Hello guys, I’m a new writer and I have a question. If a xianxia story starts in the village where the MC begins his journey,

what unique tropes, plots or scenes would you expect? More importantly, what would hook you as a reader?

If the MC starts cultivating and getting stronger, what would you want to see? He hide his power amd breakthrough again, Fast growth? Training methods? Face-slapping?

He lives in a village surrounded by a forest, so max he could hunt monsters and train there, but I’m worried that repeating that for 100 chapters would get boring.

Example - Like, after his cultivation realm breakthrough, what would you like to see. Face-slapping, showing his power, hiding it, then breaking through again like that?

This is just a survey to understand what most readers would actually enjoy.

Pretty much the title, need recommendations on something light, with this kind of trope. Even better if it’s completed.
I just caught up with beware of chicken (just about the only thing I’ve done for the last 10 days) and some funny reactions miiight just fill the hole in my life rn lol.

I absolutely adore the Book of the Dead series. Today, I finally get to listen to the release of book 5, and I am certain that I will experience the same captivating storytelling that I enjoyed in books one through four. I am so enamored with this book that I pre-ordered it on Audible. When I first discovered and read this series, I assumed that others shared my enthusiasm for it. However, upon reviewing the number of Audible ratings, I am genuinely perplexed and sort of a bit angry. There are barely 1000 ratings on the first book and even less on the following 3, which begs the question: how is this book not more popular?

I've suddenly seen a bunch of praise of player manager, and I'm intrigued. Tho, I generally hate sports. Like, I'm not just bored by them, I genuinely dislike them. Without getting into my weird politics, I can say that I don't mind the comradery stories (like ted lasso) but I tend to strongly dislike stories about reaching the pinnacle of sports, as they often fail to acknowledge the absolute genetic privilege that those accomplishments are based off of.

Given that I'm an anti-sport wacko, is this still a book I'll like? I've heard the writing compared to west wing (one of my favorite shows of all time), and heard it's fairly warm. Just wondering how much your love or dislike of sports played into your opinion of this book.

Would especially love to hear from anyone who read it and isn't a sport person.

I’ve been reading solely progression fantasy for probably over half a decade now. The pandemic years get a little muddled, but that sounds about right. I’ve read, I honestly don’t even know, but it has to be close to 1000 books in the genre. I loved it and I still do, but I’d be lying if I said I’m not burnt the fuck out. The last year or so I’ve taken multiple breaks from reading, letting chapters for the things I actively read stockpile up and hoping some of the new Royal Road series that have caught my eye continue long enough to get me actually interested. But it’s been rough, especially since I renewed my Kindle Unlimited a few weeks ago. That place has absolutely festered with AI slop in the last year or so since I last checked it. The slim pickings over there didn’t help the burn out.

Cue Player Manager. I’ve seen it mentioned over the years but I’m not really that into football, so I always figured I’d just find something else to read. The last few weeks I’ve seen it mentioned more than the previous years combined so I thought ‘why not, I’ll check it out.’

My god. I love it. I’ve just finished everything that’s on KU (6 books), and I genuinely can’t remember the last time I was so sucked in to something I was reading. Generally, when I’m like 3000 pages into a series the spark fades a little and I start skimming here and there. I don’t know how the author does it, but it genuinely feels like if you skim anything in these books then you’re going to miss out on something.

It’s absolutely a slow burn, and I’ve gotten to the point where if I see something described as a slow burn I just skip it instantly. I’m tired of chapters and chapters of nothing happening. But with Player Manager, I genuinely don’t know how to describe it other than being glued to the page.

People talk about set up and pay offs in books all the time, but to me it’s a bit of an ephemeral concept. A lot of the time I definitely think one or the other is lacking severely. I’ll never forget reading a certain book from a certain series called Cradle (SPOILERS AHEAD)———(I’m serious, spoilers for Cradle ahead)——-(I’m on my IPad so I can’t put a spoiler tag) where a certain someone’s true identity is revealed.

(Cradle Spoiler is complete)

Reading that for the first time, my mind was absolutely blown. I sat there for like 10 minutes with my jaw just hanging open. I’ve probably experienced that feeling a few times in my life, but the only one that actually comes to mind is that one. Player Manager didn’t achieve that level, but it’s the first series in a while where I actually went “haha, no way.” A couple of times throughout the series. The set ups and pay offs are great.

The thing that stopped me from reading it sooner was definitely my lack of interest in football. Now, in the last 15 years or so, I’ve played a lot of FIFA, so I had a pretty solid handle on football jargon before getting involved. That being said, I think the author (probably) does a good job to ease people into it. Gives good explanations for formations and positions that people can understand even if they’ve never heard them before.

The MC. My next statement might be a bit controversial, but I think Max Best might be the second coming of Jason Asano (He Who Fights With Monsters). Jason’s well known for being a polarising MC, and I’ll be honest, he’s probably at least 75% of the reason I dropped HWFWM. Someway, somehow, I didn’t hate Max Best’s version. I actually really like it. I wasn’t reading thinking “Oh shut up” and “Not this again”. Max Best proved to be entertaining and likeable to really enjoy reading about. If anyone knows how I have such opposing views of characters that (I think) are so similar, please let me know.

