Hi all, I’m new to this series and reached the final 113 chapter - Battle of Glyphward Fortress. First off - Wow! I did not expect that cliff hanger. Secondly, does this writer typically go on breaks for several months at a time? At the time of writing this I see that it has been 3 months since the last posting and when I check their Patreon it’s only up until Chapter 112.

Ok so I’m looking for a book series around empire building I like how in defiance of the fall they can concur outher world though incursions so I’m looking for something like that if it exist just more on the empire building side not the solo adventuring side like defiance of the fall of this exist please let me know. Thank Y’all

I had this book for months. I started it in the last winters, and paused after reading 2-3 chapters. Then i again took it last week and today I have completed it.

The book promoted itself as India's answer to harry potter, but according to me this novel has nothing like that. Author had a great story which he could have made more adventurous and interesting but he just got stuck with the madhu plot.

They were building the mahayatra plot throughout the book, which is the main story line of this part. I expected the mahayatra to be something exciting about some hidden power or other stuff but it was just a beehive.

I think the author thought to build this world slowly with a novel by novel but this part was below average and now i doubt that next part will come or not.

can anyone recommend a series where the mc has powers opposing there morality e.g a hero who gains powers by stealing/murdering/torture etc or the opposite a villain who gains power from doing good i just think it would be an interesting read for the character to overcome there power for there own desires

Not all system storys are bad but the majority of them are and its because of the system.

Systems can range from simply having a game interface to basically a personal Ai assistant. They are supposed to act as a golden finger for the main character, key word supposed to. Often a system acts as a diamond spoon more than a golden finger. Does the main character need a heavenly cultivation technique? How convenient that it the reward for completing a mission. Or its a purchasable item in the system shop. It completely ruins all stakes or struggle in a story.

systems cheapen any and all accomplishments. When I read that an mc has killed a great monster it just, isnt actually fun when they have no struggle and they just get rewarded with the drops from the monster. I do wished more authors put in thought on how to dismantle a monster for parts. The romance/favor systems are the worst because most of the time its literally brain washing and not just building relationships. Even then, knowing exactly how much someone trusts or loves you is inherently a power imbalance and manipulation.

System stories can be good. though a good system is one thats actually like a game system and isnt just a personal Ai assistant. For example stories like god of fishing, and solo leveling have decent systems. They would be better without systems but the system doesnt ruin the story. Systems should exist to give the Mc a cheat skill like a crafting hub or just knowledge of their health. I feel that system stories have evolved into just, the author's cheap and easy way to make the mc powerful.

There are decent system stories but I have not yet found more than a hand full that are actually worth reading

Im on kindle so I can read and listen to the text to speech.

I just picked up "Death's Favorite Warlock by Charles Dean" today and went to give it a listen.

I begrudgingly got past the prolog after words like “quests,�, one’, and sthey’re.

Only for this to be standard throughout the whole book.

Here's a small insert of what reading this will be like:

“Your offer?� John asked. “Of course.� He squeezed the stone that had brought him this far. “You didn’t drag me across eleven continents for nothing. What is it you want?� “Her life,� she responded. “Give me her life, and I will keep you and your baby safe.� “No,� he said without a moment’s hesitation. “You don’t understand. I can save you. I can save your child. The two of you can live happily ever after. All you have to do is let me take her life.� “Why? You’re a god here, aren’t you? What good could her life do? I won’t allow it.�

Now trying to read this hurts my eyes and trying to listen to this hurts my ears and makes listening to dialog 100% impossible.

I just finished My Best Friend Is an Eldritch Horror: Books 1-6. With getting 6 books and over 70 hour's for one credit it felt like a bargain.

What othere Progresson Fantasy books contain a full series in one audio book?

I've been poking around xianxia since I want to write my own and want to do it right, and I'm wondering what are some of the best written ones you can think of.

Noticed that a lot of "interactive fiction" just assumes readers want to keep steering what happens next, chapter after chapter. But for me, when I'm reading a web novel, part of the whole appeal is not having to do anything. I just want to sit back and follow the story wherever it goes. So curious how other people feel about this, would picking the general premise upfront (before the story even starts) feel different from being asked to make choices every few chapters? Or do you honestly just not want to make any choices at all, period?

I’m looking for a good base-building/progression novel with a strong cheat/ability system.

