Book picks similar to
Hack by Paul Bellow


litrpg
lit-rpg
fantasy
abandoned

Hatchling


Kaye Fairburn - 2017
    Her life revolves around shoemaking, dying, respawning, and more shoemaking. When Margot discovers a secret hidden in her family's basement, she realizes she has a chance to break that cycle. Now, with newfound abilities she'll have to learn to control, Margot must brave a harrowing journey ahead of her to defeat the Stronghold targeting her town. Hatchling is the first book of Wyvernette, a fantasy LitRPG series.

Enter System


Tom Larcombe - 2021
    When a message appears in his line of sight, blocking out absolutely everything else, he nearly freaks out. The message warns that the world has been in a variant Natural Laws beta test for millennia and that it's about to revert to the norms.Deciding that even if he is insane, it's not going to hurt anything to try to prepare, he settles in to do so. Despite the atrocious lack of skill the System has with the English language, he manages to work his way through enough help files to get a clue of what's coming. After sharing his discovery with a few friends, they all start to prepare together.Once the change begins, the small group races to create a Safe Zone, an area where monsters will not spawn and where they can gather other survivors in an attempt to rescue as much of the town as possible. Along the way they discover that the new System can award classes that resemble those of the games the group has played, as well as magic for those capable of grasping it.With monsters spawning throughout the town, everyday animals being mutated into dangerous creatures, and a System that desperately needs English language lessons, they'll do their best to save as many of the local residents as they can.This story is approximately 155,000 words long and DRM free.

Vagrant Sword


Darren Hultberg Jr. - 2020
    Built by the greater god Helion, each floor is like a vast and ever changing realm equipped with its own challenges, its own dangers, and its own rewards for those willing to risk it all. And for any strong enough to reach the tower’s peak comes the right to fight for the ultimate prize...Valin Frost was a common thief from earth with little desire to risk his life in the tower. However, a twist of fate plunged him through its large, onyx doors. Now, Valin must join the ranks of the mana wielders, master his abilities, and learn how to fight if he plans on surviving the trials of Helion’s tower... and perhaps, one day carving his name into the book of legends.This is a tower ascension novel with litrpg and cultivation elements.

Mythian


John L. Monk - 2019
    Immortality means adventure. Life begins at seventy.Running on the world's fastest quantum computer is a very special game: one where retirees leave their flesh-and-blood lives in search of endless adventure. Weapons, spells, gold, experience points… These are the marks by which life is now measured.Ethan Crane wants none of it. In fact, he never wanted to retire at all, let alone play a game for all eternity. But now he's on a mission to find his wife—a wife he just discovered is still alive and inside the game.Nothing will stop him from reaching her. Not even himself.

Mageblood


Christopher Johns - 2020
    Gifts from the game gods for every person. The perfect magic for every user.Seth, a popular streamer, can’t wait to see what this new world has in store. It’s sure to be a blast for a guy who always plays a caster, and his friends are going to be right in the thick of it with him! The game boasts algorithms designed to read biometrics and brain patterns to find the perfect magical fit for the user—magic so personalized that no two casters will ever be the same. In fact, the game company is so sure they will always be right that you can’t remake your character.The unthinkable happened. The safeties and the guarantees failed, not just once but apparently only to them. The company has informed them that the system is infallible: there is nothing they will do. Players must use what they are given, so Seth and his team have no other choice—they need to grind it out and evolve their gifts in time to stream.Loading… Welcome to Mephisto’s Magic Online!