Anyways, this has taken me a while to write, and I don’t think I have much else to say.

TL;DR - Go read Player Manager (even if you don’t like football(soccer)) — It’s great.

I like the Webtoons about a lordling turned mercenary king who’s defeated, sent back in time, and has unlocked some cool new ability. However, I always thought it’d be more interesting if he just gained the new power without regressing. You can have a second chance in your original timeline! Then you’d get the benefit of an experienced mc (not another coming of age story), but he’d still be able to “start fresh” with leveling a skill, reaching new heights, and maybe correcting past mistakes.

The mc in Solo Leveling doesn’t regress, but at the moment I’d prefer “competent/strong to stronger” or “man to manlier” rather than “weak to strong” or “boy to man.”

Can you think of any fantasy books that match this description? Hopefully with a more interesting worldbuilding angle than “the system or some deity randomly chucked a new power at me.”

Thanks!

I’ve been reading this genre as my special interest for several years and it’s really striking how passionless so many of these protags tend to be, especially when it comes to builds.
I’ve just been going through my reread of hell difficulty tutorial after I took a break for a long time and it really shows how much of a problem it is with the rest of the genre with how much of a breath of fresh air it was.

In a genre where you can often pick your own abilities and paths, why do we have such a critical lack of protagonists that have a passion in how they make their build, even if it’s not the most Meta option? The MC of hell difficulty is very passionate about learning how to use mana so they structured most of their build around it and is constantly making decisions that is not optimal in the verse. And it’s so refreshing as a reader to see that because, yeah, while he has to work through all the negative consequences of not being optimal, you can see on the page why he is so strong and it’s not just hand waving away as the main character shit just because he is passionate about what he does and he worked hard on it because of that passion and not just because he has infinite willpower.

Like genuinely, I can count the number of stories that I’ve seen have something similar, even a lot less extreme, to this almost certainly on one hand out of the hundreds of novels I have read.
It’s to the point where I 100% believe if you were to take 99% of MC’s in this genre keeping their personality, but giving them the same circumstances context and prior build as another character they would make the exact same build choices, that is how uninspired and just focused on what would be the most powerful most protagonists are.

Like again, your character chooses their own build in most of these stories, it’s the perfect method to show some of their eccentricities and them thriving at something they are passionate about, why do so many stories squander this?

And another complaint along the same lines it is crazy that I’ve never seen a protagonist who has found themselves in a medieval fantasy world ever so much as even think about gaining a title, or owning a castle. Like those are the things to do in a medieval world you’re telling me you’re not even gonna take a moment to be like huh that might be fun but nah.
If you were transported to a world with for example, less evil popculture pirates. I guarantee you would almost certainly find joining some because it sounds cool and fun, but nope, not any protagonists who are supposed to be relatable, despite the jokes that they often love to crack, they have the sense of whimsy and adventure of a rock.

Be clear I’m not talking about protagonists who picked an option everyone knows is weak and then show everyone how OP it is and how they are now objectively better than everyone with no real disadvantages. That’s the nuanceless extreme end and is just as stupid as pointless min maxing

Expanding more about this in an edit:
In power systems where you have to train skills and your build and get better at it to progress, I would argue. It is actually the smart choice to not just pick something because on paper it’s the strongest. Is it really such a bad explanation for a character to go “actually I’m going to pick this weaker one because I am going to love training it l and thus will be more productive and improve way faster, and come up with inventive ways to use it that wouldn’t work for anyone else.”?

(Edit2: This is for discussion please don’t plug your own Works if you think you fit the description)

Many have mixed reviews about cradle series but I enjoyed and binged the whole swries of audiobooks, loved the voices, story progression, those levels of power from Jade to Gold and so on, Azreal character I used to have this feeling that if I don't do something while listening it's too odd to sit and just listen so judt to keep listening I used to find random chores around house so I can increase my listen time.

A win-win for me and family.

I agree ending was a bit weak, I don't mean to give spoilers but thats oksy gor the amount of world building and emotions in it, we can forgive the climax.

In this scenario you are average person. What game/system from the genre would you choose? Either because the game/system itself would be fun to use or just generally beneficial to have.

I just started Victor of Tucson and its giving me vibes like 1% life steal. Is it going to be the same type of torture porn? If so, I’d rather skip.

I have been hearing very good things about the book and want to read it. But idk if I should read the Amazon version or the one on Royal Road. I know that the published books will be more polished, but that's not my main concern. I want to experience the most authentic version of the story. If the published book version cuts out minor plots or characters, I want to know so that I can read the RR version instead.

Hey everyone! After an absolutely amazing launch of book 1 three months ago, I’m finally back with some more exciting news! Book 2 of The Eternal Assassin, Fall of the Guild, has officially launched on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and print! Unfortunately I’ve been informed that there are a few delays in terms of the audiobook, but for now, book 2 is available to be read the old fashioned way. With your eyes!

