Book picks similar to
Activation by D.I. Freed


litrpg
fantasy
sci-fi
science-fiction

Crafter's Passion


Kris Schnee - 2018
    The richest and luckiest players of the video game "Thousand Tales" get their minds uploaded to its virtual paradise world, while Stan can barely buy a handheld console. Instead of sulking he plays, and grows, becoming a skilled craftsman and seafaring explorer. The game's ruling AI, Ludo, helps him find the hope and inspiration missing from his real life. When the AI starts asking for favors and having him reach out between the real and digital worlds, Stan has a chance to turn his life into an actual adventure. But first he needs to earn the most valuable prize of all: his freedom. "Crafter's Passion" is part of the emerging "LitRPG" or "GameLit" genre, combining science fiction with the world of gaming. ----- On Island East-2 stood Stan, in the dungeon, with the rickety raft. He dragged it out to the beach, scavenged more wood and some interesting shells, and paddled his way back west. The raft disintegrated just as he got within sight of East-1. He held onto a chunk of wood to help him float but couldn't carry the rest in his pack. All he could do was start swimming! A scary fish swerved into his path but he managed to detour until it lost interest. Finally he sprawled onto the beach with a bunch of stat penalties for being wet and tired. Belatedly he realized, "I probably ruined everything in my backpack." A note said, [Nearly everything you're carrying is safe, like coins and a sealed bottle, but that can be a problem with other items. There are several ways to get waterproofing.] That sounded reasonable. He'd assumed that jumping into the water with a load of items was harmless, but that was his own fault. "Fine." He headed west to Central Island across the bridge. So far he just had that crude backpack full of loot, and he couldn't carry much more without a better pack. He looked over the junky resources he'd scavenged, then the items he'd looted off his party members' bodies. None of the equipment was listed as magical, and the item descriptions were starting to give him more serious labels like [Crude Wooden Bow] for Alaya's weapon. Even he could probably make something better with a little practice. He could make something better! That could be fun. Besides, he'd swiped this gear from people he'd agreed to help, so maybe he could replace or upgrade the stuff by way of apology. Stan headed over to the Crown & Tail's workbench to give it a try. Along the way he jumped around for the fun of bounding up the sunny shore. He tapped the bench of tools and tried to fix up some items, but it buzzed at him. [Equipment repairs require access to improved crafting stations.] The bartender directed him to the "maker workshop" a ways inland from the beach. It looked like an old fort, a squat wooden cabin surrounded by a spiky wall of logs. Why not a giant golden palace? Probably it had been built by the players using the game's own physics. That was pretty neat. He walked right in through the open gate. Inside was a craftsman's playground. Saws, drills and other tools covered some of the tables. A whole corner was devoted to colorful glassware and bubbling fluids. A green-robed figure was busy at that alchemy station, pouring beakers one into another and making puffs of steam. The only other person here was a smith in a leather apron and goggles, making a pleasant rhythmic ringing of metal. Behind him loomed a forge where slabs of metal were glowing cherry-red. Stan looked around and asked, "Is this stuff open to the community?" The alchemist turned around.

Law of Strength


David Burke - 2021
    He has to bring law and order to the wild frontier. The shocks keep coming when he finds out humans aren't native to Olimero. It is a land populated with fierce orcs, wild beastkin and cunning elves.He may not have their magic but he does have an edge. As an outsider, he has no cap on his stats. He will need to train, fight, and survive if he wants to rule. But with that comes the a world worth protecting complete with exotic beauties he never imagined.Disclaimer: contains detailed adult activities and sexy monster girls.

Party Hard


David Petrie - 2018
    Now, instead of lying in bed dreaming about showing up late to class in their underwear, players step into a breathtaking world of fantasy and adventure. For most users, this is a dream come true. For players like MaxDamage24 and his sidekick Kirabell, it is about to become something else. After being fired, one of Noctem’s creators sets into motion a plan to bring the system crashing down. To stop the collapse, Max and Kira will have to gather their most trusted friends and embark on a quest that will push them to their absolute limits. Together they’ll face creepy dungeons, impossible bosses, and their own nightmares, all while doing their best to stay alive. With a mission this big, none of them will be the same after. The real question is… how much will they be forced to change? Only one thing is certain - if they want to survive, they’re gonna have to Party Hard.