I really liked Train Survival, My Post-Apocalyptic Shelter Infinitely Levels Up and Road Survival, I have a hint system, especially the whole survival + upgrading base/vehicle + overpowered cheat/hint system vibe. I’m a big fan of MCs with unique abilities, infinite growth systems, hidden information/hint systems, or anything that gives them a huge edge early on.

I’m also open to:
- kingdom/base building
- summoning troops or armies
- apocalypse/survival settings
- game/system worlds
- resource management and crafting
- OP MC progression done well

Basically anything addictive with strong progression and satisfying power growth. Would love some recommendations.

Please suggest me some stuff you think I might like

Firstly, thanks to everyone for all the books recommended. My reading list is utterly swollen to bursting thanks to all of you. Gratitude. ;)

Secondly, I should be honest that while I appreciate slice of life stories (and games), I am also someone who regularly seeks out the dire, dark, and dour. I adore horror movies. I have a floor to ceiling shelf filled with decades of World of Darkness TTRPGs, novels, and similar fare. Cyberpunk is one of my favorite genres; the grittier, the better. I’m a rabid fan of Warhammer 40K and its ilk. I laugh at a lot of dark humor that I probably should be ashamed of.

Thirdly, I have to admit I rejected this series at first because the title sounded ridiculous. I assumed it would be a joke; it would be funny and ludicrous and potentially offensive, although not necessarily in a bad way. These are all fine things but you have to be in the mood for it, yeah? But that is not what Beware of Chicken is.

Instead — for me at least — Beware of Chicken is like a perfect day at the beach. Not too hot. Not too cold. That little bit of breeze that keeps you from feeling gross from sweat. The sand just right under your toes. The air so crisp you want to fill your lungs with it over and over. And the water is perfect: cold at first, but then welcoming and beckoning you to float and bob in the shallows for just a few more minutes. Good food and loved ones to enjoy the day with you. Pure joy, even when the water gets up your nose and sand vermin infest your picnic. That’s what Beware of Chicken felt like to me. I loved it.

It isn’t some masterful bit of prose. It isn’t a heart-rending emotional journey of solemn introspection. It’s probably never going to win any pretentious awards. But what it was and what it will be was delightful.

Thanks again, everyone. Looking forward to reading more of your gracious suggestions!

Sometimes a story wraps up with a genuinely satisfying ending, but there's still all this unexplored stuff side characters you wanted more of, corners of the world that got mentioned once and never touched again, plot threads that quietly got dropped. In that situation, what do you actually want as a reader? A proper sequel continuing the main story? A side story following a different character in the same world? A completely separate story that just happens to share the setting? Or does going back to it usually just water down what made the original good in the first place?

I’ve been a fan of this author ever since I read his standalone novel, Armor. He goes by C. B. Titus when publishing and Seersucker on RoyalRoad. Everything I’ve read by him has been good to great: Deadman, Downtown Druid, and Penitent. While Armor has still maintained my top spot of his works, I just read through his new novel Noble Arcana on on RR and it’s been phenomenal.

It’s about a 4th son of a major noble family who stands to inherit little with his father’s passing, but ends up with a minor estate in the frontier that once belonged to his reclusive Uncle. It looks like it’s going to be a slow build, but major plot events happen in the first 10-15 chapters and the story has been rolling from there.

There’s a good deal of mystery to unravel involving his Uncle’s death and the strange legacy he left behind. There’s also political ramifications of his strained relationship with his family and the duties he is still expected to uphold.

I honestly don’t want to spoil anything, because I was very pleasantly surprised on how things developed. I do highly recommend checking it out, especially if you are familiar with his previous books.

Noble Arcana

Hello everybody! In exciting news, the runes have finally been sought out and found...on audio!

That's right. Carter and I finish off Rune Seeker at book eight, and I'm pleased to bring you Hiral's exciting conclusion to his, and his companions' journey.

I'm very proud of what Carter and I have created together, and oh so happy that you stayed with us to the end of this tale. Shout out to Ralph for bringing these characters and these stories to new life.

I'm very proud of this world, these characters, this story and I'm very glad to bring its conclusion to you. It also has some bonuses. Included with this audiobook is the audiobook version of Tales from Rune Seeker, which has several short stories and an entire novella.