Transformation


Valery Starsky - 2018
    The 1st place winner of the literary contests: "RealRPG", "Cyberpank&Science fiction" . All the three books of the series became top-5 of bestsellers in 2017-2018 years at www.litnet.com. There are planned 5 books of the series "Transformation". If you like to read books about fire-breathing giant creatures, dark elves reigned absolute and unchallenged, the money-grubbing dwarfs and powerful dragons–all of them you will meet at the pages of Transformation. The familiar world collapsed overnight. As the Transformation progressed, disasters occurred throughout the Earth. Materials changed their properties, new species of flora and fauna appeared. The Game converted our world into a huge dungeon, completely replacing the previous civilization. However, the alien plans for Earth began to go awry from the very beginning. The conversion was less successful than expected. An ordinary young man stole the bonus for the first gaming action, depriving the invaders of their perk. How can he manage the situation? Which of the aliens will become his ally? Which ones are his enemy? Dare they rebel against the all-powerful invaders, regain their land and even create a new world? P.S. The book was edited for one more time and now it's much better. Enjoy your reading!

Ball of Light: Evolution


AR Chen - 2019
    Heck, he doesn't know what he is. Despite his spotty memory, he's pretty sure he didn't used to be a floating ball of light. He's also certain that he's not originally from this dangerous fantasy world...maybe. Okay, fairly certain. To make things stranger, he seems to be involved in something big, something magical...a game. Who was he before? Will his memories come back? Why does he have an assistant explaining the game's rules to him? He can evolve? There's a countdown timer? One thing Steve does know is that he needs to figure out what's going on fast, and if he is playing a game, even a deadly one, he plans to win.

Growth Hero


Brent Tyman - 2021
    Out of nowhere, he's whisked away to a fantasy world with game-like stats, monsters that drop loot, gorgeous mages and a Dungeon to explore.With only the clothes on his back and a single skill bestowed upon him, he has to survive this new world and forge a new life for himself.And perhaps work on getting a harem while he’s at it.Authors note: Inspired by light novels, RPG's and mangas. Contains Isekai, light LitRPG/ Gamelit stats, dungeons, magic and a touch of tropes.

Condition Evolution


Kevin Sinclair - 2020
    One with the power to repair his mind and body while he lives out his wildest dreams.What could possibly go wrong?It turns out fighting monsters and obesity is tough wherever you are! Then there’s the unrequited love. Weren’t the women supposed to fall head over heels with the hero? Not in Anatoli, a brutal and unforgiving land on the brink of apocalypse.If Shaun can survive this very real experience, he might just get to be a hero back in the real world!Warning, lots of profanity and gratuitous violence.

A Fist Full of Credits


Tao Wong - 2021
    Veteran. Survivor.Hal Mason's still going to find surviving the System Apocalypse challenging.While bringing in his latest fugitive, Hal's payday is interrupted by the translucent blue boxes that herald Earth's introduction to the System - a galaxy spanning wave of structured mystical energy that destroys all electronics and bestows game-like abilities upon mankind.With society breaking down and mutating wildlife rampaging through the city of Pittsburgh, those who remain will sacrifice anything for a chance at earning their next Level. As bodies fall and civilization crumbles, Hal finds himself asking what price is his humanity. Are the Credits worth his hands being ever more stained with blood?Or does he press on - relentless?A Fist Full of Credits is the first book in a new series in the System Apocalypse universe. Written by debut author Craig Hamilton in Tao Wong's bestselling post-apocalyptic LitRPG universe, System Apocalypse - Relentless is another glimpse into what humanity will do when the chips are down and the monsters are crawling from the shadows.

Human Insanity


Kamikaze Potato - 2021
    His moment of heroism results in being torn away from everyone he knew and loved, kidnapped by an unknown force that leaves him with a note in his pocket stating: "Good luck."After being thrown into the wilderness of Elatra, a hostile fantasy world ruled by levels, stats, progression, and bizarre video game logic, he finds himself entirely out of his depth. Armed with nothing but a sword and the clothes on his back, he sets out on his the first day, and almost dies. On the second day, he almost dies again. On the third, he began to notice a worrying trend. And almost dies.It doesn't get any easier from there.Overcoming the wilds is just the first step in his journey; the society of Elatra is incredibly hostile to humans, having just come off of a devastating war that left over half the population dead, and getting the locals to trust the last human in existence is a struggle in and of itself. Between being powerless in a world that hates him and suffering under a System that is altering his mind in unwanted ways, Rob quickly finds that monsters aren't nearly the biggest thing to worry about.As far as LitRPG isekai adventures go, Rob drew the short straw in many ways. But that's okay - all the bullshit in the world won't keep him down. He'll carve out a place in this world with his bare hands if necessary. He'll survive, and then he'll thrive.Whether anyone wants him to or not.

