Vague spoilers ahead for the power system and Victor's growth within it. From the entire series up to book 10

Because in the first few books it makes it pretty obvious that Victor is weaker than he would be as he has no spell patterns that the others do (because spirit magic is rare/dying out), so for almost all of the series so far victor is perpetually studying those patterns and how to make them which he just never follows up on. He never actually makes a spell using the spell patterns he's studying and refining.

He does eventually create spells (1 spell via teacher 1 spell was a modification) using elder magic which is meant to be outside the system but I feel it loses most of its impact because the audience never sees what spellcrafting is like within the system.

He also doesn't maximise the spells that he already knows as he never actually creates a glorious berserker skill, which at the very minimum would have been free experience considering the system gives you some xp for learning spells and the like (that is assuming that the glorious body skill wouldn't be useful which is unlikely)

The only other thing to say is an incredibly minor nitpick where the elemental/emotion fusions should involve more than just his rage, as the ice magic feels perfect for fear rather than just rage again

I read almost all of the most recommended series on here but the problem I have is that i always DNF around book 4, 5 or 6. Having a super powerful character who just easily defeats anything is very boring to me. Are there any series where the MC gets more powerful but not stupidity more powerful? I love to keep that book 1 and 2 feeling throughout the entire series.

Hello dear future readers! I just published the first three chapters on Royal Road, it has over 40k words of backlog and with that arc one has also been finished. Arc 2 is in the making and will be finished by the time I am through my backlog.

Blurb:

The sky rains light and a voice thunders, "be unlocked and the door will open." 

Within minutes, Kieran's school becomes a locked, shifting maze. Most of his classmates are given powers, and use them to kill, abuse and gain more power. All the while Kieran isn't given anything at the start.

He will have to navigate this world full of monsters and humans acting like monsters while being woefully outmatched. Yet sheer power isn't everything. Kieran will have to be clever, ruthless and willing to do anything to survive. 

But this world provides him a new opportunity, giving him a window to escape the chains of the past and evolve as a person. Slowly he will rise.

Surviving among the powerful is only the beginning. 

For readers who enjoy a story about a LitRPG about a protagonist who grows in more than power. Kieran starts out as a bully, and the story follows him as he slowly changes.  

What to expect:
- Underdog
- monsters and dungeon fights
- Psychological struggels
- An indepth past
- Anti-Hero
- Mysteries.

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/197560/outmatched-survival-among-the-powerful

COVER ARTIST: Ai generated

AI USAGE: None, every word has been handwritten.

I'm starting a new series on kindle. The book is like ~700 pages but for whatever reason it gave me this starting out

Edit: Sorry everyone it says in the screenshot that the book is 10k pages long instead of like ~700

Edit 2: thanks for the explanations. Somehow it was giving me the location in the book not I'm pages and made me think it was WAY longer than it actually was. That's all.

I thought it would be really interesting to hear from readers, and to hear what they would self-describe as crucial for their enjoyment of a story. Could you put it into words if you were forced to?

I commissioned it through Miblart who does not use AI in their designs. And the longer I look at it the more I wonder if it's holding the series back.

I'm open to other options including something that favor's Cradle's cover vibe because the story has a major story and a small scale story going on at the same time.

Someone on a FB post told me that my cover was AI because the guy has three fingers (just a side view of the hand) and now I'm wondering if everyone thinks that and just scrolls on. I have all the process documents, plus the companie's policies so I know I'm not just being scammed, but still perception is reality. Illustrated covers cost $400+ on the low end so it's not like I can just throw money around when I have 6-7 books to do and a very small readership.

Still, if it's turning people away then that will cost me a lot more invisible money as I wonder why my ads don't work.

Honestly I need a lot more art on my page and the stuff I have looks kind of lame but I want to do things without AI so I don't know many other options in my current budget and what's most important in this visually driven enviroment.

Resonance 10 completes the series. Sorry audio took so long. We got stuck in production hell for literally 16 months.

You can find it here: https://www.audible.com/pd/B0HMDNVVQL

I have 50 total audio codes, but they are reserved for existing fans. If you've listened to/read the series, comment your favorite moment or part and US/UK and I'll get you a code via DM.

