Assemble all the fans of high-on-fantasy literature weaved with gaming mechanics!
We are going to discuss 25 of the top LitRPG books that are true page-turners.
You will find below what we are calling the best LitRPG books for 2020!
Siphon is the story of a bed-ridden girl who wakes up one day to find herself in a fantasy RPG world. Now, instead of the sounds and visuals of her life support equipment, her senses are filled with bluish game notifications displaying her name, age, and stats.
This transition of a young girl from a world full of despair to an exciting fantasy is undoubtedly worth a read, especially if you love inspirational and a slice of life stories. “Siphon” is the unique ability that she acquires in that RPG world. What does this special ability do? You need to read the book to find out.
Reborn is the story of events that unfold when humanity has been wiped off and warped away to another dimension called the mystical seven layers. Amid this pandemonium, one character finds out a time-traveling artifact by chance. Will he travel back in time to save humanity from the mighty mystic powers?
The book narrates this story. The book uses all the classic RPG tropes and written with every chapter of the book as a single offering. The author may have chosen this format to ensure the book can easily turn into a web series adaptation.
The Quell narrates the story of Adrianna Swann, who has to survive and fight against the cultists in the fantastical realm of the Quell. Characters in this fantasy world are living the lives that are polls apart. To some, this world is what they dreamed of in their past lives, and for others, it is just a nightmare that comes true. Adrianna belonged to the latter group.
The Quell has nearly every RPG element right— the classes, levels, skill checks, and quests. Also, the main character has a clear questline. This prequel is one of the best beginnings of a LitRPG series.
This is the second book of The Quell series and essentially the point where Adrianna has turned 18 and has to face bigger challenges of the Quell that includes goblins, monsters, and mountain trolls.
In this part, Adrianna also gets to know about some of the thick, shrouded mysteries of the Quell. Now, she also has her own party to fight and survive the wrath of cultists. Again, writer Lachian Wells has kept the RPG elements on point and without cramming the book with numbers. Also, the book ends while creating a perfect set-up for a sequel.
Alex is a cancer patient who may have to undergo cryogeny to wait for the development of a cure for his disease. However, he is not expecting this cryogenic phase to be spent in the ancient world of pirates, cultivators, and demigods.
This book has beautifully merged the elements of a cultivation story with RPG elements. It offers an exciting reading of the main character, who gradually elevates to be an ultimate cultivator.
Brightblade is a story of a regular guy who has somehow ended up in a realm with every spectrum of magic in it. The set-up of ordinary folk being assigned a decisive role in another realm is quite clichéd and frequently used in LitRPG books. However, the prose in Brightblade is strong, and combat sequences are visceral.
This book can also be categorized as dark LitRPG due to plenty of gore, profanity, and sexual references in it.
Starting from a high-security facility in Washington DC to a world full of mana-driven elements and magic— Advent is a story of an apocalypse that happens with every piece of electronics in the working going kaput.
The main character Drew Michalik is given access to reality-altering crystals during this life-changing event called Advent. Those crystals give him the power to cast spells and from where an epic story of survival starts. Drew Michalik dislikes the conventional idea of masculinity that may not sound appealing to those who want manly men as their LitRPG MCs.
Set in a medieval fantasy world, Heir Today is the story of Montana and his party, who has started a new life in a place called Vuldranni. And from where an eternal quest of survival begins where they will traverse through dense forests full of unknown beasts and fight unfriendly races.
The book blends the elements of medieval fantasy with LitRPG quite well. The game mechanics in the book is well-thought-out, and the main character appears as a head-strong individual who knows what he is doing and can utilize the RPG mechanics.
This LitRPG book has something for everyone. Whether you love storylines with zombies and undead or love classic RPG tropes, you will love the adventure of Clay, who has contracted the Zero virus that will eventually kill him unless he is put into an unfinished game.
The plot is engaging. The protagonist is funny and relatable. We must say Jakob Tanner has done a job well done while trying his hands on this genre of fiction and storytelling for the first time.
This book is a prequel to Heir Today, Pawn Tomorrow. One More Last Time tells the story of Montana, who is done with his life and on the verge of ending it. However, curiosity gets the best of him when his only friend offered him a chance with iNcarn8— a virtual reality that claims to give a whole new life to ruined and broken ones.
The concept is solid and holds the story well. The RPG mechanics are also okay and easy to follow. However, we don’t like too much repetition of full stats and spells after every couple of pages. It would have been better if the writer had only shown the changing elements throughout and given full details only once in the beginning.
A slice of life setting suddenly turning and moving into an underground fantasy kingdom— Underworld is the story of Elorion and his friends. They are kidnapped by an ancient succubus and taken to the lost realm of Underworld that is deep under the earth.
Elorion and co. are given magic spells and powers to survive, level up, and get out of the Underworld. The story is high on magical spells and low on action. Nonetheless, the magic follows the standard RPG mechanics, and that makes the book interesting.
Many people consider this book as the origin of LitRPG literature. It is a story that showcases the transition from the real-world to the fantastical world of VR gaming. The main character Max, a terminally ill cancer patient, along with many other ill-fated individuals, choose to stay in a virtual world that has been created following a pandemic swept across the near-future world.
Alterworld is an epic story with MMORPG styling and mechanics. The way D. Rus has used the elements of RPG certainly makes this book classic LitRPG literature.
If you are a fan of LitRPG that doesn’t just revolve around survival, then you will like this book. Dragon’s Mist is the story of Connor O’ Grady, who has woke up in ancient land called Legendry. He now has to fight, survive, and build a civilization that can overcome all the obstacles of the epic world of Legendary.