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.

Iron Prince


Bryce O'Connor - 2020
    Reidon was born weak, sickly and small. Afflicted with a painful disease and abandoned by his parents because of it, he has had to fight tooth and nail for every minor advantage life has allowed him.His perseverance has not gone unnoticed, however, and when the most powerful artificial intelligence in human history takes an interest in him, things began to change quickly. Granted a CAD—a Combat Assistance Device—with awful specs but an infinite potential for growth, Reidon finds himself at the bottom of his class at the Galens Institute, one of the top military academies in the Collective. Along with his best friend, Viviana Arada, Reidon will have to start his long climb through the school rankings, and on to the combat tournament circuits that have become humanity's greatest source of excitement and entertainment.So begins the rise of a god. So begins the ascent of the Stormweaver.

Downfall And Rise


Nathan A.Thompson - 2018
    Disgraced. Defiant. When a sports injury ruins his body and his memory, Wes Malcolm loses his scholarship and his place in the world. After every treatment fails, he is forced to consider that his future and dreams may be lost. But the next time he sleeps, he winds up in another world with its own rules. Here, he can grow, learn, and thrive, with no injury or public disgrace to show up and take it all away again. But this world and all its sister planets are under assault from dire prophecies and a slavering horde of nightmare creatures. The strange, beautiful steward of these worlds offers him a deal: Save her worlds, and he can take part of the power he gains back to his original body on Earth. There, he can use that power to undo his condition and gain another shot at all his hopes and dreams. And maybe even exceed them. But will removing his disability and stigma be enough for him to become the hero he believes he can be? Come and find out. Fantasy Story with LitRPG elements.

Tower Climber


Jakob Tanner - 2020
    Plus, even if citizens could enter, it didn’t change the fact that Max’s body is paralyzed from the waist down, confined to a wheelchair. No way would anyone let him enter the tower. Ever.Yet one night everything changes and Max’s world is thrown upside down. He suddenly gains an ultra rare ability and the chance to train and climb the tower.But being a climber isn’t as easy as it sounds. Each floor of the tower contains vast worlds and deadly magical monsters.While Max may want to ascend to the top of the tower, there are plenty of others who want to as well, many who won’t blink an eye at removing anyone who stands in their way…

Reincarnation Trials: A LitRPG Apocalypse (Systems of Salvation Book 1)


Han Yang - 2021
    Four hundred years later, the Salvation Fleet returns, desperate to unload their overcrowded decks. Darcy - the AI mastermind who controls the fleet - uses simulated competitions called the Reincarnation Trials to determine who becomes a council member and who earns the right to join the first colony.Theo achieves Citizen status after a decade of arduous training and is thrust into the Reincarnation Trials. Ready to help humanity survive, he enters the Snagglewood competition. The theme is a western, where he defends humanity against the monsters invading its shores. While he strives for first on the leaderboards, the real world calls for his help.After being gone for so long, Earth transitions into a very dangerous place filled with narocks who call the overgrown jungles and forests home. Hidden among the terrors, pockets of humanity cower under the surface, most of them in urgent need of rescue.Will Theo and the Salvation Fleet persevere or perish? Download now.

Future Mage


R.H. Nolan - 2019
     17-year-old Max has spent almost his entire life in the Wastelands, an endless desert littered with the burnt-out hulls of spaceships. In the final battle of the Interstellar War, aliens released a wave of radiation that killed half the human population and turned the rest into horrific mutants that stalk the desert dunes. But the aliens are dead and gone. Now humans are the only monsters left. All Max wants to do is survive day-to-day and provide for his mother and little brother. But when Gestapo-like guards from the walled fortress of Neo Angeles corner him, Max falls into an underground cavern… And finds an alien spacecraft undiscovered by humans. Something inside it is alive. Something that could grant Max unimaginable power. But the corrupt governor of Neo Angeles will do anything to possess that power first. Now Max is in a race against time. He must learn to use his new abilities… Level up and gain new ones… Make allies inside the futuristic city of Neo Angeles… And stop Governor Saris before he kills millions of innocents in his quest to rule Earth. It’s said that sufficiently advanced technology would be indistinguishable from magic. If that’s true, then Max must become a Future Mage to save the human race. This book contains LitRPG elements and violence. No sex, no harems, mild profanity.

