Book picks similar to
Initializing by E.M. Hardy


litrpg
dungeon-core
fantasy
science-fiction

The Trapped Mind Project


Michael Chatfield - 2017
    What Dave doesn’t know is that Earth as he knows it, is really a virtual reality simulation and Emerilia is a world imbued with futuristic technologies to mimic early MMORPG’s. He just wanted peace and quiet, to build a house, do some fishing, to take some time to find himself once again. What he found out instead was a cause, he found out the biggest lie of his life. He found out the truth about Emerilia and the lies of Earth. What's the best way to control slaves? Make them think that they're free.

Wrath


Alex Raizman - 2021
    After being executed for crimes forgotten in death, Tira is given the chance to make that choice. Tira chose Acekorah, the Primeval Terror, a being so dangerous few cores will risk trying to contain it.The danger wasn’t important. Tira remembers dying. If containing Acekorah means Tira will face greater danger, that’s a risk worth taking, because the Primeval Terror walked the world long before the races of Man roamed the earth, and Cores bound to him are able to summon beings from beyond the veil of time.Now, forged in the fires of Tira's wrath, the dinosaurs will walk the world anew.

Life Reset


Shemer Kuznits - 2017
    His thorough knowledge of the game's world and his unique ability to immerse himself entirely are his only advantages. But first, he must figure out how to survive long enough playing what is basically a low-level fodder monster!

Loki's Daughter The Opal Dungeon (Tales of the Opal Dungeon #1)


Marty Myers - 2018
    Her one chance comes at the hands of Loki who offers her a devil's bargain if there ever was one. Become a dungeon and grow strong enough to help him escape his unending torment imposed by the gods of Asgard, and in return, she will live and have a chance to get payback on those who have wiped out humanity. This book contains dungeon core/ dungeon building fantasy themes, gamelit/litrpg mechanics, magic, gods, werewolves, giants, fairies, vampires, heartache, and betrayal.

Dragon's Mist


Ember Lane - 2020
    You have arrived in the nick of time. War looms, its dire thunderheads crowding our once glorious sky. This land needs a strong hand such as yours. A hundred must battle for victory, and at the end, there can be only one.” You’ve played the games, now read the book! For Connor O’Grady this nightmare comes true. He wakes in a land and is propelled into an age called Legendary, where he has to fight his way up from nothing, literally nothing, not even a pair of pants.  He must learn to survive, to fight, and to enlist the help of others in order to build a civilization capable of winning. Because there is no other option. This is a LitRPG – Civ building fantasy tale and includes progression stats and settlement stats.For lovers of 4X strategy MMORPG civilization building games who enjoy a tale woven in the lands they spend far too much time in. Warning: Contains curse words. Book 2 is currently in edit.

Challenge


Edward Castle - 2016
    Calling himself Jack Thorn, he chooses an undead race, Deathlord.A mage by choice, and a swordsman by necessity, he soon finds out that he’ll need to use much more than magic and steel to survive; strategy, creativity, and carefully chosen words can often accomplish what simple attacks can’t.As the game becomes too real and touches a part of him that he’d rather leave buried, he is faced with two questions:Who is he, really?And who should he become?

The Trash Tier Dungeon


Kaye Fairburn - 2018
     Minette, the lowest ranked sentient dungeon in Bellstrang, deserves her Trash Tier title. She's more interested in playing with her cats and having fun than being a proper dungeon. Scorned by recent experiences, Arden the Dungeon Pixie doesn't have time for fun. The only thing she likes on her schedule is beheading her enemies. Following a treacherous act against her last dungeon, the Overseer of Dungeons reassigns Arden to work with Minette. If she fails to lift Minette to the Overseer's standards within a month's time, he'll smite her. Complicating things further is a revenge-seeking rogue who wants Arden dead.

The Feedback Loop


Harmon Cooper - 2015
    His life changes when a mysterious letter arrives one morning from a woman named Frances Euphoria, the first human player he has made contact with in a very long time. Once Frances appears, members of a murder guild known as the Reapers begin surfacing in The Loop, hoping to capture Quantum or worse -- kill him. To further complicate matters, The Loop itself is doing everything it can to stop Quantum from finding the hidden logout point by turning everything in the virtual dreamworld against him.With time running out, will Quantum break free from his digital coma before he's captured or killed by the Reapers? Who is Frances Euphoria, and what does she actually know about how long Quantum has been trapped? The Feedback Loop Series takes place thirty years before the Life is a Beautiful Thing Series. It shares the same world, but is a standalone series that focus on dream-based virtual reality worlds and the people who are trapped in them. The next book in the series will be called Steampunk is Dead, and will be released in the fall.

