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.

    Whenever you play your favorite online game, beware: your mind might merge with the virtual world and dump its comatose host. Woe be to those stuck forever in Tetris! And still they're the lucky ones compared to those burning alive eternally within the scorched hulls of tank simulators. But some unfortunates - the handicapped and the terminally ill, shell-shocked army vets, wronged crime victims and other society misfits - choose to flee real life willingly, escaping to the limitless world of online sword and sorcery MMORPGs. Once a seasoned gamer and now a terminal cancer patient, Max grasps at this final chance to preserve his life and identity. So he goes for it - goes for the promise of immortality shared with a few trusty friends and the woman he loves. Together they roam the roads of AlterWorld and sample its agony and ecstasy born of absolute freedom.

    Paint a mural. $15,000. How could Duke not jump at the chance? But it came with a catch, as these things often do. He had to first see what his client wanted him to paint. A private server. A digital playground. An alliance of the world’s most sadistic, most depraved minds. A place to bring their prey, to hone their skills. Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon. Survival horror. One of the most brutal, most terrifying full-immersion games ever made. A place where fantasy characters such as elves and dwarves clash with technology, where giant monsters roam the hills, entrusted with protecting the gates of heaven from the demons who would tear it all down. A game where one plays the last of the battlefield surgeons: a healer tasked with keeping the behemoths alive at all costs. But on this server, they don’t care about the game. That’s not why they’re here. They’ve come because of the game’s most unique feature: Full pain. Realistic anatomy. The ability to bring their victims well beyond the body’s normal breaking point. And most importantly, the ability to bring them back and do it all over again. Trapped in a bloody, merciless nightmare, Duke only has one goal. To survive. And in order to survive, he must play the game. He must win the game. And to do that, he must become the most cruel, most ruthless monster of them all. This brutal, 200,000 word, standalone LitRPG novel features the following: A co-op survival horror game where fantasy-type characters and technology clash. Medium-heavy stats. Lots of violence. Stomach-churning gore. No-holds-barred kaiju battles. Torture-happy, paladin dwarf toddlers. 22 individual races, each with their own magical system. A pet tapeworm named Banksy. Dozens of kaiju, each with their own distinctive form and abilities. Demons and angels, and you can’t trust a damn one of them. About 200,000 words--the length of 3 books! No harem.

    It means that she’s a Non-Participating Citizen, someone who can’t see her stats or make opposed rolls against Heroes. It’s why her life’s worth less than the vendor trash she doles out.The old-timers swear it didn’t used to be like this—that their issues only began once RNGesus went AFK a thousand years ago, leaving the questionably-blessed Heroes to conquer everything without consequence. Fortunately, Raze is not about to let something as trivial as a millennium of injustice cramp her style. She’s got a crush on a frustratingly optimistic dreamer, and when he talks her into using the Konami Code as a map to scale the conveniently located and suitably forbidden fortress, everything changes when they reach the top.[UP UP, DOWN DOWN, LEFT RIGHT, LEFT RIGHT. B. A. START]What follows is Raze and her mismatched crew doing their damndest to burn the new ‘old’ ways down to the ground, squaring off against thousands of noob Heroes in epic, crunchy, badass, mechanized carnage!Rule of Cool is a screaming love letter to LitRPG and the possibilities the genre embraces. Hilarious, action-packed, and filled with unforgettable characters, it's perfect for fans of Ryan Rimmel, Dakota Krout, and Shemer Kuznits.

    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.

    Become entranced with the basic struggle of good vs. evil as you travel to a galaxy far, far away.

    Unfortunately for Kit, it only takes one moment to turn the game into a nightmare.When Chronicles of Retha experiences a software malfunction, Kit—a disenchanted veteran player—is stuck in the game without a way to log off. Even worse, she’s trapped playing as the most defective character possible, an elf dancer that was meant to be a prank.Thankfully, she receives word that there is a way out. But the only escape route is to defeat the game’s ultimate villain. Kit, in her joke character, must fight her way through some of the worst Retha has to offer. Her only help is a party of low-leveled players just as powerless as she is, and the occasional act of mercy from one of the best players in the game, the taciturn (and aloof) Solus Miles.Can Kit and her new friends finish the quest, or will Retha be their end?

    even for a “monster.” Life hasn’t been easy for Scars of No-Clan. The king has a bounty out on all monstrous folk, leaving half-orc warriors like Scars no choice but to work for the local evil wizard. Now adventurers have hit the wizard’s dungeon, wiping out years of hard work along with most of his co-workers. He’s left with a handful of survivors: an outcast goblin scout, a heretical gnoll, the wizard’s bizarre apprentice, a bandit cut loose from the stockade, and a murderous knife-fighting lady bugbear. They have to escape before the adventurers find them--and the only way out is through the darkest reaches of the dungeon. Scars wanted to walk off this job the day he was hired, but going out like this is going to look terrible on his résumé.

    Cyra’s currentgift gives her pain and power—something her brother exploits, using her to torture his enemies. But Cyra is much more than just a blade in her brother’s hand: she is resilient, quick on her feet, and smarter than he knows.Akos is the son of a farmer and an oracle from the frozen nation-planet of Thuvhe. Protected by his unusual currentgift, Akos is generous in spirit, and his loyalty to his family is limitless. Once Akos and his brother are captured by enemy Shotet soldiers, Akos is desperate to get his brother out alive—no matter what the cost.Then Akos is thrust into Cyra's world, and the enmity between their countries and families seems insurmountable. Will they help each other to survive, or will they destroy one another?Carve the Mark is Veronica Roth's stunning portrayal of the power of friendship—and love—in a galaxy filled with unexpected gifts.