NPCs


Drew Hayes - 2014
    Once the dust settles, these four find themselves faced with an impossible choice: pretend to be adventurers undertaking a task of near-certain death or see their town and loved ones destroyed. Armed only with salvaged equipment, second-hand knowledge, and a secret that could get them killed, it will take all manner of miracles if they hope to pull off their charade.And even if they succeed, the deadliest part of their journey may well be what awaits them at its end.

Towers of Acalia Volume I


Atlas Kane - 2021
    Time to Save the World.Thankfully, the spirit who reincarnated me modified my core with a rune of power. Now, each time I ascend to a higher level, I can add a new rune, enhancing my strength.But this gift was given with a condition: If I don’t climb and conquer the Towers of Acalia, this new world will fall into ruin. Plenty of obstacles stand in my way.Raging Spirit Beasts. Tower summoned monsters. Rival cultivators. But by bonding myself to gorgeous women warriors, I can ascend and grow strong enough to take on the seven towers.Gods help anyone who stands in my way.This Light Novel includes:Isekai / Portal FantasyCultivation Gamelit / Lite LitRPGSpell CraftingInterior ArtProgression Fantasy Leveling System and SkillsSpells and MagicSlow Burn Harem

Countdown


Michael Atamanov - 2018
    However, no one on Earth took their communique for the genuine article. In a similar vein, very few people appreciated just how little time our new suzerains had promised to keep our planet safe.Regardless, the end of their message showed humankind how to access a mysterious game. The objective of this game is unclear. No one can say where its servers are located, and its inner workings are beyond comprehension. But the game slowly gained momentum, pulling in more and more players. Soon enough, it became impossible to ignore the fact that things that happened in the game had a direct impact on our reality. And not only ours...But as people figure out this mysterious game, the countdown timer ticks away. And no one can say exactly what will happen when Earth’s safety is no longer guaranteed.

Catharsis


Travis Bagwell - 2016
    He attends a prestigious private school on scholarship and his parents are reasonably well off. Yet life hasn't been easy for Jason. He has spent most of high school being tormented by both the students and faculty and his parents are never home. Frustrated and alone, his one escape has always been video games. In-game, he can feel the type of power and freedom he lacks in his day-to-day life. Fortunately, a new virtual reality game (the first of its kind) has just been released, which promises the opportunity for an even greater escape. Once he begins playing, Jason quickly finds himself on the path to becoming the game’s villain. In the process, he also starts to suspect that there is something unusual going on within the game. (This novel contains graphic violence and language. Books don't have ratings, but, if they did, this book would be rated "M" for Mature)

Dinosaur World


Logan Jacobs - 2020
    But when portals started opening all over the world and thousands of hungry dinosaurs began to pour out of them, Jason suddenly regrets being in a country without guns.With the London police outnumbered, and the British military outgunned, it will be up to Jason to protect his two beautiful girlfriends from being eaten by prehistoric beasts. Together, the three of them will need to learn how to survive in a world that now belongs to the dinosaurs.Disclaimer: Like most of my books, this series contains descriptive lovemaking scenes with multiple women, horrific violence, and other mature themes.

Winter World


A.G. Riddle - 2019
    and a shocking discovery...will change humanity forever.In the near future, a new ice age has begun.Humanity stands on the brink of extinction.Desperate for answers, scientists send probes into the solar system to take readings. Near Mars, a probe spots a mysterious object drifting toward the Sun. Is it the cause of the ice age? Or could it be our only hope of survival?With time running out, NASA launches an international mission to make contact with the object. But it isn’t what anyone thought. In the dark of space, alone, the team makes a shocking discovery that will change the course of human history—and possibly end it.