Book picks similar to
Rapture by Daniel Schinhofen


litrpg
fantasy
post-apocalyptic
harem

I Hope You Find Me


Trish Marie Dawson - 2012
    Left to fend for herself with only a dog as her companion, she sets out on a journey to find others, leaving notes everywhere she goes…hoping that one day someone will come looking for her. When Riley meets the handsome yet mysterious Connor on the streets of Downtown San Diego, they form a bond unlike either has experienced before. When the things that go bump in the night turn out to be more than nightmares, the trio sets off for the mountains in search of an isolated resort where they can hunker down, away from the ominous shadows of the dead city streets. The peace and tranquility of the woods isn’t enough to keep the darkness away for long though and soon Riley and Connor are forced to accept that the World and the few people left alive in it will never be the same. The shadows of their past may haunt them forever…threatening to destroy what little dreams they have left of a future unless they fight to stay in the light and never lose their hope. 1/9 Family and Friends: The dog and I have left to find my Mom. Most of you know where her place is, the corner of 9th and F. I’ll leave a note there before I move on. Everyone here is…gone. I can’t stay. I’m not sure when or if I will come back here but leave a message anyway. I hope you find me. – Riley

Escaping the Dead


W.J. Lundy - 2013
    With his unit and his home base destroyed, Staff Sergeant Brad Thompson suddenly finds himself isolated and in command of a small group of men trying to survive in the Afghan wasteland. The local population has been afflicted with an illness that turns them into rabid animals. They pursue him and his men at every corner and stop. Struggling to hold his team together and unite survivors, he must fight and evade his way to safety.

The Enemy


Charlie Higson - 2009
    Everyone over the age of fourteen has succumbed to a deadly zombie virus and now the kids must keep themselves alive.When the sickness came, every parent, police officer, politician - every adult fell ill. The lucky ones died. The others are crazed, confused and hungry. Only children under fourteen remain, and they're fighting to survive.Now there are rumours of a safe place to hide. And so a gang of children begin their quest across London, where all through the city - down alleyways, in deserted houses, underground - the grown-ups lie in wait.But can they make it there - alive?This edition contains the first chapter of the second book The Dead.

Fire


William Esmont - 2011
    No one knows what caused them to attack the living. Fighting for their lives, scattered survivors find the attempted cure to be almost worse than the disease.In the twilight of a shattered civilization, the fate of humankind rests upon the actions of a handful of war-weary survivors. Driven to a scorched corner of the former United States, they alone hold the key to a global reawakening.Or the final epitaph for a dead planet.

Manufacturing Magic


Jaime Castle - 2021
    One Game Master. Big Problems.Infinite Worlds is the most popular VRMMORPG on the market. Its maps are so vast, developer Hard Rock Data utilizes a network of highly advanced Artificial Intelligences to control it. But it's not without problems.That’s why Game Masters like Jeff Driscoll have jobs. The downside? He’s not allowed to play the game. Something about conflicts of interest and favoritism.His very boring and tedious job is to help players deal with the occasional bug that slips through the cracks and ensure they enjoy their time playing enough to give a 5-star rating. It’s a gig. It pays the bills.However, when the A.I.s unexpectedly issue a Rogue Patch, the game becomes a buggy mess and Jeff's role radically changes. He finds himself as the only Game Master around, dealing with more problems than he can handle.It’s up to Jeff to return Infinite Worlds to normalcy using his ability to manipulate the game's code into what appears like magic... But will the A.I.s let him?Manufacturing Magic is a unique spin on the LitRPG genre, not just providing the perspective of the players, but also of one of those mystical, magical, all-powerful GMs we all dream of being.About the series: As a GM, Jeff utilizes a unique progression system of magic built around the manipulation of video game code. Weaving his hot-fixes with the already established Infinite Worlds’ code, Jeff rescues players, corrects glitches and more. Additionally, experience Infinite Worlds through the eyes of the players through Dak, Rikardi, Aesir and Jeweliette. Enjoy the mundane-to-vital character growth with a main character who is Hard Rock Data’s only hope with plenty of quests, loot, adventurers, dragons, and magic. Rich characters and world-building offer humor alongside lots of monster fighting and adventure.

Cataclysm


James A. Hunter - 2016
    Collision, imminent. An international team of scientists is working around the clock to avert the cataclysm—few are optimistic. World governments are preparing for impact with deep earth bio-dome bunkers, but only a select few lottery winners will be saved. Jack Mitchel, a thirty-two-year-old EMT living in a tiny studio apartment on the West Coast, isn’t one of those winners. Still, there might be a way for him to survive Astraea: a slim chance, requiring a radical leap of faith. Through a connection at Osmark Technologies, Jack’s acquired a NexGenVR capsule and with it, a one-way ticket to the brand-new, ultra-immersive, fantasy-based VRMMORPG, Viridian Gate Online. Taking that leap of faith, though, means permanently trapping his mind in the game, killing his body in the process. Worse, one in six die during the transition, and even if Jack beats the odds, he’ll have to navigate a fantastical world that’s home to vicious monsters, domineering AIs, and cutthroat players. And when Jack stumbles upon a secret conspiracy to sell off virtual real estate to the ultrawealthy—transforming V.G.O. into a new feudal dark age—the deadly creatures inhabiting Viridian Gate’s expansive dungeons will be the least of his concerns. If Jack can’t game the system, he’s going to be trading in a quick death for a long, brutal one …

Fimbulwinter


E. William Brown - 2014
    Add in refugees, desperate soldiers, scheming nobles and a pair of thoroughly wicked witches, and life is going to be very busy indeed. Good thing he has magic of his own to even the scales. But will even that be enough? Warning: This novel contains graphic violence, inventive sex, unconventional opinions and a protagonist who has no interest in being normal. Read at your own risk.

