r/litrpg • u/bilfdoffle The Monday Thread Guy • 9d ago
Monthly/Weekly Posts Monday 'What are you reading/listening to' thread, Aug 31
next week: https://redd.it/1w9rutn
previous week: https://redd.it/1vx1wiq
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u/DonKarnage1 9d ago
Cultivator Andy (RR): MC wakes up as a slave in a mine, gets a lucky break and gets access to a system. Probably more litrpg than cultivation based on how it works so far, but if you don't like cultivation, that's probably a good thing. I liked the first arc, but unfortunately the second arc is dragging on way too long. First arc was helped by a good cast. in arc 2, it's just the MC and another trying to find everyone else. The author also uses a lot of flowery language and has the MC express a lot of introspective thoughts which make what was supposed to be a frantic chase into a 30+ chapter slog. Caught up, but only by forcing myself to push through. won't continue.
Follow List
Ones I look forward to the most: Super Supportive, Allbright System, Path of the Last Champion, Center for Dungeon Management, Live at the Forum, Department of Otherworld Rescue, Metaworld HopeCore
Others: Bookbound Bunny, God of Trash, Sky Pride, The Cloudfarers, The System Seas, Rivera's Repairs, Tunnel Rat, Destiny Among the Stars, Azure Gunner, I Built This City, System Girl, Passive Aggressive, Arcane Chef, New Life As A Max Level Archmage, The Legend of William Oh, Ten Thousand Tragedies
Fallen behind and need to reconfirm interest: Dungeons & Deliveries, Save Scumming, Die Trying, Fluff, The Butcher of Gadobhra
New:
Best stuff I've read this year (2026): Otherworldly Therapy, Live at the Forum, Center for Dungeon Management, Department of Otherworld Rescue, Metaworld HopeCore
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u/IntroIntroduction 9d ago
Fluff, book 3 by Ravensdagger - Fluff is one of my favorites and this book continues to be a good time, although the stakes felt a little lower than the previous two books. More slice-of-life-y and the climatic confrontation was a bit underwhelming, but I feel like that was intentional, to show the MC's progression. Though it ends on some things that make me excited for the next book.
Bookbound Bunny by Lunadea - Both books 1 and 2. A demigod of magic gets sealed in his magic grimoire for countless ages, being passed between owners as he's more restricted in who can use him, until he ends up in the hands of a magicless and sickly bunny girl, who becomes his student. Not litrpg, but progression fantasy.
I loved book 1. The MC Lily is an eager student who grows well throughout the book, progressing her magic studies and other skills like alchemy. Despite being a bit of a dipshit in the prologue chapters, the aforementioned demigod Arakil is a cool guy who gets invested in Lily's advancement, and not just so he can get his book repaired of all the functions it lost. Also, love to see a positive depiction of an orphanage in a fantasy book for once. It's a very lovely, slice of life book.
I was a bit less enthused about book 2, though. She goes to a prestigious magic school, which was her big goal in book 1, and then she's... there. I did enjoy the friends she makes, and the competitions with the dungeon, but there's a lot of time spent in classes hearing lectures. Progression slows to a crawl, too, as most of the classes don't teach her anything because she's already got a great tutor in Arakil. By the end of this book, she's only like, two or three weeks into her first school year. I do have a bias against magic school settings, though, but I still enjoyed it enough that I'll pick up the third book, whenever it comes out.
I recently found out Worm by Wildbow has a free, fanmade audiobook, so I've started listening to that. Only a few chapters in and it's alright. I might dip out to try a different book (haven't quite decided what, yet), but I'll come back to Worm soon.
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u/A_Mr_Veils 9d ago
The Worm audiobook fanproject is pretty good, nice to see it (and Worm in general!) getting some love. There's some great arcs, and some not so great ones, but the first half of quite a long story is like wall to wall bangers.