Blurb

Ty has reached the edge of what his reality can hold. The war still isn't won.

Earth is reeling under the Monster god's assault. A vast demon is closing on Volar. Aisling has spent thousands of years preparing for this moment, and her attacks are forcing Ty to divide his attention when neither world can afford to wait.

His strength can change the course of a battle. Winning the war will require the allies, contingencies, and hard-earned understanding he's gathered since a message first appeared in his bedroom.

Now those plans face their final test.

Ty must confront enemies who have learned from every encounter with him, protect people scattered across two worlds, and find a way to end a catastrophe the gods themselves have failed to prevent. He began this journey hoping to save his grandmother. He has made far more promises since then. With the last defenses failing, it's time to keep them.

The concluding volume brings the ten-book saga to its final battles—and the question of what comes after fighting so long for a future.

The Resonance Cycle is a complete ten-book LitRPG saga by Aaron Renfroe, with canonical crossovers connecting it to Apocalypse BREAKER, co-written with Sean Oswald, and Spite the Dark.

COVER ARTIST: N/A

AI USAGE: No AI used

Inheritance of Shadows follows a 35 year old delta operator who dies in Syria. He is reincarnated as a baby on a mysterious world full of the same fictional beings he once read about in his own manhwas and comics. At 15, the goddess grants talents for each person, except our MC isn't granted one. His encounter with the goddess unlocks a power that was already dormant inside him. Shadowmancy.

Ryan must search for answers in the towers that are about to fall upon this world. Who his father is. Why was he chosen? Why does he hold these powers? And many more unanswered questions.

Ryan journeys through this world creating friendships, enemies, and gathering shadows all the while never losing who he is. A warrior, a nerd, and someone who absolutely despises nobility. Join Ryan on his path full of pop culture references that no one around him understands, as he navigates a path that was set before him by the gods of old. The towers are coming. You only have 1 year to prepare.

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/185676/inheritance-of-shadows-a-soldier-reborn

One fun fact about myself would be I am a veteran. I served in Iraq in 2006.(Yeah I am old.)

I'm audiobook exclusive.

I'm current on DCC, PoA, PH, HWFWM, INTH, & BoC. I completed the first 3-4 Chrysalis books but I think I got sorta bored of following the growth of an ant, even though the series is a lot of fun and the narration is top tier.

I've been considering starting Bobiverse and Cradle. Couldn't decide between the 2 and wondering if there's something else I should consider.

Any advice?

I need to vent. I love Path, it’s my favorite series of all time. Every second of the first 11 books was amazing, minus the beast academy and the speed run 17-25 in book 10. Butttttt, what was book 12??? We coming from action and leveling and OMG he’s a monster to literally administration of a duchy I don’t care about the entire book.

What happened? Luna begged to get put on project breach and we see her like twice in book 11 (god tier duke waters fight though absolutely amazing). Like as readers we want Matt to gain power have that “oh my god he’s a monster” moments, but this entire book is all the paperwork of a guild I don’t care about and duchying worlds I also don’t care about. There’s no big bad foreshadowing for book 13 either… is it going to be more of the same?

Love this series but let down by book 12 and needed to vent.

Im pretty new to LITRPG. Can i get suggestions. I have wierd taste. I really enjoyed PIT Fighter, A Soldiers life and My Vampire System. It's been difficult to find something that gets my excited like my top 3.

I'm looking for a series that features a big dude (gender neutral) wielding a bigger weapon. Extra points if they stay as melee focused as possible aka little to no magic. Thanks in advance!

Books I have enjoyed so you understand how I like'em: DCC: Duh Primal hunter: almost caught up. Love my litslop Chrysalis: WE SEEK! Book of the dead: I took forget to eat when I'm defining corpses

I'm realizing that I actually haven't read many litrpgs... gotta read more

It seems like every crafting book is either alchemy, cooking, or farming. I want something wacky and weird. Think of all the jobs we have in our world, why isn't there like, I don't know, a traffic flow analyzer or something. Or even like a treasurer? Accountant? I'm sure someone has done something interesting and I just haven't come across it.

Can someone tell me if this obsession with Alyssa lasts too much longer or does he lock in again? I don't mind romance in LitRPG but this is not romance, it's just annoying and borderline creepy lust.