The Other Life


Susanne Winnacker - 2012
    One-fifth of my life. 98,409,602 seconds since the heavy, steel door had fallen shut and sealed us off from the world.Sherry has lived with her family in a sealed bunker since things went wrong up above. But when they run out of food, Sherry and her dad must venture outside. There they find a world of devastation, desolation...and the Weepers: savage, mutant killers.When Sherry's dad is snatched, she joins forces with gorgeous but troubled Joshua - an Avenger, determined to destroy the Weepers.But can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all?

Days of Future Past - Part 1: Past Tense


John Van Stry - 2016
    And now into the middle of all this, his instructor just got drafted by some mystical goddess to help save a world. As for Paul? Well, he's really not supposed to be there, and if he thought he was having a bad day before all of this, it just got worse, a lot worse. He's now on a one way trip, forced to help a man who despises him while at the mercy of the world's biggest trickster.

He Who Fights with Monsters


Shirtaloon - 2021
    At least, Jason tries to be heroic, but it's hard to be good when all your powers are evil.He’ll face off against cannibals, cultists, wizards, monsters...and that’s just on the first day. He’s going to need courage, he’s going to need wit, and he’s going to need some magic powers of his own. But first, he’s going to need pants.After cementing itself as one of the best-rated serial novels on Royal Road with an astonishing 13 million views, He Who Fights with Monsters is now available on Kindle.About the series: Experience an isekai culture clash as a laid-back Australian finds himself in a very serious world. See him gain suspiciously evil powers through a unique progression system combining cultivation and traditional LitRPG elements. Enjoy a weak-to-strong story with a main character who earns his power without overshadowing everyone around him, with plenty of loot, adventurers, gods and magic. Rich characters and world-building offer humor, political intrigue and slice-of-life elements alongside lots of monster fighting and adventure.

The New Hunger


Isaac Marion - 2013
    Then came a final blow no one could have expected: all the world’s corpses rising up to make more.Born into this bleak and bloody landscape, twelve-year-old Julie struggles to hold on to hope as she and her parents drive across the wastelands of America, a nightmarish road trip in search of a new home.Hungry, lost, and scared, sixteen-year-old Nora finds herself her brother’s sole guardian after her parents abandon them in the not-quite-empty ruins of Seattle.And in the darkness of a forest, a dead man opens his eyes. Who is he? What is he? With no clues beyond a red tie and the letter “R,” he must unravel the grim mystery of his existence—right after he learns how to think, how to walk, and how to satisfy the monster howling in his belly. The New Hunger is a glimpse of the past and a path to an astonishing future…

Monster Girl Islands


Logan Jacobs - 2019
    They needed a man to help build their homes. They needed a man to teach them to survive. They needed a man to defend them from the evil slaver-pirates. And most of all, they needed a man to impregnate them and rebuild their population. Fortunately for them, a man named Ben came from our world to give them everything they needed.

Dungeon Lord


Hugo Huesca - 2017
     ...and Edward has chosen to make them regret it.   When Edward is swept into the world of Ivalis as a Dungeon Lord, the Dark's most powerful servant, he has no servitude in mind. He'll oppose the evil plans of the Dark god Murmur, whatever it takes. Through only his wits and his guts to help him survive a weakened arrival, Edward must rise to power if he is to earn the right to live another day. But in the battle between Dark and Light, what can Edward choose if both sides are cruel, uncaring monsters? Cold gods laugh in the distant world of Ivalis. Heroes chase after power and experience, while Kings send their armies to their deaths in the name of the Dark and the Light.   But no one expects the rise of the Dungeon Lord... And in the world of Ivalis, maybe a single man can forge his own path.

Deadlocked


A.R. Wise - 2011
    His wife and daughters were at home, stranded on the roof as zombies waited below. He would have to fight through hordes of undead, merciless other survivors, and a series of death defying stunts to get home. However, even if he makes it there, how can he be sure they're safe?Deadlocked puts you into David's head as he struggles to get home. Then a final confrontation occurs that will guarantee his family's survival, but at what cost?

Wanderers


Chuck Wendig - 2019
    She appears to be sleepwalking. She cannot talk and cannot be woken up. And she is heading with inexorable determination to a destination that only she knows. But Shana and her sister are not alone. Soon they are joined by a flock of sleepwalkers from across America, on the same mysterious journey. And like Shana, there are other "shepherds" who follow the flock to protect their friends and family on the long dark road ahead.For as the sleepwalking phenomenon awakens terror and violence in America, the real danger may not be the epidemic but the fear of it. With society collapsing all around them--and an ultraviolent militia threatening to exterminate them--the fate of the sleepwalkers depends on unraveling the mystery behind the epidemic. The terrifying secret will either tear the nation apart--or bring the survivors together to remake a shattered world.