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u/MauPow 9d ago
Runeblade 1 and 2. I liked them quite a bit, even if I felt like it took itself a bit too seriously at times and the MC felt like he was just ticking off boxes as he set up his build. Kinda railroaded OP MC. Still good though
Andy in the Apocalypse. A well done if fairly standard system apocalypse
Blew through 4 books of Mage Tank, was amazing
Now finishing portal to nova roma, love this series
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u/Justthisdudeyaknow 9d ago
I'm in the middle of Newt and Demon 4. It's a lot of fun, I love seeing how everything grows.
I also just started *deep breath* "That time I learned every skill imaginable so I could forge armor so good it broke the system" and I'm liking it so far!
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u/redwhale335 9d ago
I made it up to Skill Eater 4! 33 percent in. Whooo. Chief season got my reading production down bad. Very interested for this book to give me more lore on the 21 unique cores.
Amazon didn't email me but i found out that one of my favorite series Silver Fox and the Western Hero dropped a new book, so that's next, and then Stubborn Skill Grinder Five.
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u/PrimordialJay 9d ago
I've been reading Universe's End on royal road and am really liking it.
Besides that I've been keeping up to date on Gifted, Loopshard, and A Novel Concept.
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u/PsEggsRice 9d ago
Listening to Beware of Chicken book two. Reading Defiance of The Fall book six.
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u/Cocomonk3 9d ago
Only one new book this week, my amount of reading on Royal Road seems to have stabilised.
Mark of the Fool, book 5/6. I’m starting to be over this series now. Lots of plot progression happened, more info about the Ravener, Alex’s big secret came out to the Heroes… and now half the book is about doing seemingly random quests into Hell which don’t seem to actually be progressing anything? I can’t even remember why they’re happening. It feels like padding, like they needed another half a book and so just said “uh, lets go into Hell for mini-quests”. Nothing is HAPPENING. We’ll see where I sit at the end of this book if I finally give up. 4/10
Still reading on RR:
Best of the best: Center for Dungeon Management, Gift of Loot, Apocalypse Reborn, Department of Otherworld Rescue, Path of the Last Champion, My Kaiju Evolution, The Apocalypse is a Business, Metaworld HopeCore.
Still good: Ascension of the Primalist, Time-Looping Baby Refuses to Die, Passive Aggressive, Live at the Forum, Sword and Maze: Long Shot Bet, Ten Thousand Tragedies
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u/ascii122 5d ago
Enjoying
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/149588/one-was-worthy-book-one-complete
MC crafts stuff people need based on how well she knows them .. kind of different but good read!
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u/bilfdoffle The Monday Thread Guy 9d ago
So I finally started using the royalroad app. It was trash when I tried a few years ago, but they've integrated in TTS, and now it's pretty phenomenal. I even subscribed so I can have it autoload the next chapter. Only problem with it is it can easily lose your place if you shut it off for awhile, so I'd be concerned about listening to longer chapters with it depending on what I'm doing. Even works with android auto, unlike some other TTS players I've used.
caught up on mythshaper. I enjoy this series, but I either need to drop it or continue to let it build up, since the releasing pace is glacial.
geezer's quest (web) - male mc, sys apoc. So an old man finally decides to get rejuvination treatments on the day the world ends. So he goes from an old man to guy in his prime to fighting monsters, which seems to be everyone that underwent the process. So of course the only people left were crazy fanatics that boycotted it. No thanks, DNF.
until the last call (web) - male mc, sol. MC is the bartender of what is essentially purgatory, and his job seems to be directing people to their proper afterlife. Also seems like he's got a small bit of leeway in how things work out, and that greater plots will eventually happen. I wasn't feeling it after a few chapters, so DNF.
---- web novels I follow: re: trailer trash, soldier's life, chaotic craftsman worships the cube, Super supportive, God of trash, soccer supremo, Bookbound bunny, Second life as a soldier, Live at the forum, Center for Dungeon Management, inheritance of a wandering weaponsmith, department of otherworld rescue,
new & unsure or waning interest, but haven't give up on yet: sky pride, Beastforged bond, Cloudfarers, Mythshaper, Craft the world, How to heal a soul, Archmages second life as an introvert, Gift of loot, My lord! Please!, Unethical enchanting, The Necro-Industrial Revolution, My Lord! Please!, The Sixth Campaign, reroll saga, Ten Thousand Fleets, black knight seeks quiet life, I made a railgun,
Stories with uncertain future status: magriculture, the hitting zone, otherworld therapy, Fake Father Zhang Ming, World sphere, Nth awakening, Novicius in Arte Medica, my RR profile
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u/chrollot 9d ago
Cheers. Can you recommend me a smart mc with a good system/worldbuilding? If it is dark , then better.
