Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a LitRPG author and narrative designer for the video games industry. I’ve written and designed for many RPGs and have always found it satisfying when the player character’s actions tangibly improve the in-game situations of the NPCs. In my own LitRPGs and interactive fiction, I intentionally place the player characters within communities they will come to care about and see grow as their own personal power grows. To me, a character build is more about relationships than upgrades. Stats are just numbers until they affect the lives of others. Then they become story.


I wrote

Skulls of Atlantis

By Edwin McRae,

Book cover of Skulls of Atlantis

What is my book about?

"It’s mateship that turns a pirate into a hero."

Captain Grace Deadeye Cortez lives in a virtual game world of…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Dungeon Lord

Edwin McRae Why did I love this book?

Edward Wright is portalled into an RPG world as a bad guy, but he’s determined to use his dark powers for good. What’s lovely about The Wraith’s Haunt is that Edward doesn’t just build a dungeon. He builds a community. He offers shelter for the disenfranchised, many of them monsters, and knits a motley, heart-warming alliance for the betterment of all. And this is all done within the comfortable progression architecture of a classic dungeon core LitRPG. 

By Hugo Huesca,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dungeon Lord as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dark forces have extended Edward Wright an offer of incredible power at a terrible cost...

...and Edward has chosen to make them regret it.
 
When Edward is swept into the world of Ivalis as a Dungeon Lord, the Dark's most powerful servant, he has no servitude in mind. He'll oppose the evil plans of the Dark god Murmur, whatever it takes.

Through only his wits and his guts to help him survive a weakened arrival, Edward must rise to power if he is to earn the right to live another day.

But in the battle between Dark and Light, what…


Book cover of Temple of Sorrow

Edwin McRae Why did I love this book?

Devon Walker is a rare breed of main character in LitRPG. A well-written female! And while there’s a lot of focus on her classic fantasy character build, there’s as much story time spent on town building and community management. Devon forms strong bonds and friendships with the NPCs of this fantasy RPG world and she does her best to improve their ‘lives’. Stonehaven League is as much about building character as it is about character build.

By Carrie Summers,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Temple of Sorrow as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Devon Walker has one chance to turn her life around.
A half-wit ogre, a legion of overgrown jungle beasts, and a power-tripping AI are trying to stop her.

#1 Bestseller in Role Playing and Fantasy | #1 Bestseller in Video Game Adaptations | #1 Bestseller in Metaphysical and Visionary Fantasy | #1 Bestseller in Dragons & Mythical Creatures | #1 Bestseller in Cyberpunk | #1 Bestseller in Virtual Reality

Relic Online is the hottest new game out there, and it’s Devon Walker’s best hope for escaping her hard-knock life. Thanks to her rocking achievements in other games, she’s been hired…


Book cover of One in the Gut

Edwin McRae Why did I love this book?

While Ryan is your usual ‘disaffected gamer becomes hero’ type of main character, his trajectory isn’t the standard empowerment fantasy you see in LitRPG. In a VR game where the freemium players are zombies and the premium players get to be zombie-hunting ‘survivors’, Ryan masters his zombie build and then sets about tearing down the classist pay wall. If you’ve ever wondered what a zombie revolution would look like, then you’re in for a treat with Headshot Online.

By Matthew Siege,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked One in the Gut as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Every week, I rise from the dead...Headshot has just gone live and the whole world's playing the new Artificial Reality blockbuster. Unfortunately, unless you can buy your way onto the Survivor's side, you can only participate as a Zombie. Each week, the forces gather to tear each other down to the bone… until, at week’s end, the Apocalypse is reset.Ryan's played the Beta for months, but now that his favorite game has launched, he finds it consuming his life—even as he struggles to decipher whether or not there's actually a way to succeed if you're not willing to Pay to…


Book cover of Re-Start

Edwin McRae Why did I love this book?

