20 LitRPG Books That Are Virtually Unputdownable

Never heard of LitRPG before? You're probably not the only one. Recently made popular by Ernest Cline's Ready Player One, LitRPG (Literary Role Playing Game) is a literary genre in which games or game-like challenges make up an essential part of the storyline. These books merge traditional book-style narration with quests, achievements, and other typical gaming elements, making them feel more like a journey than a reading experience.

If you're a reluctant reader who'd rather be playing video games (or if you're just looking for a little excitement in your next read), you should check out one of these 20 LitRPG books. Don't forget to bookmark this page to cross the "LitRPG" prompt off your 2019 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge list!

01
The Axe and the Throne (Bounds of Redemption, Book 1)
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The Axe and the Throne (Bounds of Redemption, Book 1)

The first book in M.D. Ireman's Bounds of Reception series, The Axe and the Throne follows Tallos as he journeys north to find the bodies of his friend's sons, who are said to have been taken by Northmen, but what he finds instead is far more gruesome.

02
The Land: Founding (Chaos Seeds, Book 1)
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The Land: Founding (Chaos Seeds, Book 1)

In The Land: Founding, the first book in Aleron Kong's Chaos Seeds series, Richter is banished to The Land, which is full of deadly and challenging foes, and he must figure out how to forge his own kingdom (while also somehow surviving).

03
Ritualist (The Completionist Chronicles, Book 1)
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Ritualist (The Completionist Chronicles, Book 1)

Ritualist, the first installment in Dakota Krout's The Completionist Chronicles, follows the story of Joe, who decides to become a permanent addition to a game world, only to realize that in this game, people with his abilities are actively hunted.

04
Sector Eight (Perimeter Defense, Book 1)
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Sector Eight (Perimeter Defense, Book 1)

In Michael Atamanov's Section Eight, the first book in the Perimeter Defense series, an ambitious gamer named Ruslan agrees to command a space fleet in a brand-new game he knows nothing about, though according to his contract, he isn't allowed to quit until his contract expires.

05
Dungeon Born (The Divine Dungeon, Book 1)
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Dungeon Born (The Divine Dungeon, Book 1)

The first book in Dakota Krout's The Divine Dungeon series, Dungeon Born, introduces Cal, a man who has spent years trapped within a magical stone but is slowly learning to increase his power and size — though the only way to continue developing is to eat anyone who enters his depths.

06
Project Daily Grind (Mirror World, Book 1)
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Project Daily Grind (Mirror World, Book 1)

In Alexey Osadchuk's Project Daily Grind, the first book in the Mirror World series, Oleg enters the virtual lands of Mirror World hoping to earn enough money for his daughter's heart transplant, but instead of becoming a wizard or warrior, he is stuck toiling underground in Mirror World's mines.

07
The Commander's Tale (Limitless Lands, Book 1)
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The Commander's Tale (Limitless Lands, Book 1)

The Commander's Tale, the first book in Dean Henegar's Limitless Lands series, tells the story of Colonel James Raytak, a 93-year-old combat veteran who begins an experimental life support system controlled by an artificial intelligence, which imports his consciousness directly into an unreleased new game.

08
Survival Quest (Way of the Shaman, Book 1)
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Survival Quest (Way of the Shaman, Book 1)

The first book in Vasily Mahanenko's Way of the Shaman series, Survival Quest explores the world of Barilona, where millions of players escape for months at a time to experience magic and combat — but also where criminals are sent to serve their time in a virtual inferno.

09
AlterWorld (Play to Live, Book 1)
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AlterWorld (Play to Live, Book 1)

In AlterWorld, the first book in D. Rus's Play to Live series, a seasoned gamer and terminal cancer patient named Max decides to extend his chances of survival by escaping into the virtual landscape of AlterWorld, though he knows a new pandemic may cause him to be stuck in this virtual world forever.