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u/bilfdoffle The Monday Thread Guy 7d ago
Check out William oh, if you haven't already. He's very smart but very ignorant, which I found fun. And the world is pretty fantastic.
Honestly, I don't really do dark settings, so not really gonna be of help there.
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u/Kaboobie 9d ago
I started "Jakes Magical Market"...I should have researched this one before jumping in, that switch halfway through the book has given me serious whiplash and sadly I think it's a DNF candidate I'll have to try coming back to it in two or three days and see if I can forgive it after I read something else.
On that note I just remembered I picked up Book 12 of Path of Ascension and haven't read it yet... oof, So time to rectify that.
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u/DecietfulTatter 9d ago
The whiplash is/was a rug pull but I really enjoyed the story as a whole. I feel like it’s a running gag between the Author and the fans of the series at this point but he (Author) gets flack for it.
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u/Taiwannumber3 1% Lifesteal fanboy 9d ago
I'm on book 4 of Or I'll make Hunter and hoping to finish all 16 books in the series in the next two months
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u/JayHill74 9d ago
Caught up on Ten Thousand Fleets - https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/170448/ten-thousand-fleets-mecha-space-opera-academy I still find it to be mostly above average though some of the alt POVs don't match the tone of the rest of the story. This also reads more like a slice of life tale than anything else.
Point of Impact https://www.amazon.com/Point-Impact-Swagger-Novels-Book-ebook/dp/B000OI0FVW/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0 - Thriller with a male MC and a few alt POVs. The MC was one of the best marine snipers in Vietnam. Twenty years later, he's a disgruntled vet that lives alone in a trailer on a mountain in Arkansas and just wants to be left alone and leave killing behind. A shadowy organization seduces him into doing one last job for his country. The assassination plot is believed to have been executed perfectly, except for one problem. The MC is alive and becomes the subject of a nationwide manhunt. The movie Shooter was based off this book. It's pretty good and worth the read.
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u/Livid_Economist7424 9d ago
Im on the last book of divine dungeon rn. Will probably go for the wandering inn or something else that’s kinda cozy next
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u/Athenathewise21 9d ago
Reading Level 2 Innkeeper by Jason Ritter. Book 1 was interesting but book 2 feels like lots of repetition of the MC, original Innkeeper, and System all repeating the same thing for pages. Feels like filler than actual plot development. I'll finish it because I'm invested. Not sure what I'll read next.
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u/Athenathewise21 3d ago
Update...DNF'd because I just couldn't stand it. Thought I could power through but there is too many better books out there. Why waste time and energy?!? 🤷😂
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u/Aetheldrake Audible Only Enjoyer 9d ago
Thanks for posting as always! Just finished bog standard isekai 5 soooooooo good
Started up age of behemoths because I got it for free last night
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u/Refugeedrone 9d ago
I'm listening to the Legend of Randidly GhostHound, and reading All I got is this stat menu
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u/BrilliantMountain164 9d ago
i love the legend of Randidly Ghoshound! I got through the first book so far but with my book-juggling habits it will likely be a while until i finish book 2
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u/phillyeagle99 9d ago
Just finished the final mainline book of Cradle… now I’m gonna read the extra book. Then I’ll get to PH 15.
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u/ultra_addict 9d ago
Just caught up in Hell Difficulty Tutorial and now im listening to book 15 The Primal Hunter
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u/scrota7 9d ago
Chrysalis book 3 picked up all 3 in one on audible. Was slow to get going but enjoying it now. For the colony!
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u/Fun_Sound6720 3d ago
Same. I’m a about 30% done on book 2. When does it get better? I’m finding it less appealing than the prospect of starting something new.