A Virtual Dream


Brent Roth - 2015
    He dreamed of a life where maintaining his health was no longer a daily struggle, and then when he had lost all hope, he had discovered a new virtual reality game on the horizon. A VR-MMORPG that offered him everything he lacked in real life, everything that had eluded him. A world where he could find adventure, companionship, and success all wrapped up in the singular package of The Dragon's Wrath. The game offered him a chance, a chance for salvation… a glimmer of hope. It was better than a dream, it was a virtual dream.

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 …

Sector Eight


Michael Atamanov - 2015
    The game in which your reputation and faction relationship are the only things that matter.These are the conditions of the agreement Ruslan signs without reading. The only thing he remembers is that he's been contracted to command a space fleet in a brand new game he knows nothing about. Objective: to survive for six months. After having made some inevitable newb mistakes, Ruslan has to rethink his strategy, dropping traditional gaming conventions. But what will it cost him? What new trials and tribulations await him that even the game designers have failed to anticipate?

Forced Login


R.K. Billiau - 2019
    You can live, laugh, and love. You can feel pain, hatred, and anguish. This world allows you the full range of human experiences while also granting abilities unheard of. Will you unlock the secrets of magic? Will you study the blade or bow? Will you attempt to recreate the technology of the world you left behind? Anything is possible!***No matter how many times you die, it still sucks.For Hudson, the virtual world of PrimeVerse isn’t all bad. It’s beautiful; much nicer than overpopulated Earth. It almost feels like a vacation except for the volatile wildlife, lack of any amenities, and — oh yeah — the inability to log out.Exploring the world, learning his class, and leveling skills is all fun and games until a powerful rogue player with a vendetta shows up to wipe out Hudson and his primitive tribe. Thrust into a conflict he didn’t create, Hudson is forced into a cycle of respawning where he learns that even death can be used as a tool. So much for that vacation.It’s not like he signed up for this. Or even went willingly. But when life hands you lemons… use them to kill the dog-size spiders that are trying to eat your face.PrimeVerse: Forced Login is book one of a brand new LitRPG series that explores an uninhabited, newly created virtual world with game mechanics and a whimsical MC who, despite being uploaded against his will, sets out to make the best of it.

Welcome to Ludus


Blaise Corvin - 2016
    Their kidnapper, the vain, self-styled god Dolos refuses to send them back unless they can accomplish an impossible task. Oddly, Dolos doesn’t seem to care if they succeed or not.Luckily, Henry and Jason studied Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) on Earth. Unfortunately, a Japanese American EMT and a geeky IT programmer don’t have many other useful skills on a sword and sorcery world like Ludus.Stranded in the middle of nowhere on an alien world, the friends have no real direction and only a few possessions including magic-granting orbs from an apathetic god. Undaunted, the two begin their insane adventure to return home, but basic survival and eventually paying rent will have to take priority.

Gamer for Life


Daniel Schinhofen - 2017
    While doing his time he's given an option by the Department of Justice and the biggest virtual game maker around, Mindblown Entertainment. If he will help them test long term immersion he will get the chance to play the latest game from Mindblown, Alpha World. All he has to do is sign away his legal rights and sign an NDA. Now exploring Alpha World, Seamus becomes the Summoner Alburet. Follow Alburet on his journey of exploration and questing in the latest game to hit the market. He will summon demons, befriend players and NPCs alike all while trying to find a little happiness in his life. He's the first gamer to be sentenced to life imprisonment in a virtual world. What could go wrong? (This book contains some adult themes, this was suggested by a few readers and I listen to those who have enjoyed my work.)

Opening Moves


Cosimo Yap - 2016
    The alien invasion brought social upheaval, advanced technology, and an armada of peacekeeping robots. But Alan, a college student pursuing a now-useless degree, cares little about all of this. He has only one thing on his mind: the Game. A fully immersive virtual reality, the Game appears to be a major part of the invading civilization. Alan can't wait to play, recklessly diving into the digital universe. Soon though, Alan realizes the Game is anything but simple, and the stakes are higher than he ever imagined.