What would you recomnend for a new reader?

So if you wanted to introduce someone to this genre, what is the first book you would recommend they read, and why?

Bonus points to those that dont say Ready Player One. (Which is one of my favorite books btw.)

 

I read Catharsis by Travis Bagwell a few weeks ago and loved it so much I immediately started searching for more LitRPG books, which is how I found out about Paul and his ideas about introducing more people to the genre.

Of course one of my all-time favourite books (and authors) is Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, which I think is best described as a precursor to the LitRPG genre. However, it's sci-fi, specifically cyberpunk, not fantasy.

 

I'll second "Catharsis". Very well written.. plot is great and characters are likeable and fleshed out. I'm anxiously waiting for the 3rd book.

Give Paul's Tower Gate books a shot.. the first 10 chapters are a bit... noobish, but bear with it and it really picks up and becomes fun. By the end of the book he really caught his stride. I hope it carries over into the sequel. (Unpaid promotion ) I really like how he isn't forcing his books down anyone's throat on his own forum!

Chaos Seeds by Aleron Kong were my first trip into Litrpg. They were a fun read and he has a couple out if you're down for sequels.

 

@Readsalot Snowcrash was one of my fav's growing up. It hooks the imagination and stays with you forevermore. I had a friend who drew a comic based on Snowcrash! Which, annoyingly, I can't seem to find any trace of online. Oy!

 

I really liked Vasilyev's "Fayroll". There are only two books in english so far, but they are going to translate more. I was worrying about unreadable translation, but it was pro.

It is easy to read and definitely better than "Alterworld" (if you read this one). A good book in a LitRPG world that focuses more on the story and less on the levelling.
I liked it because of a good dose of humor and intelegent MC.

I enjoyed every minute of this book, from beginning to end. The character was well developed, both in the game world an in real life. And it is easy to understand for newcomer in LitRPG world.

 

I agree, Travis Bagwell is a good writer. Also, check out his AMA on Reddit and the podcast reviews. Insightful.

 

Here’s my list of reads in LitRPG if you’re just starting out.

· Eden's Gate: The Sparrow: A LitRPG Adventure;

· Eden's Gate: The Reborn: A LitRPG Adventure;

· Awaken Online: Catharsis;

· The Crystal Crusade: A LitRPG Adventure;

· Goblin: a LitRPG Novel (Tower of Gates LitRPG Series Book 1);

· Viridian Gate Online: Cataclysm: A litRPG Adventure (The Viridian Gate Archives Book 1);

· Awaken Online: Precipice;

· BladeDust Online: A LitRPG Adventure (Book 1)

 

My list of reads is short, I have only read Eden's Gate, it's quite good, may be I will reread this with time.

Also Goblin, good one. Now I am looking for something like that.

 

and now I am finishing my reading of "Fayroll", liked this too. Easy, humorous, very well-written (as I can judge on the translation), nice atmosphere of Russia with its unusual for us features. Could u recommend something like that? I mean LitRPG devoted to other countries and cultures, especially Slavic

 

I would recommend Alterworld by D. Rus. This book gets a lot of hate but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

Does anyone have any science fiction LitRPG recommendations? I'm specifically looking for ones with space sim MMOs, like Elite or Star Citizen. Thanks!

 

Personally I can recommend Vasilyev's "Fayroll" for a new reader, because I think that this book will introduce a LitRPG world for newcomer to this genre the best way.
This fantasy novel has captured my imagination, because it has an intriguing plot and interesting manner of writing: the author represents both heroic-fantasy world, shown on the style of RPG, and real world, maintaining the balance between them. Moreover, there are interesting and bright main characters in this story.
So, I am sure new reader of RPG literature will really enjoy this novel because this book is a brilliant synergy of fantasy fiction and online gaming. And "Fayroll" will become the start-point of his adventure of LitRPG world.

 

The Phantom Server series from Andrei Livadny is more about people living is space and doing stuff on space stations, than flying around in spaceships, but it is a good series nonetheless.
If, however, ships and space battles are your thing, then my recommendation would be the Perimeter Defense series from Michael Atamanov.

 

Way of the Shaman.

I don't know why. But there is just something about that book that scratches the LitRPG book that comparatively much better books do not. I think it is actually a pretty decent measure to help someone test how crunchy they like their litrpg.

 

That's a great series, but hardly a science fiction one

Edit: Sorry, I just realised that this was more an answer for the original topic than the one inline about sci-fi litrpg book. Apologies.

 

@Paul Bellow said I should post my books here, so here goes




It's 2100, in a VR game called World Domination, a game designed to eliminate civilian, technological, fiscal and environmental loss but to still cater for the warlike nature of humans, all of the troops are hard-wired into their harnesses.

The rules were simple, survive 100 battles and you're free. Die 50 times and you'll receive a lethal dose of poison administered by the game, as war must always have consequences. Take on a Special Mission and and you'll gain 1 extra life, mission credits and valuable power-ups and special weapons. But now, on the brink of defeat, European High Command has decreed that soldiers who hit 49 deaths are to be kept permanently in the game. The 49ers is a regiment of Last Chancers, doing whatever it takes to stay alive.

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Desperate-Times-49ers-LitRPG-Novel-ebook/dp/B01MYUP5YM
US - https://www.amazon.com/Desperate-Times-49ers-LitRPG-Novel-ebook/dp/B01MYUP5YM

 

It's 2100, France has been devastated by nuclear explosions, and ChinKor Republic troops are searching for those responsible. Trapped in France, the 49ers must team up with Russian special forces, the feared Spetsnaz, to escape the devastation. Together they will wreak havoc as they blast their way through the enemy forces.

Trapped in an MMO where losing 50 lives means permadeath, war is anything but a game.

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spetsnaz-Permadeath-LitRPG-Matthew-Sylvester-ebook/dp/B01MSV2HO7/
US - https://www.amazon.com/Spetsnaz-Permadeath-LitRPG-Matthew-Sylvester-ebook/dp/B01MSV2HO7/

 

Devon's Demons have escaped from France into Spain. Expecting to go home, they are instead thrust into a new war against a new enemy, the North African Coalition. Forced into the Spanish Foreign Legion, Devon and her people find themselves up against an elite unit with orders to wipe them out.

Trapped in an MMORPG that has replaced “real” war, Devon and her people are forced to fight, time and time again. Lose 50 lives, and they die, permanently, killed as they float in their immersion capsules.

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Devons-Demons-Permadeath-LitRPG-LitFPS-ebook/dp/B01N7VB32S/
US - https://www.amazon.com/Devons-Demons-Permadeath-LitRPG-LitFPS-ebook/dp/B01N7VB32S/