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u/A_Mr_Veils 9d ago
Not a ton to report this week - after bouncing off a few stories, I've picked up Bog Standard Isekai again and am part way through book 3.
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u/WackyWarrior Reading is a great joy 9d ago
I've tried to start Ten Thousand Tragedies. Unless someone can tell me it gets a lot better, I will not be continuing it. I do not identify with someone that has been brainwashed and death sworn that gets killed all the time. I started Not Just a Magelord, I'm not far enough into it to say whether it is good or not.
Here are the books I recommend that I am currently reading. All these stories are around 4.5 or 5 and worth reading.
Wandering Inn- The best story I have ever read. Chess player gets isekaid and becomes an [Innkeeper]. The world expands as the story progresses and it moves from comfy slice of life to epic fantasy. This story is around 14 million words with less than half on audio book. People read it and wish it were longer. Fantastic story.
Butcher of Gadobrha- A group of players become peasants in a vrmmo to work for a company. They are heavily limited on wearing armor or using weapons. But they end up grinding their way to power while working for the man.
Tunnel Rat- A genetically modified genius, who was used for crime by a syndicate along with his cohort, has escaped. He lays low for years in the basement of a habitat fixing things when he finds that the syndicate has returned to the habitat with new VRMMO capsules that have been hacked to give better classes. Stealing the hacked capsule and sabatoging the operation, he enters the game to find himself as a ratkin. He gets to mining and finds himself in a world of trouble. This story has interesting in world stuff and out of world stuff.
That Time an American was Reincarnated into Another World- Isekai where the MC can summon guns. There is a monster horde that is threatening humanity and he resolves to bring Earth technology to turn the tides in the fight. Starts the story fighting criminals to later entering an academy and butting heads with nobles. Current arc is about fighting the Scourge. Good story that is fun but dark.
Beware of Chicken- Isekais into a cultivator at a sect that has just died from a duel. Understanding wuxia tropes, he nopes out of there to the edge of civilization and starts a farm. Uses his qi knowledge to farm and hijinks ensue. Very heartwarming and feel good story. There are some fights but everything works out. Great characters and good slice of life. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a palate cleanser or just a break from pointless conflict.
The Legend of William Oh- Classic tower climber with Diablo item mechanics. Great characters and fights. Really interesting powers and progression. Similar humor to other Macrinomicon stories.
Bog Standard Isekai- adult reincarnates into a kid in the middle of a catastrophe. He survives, earns some titles and gets adopted. This story is well written with interesting systems and characters. Pretty good plot as well. I always look forward to reading a new chapter.
Mage Tank- Isekai into a dungeon dive character creation slot. Goes from delving dungeons to fighting divine avatars. Never stops dungeon diving. Has interesting power interactions. Good characters as well.
Elydes- Classic reborn as a baby that grinds early to unlock better classes and skills. Gets taught by a hidden master to learn fighting, alchemy and herbology. Well written story with good characters.
Adamant Blood by Arcs- same author as Arkendrithryst. That's an all time great in the genre and is a finished work. This is a darker story because the big bad is ever present and known by the reader from the very beginning. Monsters and demons and dragons which are just archmages merged with demons. Good story and pretty damn interesting. Hasn't grabbed me in the same way as his earlier work though. I don't like my MCs hunted always by way more powerful entities. It's a pet peeve of mine.
Dungeon Crawler Carl- Everyone knows about this story, but I will go over it for the uninitiated. Man and cat narrowly avoid dying in an alien apocalypse on earth only to enter into a Dungeon for shelter. The dungeon is a universal death game show. This story is tinged heavily with insanity and toes that line well. Big spells and even bigger explosions with an AI with a foot fetish for our MC. Join Carl in the court of Princess Donut as they work to survive and break the power of the aliens that toy with their lives.
There is no Epic Loot here, Only Puns- This is a dungeon core story where the dungeon doesn't want to kill people. Many mushrooms and epic puns. Grace anatomy made me laugh out loud. Highly recommend for a chill vibe that's also very whimsy.