The book uses the progression and settlement stats quite well to make the story high on strategy. The tactical tug of war in the book makes sure the reader remains hooked to the series.
If you don’t like being bombarded by the status screen after every couple of pages, you will like this book. Towers of Heaven is a story of a sudden appearance of sky-high towers on earth that are unconquerable, no matter what weapons and powers humans use. Also, the towers unleash a host of monsters time and again to give humanity a painful, slow death.
In the year 2083, the last bunch of survivors decides to challenge the supernatural powers of the towers at the cost of their lives. The writing is free of profanity and ideal for reading with kids.
Succubus is a LitRPG book, but you can also classify it as light erotica. If you love reading adult situations with a bit of violence and comic turns, you will like this book.
Author A.J. Markam has weaved this story around Ian and his succubus from virtual reality. Apart from seducing and teasing Ian all the time, the succubus has an alter-ego that plots revenge against nefarious figures from the past.
Genesis is a story of a man who has set foot on an incredible journey that is wholly unbeknownst to him. He will encounter magical beast as well as develop camaraderie with werewolves and fight bandits in damp and dark crypts.
The book outlines a well-thought-out level-up system.
However, the clues thrown out in the book for readers should have been better used. Non-gamers will love epic stories will like this book.
It is an apocalyptic story that doesn’t stem from the collision of an asteroid or nuclear fallout.
Life in the North is set with POV of John, who is on vacation in a national park but ends up in a post-apocalyptic world where he has to encounter sprawling monsters and mutated animals to get back to this life while using the newly acquired skill that defies existing concepts of physics.
From urban elements to sci-fi and fantasy along with game mechanics, this book has all the right ingredients of a LitRPG book.
This is the story about Radical Interactive— a gaming company that has failed to gain traction among gamers with its successive failed launches.
But soon, the company will create something that will change the medical and gaming industry forever— The Realm, a virtual reality MMORPG.
Will, the protagonist of the Realm, have to fight out nightmarish monsters, get around awe-inspiring magic while unearthing the mystery of this fantasy world, and to get out of it.
We love this book due to its least reliance on the grinding, which is a common element in many LitRPG books.
Rockland Barkclay (Rocky) has had a rough year. Everything is going against him, and amid all of that, he loses his father.
In Algonquin Park, when Rocky was drinking all alone trying to forget his miserable present, he gets interrupted by a torrent of cosmic energy.
It throws Rocky into a different world altogether where nothing is unusual, not even vehicles and buildings turning into Gollums.
The story-arc in the book develops gradually spanning several chapters. Also, the leveling scheme is simple, and one can easily makes it sense.
If you are looking for a fun page-turner in the LitRPG genre, this book is certainly worth a read. Set in the virtual world of PrimeVerse, it is a story of a man named Hudson who gets teleported into a VR game without the ability to log out.
Now, he will learn new skills, level up, and fight a monster that is programmed to wipe out Hudson and his tribe.
Primverse has an entertaining setting and is filled with a lot of encounters with wildlife. Overall, it is a fun read.
The name of this book gives an idea of what it will be about. It is a story of a man who has to “work” for free for more than 60 hours a week.
And for something that is supposed to be mysterious perk somewhere in the future. The “work” here is to play a VR MMORPG game.
The author has hit it out of the park with his balance of in-game and outside storylines.
Never will you feel that one is eclipsing the other. The unique format of this book is certainly a refreshing addition to LitRPG.
This LitRPG story starts from a flea market in the real world and ends up in an ancient realm full of wonder.
Hal, the protagonist, living as a looser turns into a super “Accidental Thief,” courtesy a bootleg copy of a new, unknown game.
The title of the book doesn’t indicate the thrilling action of the storyline.
Also, the way the author has marinated this action with witty puns and occasional comic reliefs is commendable.
We think the game mechanics of the book could have been better. Currently, it is overly simplified.
Written by the self-proclaimed father of American LitRPG, The Land is certainly a trailblazer of the genre. Don’t get misled by the generic term of “the Land.”
The Land is a realm full of demons, spirits, gods, and goblins. In the middle of all this mind-numbing action, Richter has to save himself and create alliances to defeat all the death-defying forces of the Land.
The book has all the right elements to become a fun and engaging read. From humor to action and strategy, you get every bit of true LitRPG in writing.
This is the story of a journalist who is skeptical of the virtual realm of Fayroll. But once immersed in the experience, he finds himself hooked to the never-ending action of this fantastical world.
In the avatar of Hagen the warrior, he will go on enthralling quests and take on unpredictable challenges that are characterized by demons, dragons, wizards.
The in-game story also overlaps with how a journalist’s interest in Fayroll threatens powerful gamers of the real world.
This animosity from gamers and other powerful people invested in Fayroll will soon throw Hagen the warrior into a darker realm.
Using a journalist as the protagonist instead of a usual gamer, crippled or a broken individual has paid off for the writer Andrey Vasilyev.
If you are a fan of the zombie genre and looking for a LitRPG book that sets in a post-apocalyptic zombie world, you will like One in the Gut. Like many other LitRPG books, this one also begins from a real-world setting where everyone is hooked to a newly released AR game called Headshot.
However, you have to pay a premium to play as a survivor. Otherwise, all you can be is a zombie.
The protagonist of the story Ryan, who has already mastered the beta version of Headshot, finds out that something more alarming and sinister is going on below the game’s surface.