     Tane, a hydroponics farmer with some mad cereal crop gene-splicing skills, decides to get chipped. The operation gives him full control over his autonomic nervous and endocrine systems, plus the ability to install custom memories. All seems well until a couple of days later aliens come knocking at his door. And they aren't the friendly type. Soon Tane finds himself on a frenzied flight across the galaxy with a woman who can warp the very fabric of spacetime, her bodyguard--who’d just as soon kill Tane than protect him--and a starship that calls him snarky pet names. He's on the run not simply from the aliens but the whole damn human space navy. He only wished he knew why. Unfortunately for Tane, the answer might just destroy him. Not to mention the entire known universe.

    Millions of them come to Barliona, looking forward to the things they can't get in real life: elves and magic, dragons and princesses, and unforgettable combat. The game has become so popular that players now choose to spend months online without returning home. In Barliona, anything goes: You can assault fellow players, level up, become a mythical hero, a wizard, or a legendary thief. The only rule that attempted to regulate the game demanded that no player be allowed to feel actual pain. But there's an exception to every rule. For a certain bunch of players, Barliona has become their personal hell. They are criminals sent to Barliona to serve their time. They aren't in it for the dragons' gold or the abundant loot. All they want is to survive the virtual inferno. They face the ultimate survival quest.

    Reaping and sowing. Redemption through growth.Matt is running from a life that he no longer wants, and he's found a solution. By logging in to the newest game, Livia, he gains chances that he can't get anywhere else. Matt chooses to cut out a new life for himself on the edge of civilization, by venturing to the frontier town of Tallrock. As soon as he gains his class, the newly minted Cycle Mage has one goal: farming.Now known in-game as Kastigan, he gains a starting bonus parcel of virgin land that he will need to convert to farmland from the ground up. Kastigan needs to decide what to grow, what animals to raise, and who to hire; all while dealing with a Legion Commander who hates him for no apparent reason, surviving in the wild land where monsters roam freely, and uncovering lost relics from a forgotten time.If he succeeds, he will create a new home for himself. If he fails, he will lose not only his farm, but all the workers, crops, and beasts that he has spent every last penny to acquire.

    After spending his entire life training, he’s finally ready to test his skills in the biggest tournament on Earth where hundreds of the fiercest competitors vie for the supreme title. In the semi-finals, Seth is getting the upper hand when his opponent uses an illegal blow to take him out. Upon waking up from a coma, Seth finds out he’s lost his sight. He’s become blind and he’s completely devastated. All his dreams are now shattered, and he soon falls into depression. What is he going to do with his life? That’s when he’s introduced to Bushido Online, a game that promises to keep his skills sharp while he figures out what his next move is going to be. Set in feudal Japan, this VRMMORPG is the land of ninjas and samurai. A world where the most honorable warriors meet the vilest bandits, and where mythical creatures roam free. When he’ll enter that new reality, Seth will discover that while it’s easy to make friends there, one doesn’t have to try very hard to get his fair share of powerful enemies. Soon, he’s going to have entire clans hunting him down as he struggles to learn the ropes and regain a sense of normalcy. Thankfully, Seth has a few things going for him: his extensive knowledge of combat, and a never-say-die attitude. “Bushido Online: the Battle Begins” is the first book in the Bushido Online series, a work of litRPG fiction.

    Beam Piper's groundbreaking parallel world's SF novel, Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen, and the sequel, Great Kings' War by John F. Carr and Roland Green. The Paratime Police patrol an infinity of alternate earths. Their prime directive is to protect the Paratime Secret thereby keeping this infinity of worlds from mixing and destroying each other, or from learning the parasitical Home Time Line is secretly looting their resources.When Penn. State Policeman Calvin Morrison is accidentally dropped off from a cross-time conveyer onto Styphon's House Subsector, he threatens both the Paratime Secret and leadership of the gunpowder theocracy, who owe their power to their secret knowledge of the "fireseed" formula. In just a few weeks, by the use of his knowledge of military strategy, Kalvan saves the small princedom of Hostigos from an invasion orchestrated by Styphon's House.Kalvan Kingmaker opens right after Kalvan's decisive victory over the Holy Host of Styphon. With Great King Kaiphranos of Hos-Harphax in mourning over his eldest son's death, the time is ripe for the Army of Hostigos to invade Harphax and topple the Iron Throne. At the holy city of Balph, the Inner Circle is reeling. Archpriest Roxthar, a rare true believer in Styphon, is conducting a full-blown inquisition of Styphon's corrupt upper priesthood. Once his reformation is complete, Roxthar's next job will to rebuild the Holy Host and defeat and destroy the Usurper Kalvan.Meanwhile, there is a great migration of nomads across the Sea of Grass; they are the wild card. As the nomads pour across the Great Middle River, pushing the clans and tribes that live there into the Great Kingdoms, the big question soon becomes: Will Styphon's House be buried by the human wave, or will they use the nomads in their war to the death with Kalvan and Hos-Hostigos?

    This is the ninety ninth world for this traveler who has spent an entire life in each of his previous worlds. And now he is out of lives, his previous misdeeds leaving him with a negative balance of points and preventing him from reincarnating anew. Once he realizes that he must spend his final life in a poverty-stricken family in a backward world, he awakens the consciousness of the deceased Luca and ends his own physical existence, leaving all his abilities to his heir.One such ability is the use of the Wheel. Every traveler can spend points to spin the Wheel and gain a special talent, a superpower, or... a deadly illness. Luca spins the Wheel and gains the superpower of metamorphosis. Now he can regenerate, recover from deadly wounds and even take on the shape of other beings. The young man takes on the form of the Emperor: to avoid death, help his family and, finally, to bring order to the Empire!