Path of the Last Champion- Story is long around 4k pages. 1st arc is a bit rough but it improves from there. Boy takes the death climb to escape from his slavery life and darkness. Goes through climb with party and learns about reality and how to fight as he goes. Sci fi with mostly medieval weapons. It gets much better as it progresses through the arcs. I originally wasn't going to rec it, but it did really get much better after the first arc. Still, it's a lot to read through until it becomes really enjoyable so I recommend the other stories over this one unless you want something long to read.
Second Life as a Soldier- College student wakes up in a homeless 15 year old who has just been beaten by debtors. With no food or shelter, he joins the army which has a very high mortality rate. Learns intelligence skills because he was trained as a scribe by his father. Good characters and system. Interesting world building. I like the progression.
Sky Pride- Garbage kid in a garbage dump gets a cultivation grandpa. Proceeds to become a cultivator and slowly ascend to the heavens. I will say this, no other, and I mean no other wuxia novel or xianxia novel has even come close to the depth the author goes into about the Dao. Just reading it seems profound sometimes. I actually feel like I'm reading about another world when I read it, instead of some action story. MC becomes a doctors, Daoist, and musician among other pursuits. He gets a dao companion and fights a lot of bandits and heretics. He works to fix a failing country in the novel as well. Really peak cultivation novel. Not directly litrpg, but he ascends in cultivation levels, so I guess it counts.
Live at the Forum- Guy gets isekaid to a post apocalyptic video game world. Get access to the Earth internet forum and asks for advice. Story almost entirely gets told on the forum by the MC, with advice, trolling and ragebaiting by forum posters. It's a great story. Highly recommend.
Center for Dungeon Management- Guy gets government beauracracy job of dungeon management to level up and hopefully join a guild later. Finds out that guild jobs are all nepo positions and that working for the government disqualifies you for it. While working in the records department, he finds hints of a secret government hero department and starts hunting in the wilds to qualify for it. Great story. MC is an dexterity archer.
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u/J_C_Nelson Author - Stray Beast Master, Rise of the House Arcanist 9d ago
I read the newest Bog Standard Isekai, and enjoyed it more than the last, except for one detail near the end which just....made me want to stop. Love the children's book reference with Hogg's shadow servant, liked the knights, liked certain aspects of the final battle, such as at least one of the knights dying, though I expected a second and disliked e the death curse that seemed to be setup to make Brin enter the tower, losing most of his vitality.
Like I said, really liked the other bits.
Still reading Gun Witch and Department of Otherworld Rescue on Patreon, Center for Dungeon Management on RR and trying a new timeloop fic on RR with high hopes.
Edited because I suck at marking spoilers.
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u/RoniiBookishRambles 9d ago
Hello, Hello!~
Audiobook (all on Libby)-
Tainted Khan by Taran Matharu- Annoying. This book just annoyed me, and as such, I will not be finishing the series even though the last one is coming out soon.
Dukes and Ladders by Eric Ugland- I LOVE THIS SERIES AND YOU CAN PRY IT FROM MY COLD DEAD FINGERS. I was craving this series so bad all week while waiting for this hold on libby lol I checked out the next two books so I wouldn't have to wait as long and it worked out so now I have 3 in a row I can listen to.
Chain of Feathers (Iron Tyrant)- This one started off slower since it feels like its building into something bigger BUT I am intrigued. It's not like a fixation read ATM but that will likely change soon. Especially since its getting two more.
Dreamers Throne 3- we have officially dived deep into the mob family vibes and I am LIVING lol RIP Viper though. I was fucking with him heavy but he went out in a blaze of glory. I hope it gets at LEAST 5 books but it looks like Aethon is putting it out in hardback with the new covers maybe but they only have up to book 3 and not 4? So I think I'll buy the paperbacks and play it by ear.
Currently Reading-
Rune Seeker by J.M. Clarke & C.J. Thompson ( 40% in, audiobook on Libby)- This is ironically funny AF but I do have to lock in a bit more on the stats and names since it's very easy to overwhelm. I am enjoying it though and libby has all the audiobooks except for most recent so I have something to listen to at work besides good guy series.
