LitRPG

Xarpolis · Oct 7, 2023

Ritley said:
Yeah, nearly all litrpg is pretty much shit tbh. Definitely some series I enjoy despite that, but most start to feel like an MMO expansion after the first couple of books. No actual new content, just reskinned shit with numbers get bigger.

I suggest picking up Overgeared. It's closing in on 2000 translated chapters right now, and it's incredible. The story's growth never feels forced, as a way to just have a new plot point. It's just a very enjoyable read.

Overgeared

Shin Youngwoo has had an unfortunate life and is now stuck carrying bricks on construction sites. He even had to do labor in the VR game, Satisfy!However, luck would soon enter his hapless life. His character, ‘Grid’, would discover the...

www.wuxiaworld.com

Tuco · Nov 21, 2023

I just finished listening to the first three books of Catharsis. Catharsis (Awaken Online, #1)

I had to tap out. The series starts interesting because the protagonist is developed as a sociopath and the antagonist is developed as a psychopath and the fully immersive VR MMO they're playing is run by an AI that plays psychologist. But after book 1 it kinda devolves where the protagonist is fairly boring and merely complicit in taking the only useful paths the AI puts before him that require him to do sociopathic things. The antagonist is just kinda hanging out with no real character development and a massive let-down at the end. Seeing that there are some 14 books out makes it easy to abandon.

The choice of narrator makes it harder to get through too. He's old, sounds old and narrates a bunch of 17ish year olds. It got more tolerable when I boosted him to 1.2x speed which removes a lot of the old man drawl.

I'm currently enjoying the latest Defiance of the Fall then will listen to the next Primal Hunter that's coming out in the next couple of days.

slippery · Nov 21, 2023

If you listen to audiobooks at less than 1.5x you are insane

Tuco · Nov 22, 2023

slippery said:
If you listen to audiobooks at less than 1.5x you are insane

Why?

Woefully Inept · Nov 22, 2023

Heresy!! One does not simply 1.5x his Lordship RC Bray!!

Xarpolis · Nov 24, 2023

You can get the first 5 audio books of Mushoku Tensei now, if you care.

slippery · Nov 25, 2023

Tuco said:
Why?

Because people talk very slow. Especially in stuff like audiobooks where they are trying to speak correctly and in a manner in which they are clearly understandable. You can easily understand and comprehend at 1.5x or faster (faster might take you a little getting used to). Every once in a while I run into a narrator who actually talks fast and have to slow it down a little from my normal 1.7-1.8x. More books more faster!

I always watch youtube and stuff at 2x, and it's only that because it's the fastest it offers. I'd watch that stuff faster if I could.

Tuco · Nov 25, 2023

slippery said:
Because people talk very slow. Especially in stuff like audiobooks where they are trying to speak correctly and in a manner in which they are clearly understandable. You can easily understand and comprehend at 1.5x or faster (faster might take you a little getting used to). Every once in a while I run into a narrator who actually talks fast and have to slow it down a little from my normal 1.7-1.8x. More books more faster!

I always watch youtube and stuff at 2x, and it's only that because it's the fastest it offers. I'd watch that stuff faster if I could.

Ah, ok. When I get to an audiobook I don't like but still want to finish, or want to zoom through a PoV character I don't care about I crank it up. It's understandable, yeah, but I don't enjoy it as much. I listen to litrpg for enjoyment rather than just to consume the content (and there's not a lot of high-quality litrpg writing to enjoy), so I'd rather optimize for maximum enjoyment over completing content.

I'm here for the journey, not the destination.

Rogosh · Nov 27, 2023

Rereading Reborn Apocalypse 1-3 so I can read book four as L M Kerr finally released it. To me this is still one of the best Litrpg series out there.

Xarpolis · Nov 29, 2023

Any suggestions on kid-friendly LitRPG? My daughter is almost 12, and loves the Sword Art Online anime. I'd like to get her something to read, but I can't think of anything. Well, I got her all of the Sword Art Online light novels that she's slowly getting into, but I'd like an easy to follow lit RPG for her that isn't crazy violent and the worst word is "damn" or "shit". Oh, and nothing sexual.

Any ideas?

