Book picks similar to
Cat Core by Dean Henegar


litrpg
fantasy
dungeon-core
gamelit

Rivers of London


Ben Aaronovitch - 2011
    Too bad his superior plans to assign him to the Case Progression Unit, where the biggest threat he’ll face is a paper cut. But Peter’s prospects change in the aftermath of a puzzling murder, when he gains exclusive information from an eyewitness who happens to be a ghost. Peter’s ability to speak with the lingering dead brings him to the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Nightingale, who investigates crimes involving magic and other manifestations of the uncanny. Now, as a wave of brutal and bizarre murders engulfs the city, Peter is plunged into a world where gods and goddesses mingle with mortals and a long-dead evil is making a comeback on a rising tide of magic.

Sunset


Garon Whited - 2006
    blood?Eric didn't ask to be a vampire.In fact, he didn't even believe in them. Then he meets a beautiful woman, wakes up with a hangover, and bites his tongue with his own fangs.Which pretty much settles the question.Now he's trying to hold down his day job while learning the rules of the Undead -- the most important being that bloodthirsty urges and predatory instincts are a real bitch.Upside; Eric has the beautiful Sasha to teach him the ropes, including the magic he'll need to survive.Downside; it turns out being a vampire is the least of his problems.When Sasha is killed, Eric is thrust into an alternate world in his quest to avenge her death. There he becomes a Nightlord, fights a dragon with the help of his magical steed, Bronze, and upchucks a sword named Firebrand.But things get really interesting when Eric finally finds Tobias, head of the Church of Light. Soon Eric finds himself at the center of an epic battle at the literal edge of the world in a fight to keep a terrible darkness at bay."When you fall off the Edge of the World into hordes of demonic 'Things from the Outer Darkness,' you really start to wonder about your life choices."--Eric, part-time undead, expectant father, and short-term astronaut.

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…

Croak


Gina Damico - 2012
    But Uncle Mort's true occupation is much dirtier than shoveling manure. He's a Grim Reaper. And he's going to teach Lex the family business.She quickly assimilates into the peculiar world of Croak, a town populated by reapers who deliver souls from this life to the next. But Lex can't stop her desire for justice — or is it vengeance? — whenever she encounters a murder victim, craving to stop the attackers before they can strike again.Will she ditch Croak and go rogue with her reaper skills?

The Antipope


Robert Rankin - 1981
    Buses rumble towards Ealing Broadway and I'm expected to do battle with the powers of darkness. It all seems a little unfair...'You could say it all started with the red-eyed tramp with the slimy fingers who put the wind up Neville, the part-time barman, something rotten. Or when Archroy's wife swapped his trusty Morris Minor for five magic beans while he was out at the rubber factory.On the other hand, you could say it all started a lot earlier. Like 450 years ago, when Borgias walked the earth.Pooley and Omally, stars of the Brentford Laboiur Exchange and the Flying Swan, want nothing to do with it, especially if there's a Yankee and a pint of Large in the offing. Pope Alexander VI, last of the Borgias, has other ideas...

The Lies of Locke Lamora


Scott Lynch - 2006
    But young Locke Lamora dodges death and slavery, becoming a thief under the tutelage of a gifted con artist. As leader of the band of light-fingered brothers known as the Gentleman Bastards, Locke is soon infamous, fooling even the underworld’s most feared ruler. But in the shadows lurks someone still more ambitious and deadly. Faced with a bloody coup that threatens to destroy everyone and everything that holds meaning in his mercenary life, Locke vows to beat the enemy at his own brutal game—or die trying.

A Snake's Life


Kenneth Arant - 2020
    He served his country far from home. He outlived his soulmate. He died alone.However, his assumptions about a peaceful eternity, reunited with his wife, are thrown out the window when a meddling god digs his fingers into Albert’s afterlife.The positive? He will have a chance to see his wife again.The negative? He has to survive the dangers of the legendary World Tree for the next three hundred years. He’s been reincarnated into a world full of magical evolutions, monstrous deer, sassy ten-year-old elves, and untold hidden dangers. It won’t be easy, but if life has taught Albert anything it’s this: If something is worth having, it's worth fighting for. And he intends to fight.

Schooled in Magic


Christopher G. Nuttall - 2014
    Rescued in the nick of time by an enigmatic sorcerer, she discovers that she possesses magical powers and must go to Whitehall School to learn how to master them. There, she learns the locals believe that she is a "Child of Destiny," someone whose choices might save or damn their world ... a title that earns her both friends and enemies. A stranger in a very strange land, she may never fit into her new world ... ...and the necromancer is still hunting her. If Emily can't stop him, he might bring about the end of days. Book I in the Schooled in Magic series.