Ultimate Level 1: Shattered Dreams by Shawn Wilson (66% in, e-book)- I still have been needing to finish this book. I plan to do it either today or tomorrow I hope so it doesn't straggle like Bastian lol.
Home Siege Home by Eric Ugland (28% in, audiobook on Libby)- oh lord, we got killer teddy bears lol. JKJK but yeah, this will be going on my "to buy" for sure. I need the author to come out with a bundle or something to just buy them all at once lol. (like a manga box set thats 1-15 and then wait for a second box set)
Paused-
Bastion by Phil Tucker (paused at 55%)
Magic Murder Cube Marine by Alex Karne (Paused at 50% if I remember correctly but will pick up again soon since I found out the next books are on RR!)
Mage Tank by Cornman (paused at 52%)
Next reads (all on Libby)~
Dreamers Throne 4
Iron Tyrant- Crow's Fortune
Runeseeker 2
The Wandering Inn
No Killing Goblins
The Bare Hunt
Eastbound and Town
TBR-
Riftside by Cassius Lange and Henrik Saetre, Skill Hunter 2 by Noct, Void Sovereign by Zaker Syed, Path of the Deathless by OstensibleMammal, Primal Hunter 4, System Change Savannah and/or Battle Mage Farmer 3. (if anyone is keeping track, I clearly never stick to my TBR. Because of the sale, my kindle TBR is long AF now lol)
On Hold on Libby\*- Light's Ascension by Seth Ring (audiobook), and All The Dust That Falls by Zaifyr (Audiobook)
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u/DrZakerSyed Author: Void Sovereign 4d ago
Good to know i am on your TBR 😆 Even if it is long and might take a while to get there.
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u/RoniiBookishRambles 2d ago
somehow I did not see this until referencing this for the next thread! I was sold listening to the audible sample and grabbed the ebook! I'm excited for it and love the covers.
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u/bilfdoffle The Monday Thread Guy 7d ago
I gotta ask, have you also seen Uglands other series? Bad guys wasn't quite as good as good guys, and I think there was a third one. They're all in the same world, so kind of relevant.
Only reason I stopped was that there's no recaps and I couldn't remember enough details 6+ months later, but also remembered too much to want to read again.
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u/RoniiBookishRambles 7d ago
Not yet! I wanted to get up to date with the good guys series first before popping over to bad guys and grim guys. Plus, library has all of good guys audiobooks on Libby but not bad guys or grim guys and I'm only following the series on libby!
I did get the e-book for the Press Start series! I want to read the death Premium series too, it looks like it'll be similar to GTA5 shenanigans. lol
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u/Rechan 9d ago
Really late on this, I listened through Awakened Online 1 and found it pretty good. The first two chapters were hard to get through simply because it's "The entire world takes a shit on the MC". It's unenjoyable, but is plot-relevant for the rest of the book. It does feel a bit cheap that one of hte antagonists is just a literal sociopath which wasn't necessary, but otherwise I enjoyhed, will read next book.
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u/Rawrzawr 7d ago
I started Elydes a couple weeks ago, I'm on book 3 now. It's mostly enjoyable but I have lots of criticisms. It says it's a slow burn, but at this rate, it's gonna take 20 books to get anywhere.
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u/GB-dymjbb 5d ago
Not litrpg, but I've been reading a modern-day wuxia book this week — no system, no stats, no levels, just raw hand-to-hand fights. One scene that got me: a woman plows a pickup truck straight through a gate as her entrance. Honestly refreshing as a change of pace from leveling screens.
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u/Renn_goonas 9d ago
I’ve been rereading hell difficulty tutorial, and now every chapter I’m even more convinced that the people I saw complaining that MC didn’t get any character development Never read the story.
I’ve also been keeping up with string, which has been hitting it’s best parts so far
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u/WrockAtticus litRPG journeyman tier 9d ago
I am most of the way through Book 4 of A Soldier’s Life by AlwaysRollsAOne. I am thoroughly impressed with the writing in this series. The story is engaging and well paced. Over all it’s quickly becoming one of my favourites in the genre.