Book picks similar to
Activation by D.I. Freed


litrpg
fantasy
sci-fi
science-fiction

Junkyard Cats


Faith Hunter - 2020
    But Shining is now something more than human. And the scrapyard is no longer just a scrapyard, but a place full of secrets that she has guarded for years.This life she has built, while empty, is predictable and safe. Until the only friend left from her previous life shows up, dead, in the back of a scrapped Tesla warplane, a note to her clutched in his fingers - a note warning her of a coming attack.Someone knows who she is. Someone knows what she is guarding. Will she be able to protect the scrapyard? Will she even survive? Or will she have to destroy everything she loves to keep her secrets out of the wrong hands?

Arena One: Slaverunners


Morgan Rice - 2012
    2120. American has been decimated, wiped out from the second Civil War. In this post-apocalyptic world, survivors are far and few between. And most of those who do survive are members of the violent gangs, predators who live in the big cities. They patrol the countryside looking for slaves, for fresh victims to bring back into the city for their favorite death sport: Arena One. The death stadium where opponents are made to fight to the death, in the most barbaric of ways. There is only one rule to the arena: no one survives. Ever. Deep in the wilderness, high up in the Catskill Mountains, 17 year old Brooke Moore manages to survive, hiding out with her younger sister, Bree. They are careful to avoid the gangs of slaverunners who patrol the countryside. But one day, Brooke is not as careful as she can be, and Bree is captured. The slaverunners take her away, heading to the city, and to what will be a certain death. Brooke, a Marine’s daughter, was raised to be tough, to never back down from a fight. When her sister is taken, Brooke mobilizes, uses everything at her disposal to chase down the slaverunners and get her sister back. Along the way she runs into Ben, 17, another survivor like her, whose brother was taken. Together, they team up on their rescue mission. What follows is a post-apocalyptic, action-packed thriller, as the two of them pursue the slaverunners on the most dangerous ride of their lives, following them deep into the heart of New York. Along the way, if they are to survive, they will have to make some of the hardest choices and sacrifices of their lives, encountering obstacles neither of them had expected—including their unexpected feelings for each other. Will they rescue their siblings? Will they make it back? And will they, themselves, have to fight in the arena?

Dungeons of Strata


G.D. Penman - 2020
    Strata Online is a hundred floor mega-dungeon, filled with an ever-shifting ecosystem of monsters. Martin's team soon find themselves in a race against the world’s strongest guilds, all competing to be the first to reach the unbeatable game's lowest depths. Stranger still, they must now contend with Sin, a twisted morality meter which can transform a players’ class into its dark counterpart. With eternal fame and prizes on the line, Martin risks playing as a rarely chosen race; a Murovan rat-man, combined with the unusual exorcist class. But unlike other games, he will need as much courage as skill to progress. Because the deeper he goes, the darker Strata gets.

The Retired S Ranked Adventurer : Volume I


Wolfe Locke - 2021
    Something is different.The obvious next step?Retire.Settle down. Start his own tavern. Drink with magic girls.Maybe not in that order.Get your copy of "The Retired S Ranked Adventurer" and set off for an adventure.

Lord of the Apocalypse


Michael Sisa - 2018
    Fate further kicks him on the chest when he suddenly finds himself in the middle of an unannounced apocalypse, witnessing death by the thousands. After a desperate struggle, he dies only to find himself in the body of a Goblin..

More Than a Game


Andrey Vasilyev - 2014
    Tasked with a new assignment, journalist Harriton is given explicit orders to write a series of articles on the Virtual Gaming World of Fayroll and its developers. Harriton grudgingly accepts the assignment but soon finds himself enthralled by the virtual fantasy world and its amazing quests, unpredictable challenges and nearly endless possibilities. As 'Hagen the Warrior', he skeptically enters the fantasy world where the thirst for success and vanity of high-level players in pursuit of legendary objects spills into the real world. Here, high-stakes bets are made on the success of the virtual characters. Events and decisions that Harriton makes in the virtual space as Hagen now start to affect his own reality. More Than a Game will exceed all expectations of fans of epic fantasy fiction and online gaming. His unpredictable character, perseverance and excitement draw the attention of powerful gamers and influential Moscow elite with a devouring interest in Fayroll's outcome. It is not long before he realizes that this fantastic world conceals many dangers. Will he be able to pass all the tests? Start reading now! ****** Andrey Vasilyev is a prominent and acclaimed author that writes intricately crafted, action-packed heroic fantasy and adult epic adventure. Moreover, he is one of the founding fathers of the relatively new, yet insanely popular, LitRPG and Gamelit genres that blends cyberpunk, classic sci-fi and fantasy. His debut novel More Than a Game was chosen the "Best Book of the Year" in 2014 in Russia, the birthplace of LitRPG!

Dead of Night


Jonathan Maberry - 2011
    But all drugs have unforeseen side-effects. Before he could be buried, the killer wakes up. Hungry. Infected. Contagious. This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang…but a bite.

