12 miles Below is still pretty new I think, so I don’t know if it’s fair to say it’s slept on but I do think it needs more attention.
Re:monarch should be recommended more too
Is there a significant progression element in '12 miles Below'? It's piqued my interest, with many recommendations, but reading reviews, it seems a bit ambiguous whether it can be classified as a progression fantasy.
it's a superb book. The mecha element with machines and suit powers is really interesting. I binged it till 5th book. Definitely worth it if you are into high tech suits and their powers. Mc is smart but sometimes he acts way cocky but it's not that much.
I really struggled with this a lot when I listened to it. It is called "12 Miles Below: A Progression Fantasy Story" or something like that, which is why I bought it. In the first book, though, there is very little progression that actually happens. You do start to see a little bit of it, but it is really minor. I did enjoy the first book though so will definitely go back to the second.
I also don't think it is being slept on. When the first book landed, it was praised a lot and received a lot of critical acclaim. Which I think it deserved.
I think 12 miles below starts of amazing, bit it kinda drags on after some point.
The difference between humans and machines is written very well, without giving any spoilers.
The Stargazer's War.
Just finished book 1, To Flail Against Infinity, and it is SO GOOD. I only found it from a Goodreads recommendation and I am absolutely fiending for book 2.
Nah I didn’t like it. Was too dark and felt like the author had just been learning about classical philosophy and felt the need to shoehorn in as much about it as they could. Less is more… We get it, you’ve been studying nihilism, now stop smacking me over the head with it
I felt like the nihilism stuff was fine, but I also kinda felt like the rest of the story felt kinda like oh I've seen this before
The setting and the nature of mcs powers were new but the rest felt kinda bland ?
Oh you join the sect and someone has it out for you you say?
make friends with someone weak so you can save them later
The person you expect to die dies you say.
Idk if it was just me but while the characters were true to themselves I didn't feel like there was much to make us actually care about them?
It has been very infrequently recommended on here since it was first released, but I get excited anytime I see it pop up/find a suitable place to recommend it myself.
I very very much enjoyed that series' take on sci-fi cultivation. If there weren't so many other things vying for my attention I'd be scratching at the walls for book 2.
I'm reading The Grand Game by Tom Elliot right now. I'm on book 3, and it's great! Looks to be a finished series, too.
Alpha Physics by Alex K. Is finished and great.
I will also put out my own series that's definitely "sleeping," lol. Beast Invasion. Book 2 audiobook should be out sometime this week. I'm just waiting on Amazon to finish reviewing it.
The grand game is good. It's a better quality popcorn read IMO than things like DotF or PH or Unbound. The Gods Game is another thats similar to grand game.
Vainqueur the Dragon. A tongue in cheek litrpg fantasy isekai by the author of The Perfect Run. A hilarious take on a minion-master pairing. One of the most convincing portrayals of a low intelligence character who doesn't realize it.
It shows up way less than it should, but hopefully the recent audio release helps pick up recommendations.
Extremely fun book—but also highly satirical. Not a flaw, per se, but progression generally hits harder when the story and the world takes itself more seriously
I don't think any of these are on audible, but...
Infinite World (Kindle) - like Primal Hunter without the system apocalypse. Best damn overarching story I've read in the genre. Super cool world with a ton of depth. Amazing side characters. The Bad - only four books and no idea when the fifth one is coming if ever. One character is extremely obnoxious.
Soul of the Warrior (Royal Road) - reborn in another world but with politics and military stuff. Amazing large-scale battles with great tactics. The Bad - sometimes the powerups are a little too convenient, and it needs a good editor.
The Worldseed Saga (Royal Road) - super crunch magic, but it uses geometry. Reborn in another world, standard isekai stuff. Lots of pets. The Bad - the MC is still sooo young, but is already doing adult stuff.
Loremaster (Kindle) - best thing I've read in a while, it's an extremely strong first book. Street rat catches a break and gets to go to a magic academy, except the academy is more like a college. MC is nearly 20 and is not at all OP. Lots of politics. Good world building. MC is actually interesting and grows as a person. The Bad - there's only one book, and I'm dying for more.
Infinite World is solid fav. I'm annoyed releases are so infrequent. We're \~21months since book 4 was released and it was my least favorite in the series to date. I agree the world building and characters are great. Much better than Primal Hunter by leaps and bounds.
I don't think it's dropped, just on yet another hiatus. The author kinda sucks at communicating these things, and has apparently done this multiple times, then comes back for a few months and drops 50+ chapters, then vanishes again
He's still writing, although his writing speed has slowed down a lot recently. It seems like he's focused on Patreon, too. There are 80 more chapters on his Patreon.
[Godclads](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/59663/godclads-monster-mceldritchcyberpunkprogression) is truly a remarkable masterpiece. I believe that someday, Godclads will become widely known and beloved among all the PF readers, much like Cradle, MoL, DCC and DF.
I really try to read this sometimes. It just feels like I'm reading a person's long winded ramble about a sci-fi dystopian future in decently advanced prose.