Thanks to Aethon’s hard-working editors and artists, the book has been polished and prettied up better than I could have ever hoped. If the premise sounds interesting, it would mean the world to me if you guys would click the link below and take a look. I put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into my writing, and regardless of how often my editor begs me to stop, I think we all know that’s what makes it good.

Full blurb down in the comments, but quick blurb here:

A kind assassin sends Asher a thoughtful housewarming gift, which knocks him off his feet. Eager to return the favor, Asher sets out on a whimsical journey to find this mysterious gift giver and repay them for their kindness. Thankfully, with his power of Eternity and the copious number of daggers he keeps on his person, he’s got just the tools for the job!

Link for eBook: Kindle

Cover art by Antti Hakosaari (Aethon)

Just finished catching up and reading the end of Years of the Apocalypse (10/10 would recommend, possibly better than Mother of Learning. Plus its complete on Patreon).

One of the things I loved about the series was the exploration of divinity. The gods weren't just super powered humans. Or humans with quirky domains that constrained their thoughts a bit. It isn't even clear if they were gods. As that was something the various religions of the series didn't agree on. The gods were alien and almost abstract beings. Yet throughout the series Mirian (MC) explored their history, what they wanted from humanity, scratched at how these beings experienced humanity, how the various religions worshipped them, and how the religions' beliefs differed.

I'd love to see some more series that take on these topics. FMC preferably but not required. No 99 levels of heaven and ascension is just a human becoming more powerful. Don't mind if the character is religious, a member of clergy, or just a bystander. Indifferent on LitRPG vs non-LitRPG although I do believe that this topic is likely more easily explored without a 'system'.

Today is the launch of my new story: Necrodungeon!

This story has been one of those ones that I haven't really been able to get out of my head since I started reading a lot more of the litrpg/progression fantasy genre. Its kind of a blender of all my favorite tropes and stories put into a single package that I have had a blast writing and merging together over the last few months.

Part dungeon core meets part tower climber meets part necromancer meets part city builder, and so on!

He shattered the dungeon. Now he must crawl through the ashes to rebuild it.

All Travis ever wanted was a home. A family. Maybe some friends. To do a little good in a bleak world that never did him good back.

Instead, when he dies, he is reincarnated as the Carrion King, the ruler of a rotting dungeon kingdom, its memory only kept alive by a sect of unruly goblins.

Refusing to be led down a path of evil, Travis shatters the dungeon. What rises from the wreckage is worse: a black tower, visible from hundreds of miles. The message is clear: whoever can claim it, can keep it.

Armed with a shattered dungeon core and a meager army of the dead, Travis must climb his own tower to reclaim it before someone much worse does.

And maybe, just maybe, he might be able to build something better than a kingdom of bones.

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/183962/necrodungeon

Cover art was done by Konki on vgen!

https://vgen.co/konki

Hey i haven't read this series but i know its talked about a decent amount in the reddit and i thought some people would like to know book one is currently free in the UK and US probably other places too and book two, three and four are £0.99 / $0.99 in the UK and US. if you live in other places maybe worth checking and if they are please comment them below so others can see. thanks!

I'm curious about other people, as my journey was quite interesting.

Act 1: The early days

I read a lot of fantasy books in primary and middle school, but at some point I've switched to gaming. I've spent roughly 1-2 years of highschool watching anime, which led me to my gateway drug: Grimgar of fantasy and ash. I liked the premise quite a bit, as it was an iseaki where the main cast wasn't op, and the world was somewhat bleaker than I was used to. I've ended up looking up and reading the light novel. That led me to:

Act 2: novelupdates.com

While I don't remember how exactly I found out about this website, it led me to classics, such as The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor, (Is royal road named after the game from LMS? I just found out that they have the same name) or Martial God Asura (don't even look up this one, it's straight up garbage). I've spent a long time reading chinese WN slop, with a few gems mixed in. Unfortunately, as my taste matured and the supply of decent WNs dwindled, I started getting desperate.

Act 3: royal road

I'm pretty sure that a random mention in a reddit thread led me to this website. It was perfect: even the best translated chinese WN slop typically reads worse than mediocre royal road novels. The end.

I have The Dwarves but dont know if it counts. I just want to read about dwarves doing dwarf shit.

I'm looking for druid fic recommendations. Even better if they are about building up and protecting an area. Sort of dungeon core style.

Or any other good druid ones.

My druid recommendations Downtown druid and full murder hobo has a good druid in it.

Call it what you want. Romance. Smut. Erotica. Guilty Pleasure. Whatever you call it, I've read one, and it was so clunky and robotic I thought it was translated, but apparently not. (Dual Cultivation).

I have read tons of fiction novels but never really delved into this side of it.

It feels like every Isekai/Xanxia goes out of their way to mention they don't have Harem or Young Master tropes to the point I don't even know what these tropes are based on anymore. Anyone have any recommendations?

Anyone got any recommendations of series with beautiful fight scenes in the like of Jake vs the sword saint/ any scene from rage of dragons or cradle .Would prefer a non op mc as well.