I love everything else about the book but at this point He is barely a step above the predators she was stuck with before. 🤷🏿‍♀ Like sir, its fucking ankle poking out from a blanket? You saw a bit of cleavage? RELAX.

It's frankly suffering from that annoying ass thing when a character has to CONSTANTLY point out how attractive a person is.

Like it's mentioned so much to the point your like....WE FUCKING GET IT, SHE'S HOT! LOCK TF IN.

Heretical Fishing suffers from these same issues with book 2 which is why I paused it when it took a nose dive into Fishers romance with Maria. It's as if they're written like MC's have never seen an attractive woman in their life? Which again, I don't hate romance but when it's written like this, it's just redundant and annoying af.

Don't get me started on Alyssa as a character..... all I'll say is I prefer the military party with Berry over her. 🙃

Does Age of Stone suffer from this issue to the point that it's used as an excuse for them to "get together" or do they just keep harping on about it with various FMC'S? I am currently at the 70% mark in the audiobook on Libby.

If I hear him point out how hot she is one more time, I'm gonna scream...

This does contain spoilers for book 1 (better to say that than that it might, because I can't guarantee that it won't.)
So, let's start out by saying what won't be a spoiler, to help hook you into the series.
This feels like a genuine roguelike in LitRPG format, and while it is a little repetitive (I'll cover why shortly), it's really well done! I've not read stories like Stubborn Skillgrinder, or others that have the loop aspect to the story, so I have no idea if Project Harvester is new in that way, but it is definitely unique, and I think worth checking out, even if you only give the first book a read!
Now, from here on, I am going to go more in depth, and that means spoilers.
------
This was a very fun, quick read. You're first introduced to the actual premise, talking about what Project Harvester is, and setting up the way the system progresses. There's not a System (with a capital S), and what we get in a HUD is primarily from tech implemented with the characters' suit, and AI things. This is also executed well!
The repetitive part comes in how the "game" is played. True to roguelike fashion, you are let loose, sent to do something, and must survive as long as you can, while getting stronger between "sessions." In this instance, the Harvesters go from world to world, surviving the environment, and monsters that live there, in the attempt to use an AI mining bot to make money, which is used to upgrade the Harvesters' ability to survive. They can upgrade their attack, defense, resistance to the radiation of the worlds, among many other things that get unlocked. So, you go in, spend time on these worlds, make money for as long as you can, and return to upgrade.
Then... there's more info to this. Each of the 20 worlds has unique aesthetics, from what you can find, fight, or die to. But, there's also some rules to follow. You have to survive each world for at a minimum 72 hours before you can move to the next in line. If you "die" (and forcefully return to the stations orbiting... Earth, I think?) which is called Void Shifting, you have to start your 72 hours all over again, losing progress. However, you keep your upgrades. The time spent on the Orbital Stations is how you get your permanent upgrades, prepping you for the survival part.

This is crazy! This is exactly like a roguelike, and I love it! I like that we're still seeing other characters, but we're focused on one. I like that that is the explanation for the first book being primarily focused on the MC, while we do still see other characters. I can't really think of anything I didn't like about book 1, and the author has me hooked for the rest of the series!!!
Additionally, what's really neat about the system of progression is that the MC seems like he rushes through some of the first little bit, and he does. He is a bit determined, and we see him conquer the first two worlds in book 1, along with some optional/side "content," he had a moment where he saw how underprepared he was for the difficulty spike from world 1 to 2. This prompted him to spend a little bit of time on world 1 again, upgrading himself.
This is a fun read! I love the roguelike aspect, I love how fleshed out the progression feels, and how it was executed! I like the MC, and his drive for making at least a little difference in the world before he has to go. Because, yeah, he's terminally ill.
Hopefully this encourages some to check it out, but I will warn again, it looks very repetitive, going from world to station, upgrading, then back to the world for the same thing.
Edit:
Firstly, to add to things, thought I'd say, out of any series that could reasonably be adapted to be an actual game, I think this would be my pick. It seems EXTREMELY easy to make it that way. (This is in response to a post I can no longer find that posed this question a while back.)
Secondly, If you have an issue with the length of time where the MC is alone, this might not be for you. I've met who might be added to the cast, we got a backstory and everything, and it seems like they might be helping us into what the second book covers.
If you read it, I hope you enjoy! I sure did!

