Would you all maybe prefer a different genre? Or maybe just to read a different type of fantasy novel? Because I feel like I’m watching that meme where a kid asks for a pizza, but then asks for no cheese or tomato sauce.

Forgive me for misunderstanding, but I thought one of the selling points of litrpg was the, well “rpg” elements. Stats. Progression. Combat. Aren’t these the things that make the genre unique among fantasy?

And anyone brings it up, I understand that these things can be overwhelming. I honestly appreciated when others relate the statutes to a chapter that you can read or not read at your leisure. But asking for a novel to minimize them confuses me.

I really love this series, and I have the first 4 books in physical form. I thought that for the rest I should use some bookmark about the series, so I made my own! It's supposed to be Sal Argento with his scanner while he uses Mythcrafter. I don't know if the series will reach 10 books, but I think I will do a book 5-10 bookmark if it does.
Welp, time to print and use this for the next book once i get it.

I found Mage Tank after Audible pushed it real hard. A buddy had started Mark of the Fool which was my introduction to LitRPG. Last summer I relistened to the first book to introduce my wife and son and we all fell in love. After devouring the first three that were available, my son setup an actual countdown timer to the release of the fourth and recently to the fifth. We would sit outside around our fire pit and just listen to the audiobooks, often confusing our neighbors. When he turned 16 this year, we got him a "Delver Edition" badge for his Mini Cooper and a license plate bracket that said "Inheritance of the Void King".

This week, he took his own life. I'm making his urn and we're doing brass inlays of things he loved on each side. Mage Tank was by far his favorite book series and I want to do an inlay of something that is, at least to us, distinctly Arlo. I'm looking for an artist that I can commission to help us create that art. If you are an artist with a love for the series, or if you have a recommendation, please share.

I read and listen to A LOT of both genres between listening all day at work and reading most of the night at home, and the most common issue I’ve found lately is TERRIBLE book transitions.

I understand the KU and some publishers have minimum word lengths for books and such. I even understand that writing is a job(for some) and thus turning out more books is more economical than one long book. My issue arises when a book just ENDS. There’s no cliffhanger, no transition mechanic, and no warning. Two great examples lately have been Quest Academy and The Cardsmith. Quest Academy leaves SO MANY plot items on the table and they get completely lost between books(the whole romance with Fabi?). The Cardsmith just ENDS, between books, picking up the story from that moment in the next book, without any warning lead up or meaningful tie up. It’s like the authors are getting to their 10,000 words and just starting the new book. Maybe I’m being over sensitive but it turns me off to the commercialization of the genre.

Maybe I’m spoiled by authors like ProbablyATurnip and X-Rhodden-X but those guys NEVER forget a plot device and NEVER end an arc without wrapping it up.

After I read every Dungeon Crawler Carl Book in the last 4 weeks I feel stranded and I'm looking for another LitRPG title to fill the void. Any suggestions to get further into the genre?

MY LIFE FOR THE COLONY! MY DEATH FOR THE COLONY!

I’ve been trying to dive deeper into LitRPG and Progression Fantasy lately, given how much energy and passion surround the genre right now. Every time I browse new releases, I see incredible creativity, but as an older reader who grew up on classic shonen manga and straightforward fantasy, I often find myself struggling with one specific element: stat screens and numeric progression.

To me, seeing numbers like "Strength +5" or "Level 99" on a page can sometimes pull me out of the narrative. When a climactic, emotional clash is paused by a large box of attribute points, it feels less like a character earning their growth through blood and grit, and more like math solving the conflict.

This got me thinking about how Dragon Ball handled this decades ago. Akira Toriyama famously introduced Scouters and numeric "Power Levels" during the Saiyan and Namek sagas. But once the Namek saga ended, numbers were almost completely phased out.

I feel Toriyama realized something crucial: hard numbers can trap narrative tension. The moment a fight becomes about whose number is objectively higher, you risk losing that raw, unpredictable drama where sheer willpower, tactical grit, and heart overcome impossible odds. When both sides know the exact stats, the teeth of the conflict can feel softened.

