"Andrew Seiple"

2017 · Andrew Seiple · 240 pages · LitRPG

Threadbare takes one of LitRPG's most unlikely protagonists, a twelve-inch teddy bear golem with no intelligence and no survival instincts, and turns the whole concept into something surprisingly compelling. The charm of watching a stuffed animal stumble through a stat-driven world, leveling up by accident and forming bonds with a little girl and a very angry cat, carries the book through a thin plot and a slow opening. It won't satisfy readers looking for complex narratives, but as a showcase of how a fresh perspective can revitalize a familiar genre, it punches well above its weight class.

2018 · Andrew Seiple · 262 pages · Fantasy

Andrew Seiple's LitRPG comedy drops a halven girl with zero combat skills into a world that runs on RPG mechanics, then watches her talk, bluff, and prophesy her way through problems that most protagonists would solve with a sword. The class system is inventive, the humor is consistent without being exhausting, and Chase Berrymore is the rare non-combat protagonist who feels clever rather than helpless. The opening chapters take too long to find their footing, and readers unfamiliar with the Threadbare universe may feel like they've walked into the middle of a conversation. But once the story picks up speed, it delivers a smart, funny take on LitRPG that proves brains and words can carry a fantasy adventure just as well as stats and steel.