Dungeon Core Academy 1


Alex Oakchest - 2019
    He was resurrected and given new powers. Now it's time to change sides. Beno doesn't remember much about dying, only that he probably deserved it. When he is resurrected and joins the fantastical Dungeon Core Academy, he learns that not all heroes are heroic, and not all demons are demonic. If he's to earn respect in this diabolical new world, he needs to embrace his inner evil. After learning how to make a deadly dungeon and fill it with murderous monsters, he discovers a golden rule: every hero, warrior, and thief in the world wants to kill him. But Beno isn’t defenseless. He has great powers now, and he can create monsters who love tearing heroes, warriors, and thieves apart. With sword-swinging and magic-wielding heroes hunting him, Beno and his creatures must destroy them and change how all the stories end. This is his second chance at life, and he’s not going to waste it. It's time to stop the heroes from winning. Join Beno in book 1 of the Dungeon Core Academy series, a thrilling fantasy story of magic, power, and heroes.

Revenge of the Sorcerer King: Resurrection


Matthew Peed - 2020
    It would have meant a term of peace yet unheard of. Sadly, he was betrayed by one of his most trusted advisors. With his once friend's sword piercing his chest, he cast his last spell. Unintended by even him, his spell incorporates a legendary item that results in the world being cursed. Now over a thousand years later, a certain sorcerer once again wakes... and he is not happy. Alessa has been on the run for years. Never stopping in one place for long. When she arrives at a place where the secret that has haunted her the span of her short life, it might just be the one thing that lets her survive. Will she be able to handle the consequences that result from this meeting?

Winter Harvest


Dawn Chapman - 2020
    Shadow organizations. A desperate attempt to stay sane.After failing the most important exam of his life, Kyle is forced into a VR war. Now, he fights on the front lines as cannon fodder for what he always assumed was the government, losing a little part of his memories with every virtual death.When the mission he’s on goes wrong, Kyle is stranded on a planet far from his original destination. Finally given a chance to make an impression in the organization, Kyle will have to risk his mind for a chance at salvation.If he fails, he'll lose all will to resist: making him the perfect soldier.Winter Harvest is book one of the four book Space Seasons series, a LitRPG sci-fi space opera set on another world with mechs, spaceships, levels, and… well… pure evil.

ChronoTemplar


Burt Wrenlaw - 2021
    unless you're a pawn for an eldritch horror that: (A) can bend time, and (B) is a sore loser.Justin Thyme is not a good man, nor one destined for glory. He was meant to die in obscurity, yet another level 82 Templar that was just about to get chewed up by a horde of skittering monstrosities clawing at humanity's last enclave.One short conversation with a time-splitting monstrosity later, and Justin finds himself flung five years into the past—right when the Earth was first chosen to host the 9,947th Gladiatorial Games.Justin must now do all that he can to help save the world from crumbling under the twin pressures of monsters and murderers. But it's not all about grinding experience, gaining the most levels, and kicking the most ass. He can’t even stand out too much, lest he draw the attention of the other eldritch horrors observing Earth’s struggles for their amusement.No, it’s all about making the right connections, sowing the seeds of hope, culling the pests causing despair… oh, and exploiting the hell out of the System with his ‘borrowed’ ability to tweak time to his advantage.*ChronoTemplar is a dark, crunchy litRPG with lots of stats, skills and battles, for those who love action and complex characters.