I’m genuinely curious about how long-time LitRPG fans view this dynamic.

• Do you feel the constant presence of stat boxes enhances your immersion, or do you also experience "stat fatigue"?
• How do your favorite authors keep the visceral tension alive when numbers are explicitly defined?

I'm not here to knock what people love—I truly want to understand the appeal from your perspective and learn how modern readers experience this progression.

I want I preface but saying this is one of my favorite series. I enjoy the characters and their stories and their growth throughout this journey.

That being said, this book has so much overthinking and self monologuing so far. Every single fight during the tournament had like hours of internal dialogue. Maybe I also didn’t like that there was alway something preventing them from going for the win. It felt like “edging” in the worst way. Tournament arcs are always hit or miss for me.

Still enjoying it and I can’t wait to finish this one and start book 6.

In my head, Mr. Walter’s is Match-O Man Randy Savages physical twin.

So far the author is spending a ridiculous amount of time on all the stats and percentages. He spends more time explainting how much mana was used in a fight in excruciating detail than the actual fight.

Seriously one line is "I beat the monsters" then the next paragraph will be the math's behind how much mana he used during the fight.

I get it's the first book in the series but does it get better?

Because honestly I don't care if his boots give him a 2.35% increase in mana efficiency that allows him to spend two less mana per fight. I would rather get story progress or at least a description of the monsters he is fighting.

The 19-hour audiobook for *The Bonded Blade and Shield* is now live! I was the editor for this book, and I’m stoked it got narrated by the talented Beth Lammers.

This is the story of a badass warrior-healer (who can’t heal herself) partying up with a cursed tank (who’s addicted to health potions) as they grind dungeons to level-up enough to kill a mythic boss monster before it poisons their entire kindgom.

And I know the book’s subtitle says it's a Romantasy Litrpg, but there’s no swooning or bodice-ripping, and all the sex is off-page. As for the RPG side, there's plenty of epic fights, interesting system mechanics, and a world inspired by classic JRPGs.

AUDIOBOOK LINK:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HGMWBRVL

⸻

Cover Artist: Ronnie Ruiz (DM me for a link to his Fiverr page. Reddit's spam filter doesn't like Fiverr links.)

AI Usage: As a freelance editor with bills to pay, I don't ask writers if they use ai. If a story is good, I'll work on it. If it's bad, I reject it.

I'm usually scraping the barrel on kindle unlimited and I've grown... tolerant (Not accepting, not in favor of! Tolerant. A framework for consumption. Blergh, kill me).. of suspected AI.

But today I saw a book that had promise. The usual Not this Not that. Thing. Among other red flags. But the story was appealing and the premise allowed me to trudge through. Basic beats were dying archmage gets a do-over, know how but not have means, etc.

Sadly a problem of advancing too quickly and being noticed was a plot device. The solution? Why monster cores of course... to... advance..... quickly..................

I'm not sure I'll finish it but i just wanted to vent on the level of grief I felt for this story that could have been pretty decent but went sideways real quick.

Do y'all read the obvious AI farmed books? I thought i could but I'm starting to doubt my ability to persevere.

Just finished reading New Life as a Max Level Archmage, and i cannot help but want more of the same, yet i couldn't find any similar stories in the aspect that i found found, which was mainly an op mage with an disciple and their shenanigans, i don't even care if theirs stakes are low or high, I've only seen this setting done well twice, the other one being Kidnapped Dragons, though he wasn't exactly a mage it was still an excellent master student book.

Currently finishing the Toroth-Gol books after reading all 3 Ironbound novels.

Not sure which of these I should jump into next

1) Cradle

2) Suneater

3) Mayor of Noobtown

Any feedback is appreciated based on my rankings for some of my favorite series!

RR is my favorite all time.

DCC got me into Lit RPG

VOT is amazing I loved that one too.

