Book picks similar to
Barrow King by C.M. Carney
litrpg
fantasy
fiction
lit-rpg
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 Chosen
Jakob Tanner - 2018
Infected with the ZERO virus, he has less than twenty-four hours before he bites the dust. With no cure available, there’s only one option left: digitally reincarnate himself in the most advanced virtual reality game ever, the mysterious and newly released Arcane Kingdom Online.But cheating death and gaining immortality isn’t that easy. If Clay survives the risky cognitive upload process, he’ll still have to contend with a fantasy world teetering on the brink of crisis. Worse, a quarter of the in-game population hates his starting race, he can’t unlock the mage class he wants, and a malevolent glitch threatens to upend the very existence of his new reality.If Clay doesn’t learn the rules of his new surroundings quickly, his second chance at life will be a lot worse than his first.Press play to start.
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 Ten Thousand Doors of January
Alix E. Harrow - 2019
As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own.
Menacing Misfits
Robyn Wideman - 2019
When Jack Vance's grandfather is murdered, his dying words are to get Jack to promise to attend Darkthorn Academy. Jack doesn't like it, but he'll do what is necessary to honor the man who raised him. Surviving Darkthorn Academy won't be easy. Jack will have to make alliances, learn to harness magic and face dangerous enemies, both alive and dead. If he's lucky he might just make it to second year. A coming of age, sword and sorcery fantasy adventure with gamelit aspects, including a slightly overpowered MC, a dragon companion, and a team of adventurers. Inspired by games like Skyrim and Diablo 2 and Fallout.
Into the Labyrinth
John Bierce - 2018
He can barely cast any spells at all, and those he does cast tend to fail explosively. If that wasn't bad enough, he's also managed to attract the ire of the most promising student of his year- who also happens to be the nephew of a king. Hugh has no friends, no talent, and definitely doesn't expect a mage to choose him as an apprentice at all during the upcoming Choosing. When a very unusual mage does choose him as apprentice, however, his life starts to take a sharp turn for the better. Now all he has to worry about is the final test for the first years- being sent into the terrifying labyrinth below Skyhold.
Critical Failures
Robert Bevan - 2012
The next minute, they're in a horse-drawn cart surrounded by soldiers pointing crossbows at them. Tim now has the voice and physique of a prepubescent girl. Dave finds that while he lost a foot or two in height, he somehow acquired a suit of armor and a badass beard. Julian's ears have grown ridiculously long and pointy. And Cooper... well Cooper has gotten himself a set of tusks, a pair of clawed hands, and a bad case of the shits. He also finds that he's carrying a bag with a human head in it - a head that he had chopped off when they were still just playing a game.Shit just got real, and if they want to survive, these four friends are going to have to tap into some baser instincts they didn't even know existed in their fast-food and pizza delivery world.It's fight, flight, or try to convince the people who are trying to kill them that they don't really exist.Meanwhile, a sadistic game master sits back in the real world eating their fried chicken.
Spirit Legacy
E.E. Holmes - 2013
Jess' life has never been what anyone would call easy; doing damage control in the wake of your nomadic, alcoholic mother doesn't exactly make for a storybook childhood. But now her world has fallen apart just when it should be coming together: her mother gone—dead under mysterious circumstances; her life uprooted to stay with estranged relatives she’s never met; and there’s something odd about some of the people she’s been meeting at school:They’re dead.Aided by Tia, her neurotic roommate, and Dr. David Pierce, a ghost-hunting professor, Jess must unravel the mystery behind her hauntings. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more danger shadows her every move. An ancient secret, long-buried, is about to claw its way to the surface, and nothing can prepare Jess for one terrifying truth......her encounters with the world of the dead are only just beginning.Spirit Legacy is the first of three thrilling novels in The Gateway Trilogy by E.E. Holmes.
Ignited
Desni Dantone - 2013
Good thing she has her guardian angel to protect her...sort of.Kris is aided by Nathan, the mysterious man that ends up being anything but angelic when he rescues her for the fourth time in fourteen years. Even if the handsome hero illusion is shattered by his harsh treatment of her, he knows how to fight this strange enemy and is determined to keep her safe at all costs. As the body count rises in their wake, Nathan introduces Kris to a world in which not everyone is human and the battle lines between good and evil are clearly drawn. Kris's piece in the puzzle is something neither is aware of and, as they uncover the truth, neither is prepared for what they find. Overcoming twists and revelations that shatter both of their lives, they discover that nothing is as it seems and nothing, least of all their hearts, are safe. From debut author, Desni Dantone, Ignited is the first novel in a tale of first love, mystery and adventure that will introduce you to an exciting new world as Kris discovers how she fits in it.
