LitRPG

This last week I discovered a genre that I didn’t even know existed: LitRPG and I’ve pretty much had my nose buried in books ever since.

It’s a hard premise to explain, and I think people would either be super into it, or they’d be like ‘why on Earth would someone read that?’ … bare with me: LitRPG is about characters in RPG-like games. They’re fiction stories (usually fantasy, but the possibilities are endless) where instead of just describing what happens, there’s mention of leveling, skills and health points.

At this point you probably have one of two thoughts A) oh yeah! Like an MMORPG, only written down. (keep reading). or B) What is an RPG? (This genre probably isn’t for you… but feel free to keep reading anyway).

I’ve read quite a few books in this genre over the past week, some good, some less good. Most of them have some kind of framing story e.g. why the character is playing the game in the first place (usually related to super-intelligent AI technology), whilst the bulk of the story is in-game, following the character as they complete quests and gain levels and defeat the ultimate bosses.

To help you discover this genre for yourself, here’s my thoughts on the ones I’ve read so far:

Viridian Gate Online     4/5 Stars

This one has a fantastic premise and framing story and was extremely well edited. I would recommend you DON’T read the summary at the start, it spoils a lot of the surprises and twists.

The game mechanics etc were pretty good. Perhaps a little contrived and convenient but well laid out and fun to read.

Realm of the Nine Circles    4/5 Stars

This was the first LitRPG book I read and I’m glad it was because it was good fun.

The framing story was fun and original and made the stakes in-game much more real and meaningful.

It could do with a proof-read though, but it wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t read it.

Awaken Online    4.5/5 Stars

I’m only about 50% of the way through this one so far but I’m pretty confident in giving it a review.

It’s extremely well edited, with pretty much no typos or errors and a reasonably good layout for the character statistics etc.

The framing story is good, although perhaps too much focus is put on it for my liking (saying that, some people would enjoy that aspect of it!)

I’m really enjoying the personalised game mechanics and how the character’s personality influences the in-game play. This is my favourite in terms of skills and game mechanics etc.

Soulstone: Awakening    2.5/5 Stars

Tread cautiously with this one. It has a good premise and the skills etc are pretty good. but it had a lot of problems.

It needs a MAJOR edit. There were so many typos and mistakes that it distracted me (and I usually don’t even notice those kinds of things). Unfortunately the poor editing took away from what could have been a good story and if it had been the first LitRPG book I’d picked up… well I probably would have been turned off the genre.

In addition there was a LOT of unnecessary swearing. I’m not a prude, I don’t care about swearing in books, but at the start it was just too much and took away from the dialogue.

I also found this one had a bit of a sexist overtone. I’ll admit it seems to be a common thread in this genre, like in the games, the female armour isn’t quite as practical as the male versions (as anyone who plays MMORPGs will know), and most of the books seem to have a host of male characters and one female – a classic trope in books and movies trying not to be sexist by having a ‘token’ female character. I can let it skate most of the time but it was worse in this book – the language and jokes and behavior just turned me off.

Finally, I found the motives and behaviours of the characters inconsistent, moods jumping all over the place, unrealistic or disproportionate responses.

It’s a shame, I don’t like giving bad reviews but this one just didn’t make the cut for me. Perhaps if it went through a solid edit the problems would be fixed and the underlying story could shine. As it is, I would NOT recommend this as your first foray into LitRPG.

What’s next?

There are several more LitRPGs I want to try, like The Land Founding by Aleron Kong (how gorgeous is that cover!). But in addition I definitely want to try my hand at writing this genre. Being the super-nerd that I am, I already write RPG adventures for playing DnD as dungeon master, so it’s only a small hop to turn that into a novel.

Do you read LitRPG? Would you give it a go or are you on the side of the fence that says ‘why would you read that!’?

If you want to be notified when I release it, make sure you sign up the Bounty Hunter mailing list to the right.

UPDATE: I have released a GameLit book with fellow author Mikey Campling. You can get it on Amazon now: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N12JY67

Prison Quest

11 Comments on “LitRPG

  1. I got into this genre after reading Ascend online. I thoroughly loved this book and the characters in it. Since then I’ve been trying to find some other good series to read, I find it’s very hit or miss with Amazon’s self publishing.

    • Dear Bradley,

      Thank you very much for your kind words. I really enjoy the LitRPG genre, but like you I’ve struggled a bit to find quality stories. Feel free to recommend any you’ve enjoyed!

      • The land founding: Chaos seed not finished it yet but I love it so far and can’t put it down listening to the audiobook

  2. Giving a shout out to Sufficiently Advanced Magic by Andrew Rowe. The characters are fleshed out, the RPG aspects feel natural and it left me waiting for the second book which is now out.

  3. Hey Saffron, James Hunter here–author of Viridian Gate Online–just wanted to say thanks for reading and reviewing. Also, the genre is growing and it could certainly use some authors with a little experience, so I look forward to seeing what you’ve got in store.

    • Hi James! So nice of you to stop by 🙂
      Thank you for writing such a great book – I really enjoyed it.

      Thanks for the encouragement! The first draft of my litRPG book is nearly finished (I’m co-writing with another author). We decided to diverge from the typical fantasy setting and settled on a kind of post-apocalyptic instead. It’s been good fun writing it!

      Thanks again for commenting!

      Saffron

      • Just FYI, if you’re not a member of the litRPG facebook group (there are two, the litRPG and the litRPG Society), join immediately. They are the best place to interact with readers and promote your work. Good luck!

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