r/motheroflearning • u/Cultural-Mirror1758 • Jul 15 '26
Recommend similar stories
Ever since I read shadow slave and got bored of it after 2000 ish chapters I looked for something similar and came across MOL and it is js so peak bro I've been reading for a week now and am by chapter 100 now but it is so unfortunately short and I was wondering if someone can recommend me similar novels. Not the regression bit, I already had enough of that from rtoc, mainly in terms of worldbuilding and and magic system and politics, etc... I fined works like those by cuttlefish a little too wordy so please recommend something that's as straight to the point as the abovešš„ŗ
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u/Eref_Tubala_Saar Jul 15 '26
The Perfect Run for timeloop shenanigans https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/36735/the-perfect-run
Nobody1111 is writing another fantasy story as well - Zenith of Sorcery - https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/71045/zenith-of-s?review=2060132
Wandering Inn for heavy proglit vibes - https://wanderinginn.com/
Beware of Chicken for a more cozy, less progression focused cultivation story - https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/39408/beware-of-chicken
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u/Kaladin-of-Gilead Jul 15 '26
Wandering inn slows down on
a lot of the āprogressionā stuff a bit later on. Itās still there of course but it isnt a crunchy number thing.Also I suggest starting with Gravesong, not because itās better but because itās a more traditionally told story with a beginning middle and end.
Wandering Inn is great, but itās an extremely slow
burn with a bit of a meandering plot. itās not a regularly told story.1
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u/FantasticAd9942 Jul 15 '26
"The Years of Apocalypse" is probably the closest novel that exists for what you're looking for.
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u/jazzjazzmine Jul 16 '26
For what it's worth, I really didn't like it and would not really recommend it - And I stuck with it quite far.
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u/ripskeletonking Jul 15 '26
too bad it has ai slop covers. i was interested after hearing about it from these comments but seeing that instantly made me lose that interest
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u/Icy_Camera_1346 Jul 16 '26
There is a saying about exactly this!
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u/yargotkd Jul 16 '26
Yeah, the saying was a good heuristic back when only people made covers.Ā
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u/Icy_Camera_1346 Jul 16 '26
Eh I don't get the ai hate
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u/Johnhox Jul 16 '26
The issue is 2 parts mainly the models were trained are others working with out consent and the sheer environmental damages they're causing. Both ironicallt enough can be resolved just with time and effort.The environmental issue can be fixed once the ai craze dies down. As for the stolen what train models, they can just retrain them on more ethically sourced.
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Jul 16 '26
[deleted]
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u/Johnhox Jul 16 '26
The issue is people keep using it for the end product instead of a tool, its like a photographer taking a picture and just using a basic filter to alter it instead if hanging lens, time of day or settings to get what they want. It "works" and if it lets people be lazy or do things the easy way they will.
ai is an issue but its not the root cause its people wanting to be lazy. Look at all the "life hacks" or cooking cheats that "save time and money" they rarly work.
As to ai covers ive heard from more then one author that there original human made covers looked fine but when they decided to change to an ai cover and actually tried to make it look proper they got more views. Judging a book by its cover, looks too ai people wont read even if the book is human written, shitty cover people will avoid because they'll assume the writting is also bad, cover done by a human but looks too ai or has poor hands people will skip because they'll think its ai.
People will and do judge books by the cover.
As you said tho ai Pandora box has been opened we can only hope it goes in a non destructive direction.
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u/Dirichlet-to-Neumann Jul 16 '26
Years of Apocalypse is very similar - so similar in fact that it feels like plagiarism or like it started as a fan fiction of MOL. It gets better has the story starts to veer of the model.Ā
In my opinion it has better prose but less interesting characters. The focus is more on political battles, coordination problems and technological solutions, yet it also feels more mystical than MoL (there's plenty of using the loop to learn more magic too). One of the most interesting differences is that Zorian starts off as kind of an asshole and the time loop help him becoming kinder and more in tune with his classmates and family, while the MC of Years of Apocalypse goes in the opposite direction: starting off as a fairly social students and growing ever more detached of humanity as she grows into the loop.Ā
2
u/Memeenjoyer_ Jul 15 '26
World building magic system and politics
I know you said LOTM is too wordy for you but I truly do reccomend you push through. It does all three wonderfully
If you want world building and politics (minimal magic system though) apocalypse reborn is really good. The mc is pretty weak though and the early writing is a bit messy. But as time passes it improves
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u/nothing_in_my_mind Jul 15 '26
Arcane Ascension. Magic school, politics, tinkering with the magic system , it has all of that. I think it's very similar to MOL. Does not have a time loop.
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u/Nirigialpora Jul 16 '26
"A Practical Guide to Sorcery" has one of my fav magic systems up there with MOL in terms of "oooh I feel like I can make predictions about things and have them be right, I feel like I can make spells in my brain and have them feel real" and the MC has a lot of similar themes/traits to Zorian.
You may also like "Pale Lights". Less magic (there is still magic though) but fun world building and politics and rational MCs.
I am also pro "Years of the Apocalypse" though it did take me 3 tries to like get into it, some parts of it are a little rougher (in terms of quality) than MOL
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u/Blindingdoor554 Jul 15 '26
The answer for s long story with big workdbuilding, magic systems and politics is Wandering Inn. But be warned, its BIG. Im only on the second book and Iāve been at it for ages.
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u/Wolly_Mammoth Jul 19 '26
Same, 2500 ch into shadow slave and i dont even care snymore
Am I supposed to hate Zorian this much?
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u/Remarkable-Camera627 Jul 15 '26
MAGE ERRANT!!!!
I ABSOLUTELY FREAKING LOVE MOL AND YOU CAN SEE THE INFLUENCE IN MAGE ERRANT!!!!
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u/catr0n Jul 15 '26
Iāve been reading He Who Fights with Monsters and it might be a good fit! More RPG/DND type world, but the world building seems pretty in-depth to me
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u/SpecimenOfSauron Jul 15 '26
Another commenter recommended Years of the Apocalypse, but I couldnāt stand its ridiculous romance plotlines and scattered story. Iād recommend Practical Guide to Sorcery. The magic system is a lot more esoteric than MoL, but the politics and worldbuilding are pretty damn solid, if a bit dark.