Phil is given a singular gift, the ability to roleplay his own life. He’s able to convert all of that useless World of Warcraft experience into character points, which he then uses to upgrade himself. At first, this is an encouraging story about a young man turning his life around. But it soon becomes a story of gratitude with a main character who gives back as much as he gets. Level Up is about how privilege should be acknowledged and appreciated, and how self-improvement can be a shared experience with those around you.

By Dan Sugralinov,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Re-Start as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“A very good book. My life stopped for five hours!” — Vasily Mahanenko

“Hugely motivating! A fast-paced, easy read which was worth the sleepless night. On to Book Two!” — Alexey Osadchuk

“A Real-LitRPG author faces the challenging task of walking the tightrope, doing a balancing act between the drab normalcy of everyday routine and the hero's larger-than-life adventures which might prove too improbable to convince the skeptical reader. In this book, however, Sugralinov has successfully pulled off both!” — Michael Atamanov

At thirty years old, Phil is an unemployed gamer who struggles to make ends meet. His only source…


Book cover of Biomedical Self-Engineering

Edwin McRae Why did I love this book?

Carl is an unhealthy old man who gets the break of a lifetime when a strange accident enables him to upgrade his DNA. Not only is it like taking a sip from the fountain of youth, but Carl can also adopt some of the sensory super powers that animals have. But rather than this turning into another boring superhero story, Biomedical Self-Engineering is the story of a nice guy whose positivity brushes off on almost everyone he encounters. Carl’s not out to save the world. He’s just out to make each day a little better for himself and others.

By Jon Svenson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Biomedical Self-Engineering as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Divorced and working as a security guard in Portland, 73 year old Carl is attacked by an unknown creature before he is able to taser it to death. After being released from the hospital, he discovers by accident that he is unwittingly acquiring DNA samples from other people he touches. 
He discovers a number of shocking facts about himself when a blue box appears in his right eye, Most importantly, he discovers that his health is nowhere near to what he assumed it would be. Can he reverse the negative aspects of his health using these blue boxes somehow? And…


Explore my book 😀

Skulls of Atlantis

By Edwin McRae,

Book cover of Skulls of Atlantis

What is my book about?

"It’s mateship that turns a pirate into a hero."

Captain Grace Deadeye Cortez lives in a virtual game world of magic, monsters and marauding pirates. Atlantis has risen from the depths and Deadeye aims to plunder the city of its ancient riches. With a motley crew and mighty ship at her command, Deadeye and her mateys will shoot and swash through anything that crosses their course. But our plucky pirate captain is in for the shock of her buccaneering life. An ancient sea god has awoken, threatening everything that Deadeye holds dear.

Book cover of Dungeon Lord
Book cover of Temple of Sorrow
Book cover of One in the Gut

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Broken Mirror

By Cody Sisco,

Book cover of Broken Mirror

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Cody Sisco Author Of Broken Mirror

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Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Cody's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

A fractured mind or a global conspiracy? Uncovering the truth can be hell when nobody believes you… and you can’t even trust yourself. 

"A fantastic science fiction thriller with a sincere and important message.”—Kirkus Reviews. 

“A breathtaking, deeply dark alternate-history Earth with complex characters, layered worldbuilding, and twist after twist after twist.”—Julianna Caro, Reedsy Discovery.

Broken Mirror is the first volume in a queer psychological science fiction saga that looks at the stigma of mental illness and the hellish distrust and alienation that goes with it.

Broken Mirror

By Cody Sisco,

What is this book about?

Broken Mirror: the start of a smart, complex, and imaginative cyberpunk alternate history saga. Literary science fiction from a fresh, young voice.

In a skewed mirror universe, a mentally ill young man searches for his grandfather’s killer.

Someone killed Jefferson Eastmore. His grandson Victor is sure of it, but no one believes him.

Diagnosed with mirror resonance syndrome and shunned by Semiautonomous California society, Victor suffers from hyperempathy, blank outs, and sensory overload. Jefferson devoted his life to researching mental illness and curing Broken Mirrors like Victor through genetic engineering, but now that he’s gone, Victor must walk a narrow…


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