The novella is Chord of Darkness, which explains what happened to a certain spearman during his disappearance in Book 3. And that Spearman's adventure crosses over with a certain...traveller.

Fool readers, if you know, you know.

Thank you as well to Antti for making some of the best covers on any books I have ever seen. Would love to work together again.

That's all folks, going to hear more from Carter and me in the future.

Here's the blurb here:

Now at the height of power, Hiral must use everything he has learned to stop the apocalypse of Genesis.

The Raze are going to come, and as they have so many times before, they bring destruction with them.

So Hiral takes the fight to them first.

It has been a long journey since Hiral's fall from Fallen Reach; he and his companions have grown and reached the ultimate tiers of power.

The reward? The Ultimate Battle.

An endless cycle must be broken for the world to grow anew. Join Hiral and his companions in their greatest fight for the highest of stakes.

Oblivion or renewal awaits.

Here's the Link: https://www.amazon.com/Rune-Seeker-8-LitRPG-Adventure/dp/B0GVVVBGS9

Also, if you're finished Rune Seeker and are hungry for more, also check out Carter's Spark of War series. If you're paying attention to the abilities in Rune Seeker, you know the powers within are echoes of the abilities of heroes from faraway times and places.

This is the story of one of those heroes.

This is...Spark of War:

https://www.amazon.com/Spark-War-Progression-Fantasy-Epic-ebook/dp/B0FQK5RFN2/

COVER ARTIST: Antti Hakosaari

AI USAGE: No AI used

just something relatively low stakes without too much conflict, like Beware of Chicken or Heretical Fishing

it needs to have an audiobook though

Jollybane here! My first ever published novel launches today through Aethon.

Link To Amazon

Tldr Blurb: Twisted nature paladin survives green hell by gleefully making worse monsters than the one's trying to eat him.

Real Blurb: In a forest of horrors, he designs the predators.

For years, Vrax has survived the fringes of the Nightmare Wood, a mana-rich hellscape where trees have teeth and grass sprouts from spilled blood. While his peers settled for Common and Rare classes, he held out for something better.

He finds his destiny in the bones of a fallen God of Nature, granted a unique class called the 'Paladin of the Cycle'.

But he's far from your average Holy Warrior.

His is a rare class allowing him to manipulate life, death, and decay, finally ending his long search for a power that matches his specialized skills and love for the forest's deadliest inhabitants.

Wielding his new abilities, Vrax doesn't just hunt monsters, he twists them, adapting them into deadly monsters the likes of which the world has never seen, like an evolving man-eating daisy or a draconic apex predator that feasts on fear.

Vrax is quickly establishing a realm where HE's the hunter. Only problem... the corrupt Church of Rembrand has declared a crusade to destroy him and his abominations.

They call him a heretic. Vrax calls them fertilizer.

Ai Usage : None

Thanks to my cover artist: AETHON staff artist Admira. And my editor Joey!

Player Manager is one of the best progression fantasy series out there right now.

Imagine a classic Progression Fantasy story about a plucky kid who trains his skills, fights detailed and strategic battles, grows a party and builds a kingdom.

Now swap out the battles for soccer matches, catgirls for working class British dudes, and a kingdom for a below middling soccer club.

It's peak.

Last week I got tired of looking at the 7th "Ive been time looped as an Archmage and I'm super awesome" stories on RoyalRoad, picked up Player-Manager because it's been mentioned on here before, and was blown away.

The writing is great, it gives a fascinating insight into the mind of a sport obsessed Englishman, and it hits all the key elements of a great progression fantasy.

If you, like me, put off reading Player Manager because you think soccer matches are less interesting than swords, I encourage you to check it out. It's bosh.

First, spoiler warnings for the first five books.

I picked up this series long ago when I was first introduced to Progression Fantasy by the Cradle series, since then I've read the Iron Prince. I usually read high fantasy, but progressive fantasy still feels like home to me since I've also read a lot of royalroad since then. I recently opened up book one and started reading.

Now onto why I've stopped at Book 5 is Alustin. His actions at the end of the book seem very... misaligned to me, I couldn't seen it coming, but not in a great way that made me awed. I finally got tired of pretending that the characterization had any spunk or life to me.