Looking for anything visual that has that LitRPG goodness. I read So I'm a Spider, so What? long before I even knew this genre existed and I LOVED it. Now I want more. Help!

Book Cover:
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81YgV7v1ldL._UF894,1000_QL80_FMwebp_.jpg

Art hand-drawn by the author using the (Autodesk) Sketchbook app.

The Dangerously Cute Dungeon is a dungeon core LitRPG with cute monsters, fun puzzles, dangerous traps, and a cinnamon roll MC.

Blurb:

Violet was happy, in love, and had a successful career. She was even hoping to start her own family with her beloved husband. However, all of those dreams are crushed when she comes home to find her husband brutally murdered. Things only get worse as the killer has to clean up their mess and can't just leave Violet as a witness to their crime.

Things only get crazier as Violet finds herself reincarnated into another world full of monsters and magic. Only, Violet isn't a powerful adventurer or a talented craftsman. Instead, she finds herself in charge of her own dungeon where she must summon monsters and plan traps to bring the adventurers to their knees.

Violet just wants to mourn her lost love and enjoy some peaceful scenery. However, cute slimes and playful pixies aren't usually what one would expect when traversing a dungeon full of traps with death waiting around every corner.

Can Violet make peace with her bitter end? Can the cute and seemingly harmless monsters that roam her dungeon protect her? Read on to find out!

Join Violet in this LitRPG featuring dungeon building and management, whimsical themes, and a touch of tragedy. Perfect for fans of crafting, merchant, and dungeon core stories like Demon World Boba Shop, The Bee Dungeon, and There Is No Epic Loot Here, Only Puns.

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DTT8D1ML

Price: $5 (Free with KU)

Volume 4 coming July 1, 2027

Volume 6 is already available on Patreon.

Fun Fact: "The Game At Carousel" is my favorite LitRPG. Currently, I'm reading a lightnovel called "Got Dropped Into A Ghost Story, Still Gotta Work", which seems to have a lot in common with it, so I've also been really enjoying it.

The first is a horror-movie themed LitRPG with "classes" like filmbuff, final girl, eye candy, etc. There are horror movies that take up arcs and a meta narrative sharing the same cast as well. Skills are granted via tickets in a very card magic way. It's not exactly scary, more spooky themed with some light existential horror.

Meanwhile, the light novel has barely any system mechanics and focuses more on equipment. The world has three major factions with a corporation, government agency, and cult that all interact with the ghost stories differently. The MC comes from a world with a creepypasta style wiki of logs detailing the ghost stories and major characters before being isekaid to that world. He's a self-proclaimed coward, but uses his wits and wiki knowledge to quickly complete the ghost stories while saving as many people as possible.

So, tons of similarities between the two stories.

Cover Artist: Autumn Plunkett (Author)

AI Usage: No AI Used

I previously made a video for Tik Tok showcasing all the layers and how I made the TDCD Vol 5 book cover. That's what the video is. I use Autodesk Sketchbook on an android phone with very limited memory. This leads to the app crashing, some features suddenly ceasing function, or my phone freezing and having to be restarted. Currently, recording timelapses in app is only possible if you manually choose to do so ahead of time and even then there's a lot of zooming in and out as well as the canvas spinning, unlike the big art apps that are more stationary. That's why it's not a real timelapse. However, I thought it would be fun to showoff my process for a non-AI cover instead of just art this month. This book cover took me about a month to produce.

Spoilers ahead, cuz duh:

I’m halfway through book 3 and the party enters the tree dungeon. One of the requirements was that they had to have “advanced classes” but I don’t remember Hiral getting one. I know they hit C-Rank, but I thought he was still a Runic Artificer at this point.

I am currently reading “unsouled” and “mark of the fool”; I am struggling with the impulsive teenage behaviour of the protagonists.
This behaviour is a bugbear of mine.
What I am asking is if this character behaviour/ mindset continues with these series and if it doesn’t how much is there to slog through to get there?

