LitRPG Forum discussion

I'm feeling pretty frustrated with the world of ebooks today, especially within LitRPG though I imagine the problem isn't unique to the genre.

I just finished the latest VGO "book" Lich King, and it was just too short. The last one felt that way too, but not as much. Several other stories I've read feel the same way.

Instead of a full story, it feels like we're just getting a single chapter in these so called novels.

Thoughts?

One, can you give me a link to the book you read?

Two, I guess it depends on what LitRPG's you're reading. I've read some that come off as nothing more like a Light Novel than a full fledged novel. But then again, I've read some LitRPG's that are seriously long enough to wonder if Stephen King wrote it. It's all about what you pick. Maybe the particular genre of LitRPG's are seriously short. Or maybe instead of reading them one at a time, you read the compilations instead of each book separately. I have Kindle Unlimited and noticed that I've been doing that more where I'm able to.

I think VGO #5 was longer word wise than #4, but the story flowed better and was more entertaining so it felt smaller.

That's the issue with good, action based writing.

I can only recall 1 or 2 series that your statement in applies to, and VGO isn't one of them.

Lastly, no one is reading LitRPG for the type of story that lends itself to a 500 page tome. These are all pulpy, entertaining 280-350 page romps.

VGO book link: Check out this book on Goodreads: The Lich Priest (Viridian Gate Online #5) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

I dunno, Lich Priest was an 8 hour estimated read (Kindle) and say The Land: Predators is estimated at 36 and is already more satisfying.

#sigh

The latest Land you mean? Sure, it also took him almost a year to write.

J. Hunter writes 2-3 different series and gets a book out every couple of months.

At the end of the day, it's all KU so does it matter?

I read about half my books as audiobook, so it matters to me.

The length isn't the real problem though, it's the progression of story. Many of the stories just seem to go backwards or nowhere. We introduce something, then take it away or ignore it later.

You just described the whole Land series.

That's fair, and definitely a frustration.

Chuck, I think you just described a bad story. The shorter the story the harder it is to get the words right because you have less space to add in all the details... But if you need those details and fail to add them, or give a detail then drop it like you never saw it.... That's poor writing.

A story is less about length and more about pacing. A good story will leave you satisfied, and hopefully wanting more. Even if it's a short one.