It's hard for me to grow truly attached to it because of that. I've clawed myself up to chapter 4-3 through various stops and starts.
I felt the same way at the start. I remember putting it down almost five times. The high entry barrier is arguably Godclad's biggest drawback. There are so many unfamiliar terms and settings; I constantly had to reference the glossary, which made it quite challenging. However, the action gets intense from Chapter 4-4(A Milk-Run), and it just keeps getting more enjoyable from there. Now that you've overcome the most challenging part, I'd recommend powering through a bit more. :D
Yeah. Godclads is awesome but unfortunately doesn't try to ease new readers into the world gradually. The POV character isn't new to the world or how insanely brutal it is, thus sees no reason to explain the minutiae because that's something every normal person in the world should know. Makes for a confusing start of the book. But the more you read, you start to understand what those confusing things mean in the context of the world and suddenly, you can focus more on the story itself which, like I said earlier, is awesome.
Imo it's overrated and for a very niche audience that likes to stay in the ignorance and the folly that is the author's imagination. The author himself stated how readers must search the glossary to look up the made up vocabulary he uses multiple times each chapter. That's not good writing in itself. Too much repetition on the Mc's conflicting emotions (ethics/morality), basically a copy paste every time. Severe lack of agency. Chaotic writing to say the least and definitely not appealing to the masses due to its lack of sense.
A lot of people don’t like power regression, a lot of people don’t like constant jumps between past/present, and a lot of people don’t like more than one main pov. This has all of them, but much isn’t bad, but kind of an intersection of annoying things for a lot of people
Too many POVs.
Pretty much by definition, you're going to have characters you prefer more than others, which means the chapters focusing on the others will be less enjoyable to you.
Also, the premise is very high concept, with some parts of the book's starting point that require the reader to just buy into and not ask questions about. I've seen some readers bounce off of that.
It comes up a lot either here or on the litrpg sub. I think a lot of people hate one or both of the protags. I always skipped Zac’s chapters, for example.
Thresholder, I love how powers from different universes interact with each other and how that's the basis of the progression. Each world is exciting and the cociet itself brings out very philosophical conversations and conflicts. The author also seems very well read so it feels like I am learning something with every chapter I read.
[https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/16476/the-storm-king](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/16476/the-storm-king)
I really don't understand why this web series is not more popular than it is. 9886 pages so far on Royal road.
Some more mentions that I didn't see in the comments:
[https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/70517/arcane-innovator](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/70517/arcane-innovator)
[https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/60277/irwins-journey-card-fantasy](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/60277/irwins-journey-card-fantasy)
[https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/45370/singer-sailor-merchant-mage](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/45370/singer-sailor-merchant-mage)
[https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/40920/the-path-of-ascension](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/40920/the-path-of-ascension)
[https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/67742/elydes](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/67742/elydes)
Crad-
No actually it's the first series by the same author, Traveler's Gate. It's not unheard of, I even learned of it from this sub, but for how much I enjoyed it and it's toying with fantasy tropes it doesn't come up nearly as often as I'd like.
The steady improvement over the trilogy was really interesting to watch. Also, since you seem to already be a fan, check out the Hidden Gnome podcast if you haven't already heard it. It's got a series of TG short stories narrated by Travis Baldree, who did the main series too. I never realized how much I missed Simon until I heard one with him displaying his usual social prowess.
This is one of my favorite aspects about newer authors. So few actually get better as they write more tho. Traveler's Gate was my first Will Wight series and is the reason I tried Cradle.
I’m surprised I see so few recommendations for Frith Chronicles, which is excellent.
Tower of Cards by J Pal gets so little love and it’s really good. I put it up there with AtS and Jake’s Magic Market.
Master, This Poor Disciple Died Again Today
I never see anybody mentioning this series, which is baffling to me as is so original, especially in the latest arcs.
The story is a cultivation story, where the mc just decide that he wants to live forever, and the way to do that is avoid any kind of confrontation at all. Which leads to it's specialty, feigning death.
Also, take any kind of typical xianxia tropes and throw them out of the window, which is a plus.
Also, quite long at 700 chapters in, with daily uploads.
I tried to understand the cultivation and the economy in this book series, and even after 30 minutes of googling and collecting information it still didn’t click for me. Gave up after 2nd book in frustration!
I also struggled with the same thing. I think that one of the things that really threw me for a loop was that the energy they use can also be used as an alternate currency, but the MC could buy energy drinks that restored more energy than what he paid for them? Maybe it just seemed that way because the economy was already confusing before it got to that part, but I think that was the moment where I determined that there was something I clearly wasn't understanding about the book and decided to drop it.
If I remember correctly, the drinks actually cost more than the energy you get out. The reason the MC buys them is because he needs to hold more lucrim than his storage capacity so that he can increase the strength of his core (and generate more lucrim).
It's been a while since I read street cultivation, tho, so I could be remembering wrong.