Thanatos
Eva Pohler - 2012
While in a coma, she meets the twin sons of Hades-Hypnos (the god of sleep) and Thanatos (the god of death). She thinks she's manipulating a dream, not kissing the god of death and totally rocking his world.Than makes a deal with Hades and goes as a mortal to the Upperworld to try and win Therese's heart, but not all the gods are happy. Some give her gifts. Others try to kill her.The deal requires Therese to avenge the death of her parents. With the help of Than's fierce and exotic sisters, the Furies, she finds herself in an arena face to face with the murderer, and only one will survive.*Formerly The Gatekeeper's Sons
The Lost Gate
Orson Scott Card - 2011
While Danny’s cousins are free to create magic whenever they like, they must never do it where outsiders might see.Unfortunately, there are some secrets kept from Danny as well. And that will lead to disaster for the North family.
Darkness Brutal
Rachel A. Marks - 2015
Since then, every three years the demons have returned to try to claim her. Living in the gritty, forgotten corners of Los Angeles, Aidan has managed to protect his sister, but he knows that even his powers to fight demons and speak dead languages won’t keep her safe for much longer.In desperation, Aidan seeks out the help of Sid, the enigmatic leader of a group of teens who run LA Paranormal, an Internet reality show that fights demons and ghosts. In their company, Aidan believes he’s finally found a haven for Ava. But when he meets Kara, a broken girl who can spin a hypnotic web of passionate energy, he awakens powers he didn’t know he had―and unleashes a new era of war between the forces of Light and the forces of Darkness.With the fate of humanity in his hands, can Aidan keep the Darkness at bay and accept his brilliant, terrifying destiny?
The Woodcutter
Kate Danley - 2010
Not a mark on her body. No trace of her murderer. Only her chipped glass slippers hint at her identity.The Woodcutter, keeper of the peace between the Twelve Kingdoms of Man and the Realm of the Faerie, must find the maiden’s killer before others share her fate. Guided by the wind and aided by three charmed axes won from the River God, the Woodcutter begins his hunt, searching for clues in the whispering dominions of the enchanted unknown.But quickly he finds that one murdered maiden is not the only nefarious mystery afoot: one of Odin’s hellhounds has escaped, a sinister mansion appears where it shouldn’t, a pixie dust drug trade runs rampant, and more young girls go missing. Looming in the shadows is the malevolent, power-hungry queen, and she will stop at nothing to destroy the Twelve Kingdoms and annihilate the Royal Fae…unless the Woodcutter can outmaneuver her and save the gentle souls of the Wood.Blending magic, heart-pounding suspense, and a dash of folklore, The Woodcutter is an extraordinary retelling of the realm of fairy tales.
Firstlife
Gena Showalter - 2016
But I know that isn’t always true. My name is Tenley Lockwood, and very soon, I’ll be dead. This is my story—but the end is only the beginning.Tenley “Ten” Lockwood has spent the past thirteen months locked inside the Prynne Asylum. She’s earned her rep as the craziest of crazies, but that doesn’t stop the torture. Ten can leave, but only if she allows her parents to choose where she’ll live—after she dies.There is an eternal truth most of the world has come to accept: Firstlife is merely a dress rehearsal, and real life begins after death.In the Everlife, two realms are in power: Troika and Myriad, longtime enemies and deadly rivals. Both will do anything to recruit Ten, including sending their top Laborers to lure her to their side. Soon, Ten finds herself on the run, caught in a wild tug-of-war between the boy she’s falling for and the realm she wants to support. Who will she choose? Can she stay alive long enough to make a decision?
The First Step
Tao Wong - 2019
His days were spent studying, planting rice on the family farm and spending time with his friends. Fate, however, has different plans for Wu Ying and when the army arrives at his village, he and many other members of the village are conscripted. Given the opportunity to join the Verdant Green Waters Sect, Wu Ying must decide between his pedestrian, common life and the exciting, blood soaked life of a cultivator.Join Wu Ying as he takes his first step on his Thousand Li journey to become an immortal cultivator.The First Step is the first novel in A Thousand Li series, a book on cultivation, immortals, wondrous martial art styles and spirit beasts and will be loved by wuxia and xianxia fans. The First Step is written by Tao Wong, the bestselling scifi and fantasy LitRPG author of the System Apocalypse, Adventures on Brad and the Hidden Wishes.