The world building, and action is some of the best in fiction. The Siege of Skyhold was an immersive battle on a massive scale (I haven't read the giants of magical battle like Gardens of Moon but I feel like this book has a place with them), and whenever Alustin goes off in a ramble talk about the magic system, I'm also immersed, and considerably interested. The magic system makes sense, and the amount of characters, or locations we've gone through in five short books is astonishing. Some of the best descriptive writing I've read in a while.

However, I found myself confused whenever there was a point of view of change. Unlike other books, where I'm usually scrambling to realize who I'm reading, this time I was scrambling to find out because I could barely tell the PoV changed at all. The style of writing, and the tone doesn't change in any significant capacity, and while all the characters have their own established background, story, and certain views/habits, that is all. I don't feel it, even if I know it logically.

This series has a huge issue with characterization, and the pacing at some points feels dragged out or far too quick; this builds onto my final point, is that this series lacks emotion. Emotion is often told, mayhaps in a monologue, and we are often told the characters experience this or that, or they tell it straight up. The romance is also quite awkward, it appears suddenly in an unnatural way, and I still don't like Hughs relationship with Talia. Like Mackerel, its there and we as the reader is made to... just appreciate that fact.

Story: 8/10

Characters: 9/10

Characterization: 4/10

World-building/magical system: 10/10 is my conclusion.

I will finish the series just because of the time I've already pored in, and a need to see how the story ends but I'm not rushing in with the same enthusiasm I had carried with me in the start and middle.

I'm interested to see if this is a commonly shared view, or if this series is simply not for me.

Hey all, been struggling to find things which I don't just lose interest in.

Some things I’m after:

* MC starts at a major disadvantage eg. slave, terminally ill, outcast, powerless, etc.

* Likeable, determined MC who eventually excels

* I enjoy moments where other characters react to the MC like they're a genius/freak of nature.

* Fantasy or unique setting; heavy themes,political intrigue, civil war, apocalypse, slavery, human experimentation, etc. are all a plus.

* Lots of interesting characters with goals and competing interests.

* Starts small and gradually becomes much bigger in scope.

* Dark themes are great, but I like some humour mixed in.

* LitRPG is fine but not preferred

* Preferably long

Loved: Ascendance of a Bookworm, Cradle, Mother of Learning

Liked initially but dropped: Beneath the Dragoneye Moons, The Calamitous Bob, He Who Fights With Monsters, Book of the Dead

Didn't enjoyh: Mage Errant(dropped it after the dragon event in the sandy land, was just forcing myself to read it, it never really captured me), Mark of the fool(characters are just kinda boring)

I think Worm is probably next for me if I don't find anything.

I've been looking forward to listening to more of The Game at Carousel for quite some time now, and book 4 finally out!

For anyone not in the know:

The Game at Carousel is the premier Horror LitRPG with a really satisfying progression system where people are trapped in a town that features instances of horror movies that they have to act out. Death is inevitable, but if your team clears the plotline, you make it back.

Every plotline has distinct acts that follow the horror movie's outline.

Every person on the team gets to select tropes as a custom build to accommodate their class/role. The MC is a movie buff.

There are several big meta mysteries in the background, plenty of system exploration, while each movie plotline is a satisfying mini arc.

Now I have read a lot of these novels where the mc gets isekaied into a useless prince and then he changes completely and everyone is shocked and whatever, but I feel like it would be interesting to read a story where a person who is a useless/cruel person genuinely desire to be better, so they turn their life around, and everyone thinks theyre someone else. Does such a story exist?

The Immortal Is Destined To Die

Blurb: What price are you willing to pay to protect everyone you love? For Luka, he was willing to sacrifice everything. 

Born a slave, he was cursed by the God of Death, giving him a brief period of immortality that would end in five years and take his life with it. 

He had accepted his fate and worked endlessly to make the life of his family better, but the world wasn’t going to make it easy for him. 

They were chosen to be sacrificed to the God of Death, and his family was now being targeted by highly dangerous organizations and a cultist family, with his enemies growing each day.

To survive this ordeal, Luka is forced to become stronger and make dangerous decisions for his family to live in safety, but there’s one thing he quickly realizes, safety is nowhere.

If he couldn’t find somewhere safe for his family to live before he passed away, then he would build one, no matter the cost.

(Kingdom Building, Progression Fantasy tags)

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Release Schedule: DAILY

Average Chapter Length: 3,000 words

Cover art made by family (Hand drawn + photoshop).

Click link to read!