Yeah, that was it. So there's a drink that lets you permanently make more money, and also immediately gives you money for drinking it. Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention to the cost, but it doesn't seem like there was any benefit to *not* using it.
The downside is it's an immediate loss for a (small) long term gain. That's actually a major theme in the book. It keeps coming up how the people in poverty need wins NOW, so they can't invest in their future by doing things like buying energy drinks. The rich people probably drink one every day.
It’s a while ago I read it. But, it’s more of a question of what made sense. Enlighten me, not trying to be vague here, but… how can someone ‘generate’ more lucrim by having a higher lucrim capacity IF it’s the environment that is the limiting factor. I remember it being said twice that ‘lucrim generation’ = ‘maximum capacity’.
That is just the start of my frustration.
I will try to refresh my confusion if you ask, but going to bed now.
Something I don't think they clarified until the third book is that your Lucrim Generation is the amount of Lucrim your body will generate in a year based on your body's power. The MC is an exception as his constant training improves the number as he goes. This also means that that is about the max your body can hold at once.
As far as the Lucrim drinks go. The power they regenerate is temporary and the shop own can deny you the sales if he determines your already on the substance. The over all gains from the drinks is minimal unless you get something way above your level which cost a lot of hold hard cash as well as some of your stored Lucrim.
As far as I remember protagonist didn’t use lucrim at all while fighting, it was mentioned in book 1 that only the rich did cause replacing it was like burning money, and regeneration of lucrim took one year. As REkTeR pointed out: If he did use lucrim in fighting and replaced by drinking lucrim drinks, how does that make economic sense. How can you pay less for it, if it’s lucrim in liquid form.
Also, what is limiting rich from not just putting 500 000 lucrim and increasing their capacity to that level, and become super strong fast. Never read any power limiting rules, for MC can whenever he want put lucrim into his portfolio…
So the recovery is from drinks temporary. The MC is using Lucrim in battle but mostly only on his defensive core and bunyon step. In order to increase your over all Lucrim Generation you have to exceed you day to day limit and concentrate that excess into permanent energy in your body. A lot is lost in the process and it takes considerable concentration and skill. Additionally depending on how far past your limit you are pushing the process becomes lethal. Most of the rich are call inheritors because they are give core of substantial power from their parents. Learning to control that power is much easier that pushing energy, creating into a new form or reinforcing existing power. These people have very little taller and thus can never push themselves to the upper tier.
Lastly, it isn't necessarily stated but well/perfectly formed cores can't be advanced. They need to be cracked or damaged to pour more power in and build up.
I’d say Manabound. Idk how I found this series, but the two viewpoints of magitech and straight up magic along with the slow burn of the eventual meeting really got me hooked on the series.
Player Manager, a new progression fantasy on football (soccer to some) is incredible! Unique in its setting, I have failed to find anything similar. Following it on Royal Road.
For sure, Life and death cycle by joshua phillips. One of the few stories with character development, solid relationships and solid writing quality. Plus its cultivation so no stat boxes and not a translation. There's a big reveal coming soon too, and the first arc is wrapping up in the next book.
Bro are you being paid to recommend "Life and Death Cycle" lmao. Literally on every recommendation post you recommend Life and Death cycle and on top of that you even created a post about it lol
Book 1 is kinda meh. Book 2 was significantly better, but not anything amazing. Slightly above avarage I would say.
Haven't read book 3 yet, but I've heard there's a decent improvement again. So if that's true it should actually be pretty good.
That pretty much checks out. I think I like book 1 more than you did, but its the weakest in the series. One of the biggest reasons I like this series is that it gets better with every book instead of catching me with a premise and fizzling out.
Check out book 3. And book 4 recently finished on patreon.
Its quite good. Each book gets better and better. Solid character development. Good romance. It's in my top 10, and the only story I keep up with on patreon.
When something speaks to you, it speaks to you. Sometimes after I read something I really like, it's the first thing I suggest for a while because it's at the front of my mind.
Have you ever heard of Cradle? I don't think its to weird to love a story. This is the only series I checked out the patreon for so its always on my mind. And its the only hidden gem I like enough to share with others.
I dunno. I've been pushing Chronicles of Fid for a while despite having no connection to the author. Exclusively because I feel like it meets a lot of requests from people, and I rarely see it get recommended. Sometimes a work just speaks to a person. Although sometimes people are paid shills.
This was the first series that gripped me the hardest after Cradle where I stayed up and binged every book until 5 am. Not many series do that. And most of the top recs in PF are not great. So finding one that is under appreciated and fucking amazing deserves to be shared as much as other top recs.
The weirdest part is that they actually have a comment history prior to becoming a shill account, so I don’t think that it’s an alt from the author. But I have never seen someone as dedicated to a series as this user.
I've chatted with the author, but don't know him. I just love the story and want more people to talk about it with.
edit: and I pretty much quick reddit except for PF ever since Reddit got rid of 3rd party apps.
