be a Master of None, but he's determined to learn every way possible to make money and turn his life around. Along the way, he'll find answers to important questions like:

Can he win Employee of the Month?

Do gnomes dream of electric sheep?

How many kobolds does it take to swing a pickaxe?

Can NPCs commit tax fraud?

OK, maybe he won't answer most of those, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't come follow the high margin adventures of Jack Alltrades!