10
Opening Moves (The Gam3, Book 1)
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Opening Moves (The Gam3, Book 1)

In Cosimo Yap's Opening Moves, the first book in The Gam3 series, a college student named Alan escapes reality and the alien invasion plaguing Earth by focusing all his energy into the digital universe of The Game, though the stakes of this virtual world are much higher than he initially imagined.

11
Patch 17 (Realm of Arkon, Book 1)
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Patch 17 (Realm of Arkon, Book 1)

The first book in G. Akella's Realm of Arkon series, Patch 17 follows gamer Roman Kozhevnikov, who finds himself trapped inside the deadliest zone of his favorite game against his will, and through his character, Krian, Roman must fight to survive (as well as to exact revenge for his banishment to the virtual world).

12
The Trapped Mind Project (Emerilia, Book 1)
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The Trapped Mind Project (Emerilia, Book 1)

In The Trapped Mind Project, the first book in Michael Chatfield's Emerilia series, a former CEO named Austin Zane decides to build a new life for himself as Dave, a half-dwarf in the virtual reality game, but instead of an escape, he discovers that Earth as he knows it is really a virtual reality simulation.

13
Cataclysm (Viridian Gate Online, Book 1)
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Cataclysm (Viridian Gate Online, Book 1)

James Hunter's Cataclysm, the first book in the Viridian Gate Online series, tells the story of Jack Mitchel, an EMT who attempts to survive the asteroid hurtling toward Earth by entering an ultraimmersive virtual world, even though that means permanently trapping his mind and killing his body in the process.

14
The Game (The Game Is Life, Book 1)
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The Game (The Game Is Life, Book 1)

The first book in Terry Schott's The Game Is Life series, The Game follows Zack, a 74-year-old man who wakes to find himself in a world where he is 17 and no longer near death, but instead welcomed back and asked if he is ready for his next game.

15
Edge of Reality (Phantom Server, Book 1)
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Edge of Reality (Phantom Server, Book 1)

In Andrei Livadny's Edge of Reality, the first book in the Phantom Server series, a cyber dweller who wishes to desert the real world for the virtual one discovers a new universe that may allow him to cut off his ties from reality for good — even though the stakes of this new universe are much higher than ever before.

16
Video Game Plotline Tester (The Dark Herbalist, Book 1)
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Video Game Plotline Tester (The Dark Herbalist, Book 1)

In Video Game Plotline Tester, the first book in Michael Atamanov's The Dark Herbalist series, a gamer named Timothy is selected to work as a tester for a massive online fantasy game, and he enters the game with his younger sister, which allows them to connect in a way they never have before.

17
Gamer For Life (Alpha World, Book 1)
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Gamer For Life (Alpha World, Book 1)

In Daniel Schinhofen's Gamer For Life, the first book in the Alpha World series, a man facing life in prison without parole agrees to an opportunity to test long-term immersion in a new virtual reality game, deciding life imprisonment in a virtual world is preferable to life behind bars.

18
Sufficiently Advanced Magic (Arcane Ascension, Book 1)
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Sufficiently Advanced Magic (Arcane Ascension, Book 1)

The first book in Andrew Rowe's Arcane Ascension series, Sufficiently Advanced Magic follows Corin Cadence as he attempts to rescue his brother from the Serpent Spire — a colossal tower with ever-shifting rooms, traps, and monsters that his brother never returned from five years before.

19
Ascend Online (Ascend Online, Book 1)
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Ascend Online (Ascend Online, Book 1)

Luke Chmilenko's Ascend Online, the first in a trilogy of the same name, follows Marcus as he enters a revolutionary new video game with his friends, only to find himself separated from them the moment he logs in and thrown into a remote village under attack.

20
Death March (Euphoria Online, Book 1)
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Death March (Euphoria Online, Book 1)

In Death March, the first book in Phil Tucker's Euphoria Online series, a young man named Chris who has lost nearly everything dear to him decides to gamble his life by spending six months inside of a lethal game, hoping to earn his brother a pardon in exchange for surviving.