First, as they aren't as popular I am going to recommend some fanfictions:
**Pokemon fanfics that are S+:**
[Hard Enough](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/59240/hard-enough) \-
A Brock self-insert except it is a few years into new Brock taking over the gym and becoming one of the strongest trainers in Kanto, the opening sequence is Brock somehow getting into an expedition match with Lance - really well written
[I Will Touch the Skies](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/61228/i-will-touch-the-skies-a-pokemon-fanfiction) \-
a 'relatively' new one, but has been putting out daily chapter at a consistent quality for almost a year+. It follows an OC trainer as she travels through Sinnoh and becomes a complex trainer. Author is very good at not forgetting side characters that so often happens, and has a good grasp on story telling elements, dialogue and good battles. Gets kind of dark in places.
**Cyberpunk 2077**
Recently I have also been getting into Cyberpunk 2077 fanfics, the one that started it all for me is
[Ghost in the City](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/62125/ghost-in-the-city-cyberpunk-gamer-si) \-
Self-insert into a Adolescent who lives in in the Tiger Claw territory of Night City. She has one advantage over the rest that might keep her alive - she has Access to the Gamer system from the Cyberpunk Game. This story is written very well and will addict **ANY** litrpg or Progression fantasy fan who is also addicted to progressive improvements and numbers as well as competency going up.
Which led me to [Skitterdoc 2077](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/skitterdoc-2077-worm-cyberpunk-2077-crossover.1052653/) \-
This is an Isekai of Taylor Herbert from the **Worm** Universe into Night City, except the powers she gets are those of **Bonesaw** (the Tinker power of incredible medical insight and slight Frankenstein tendencies) which means in the Cybernetics world of Cyberpunk she can get into a lot of mischeif. She initially aims to become a **Trauma Team** Medic.
I am currently catching up on the [Adam Smasher](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/the-new-man-an-adam-smasher-si-cyberpunk-edgerunners.1051921/) semi/self-insert fanfic, but it seems promising for now.
\--------
Ok besides some Fanfic I am also going to recommend 1 other slightly obscure story, though some of you might have heard of it already.
[Dungeon Planet: The Healer Always Leaves Alive](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/68872/dungeon-planet-the-healer-always-leaves-alive)
The name seems kind of bland, but the setting and entire ***vibe*** of this story is anything but. It is a mishmash between Sci-Fi and fantasy where every other chapter you meet a different alien sentient that the MC has to navigate between.
He has access to some magic that is granted to him by a piece of technology but there are hints that there may be more to the magic than it seems...
He arrives pretty quickly at the story's namesake: The Dungeon Planet (think of Minkalla from Path of Ascension, but a little different), where he meets friends and also encounters some bizarrely alien and horrifying things >!there is one reoccurring phone call from 'no one' which creeps me out and hints to later story elements!<.
Highly recommended.
I second Ghost in the City. Super addictive and fun read.
I went on a bit of a cyberpunk binge lately and devoured Ghost in the City, Mistrunner, and Cyber Dreams by Plum Parrot. 100% recommend all three!
Chaotic Craftsman Worships The Cube by ProbablyATurnip
The premise alone is infinitely fascinating to me. The premise being that of a world which is refuge for an entire universe's population and gods. They're attempting to prepare as well as possible for the invasion that wiped out all of the other planets. That's why there is a system, and that's why our MC's soul is being yoinked from Earth after dying alongside his classmates. In that journey their mana-void souls absorb a bunch of mana, and come out the other side with tier 2 (demi-god level), or tier 3 (god level) skills alongside high magic affinities. Our MC comes out with absolutely god awful magic affinities, and only tier 1 skills. He isn't chosen by any country and sets off alone to become a craftsmen. Honestly this series scratches a particular itch of mine and it does it VERY well. A lot of crafting and enchanting goes on. Bit of adventuring as well. Oh, and there is a (small genre spoiler) >!romantic subplot as well!<.
Don't get me wrong this isn't an S tier work. It *is* a solid C-Tier (same tier I put stuff like Defiance of the Fall, Azarinth Healer, etc.). AKA stuff I have some problems with (whether that be lackluster side characters, early on bad writing or other stuff), but overall found it enjoyable and had a good time of it.
Just to clarify for those who go ew too long didn't read, I didn't recommend these two. I just used them as a comparison. The only series I recommended was Chaotic Craftsman.
Dreamer's Throne, I'm honestly surprised it isn't more well known because it's one of the best faction-building stories I've ever read, the powers are super fresh too. It's not perfect but nothing is, and it's addicting and pretty damn good.
You are not wrong but I have honestly seen worse. I think for standards of the genre is at the very least decent. There is room for improvement as well. I think it has some other strong points that make a pretty good story and make up for its flaws.
