Litrpg Young Adult Fantasy

Alex faces the consequences of her choices on a ship full of strangers. Forced to confront a civilization built on the regulation of her kind, she has to learn and adapt to situations she never imagined. Some see her as the key to breaking a decades-old stalemate, others as a threat that will ignite the fires of war once more. But all Alex wants is her sister and NAI companion back.

Taking advantage of the power vacuum caused by the poison plague, nobles, major and minor, have rushed to increase their influence. With her sights set on the province, Countess Priscord has tasked Dallion to capture the elusive phoenix, openly challenging Archduke Lanitol’s authority. As hunters and mercenaries set off to claim the prize for their patrons, Dallion finds out that the last hunters to find the creature were all killed or banished shortly after.

After their scary adventure, Bex and Charlie have sworn never to play Monsters Unleashed again. Then Veratrum Games Corp releases a new augmented reality game featuring aliens instead of monsters, and the best friends just can't resist. After all, everyone loves it, even their science teacher, because it includes real star charts. But when they go to an observatory on a class trip, and open the game near a radio telescope, they get more than they bargained for: real aliens.

If waking up in a new world isn't bad enough, Hestia starts her new life as a small, newborn dragon in a hostile forest filled with vicious monsters. With status screens obscuring her vision, her first task is to escape two hungry kobolds wanting some grilled lizard for breakfast. Equipped with fragmented memories from her past life and the gamelike mechanics of her new reality, Hestia must face trials, beasts, bosses, and more as she grows in size and power.

After witnessing the devastation of the end of the world, Salvos returns to the Netherworld stronger than ever. She is still resolved to find her first companion, but the threat of corruption still weighs on her mind. Because she knows she has to speak to the one responsible for the Apocalypse. She knows she has to speak to her father—the Devil himself.

Aspiring alchemist Wanda and her faithful familiar Wumble have successfully secured a spot in the upcoming orientation course, moving one step closer to their greater goal. With only an informal education in the subject to her credit, the young wizard is overjoyed at the chance to broaden her knowledge. But even a duo with their incredible power faces hurdles ahead.

Monster hunter Silas Beckham just inherited an estate he never knew existed from a grandfather he never met. The good news? It's magical. The bad news? It comes with crushing debt, bloodthirsty monsters prowling the halls, and bureaucratic obstacles at every turn. With only a formal skeletal butler named Bonereghard, whose knowledge of estate logistics spans centuries, and a mythic Fenrir cub named Diog as allies, Silas must transform from street-smart survivor to legitimate heir before the estate's astronomical tax bill comes due.

With the threat of a second cataclysm bearing down on them, Matt and his allies double their efforts to climb the tower, juggling personal responsibilities, new players, unexpected assistance from unlikely sources, all while weighing the insidious possibility of threats from within.

Artorian gave up his administrator privileges only to be thrust into a new role. The law he is bound to allows him to slip past Eternium’s ironclad rules and break things once thought immutable. For his family, for all of their futures, he must boldly go where few in Cal like to venture: the game world of Eternia. Most of the people that have come to test this world hate being here: dying in days and returning home in disarray.

Alex had done it. Ascending farther than anyone had thought possible, earning a title as sacred as the right to rule within the Golden Realms. But there was no way his enemies would accept his ascension. Not after he had disrupted so many of their twisted plans.

Recently deceased and squishy as hell, Alan, a newly minted Illusionist, is forced to flee for his life. He needs time to deal with his loss, both in-game and IRL, but first he'll have to escape his crazy ex, the treacherous Firebrand, Thalia Daceran. On his way to safety and revenge, he'll team up with Titus, the Imperial spymaster, as well as a crew of pirates, commandos, and even a shapeshifting Mimic with a taste for blood. His path leads to Wyrdtide, a gaslit city hidden in mists and governed by dark demigods. But even with Alan dead, the world marches on.

After battling the hyenas, Eric gets a notification that something called a Place of Power has been found. That is the only clue that might help him get back to his native world. But there's a problem. The system needs mana to calculate a route. Eric simply doesn't have any, and he doesn't know when he will. That is because, due to the strange laws this world lives by, Eric's mana supply isn't filling up. But the Great System also exists here, though its laws are only partially functioning.

Victor, the enigmatic headmaster of the Sanctum of Interdimensional Magi, continues to guide his unsuspecting players deeper into a living, breathing world disguised as the most immersive VR game ever created. As players tackle grueling missions, hunt deadly magical beasts, and decipher spell models through real-world programming, they remain unaware they’re mere pieces on Victor’s board. But even as the academy expands and attract more players, trouble’s brewing.

Lucky has always dreamed of changing his stars, but in a world ruled by the mysterious System, destiny feels more like a prison. When a rare opportunity arises to rewrite his future, Lucky seizes the chance—only to find that the System might have plans of its own. Follow Lucky on a wild journey of growth, adventure, and self-discovery as he battles not just monsters and quests, but also the dark secrets lurking within his world.

After battling creatures of the void in the Voidmare Dungeon, Astrid fused with her new Class—Voidmare. It answered some questions about her Awakening but left her with many more. With monsters, corrupt nobles, and pirates conspiring against Astrid’s home ship HMS Rebirth, she heads out onto the great oceans in search of greater strength to weather the coming storms. Astrid finds herself in a new world, where she meets a strange, psychotic tribe of people who want nothing more than to have their eyes ripped from their skulls.

John Lee has left Earth behind him as he travels to the capital of the Galactic Council. Seeking rest and an answer to what the enigmatic System is, John plans to spend his time reading and researching on Irvina. But fate has other plans for the human Paladin. Faced with a new quest and a Galactic Society that is as unfair to its citizens as it was to Earth, John must decide if his desire for a quieter life outweighs his conscience.

Eric has survived where people much stronger than him have found their deaths. And not just that: He's managed to activate his magic supply, tame one of the most dangerous dungeon monsters, find the ancient city of monster hunters, and rescue Jay, the girl abandoned by the scouts in Gulper's lair. He left the Dungeons of the Crooked Mountains behind him. Now his path leads him to Orchus, where our freshly-minted mage intends to finally free himself of his debt-repayment oath.

Closer to finding his sister than ever before, Max still has more questions than answers. Why has she left cryptic messages across the lower floors of the tower? What is she trying to tell him? And then there's the last question. The one that keeps him up at night. The kind of question that makes him wonder if he really wants to know the answer.

In a world rebuilt after the Rift Wars, where steel titans and elemental magic collide in high-octane arena combat, one teenager dares to dream beyond the ruins. Pepper Walker isn’t a hero. He’s just a high schooler working dead-end shifts at Rocket Burger, dodging bullies, and obsessing over Golem League matches. But when fate catapults him from fan to fighter, he'll need more than heart to survive—he'll need strategy, skill, and a golem of his own.

The best of the year's science fiction and fantasy stories as selected by the multiple award-winning editor Jonathan Strahan. Distant worlds, time travel, epic adventure, unseen wonders, and much more! The best, most original and brightest science fiction and fantasy stories from around the globe from the past 12 months are brought together in one collection by multiple award winning editor Jonathan Strahan.