Tuco · Nov 29, 2023

Xarpolis said:
Any suggestions on kid-friendly LitRPG? My daughter is almost 12, and loves the Sword Art Online anime. I'd like to get her something to read, but I can't think of anything. Well, I got her all of the Sword Art Online light novels that she's slowly getting into, but I'd like an easy to follow lit RPG for her that isn't crazy violent and the worst word is "damn" or "shit". Oh, and nothing sexual.

Any ideas?

Reddit - Dive into anything might be able to provide a good recommendation if no one on here can.

Ukerric · Nov 29, 2023

Xarpolis said:
Any suggestions on kid-friendly LitRPG? My daughter is almost 12, and loves the Sword Art Online anime. I'd like to get her something to read, but I can't think of anything. Well, I got her all of the Sword Art Online light novels that she's slowly getting into, but I'd like an easy to follow lit RPG for her that isn't crazy violent and the worst word is "damn" or "shit". Oh, and nothing sexual.

Any ideas?

One of the most recent series that's probably very young-friendly is the System School series, but it's probably a bit above 12 (it's high school, not 12s).

Dan Sugralinov advertised a series made for his 12-year-old kid called The Crafter.

Then, you have the bizarre and fun shit, like All The Dust That Falls, which is a Litrpg adventure about a Roomba. Yes, a Roomba. That gets mistaken for a Demon Lord. Don't ask.
(I dropped out at the end of book 1, I think, but it's genuinely lighthearted in a good way. I don't quite remember everything, but I think you do have a cat riding the Roomba, because of course)

Xarpolis · Nov 30, 2023

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll pick up The Crafter for a Birthday gift.

Void · Dec 5, 2023

Xarpolis said:
Any suggestions on kid-friendly LitRPG? My daughter is almost 12, and loves the Sword Art Online anime. I'd like to get her something to read, but I can't think of anything. Well, I got her all of the Sword Art Online light novels that she's slowly getting into, but I'd like an easy to follow lit RPG for her that isn't crazy violent and the worst word is "damn" or "shit". Oh, and nothing sexual.

Any ideas?

I can't say it is the best litrpg I've ever read, but the Titan series by Seth Ring seems pretty kid friendly. There is a lot of combat, and the dude is massive and occasionally grabs a bad guy and rips him in half or decapitates somebody, but 99% of the time it isn't like that at all, and that's the worst it will ever get. Still, if you don't want her reading that I would say don't pick this one, but outside of that I don't think I've even seen a "shit" and the love story stuff is literally people blushing so far, and I'm on book 6 out of 10.

And the first book is rough, so if you do pick it, beware that the writing gets a LOT better. In the first one he would write combat like this: "He blocked the blow with his sword and then followed up with a shoulder charge!" With literal exclamation marks. It annoyed me so much that I almost stopped, but people must have busted his balls over it because it went away in book 2 and has never returned.

Most importantly it is pretty straightforward and easy to follow, without a lot of crazy shit to figure out. There is something going on behind the scenes that I don't have the full story on yet, but by and large it is very what you see is what you get. And while this may not matter (unless she finds it as boring as I do), there is very little of the bullshit "let me meditate upon my skills and spend 4 chapters upgrading my skill pathways" that seems to be all the rage these days. There is still some of it, and more as the series progresses, but not even a tenth of something like Defiance of the Fall. If I never hear about the fucking Dao again, it will still be too soon.

Sorry, ranting aside, it is a solid 2.5-3/5 series, pretty basic but decently interesting and easy to relate to, and on Kindle Unlimited, so maybe check it out. (Sorry, I guess it is called Nova Terra.)

EDIT: Oh, and apparently the series is finished, so that's another plus, and why I kept reading after the subpar first book.

Nova Terra: Titan (The Titan, #1)

A new world to explore. Trapped in his own body by a …

www.goodreads.com

Lenardo · Dec 5, 2023

hmm lit rpg for a preteen.
That is a good question.
nova terra titan series as mentioned above is good.
umm
lets see
iron prince - warformed-stormweaver books are good- only 2 in the series so far.
path to ascension series is good imo- i have read it all so far.
rune seeker is decent. good premise
battle mage farmer

non litrpg that are good and not too Adult in nature
beware of chicken- slice of life xanthia farming. it's good. 3 or 4 books on kindle so far.
first law of cultivation is good/decent

there are SO many books out there.

older series they she might like
pip and flinx series by foster
the dragonflight series, though that might be have a bit too much adult "stuff" for a 12 yr old, maybe not shrug.
maybe the harper series in the same universe
asprins another fine myth series light hearted, full of puns
lackeys valdemar series
foster's spellsinger series
weber's harrington series.
ringo's ghost series (KIDDING!!!! way way way too adult)

i could go on. i have ~2000 paperback/harcover books in my library, and 5000+ ebooks on my kindle account and my barnes and noble account.

there are so many fantastic authors out there. and so many crappy ones too and some times the crappy ones have good books.