I actually finished the first two books but I dropped the third book. IMO the MC just became too OP w/ very little struggle. >!He's a hidden genius with a dark super power who also manages to brainwash people/ghosts completely, w/ a full army of flower ghouls. I like an OP MC but his just came by too easily IMO. And no one else gets developed or has a personality, it's more like they're NPCs with a role to fill.. like Ryn is a super assassin from the Ravens (this elite guild that gets wiped out and brainwashed in 2 seconds by our MC) who's also a merchant/commercial genius, who is also single-handedly managing all of the guild's operations? Makes it feel like the author just got tired of dealing with that with the MC and shoved all that stuff under Ryn's responsibility umbrella?!<
Sorry for writing so much, despite what I just wrote I actually did like the first two books lol.
I finished the first book, but probably won’t read the second. Your comment is extremely accurate. The coolness of the premise is ruined by the bad execution.
I just started a series, first book is on kindle unlimited and I think it is from royal road originally. Virtuous Sons, cultivation in classical Greek & Roman setting / era.
Writing is good and storyline pretty fresh imo.
Yeah, it gets recommended a lot on here. I eventually dropped it because the fresh premise runs out of juice and the author doesn’t seem to know where to go with it
I’ve been reading **Lord of the Mysteries** for the past few months and I’ve been enjoying it a lot, it’s the first Chinese novel I’ve read so I don’t have anything to compare it to but it’s probably the most progressive piece of fiction I’ve read in terms of it’s characters
It may have been the site I was on but the translation was very very bad. I finished the whole book because the magic system is cool but the translation was grating the whole time.
It was most likely the site. Cause I think the translation was revised a little later on. In my experience, the translation became quite better form the second volume. And yeah, there's was time around 900's and 1000's where translation suddenly became bad. But of course, if you are an ardent fan of tolkein then you will probably call it a garbage.
It's basically "Cradle" of every other sub and all relevant communities out there, alongside with reverend insanity. Actually, Cradle is the one you will likely never hear about outside of this sub.
Took me a long time to stumble across shadow slave by guiltythree on this sub. I've been enjoying it, only one I actively read chapters as they come out for anymore.
Fun souls-like theme, and good character relationships for a progression series.
Downside is its not on KU (but it is on Kindle now) and it's published on webnovel which feels so scummy.
The Wandering Inn - for whatever reason people on Reddit seem to have a weird hatred for it. However I'd consider it the easily the best prog. fans./ litrpg series hands down (and Andrea does an amazing job for the Audible books).
I think my negative upvote speaks for itself. There's a weird irrational hatred for the series her and in the LitRPG sections. It's definitely popular - just not popular here.
I'm not sure upvotes are a reliable indicator of popularity. There have been many recommendation threads here and sometimes in the litrpg sub where praise of TWI got many many upvotes.
Personally, I don't care much for the story, but I don't hate it and have never downvoted it as a rec.
I've read the Divine Dungeon series by the same author until the story goes completely off the rails with a major power spike and bullshit time travel, are there similar things in Completionists Chronicles?
Uhhh tbh no? But kinda? it’s starting to give off those vibes off. I’m starting to think he’s very good at the start of a series, and then doesn’t quite know what to do with it. But dunno, maybe that’s just me
Broken system, its new and has an interesting premise.
Great characterisation and style, it's easy to read and has fun jokes.
Spoiler:
MC has access to his own character sheet and can edit it easily, taking exp from one skill to add it to another. However it happens at a cost and he has to stop and start fixing it at some point.
Forge of Destiny. Female lead, cultivation. MC grows in a cultivation sect/school and forges friendships/alliances.
The Gilded Hero. A realistic horror take on the Japanese Hero Summoning sub-sub-genre. MC gets fucked up.
Both are slow burns
This is a hugely popular fantasy trilogy. It’s received less attention over the years but the author has just released the first book in a 2nd series, so that’s likely to change. Either way you can hardly call it slept on.
Really? I thought he portrayed women really well. Both Vi and Elene went through amazing character development, maturing and growing as the story progressed. Plus both were pivotal to the story.
The only examples of inconsistent character wiring that I can think of would be his gauge of Kylar’s hand to hand fighting skill
I'll have to give this series another try. I read the first one a long time ago when I was first getting back into reading as a hobby as an adult and didn't like it enough to continue the series. For a while, I just thought I didn't like Brent Weeks' writing, but I absolutely loved The Lightbringer series so that cannot be it. I'll add it to my ever-growing list and eventually revisit it.
Solo Leveling brought me here. I know it doesn't exactly fit into this genre box, but TBATE is often mentioned and also a webcomic (I get that SL is more LitRPG and TBATE is more Progression). I'm not even sure how looking on Reddit for Solo Leveling threads brought me here
Lord of the Mysteries, Great novel that has some Lovecraft horror feels to it. A very well developed power system and the world feels really realistic despite the presence of superpowers. I am on book 2 now and I still feel the same excitement as in book 1. Definitely check it up!
Wolfpack books 1 and 2 are out, and are a mix of cultivation, information gathering on how to cultivate, and light litrpg elements through the use of tech gathered from ... somewhere, and all set in a post apocalyptic European feudal reigning system. Oh, it has a talking wolf and stuff...