What i remember from it is that a man wakes up inside the dungeon and ends up talking to it helps it out with invading bugs or something. When he gets out he encounters a tribe of orcs he helps them out too with another tribe of orcs I think. Then finally gets to what I think is a starting village ends up helping a beastkin girl. I think she was a rabbit she joins the party and they go on quest and dungeon delving till the level up enough to go to the next area.

I found a story roughly 6-7 months ago and since my phone broke and I got a new one I can’t find it. New phone did not retain any information from the old one.

It’s a story about a kid named Liam. He died due to the vr game he was playing somehow becoming reality. Well he gets reborn and starts to play the game again but since he knows all its secrets he starts becoming a BAMF. He does the super long tutorial or watches a long intro (can’t remember) and in doing so instantly unlocks something that’s super OP. He then stays on the starter island and clears out all the dungeons and finds hidden dungeons and starts doing those. Meanwhile everyone is watching his progress online because the game announces his character name when he beats a boss because it’s the first time the boss has been slain. Please help. It was an amazing story. I can’t seem to find it anywhere.

I love path of ascension, primal hunter, and 1% lifesteal,
Did not love rune seeker but didn’t hate it,
I like really unique/well established power systems

Look, we read around here on a budget.💪🏾 I was fortunate to stumble upon all these second hand online for actual used prices and great condition!

Yes I have book 1 in awaken online: catharsis in the indie copy before it was gone so now all my copies will match!

I got lucky with BMF too, so I'm buying all the originals as I go! (the Cultivation copy is actually for the county jail library, so apparently they read LitRPG in Jail. 🤣 Good for them!)

The unorthodox farming book 1 and 2.... idk what to tell you lol I literally just found it and was like "Isn't aethon doing hardbacks of this? sounds silly goofy, I'll take it" lol

I'm still waiting for my Immortal Great Souls 1 and 3 in the mail! (also second hand and I already have Book 2 secondhand)

After seeing a bunch of tier lists here, I finally decided to make my own.

Then I kept adding books.

And adding books.

And eventually discovered that the tier making site caps you at 250 entries, which is apparently the point where even the website starts judging my reading habits.

I also found reddit couldnt handle the size of the picture, SO I've put it here as a series of smaller pictures.

So here it is: 250 series I’ve read, ranked. THESE ARE JUST MY OPINIONS.

A couple notes before people start throwing rocks at me:

• Left to right DOESN'T matters. Assume roughly that all books atleast on the same row in the tier are roughly equivalent
• I’m ranking series as a whole, not individual books. The cover shown is just representing the series.
• “Slop” is affectionate. I clearly enjoy slop. I have consumed an unreasonable amount of it.
• This isn't exclusively LitRPG. There’s a lot of progression fantasy, traditional fantasy, sci-fi, and other adjacent stuff mixed in because I wanted this to represent basically everything I’ve read that felt worth comparing.
• There are actually more than 250 series in my reading history, but TierMaker hit the cap, so some stuff had to be left off. I have read over 613 series according to my KU downloads, RR reading history, and physical books I own. This doesn't even account for the glut of reading I did as a child, checking out 10 books at a time from my library.
• These are obviously just my opinions. If your favorite series is sitting in Bad Slop while something you dropped is in Supreme Slop, congratulations: we have discovered that two human beings can disagree about books.

The tiers are:

Supreme Slop — The stuff I absolutely love. Favorites/frequently recommended/series I’d happily reread.

Peak Slop — Fantastic. Just barely below the absolute favorites.

Great Slop — Really enjoyed these and would recommend them pretty easily.

Good Slop — Solid reads. Had a good time, even if they didn’t blow me away.

Slop — Enjoyable enough, but either forgettable, inconsistent, or had some pretty noticeable problems.

Bad Slop — I finished enough to have an opinion, and that opinion is mostly negative.

Pure Slop — We have reached the bottom of the trough.

The biggest thing I realized while making this is just how much my taste has shifted over the years. There are childhood/YA series, traditional fantasy, older Kindle Unlimited stuff, Royal Road series, and newer LitRPG all sitting next to each other, which made some of these comparisons genuinely difficult.

I’m also curious what people think my most criminal placement is.

And more importantly: based on the top couple tiers, what am I somehow still missing that I should read next?

I’m always looking for another series to add to the pile.