Fragment of Divinity


Jamey Sultan - 2020
    But he knows he has to adapt quickly, as ending up in a spider’s belly was never high on his to-do listWith only a vague quest, a mysterious brand, and promises of help from a cantankerous old lady to guide him, James must level up into the warrior this strange, yet beautiful world so desperately needs. New allies join him on his journey, as they venture to the Dwarven City high in the Crimson Mountains in pursuit of the first clue.Can James figure out the rules of this land in time to save it from its prophecy? Or will the dark secrets contained in his mysterious brand consume him?Check out Fragment of Divinity to find out.

Immortal


Gene Doucette - 2010
    I like to brag that I’ve been there from the beginning, and while this may very well be true, I generally just say it to pick up girls.” --Adam the Immortal Surviving sixty thousand years takes cunning and more than a little luck. But in the twenty-first century, Adam confronts new dangers—someone has found out what he is, a demon is after him, and he has run out of places to hide.Worst of all, he has had entirely too much to drink. Immortal is a first person confessional penned by a man who is immortal, but not invincible. In an artful blending of sci-fi, adventure, fantasy, and humor, IMMORTAL introduces us to a world with vampires, demons and other “magical” creatures, yet a world without actual magic. At the center of the book is Adam. “I have been in quite a few tight situations in my long life. One of the first things I learned was if there is going to be a mob panic, don’t be standing between the mob and wherever it is they all want to go. The second thing I learned was, don’t try to run through fire.” --Adam the Immortal Adam is a sixty thousand year old man. (Approximately.) He doesn’t age or get sick, but is otherwise entirely capable of being killed.His survival has hinged on an innate ability to adapt, his wits, and a fairly large dollop of luck.He makes for an excellent guide through history . . . when he’s sober. Immortal is a contemporary fantasy for non-fantasy readers and fantasy enthusiasts alike.

Nefertiti's Heart


A.W. Exley - 2013
    Permanently.1861. Cara has a simple mission in London - finalise her father's estate and sell off his damned collection of priceless artifacts. Her plan goes awry when a killer stalks the nobility, searching for an ancient Egyptian relic rumoured to hold the key to immortality.Nathaniel Trent, known as the villainous viscount, is relentless in his desire to lay his hands on both Cara and the priceless artifacts. His icy exterior and fiery touch stirs Cara's demons, or could he lay them to rest?Self-preservation fuels Cara's search for the gem known as Nefertiti's Heart. In a society where everyone wears a mask to hide their true intent, she needs to figure out who to trust, before she sacrifices her own heart and life.

Isekai Assassin, Volume 1


Grayson Sinclair - 2021
    Just before my death though, I was offered a choice. Stay and let my life come to a swift and brutal end, or become the personal assassin of a god in another world.It wasn't a hard decision.But this new world isn’t like the one I left. It operates by a completely different set of rules and a strange system that I don’t understand. I’m going to have to learn fast if I hope to survive in this land of myth and magic.All of my skills, and several new ones, will be put to the test as I receive my first contract.And new world or not, they have no idea who they’re up against.This Light Novel includes:Isekai/Portal FantasyAn Overpowered MCGamelit/Lite LitRPGGraphic ViolenceInterior ArtIncreasing Level System and SkillsSpells and MagicLite RomanceIsekai Assassin is a fast-paced story set in a Gamelit Dark Fantasy world, written by the bestselling author of the Wyvern Academy series.

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.

The Shambling Guide to New York City


Mur Lafferty - 2013
    After stumbling across a seemingly perfect position though, Zoe is blocked at every turn because of the one thing she can't take off her resume --- human.Not to be put off by anything -- especially not her blood drinking boss or death goddess coworker -- Zoe delves deep into the monster world. But her job turns deadly when the careful balance between human and monsters starts to crumble -- with Zoe right in the middle.

The Gray House


Mariam Petrosyan - 2009
    Not that it matters to anyone living in the House, a hulking old structure that its residents know is alive. From the corridors and crawl spaces to the classrooms and dorms, the House is full of tribes, tinctures, scared teachers, and laws—all seen and understood through a prismatic array of teenagers’ eyes.But student deaths and mounting pressure from the Outsides put the time-defying order of the House in danger. As the tribe leaders struggle to maintain power, they defer to the awesome power of the House, attempting to make it through days and nights that pass in ways that clocks and watches cannot record.