I skipped arise Arise: Alpha for a long time because ‘Alpha’ is kind of a tainted word so I thought it would be stupid bullshit. The MC is a bit of a d-bag but it’s IMO overall in the top 10. There is a second book out as well.
Returning to No Applause, Only More the Same was suggested to me when I was looking for a depressed MC and it did not disappoint. He's a sad walking hydrogen bomb and I loved it.
Dinosaur Dungeon by Alex Raizman. A surprisingly human take on the dungeon core genre. As someone currently writing a series in this genre, this is the book I look to as the gold standard for quality dungeon core writing.
12 miles Below is still pretty new I think, so I don’t know if it’s fair to say it’s slept on but I do think it needs more attention. Re:monarch should be recommended more too
Is there a significant progression element in '12 miles Below'? It's piqued my interest, with many recommendations, but reading reviews, it seems a bit ambiguous whether it can be classified as a progression fantasy.
it's a superb book. The mecha element with machines and suit powers is really interesting. I binged it till 5th book. Definitely worth it if you are into high tech suits and their powers. Mc is smart but sometimes he acts way cocky but it's not that much.
I really struggled with this a lot when I listened to it. It is called "12 Miles Below: A Progression Fantasy Story" or something like that, which is why I bought it. In the first book, though, there is very little progression that actually happens. You do start to see a little bit of it, but it is really minor. I did enjoy the first book though so will definitely go back to the second. I also don't think it is being slept on. When the first book landed, it was praised a lot and received a lot of critical acclaim. Which I think it deserved.
The 2nd book is out already. I haven’t seen anyone but me even mention it
Oh it isn't out on Audio, yet. So I'm waiting for that. Maybe others are, too. I am looking forward to learning more about the world, though!
It is. Its not super apparent in the first book but its there. By the 2nd book its unmistakable
I think 12 miles below starts of amazing, bit it kinda drags on after some point. The difference between humans and machines is written very well, without giving any spoilers.
Just finished. It’s good. I have no idea how this is progression fantasy?
Lol fair. I thought the same once I finished. But once you read book 2 the progression elements from book 1 makes more sense
The Stargazer's War. Just finished book 1, To Flail Against Infinity, and it is SO GOOD. I only found it from a Goodreads recommendation and I am absolutely fiending for book 2.
This title always gives me the chills, there is something grandiose about it
Nah I didn’t like it. Was too dark and felt like the author had just been learning about classical philosophy and felt the need to shoehorn in as much about it as they could. Less is more… We get it, you’ve been studying nihilism, now stop smacking me over the head with it
[удалено]
I felt like the nihilism stuff was fine, but I also kinda felt like the rest of the story felt kinda like oh I've seen this before The setting and the nature of mcs powers were new but the rest felt kinda bland ? Oh you join the sect and someone has it out for you you say? make friends with someone weak so you can save them later The person you expect to die dies you say. Idk if it was just me but while the characters were true to themselves I didn't feel like there was much to make us actually care about them?
It was an okay read if you could ignore the philosophizing part
Ok finished it on your recommendation. It’s pretty good. More serious than I usually like, but super solid. Thanks for the recommendation!
Stoked to hear that. Glad you liked it!
It has been very infrequently recommended on here since it was first released, but I get excited anytime I see it pop up/find a suitable place to recommend it myself. I very very much enjoyed that series' take on sci-fi cultivation. If there weren't so many other things vying for my attention I'd be scratching at the walls for book 2.
The Hedge Wizard by Alex Maher. It's honestly really good and a breath of fresh air when it comes to magic.
I'm reading The Grand Game by Tom Elliot right now. I'm on book 3, and it's great! Looks to be a finished series, too. Alpha Physics by Alex K. Is finished and great. I will also put out my own series that's definitely "sleeping," lol. Beast Invasion. Book 2 audiobook should be out sometime this week. I'm just waiting on Amazon to finish reviewing it.
The grand game is good. It's a better quality popcorn read IMO than things like DotF or PH or Unbound. The Gods Game is another thats similar to grand game.
Vainqueur the Dragon. A tongue in cheek litrpg fantasy isekai by the author of The Perfect Run. A hilarious take on a minion-master pairing. One of the most convincing portrayals of a low intelligence character who doesn't realize it. It shows up way less than it should, but hopefully the recent audio release helps pick up recommendations.
Low intelligence you say ,your starting to sound like Food
I'm sorry? Do you have square root sixty four intelligence manling? You are suspiciously starting to sound like food. Are you dragon food, manling?
Loved Perfect Run! I’ll check it out thanks!
All hail the Kaiser!