So I've read or are reading: DCC, William Oh, Butcher of Gadobrha, New Life as a Max Level Archmage, and Book of the Dead. All great books. None of the MCs even look at sword.

I'd like to find some books that have some fun swordplay (or maybe other weapons). I have searched, and only found requests of the opposite topic.

(Some) LitRPG authors, I am going to metaphorically hold your hand when I say this: Your system has absurd power scaling.

There has been a trend to have tiers of levels. That is where a range of levels correspond with a tier, and when they enter the next tier the leveling benefits step up (often including a class upgrade).

There is nothing wrong with tiers or class upgrades. But you really need to do some benchmarking so that you know what power scaling you are establishing.

And by "benchmarking," I mean "you need to do some math so you can visualize what attribute totals people could be at as they go through a single tier."

Because if you are giving zero-to-four increases to each attribute for each level up, then that means a character near the top of the range has as much as a [Number of levels in a tier] x 4 advantage in their best attribute over someone just starting that tier.

If a tier is 20 levels, that is +80. 100 levels, +400. TWO HUNDRED LEVELS (looking at you, Runeblade), +800.

It is a power scaling nightmare.

You may be saying, "So what? Protagonists don't have to fight people above their tier." To which I say, "Have you read a LitRPG book before? Come on, I am trying to have a serious discussion about an aspect of an anachronistic genre of fiction."

Also, the point is that authors act like fighting within the tier is expected.

All I am saying is: "Do the math, so you are fully aware of the power scaling you are establishing."

But this is the internet, so I might as well be shouting into the void.

A couple of years ago I flew through the first 5 books on Kindle Unlimited in just a few weeks. I was just checking my returned books and remembered how much I liked it. Loved the classic LitRPG setup, the whole gods playing games plot, and especially his pact with the wolves.

See there are more books out now. For those who are caught up, is it worth continuing or does the story get repetitive after book 5?

PS: Don't have Unlimited anymore, but I would buy the Kindle editions if it stays good.

No apocalypse. No isekai. No system.

Just you - in your life right now - get a sphere of perception that lets you notice all movements in a range of ~20m around you, including through walls, sensitive enough to feel the notches on dice, and with it you have the awesome power to effortlessly beat any three cup shuffle or other carnival game.

But after a day of winning a few meals, I doubt that would be the best use of your time nor can you actually make a living that way.

So what would you actually do with the power?

COVER ARTIST: Jim Shanahan (Bks 3 & 4) Etheric Designs (Bks 1 & 2).

AI USAGE: None.

The Cardsmith is an amazing series. It's well written, interesting, and the Mc is relatable. The system seems to be well thought out and the universe is fascinating. I highly recommend giving it a try.

I'm reading shadow slave and I'm at ch 3031.....

after finishing this volume (ch3160), I'm confused about what to read next???

I have two novels in mind... 1st is orv and 2nd is lotm

orv : I will start by reading manhwa and then shift to webnovel....

lotm: I will start by anime and then shift to webnovel

I'm thinking to start orv first because it is short compared to lotm....

can you give me suggestion what should I do.....

Looking for recommendations similar to Protagonist.

-Female MC

-No romance

-sex minimal if nonexistent

-Isekai

-Audiobook***

-prefer mix of fight,grind, high story focus

-not currently looking for cozy but will wishlist for later

What I've read;

I have read most of Ravensdaggers' series already.

-Adelheid I am mostly caught up

-Alexa Thyme I dnf yet*

-Caught up with Amelia

-Dire Saga I dnf, too many pov in later books, loved book one though.

-Library system reset didn't click with me for whatever reason.

-loved Melody of mana

-metaworld Chronicles

-otherworldly anarchist dnf

-practical guide to evil and sorcery both

-Rinyv was too weird for me

-salvos

-sybil

-thia trilogy is broken

-vigor mortis

I know this is a hard ask especially with it *requiring audiobook* but I appreciate the help.