Super Sales on Super Heroes


William D. Arand - 2017
     He has the ability to modify any item he owns. To upgrade anything. Sounds great on paper. Almost like a video game. Except that the amount of power it takes to actually change, modify, or upgrade anything worthwhile is beyond his abilities. With that in mind, Felix settled into a normal life. A normal job. His entire world changes when the city he lives in is taken over by a Super Villain. Becoming a country of one city. A city state. Surprisingly, not a whole lot changed. Politicians were still corrupt. Banks still held onto your money. And criminals still committed crime. Though the black market has become more readily available. And in that not so black market, Felix discovers he has a way to make his power useful after all, and grasps a hold of his chance with both hands. Warning and minor spoiler: This novel contains graphic violence, undefined relationships/partial harem, unconventional opinions/beliefs, and a hero who is as tactful as a dog at a cat show. Read at your own risk.

Inheritance


Morgan Cole - 2020
    But when he walks through, he discovers he's trapped there and he’s got company.The station's AI enlists Jake to reclaim the systems needed to support life, but there’s a catch—he has only eight hours to complete the task or he’ll die alone in the cold vacuum of space. With only his trusty wrecking bar, work boots, and some basic survival equipment he must defeat the horrific monsters that infest the station before his air runs out.But aliens aren’t all he has to worry about. Hidden in the station is a message that could spell doom for Earth, and the entire universe along with it.If you're a fan of crunchy, sci-fi LitRPG with a healthy dose of base-building, then this space survival adventure with visceral combat is the book for you.

Earth Tactics Advance: Volume 1


Scottie Futch - 2017
    Those who manage to survive the first day of the new world must survive in the wake of a new reality, life lived as a turn-based tactical role playing game. Feel the horror, and revel in the humor, as battles take place one turn at a time. Can one man survive a world gone tactical? Will he ever understand the need for background music and strange announcer voices? It's your turn... to find out!

The Crafting of Chess


Kit Falbo - 2019
    A new immersive game opens up the chance to bring in a steady paycheck. Maybe enough to convince his grandfather to stay straight. Little does he know how his actions will change his life. A GameLit coming of age story.

Wrong Divinity: Oh Sh*t! I F*cking Hate Spiders!


Dustin Tigner - 2021
    Souls are durable things, you see, like kids: they bounce.And bounce he did, into the abyss between worlds, drifting until one excited soul watcher fished him out and found him a new home, a heaven for gamers and nerds and everything in between.It was all he could have ever wanted in the afterlife, down to choosing his class, killing mobs, and exploring a beautiful, fantasy world chock full of mysteries yet to be discovered.At least . . . it would have been those things if that first day had gone a little, tiny bit differently.Instead, he now finds himself locked in the middle of an eternal conflict between light and shadow—humans and monsters—potentially being the enemy to all.Wrong Divinity is the start of a new GameLit series that balances comedy with serious themes. It's an isekai, a portal fantasy, to the spirit realm. Join Dhane, our underdog, as he explores his new world, a world full of unique characters, RPG mechanics, and spiders—ugly, terrifying spiders—while he learns what it means to be an Arachnomancer.

Wild Wastes


Randi Darren - 2017
     Legend has it that an experiment failed. Catastrophically so. And when it failed, the center of the United States, from the Sierra Nevada to the Mississippi river became "The Waste", where everything changed. In The Waste, every fantasy creature, fairy tale demon, or mythological monster exists. From Orcs, to Neriads, Ogres, Trolls, Wratihs, Elves, Harpies, and even Beastmen. They all exist, and all despise humankind. In the ruins of the west and east coasts new governments have arisen. With new jobs. Vince is a Ranger, a profession whose sole job duty is surviving in the waste, and taking missions from the Ranger Guild. Be it courier services, escorts, or simply exploring tombs and cities. Taking up an escort mission, Vince encounters a situation that will shape his life forever onward. As well as the lives of everyone in North America. Warning: This novel contains adult themes and moral ambiguities. The main character is written as a real person in an apocalypse, and will not make choices that line up with society and cultural norms. Spoiler for the faint hearted if you read further than this: This story contains a harem.

Occultist


Oliver Mayes - 2019
    Then his mother collapsed with a failing heart.In a desperate move Damien throws himself into the Streamer Contest of Saga Online, the latest fantasy VR-MMORPG. Winning will provide the funds for his mom’s surgery. Yet early betrayal and a close run in with a vampire almost ruin his attempt before he even begins.Stuck at the bottom of a dungeon with no gear, no allies and little hope, Damien must embrace the undiscovered Occultist class, master control of his new demonic minions and take the contest by storm.His plan is simple enough. Topple the most famous player in Saga Online.Summon your imps. Prepare for battle!

State of Emergency


Summer Lane - 2013
    But when an electromagnetic pulse takes down the United States, she's forced to kick into full survival mode when she gets separated from her father. Yeah. Things suck. But with the help of a handsome soldier named Chris, she just might find her dad without getting into serious trouble.Emphasis on might. Oh. And there's the matter of avoiding getting killed in a world that's quickly turned into an active war zone. It's going to change Cassidy's life.It's going to be a major pain in the butt.New Adult/Young Adult Contemporary Romantic Adventure