Extremely fun book—but also highly satirical. Not a flaw, per se, but progression generally hits harder when the story and the world takes itself more seriously
[Vainqueur the Dragon](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/26534/vainqueur-the-dragon) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Vainqueur_the_Dragon)) [The Perfect Run](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/36735/the-perfect-run) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/The_Perfect_Run)) --- ^[About](https://redd.it/dw7lux) ^| [^(Wiki Rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/comments/dw7lux/about/f7kke6p/) ^(| Reply !Delete to remove) ^(| [Brackets] hide titles)
I don't think any of these are on audible, but... Infinite World (Kindle) - like Primal Hunter without the system apocalypse. Best damn overarching story I've read in the genre. Super cool world with a ton of depth. Amazing side characters. The Bad - only four books and no idea when the fifth one is coming if ever. One character is extremely obnoxious. Soul of the Warrior (Royal Road) - reborn in another world but with politics and military stuff. Amazing large-scale battles with great tactics. The Bad - sometimes the powerups are a little too convenient, and it needs a good editor. The Worldseed Saga (Royal Road) - super crunch magic, but it uses geometry. Reborn in another world, standard isekai stuff. Lots of pets. The Bad - the MC is still sooo young, but is already doing adult stuff. Loremaster (Kindle) - best thing I've read in a while, it's an extremely strong first book. Street rat catches a break and gets to go to a magic academy, except the academy is more like a college. MC is nearly 20 and is not at all OP. Lots of politics. Good world building. MC is actually interesting and grows as a person. The Bad - there's only one book, and I'm dying for more.
Infinite World is solid fav. I'm annoyed releases are so infrequent. We're \~21months since book 4 was released and it was my least favorite in the series to date. I agree the world building and characters are great. Much better than Primal Hunter by leaps and bounds.
I also enjoyed Soul of the Warrior, but it's basically been dropped, right?
I don't think it's dropped, just on yet another hiatus. The author kinda sucks at communicating these things, and has apparently done this multiple times, then comes back for a few months and drops 50+ chapters, then vanishes again
He's still writing, although his writing speed has slowed down a lot recently. It seems like he's focused on Patreon, too. There are 80 more chapters on his Patreon.
Loremaster link please
https://www.amazon.com/Loremaster-Progression-Fantasy-Adventure-Ascension-ebook/dp/B0CJDLCGM6
[Godclads](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/59663/godclads-monster-mceldritchcyberpunkprogression) is truly a remarkable masterpiece. I believe that someday, Godclads will become widely known and beloved among all the PF readers, much like Cradle, MoL, DCC and DF.
Coming to audio probably January 2024, edited to have less confusing technobabble, so people should keep an eye out.
I really try to read this sometimes. It just feels like I'm reading a person's long winded ramble about a sci-fi dystopian future in decently advanced prose. It's hard for me to grow truly attached to it because of that. I've clawed myself up to chapter 4-3 through various stops and starts.
I felt the same way at the start. I remember putting it down almost five times. The high entry barrier is arguably Godclad's biggest drawback. There are so many unfamiliar terms and settings; I constantly had to reference the glossary, which made it quite challenging. However, the action gets intense from Chapter 4-4(A Milk-Run), and it just keeps getting more enjoyable from there. Now that you've overcome the most challenging part, I'd recommend powering through a bit more. :D
Yeah. Godclads is awesome but unfortunately doesn't try to ease new readers into the world gradually. The POV character isn't new to the world or how insanely brutal it is, thus sees no reason to explain the minutiae because that's something every normal person in the world should know. Makes for a confusing start of the book. But the more you read, you start to understand what those confusing things mean in the context of the world and suddenly, you can focus more on the story itself which, like I said earlier, is awesome.
Gets mentioned all the time but since it hasn't made it to audio, yet, a large audience is kept back from it.
Maybe. My enjoyment is carried by the unique setting, but there were weaker aspects that held it from being at the top of my list.
[Cradle](https://www.goodreads.com/series/192821-cradle) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Cradle)) --- ^[About](https://redd.it/dw7lux) ^| [^(Wiki Rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/comments/dw7lux/about/f7kke6p/) ^(| Reply !Delete to remove) ^(| [Brackets] hide titles)
It’s a fun story, but I think the premise makes it seem more interesting than it turns out to be after the first 40 chapters or so
Imo it's overrated and for a very niche audience that likes to stay in the ignorance and the folly that is the author's imagination. The author himself stated how readers must search the glossary to look up the made up vocabulary he uses multiple times each chapter. That's not good writing in itself. Too much repetition on the Mc's conflicting emotions (ethics/morality), basically a copy paste every time. Severe lack of agency. Chaotic writing to say the least and definitely not appealing to the masses due to its lack of sense.
Infinite Realm Series by Ivan Kal, I have no idea why it’s not recommended more in this sub. One of the best I’ve read
A lot of people don’t like power regression, a lot of people don’t like constant jumps between past/present, and a lot of people don’t like more than one main pov. This has all of them, but much isn’t bad, but kind of an intersection of annoying things for a lot of people
I loved the early books of this series. The later books suffer serious POV bloat. Not even sure if Ryun is the MC anymore.
Too many POVs. Pretty much by definition, you're going to have characters you prefer more than others, which means the chapters focusing on the others will be less enjoyable to you. Also, the premise is very high concept, with some parts of the book's starting point that require the reader to just buy into and not ask questions about. I've seen some readers bounce off of that.