Tuco · Dec 10, 2023

Just finished the most recently released Defiance of the Fall book. I think this latest book makes this series rise to my favorite LitRPG series of all time. It's turned from a cultivation/system book into something of a cultivation Space Opera, bringing in a ton of different threads together without burdening the core of the story.

Void · Dec 11, 2023

Tuco said:
Just finished the most recently released Defiance of the Fall book. I think this latest book makes this series rise to my favorite LitRPG series of all time. It's turned from a cultivation/system book into something of a cultivation Space Opera, bringing in a ton of different threads together without burdening the core of the story.

I like it, but I have to skim chapters at a time sometimes because of all the motherfucking meditation and strengthening his core and that kind of bullshit. I literally do not care about any of that, the Dao, skill fractals, etc. That other series, Unbound, does a lot of that too with his core space and shit. I like that one too, but fuck me, does anyone actually enjoy that meditation bullshit in the quantities that DotF serves it up? Aside from that though, I agree that it is really opening up a lot and I actually wish we'd spend some time with the other characters more. I can't remember any of their names unless I'm reading it, but that hot undead chick, Pretty Peak, the fire chick, Thea, ...ok, it seems that they are all chicks other than the devil sidekick guy who is awesome. Anyway, I'd much rather read about their activities than several chapters of him tempering his body or soul or Dao or what the fuck ever.

Also, GC, BWR, NW Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk has a message for you:

"YOU'RE MAKING MONGO SAD, TUCO."

Tuco · Dec 11, 2023

Void said:
I like it, but I have to skim chapters at a time sometimes because of all the motherfucking meditation and strengthening his core and that kind of bullshit. I literally do not care about any of that, the Dao, skill fractals, etc. That other series, Unbound, does a lot of that too with his core space and shit. I like that one too, but fuck me, does anyone actually enjoy that meditation bullshit in the quantities that DotF serves it up? Aside from that though, I agree that it is really opening up a lot and I actually wish we'd spend some time with the other characters more. I can't remember any of their names unless I'm reading it, but that hot undead chick, Pretty Peak, the fire chick, Thea, ...ok, it seems that they are all chicks other than the devil sidekick guy who is awesome. Anyway, I'd much rather read about their activities than several chapters of him tempering his body or soul or Dao or what the fuck ever.

Also, GC, BWR, NW Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk has a message for you:

"YOU'RE MAKING MONGO SAD, TUCO."

I think I just like extremes. I like when a series unrepentantly embraces an aspect of the genre and goes ham on it. So yeah, I enjoy the cultivation scenes, though usually after he goes deep on a cultivation session for an hour I'm ready for something.

Agreed with the someone repetitive mixture of seemingly similar women in his life. Maybe it's just my toxic masculinity but they just seem so similar to each other compared the men. Ogras, Ibtep, his navy bro, the merchant and investment bro etc all seem like deeper characters than the women.

And yeah, I love DCC, but I enjoy DotF more. Maybe it's just the pace DotF sets, the fact that it has more progression in it or how DCC is so silly.

velk · Dec 11, 2023

Tuco said:
Agreed with the someone repetitive mixture of seemingly similar women in his life. Maybe it's just my toxic masculinity but they just seem so similar to each other compared the men. Ogras, Ibtep, his navy bro, the merchant and investment bro etc all seem like deeper characters than the women.

Dude does a lot of things well, but he writes female characters like the only exposure he's had to real women is watching anime.

It's not like he doesn't know that though, so it doesn't detract from the story much.

Arbitrary · Dec 17, 2023

I know very little about the genre but Ender's Game is a fine piece of science fiction with some related themes found in rpglit

LitRPG

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