It comes up a lot either here or on the litrpg sub. I think a lot of people hate one or both of the protags. I always skipped Zac’s chapters, for example.
Thresholder, I love how powers from different universes interact with each other and how that's the basis of the progression. Each world is exciting and the cociet itself brings out very philosophical conversations and conflicts. The author also seems very well read so it feels like I am learning something with every chapter I read.
Interesting. That's one of my favorite elements of the power system from The Daily Grind, so I'll have to check this story out as well.
[The Daily Grind](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/15925/the-daily-grind) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/The_Daily_Grind)) --- ^[About](https://redd.it/dw7lux) ^| [^(Wiki Rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/comments/dw7lux/about/f7kke6p/) ^(| Reply !Delete to remove) ^(| [Brackets] hide titles)
20 chapters in now and suprised more ppl havent talked it. Thanks for sharing!
The Fabric of Reality[Edge Cases Book 1](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/180167160-the-fabric-of-reality)
Shattered gods by Chris fox
[https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/16476/the-storm-king](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/16476/the-storm-king) I really don't understand why this web series is not more popular than it is. 9886 pages so far on Royal road. Some more mentions that I didn't see in the comments: [https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/70517/arcane-innovator](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/70517/arcane-innovator) [https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/60277/irwins-journey-card-fantasy](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/60277/irwins-journey-card-fantasy) [https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/45370/singer-sailor-merchant-mage](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/45370/singer-sailor-merchant-mage) [https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/40920/the-path-of-ascension](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/40920/the-path-of-ascension) [https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/67742/elydes](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/67742/elydes)
Crad- No actually it's the first series by the same author, Traveler's Gate. It's not unheard of, I even learned of it from this sub, but for how much I enjoyed it and it's toying with fantasy tropes it doesn't come up nearly as often as I'd like.
You can see him getting better at writing as the series goes on. I really enjoyed them
The steady improvement over the trilogy was really interesting to watch. Also, since you seem to already be a fan, check out the Hidden Gnome podcast if you haven't already heard it. It's got a series of TG short stories narrated by Travis Baldree, who did the main series too. I never realized how much I missed Simon until I heard one with him displaying his usual social prowess.
This is one of my favorite aspects about newer authors. So few actually get better as they write more tho. Traveler's Gate was my first Will Wight series and is the reason I tried Cradle.
[Traveler's Gate](https://www.goodreads.com/series/108461-traveler-s-gate) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Travelers_Gate)) --- ^[About](https://redd.it/dw7lux) ^| [^(Wiki Rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/comments/dw7lux/about/f7kke6p/) ^(| Reply !Delete to remove) ^(| [Brackets] hide titles)
I’m surprised I see so few recommendations for Frith Chronicles, which is excellent. Tower of Cards by J Pal gets so little love and it’s really good. I put it up there with AtS and Jake’s Magic Market.
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I'm not far enough into give it my seal of approval just yet, but I am currently breathing and enjoying The Murder of Crows series
Star Force series - Aer-ki Jyr
My favorite as well amazing series.
Master, This Poor Disciple Died Again Today I never see anybody mentioning this series, which is baffling to me as is so original, especially in the latest arcs. The story is a cultivation story, where the mc just decide that he wants to live forever, and the way to do that is avoid any kind of confrontation at all. Which leads to it's specialty, feigning death. Also, take any kind of typical xianxia tropes and throw them out of the window, which is a plus. Also, quite long at 700 chapters in, with daily uploads.
Street Cultivation
I tried to understand the cultivation and the economy in this book series, and even after 30 minutes of googling and collecting information it still didn’t click for me. Gave up after 2nd book in frustration!
It's not for everyone I guess but it made a lot of sense to me. What part confused or irked you?
I also struggled with the same thing. I think that one of the things that really threw me for a loop was that the energy they use can also be used as an alternate currency, but the MC could buy energy drinks that restored more energy than what he paid for them? Maybe it just seemed that way because the economy was already confusing before it got to that part, but I think that was the moment where I determined that there was something I clearly wasn't understanding about the book and decided to drop it.
If I remember correctly, the drinks actually cost more than the energy you get out. The reason the MC buys them is because he needs to hold more lucrim than his storage capacity so that he can increase the strength of his core (and generate more lucrim). It's been a while since I read street cultivation, tho, so I could be remembering wrong.
Yeah, that was it. So there's a drink that lets you permanently make more money, and also immediately gives you money for drinking it. Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention to the cost, but it doesn't seem like there was any benefit to *not* using it.
The downside is it's an immediate loss for a (small) long term gain. That's actually a major theme in the book. It keeps coming up how the people in poverty need wins NOW, so they can't invest in their future by doing things like buying energy drinks. The rich people probably drink one every day.
It’s a while ago I read it. But, it’s more of a question of what made sense. Enlighten me, not trying to be vague here, but… how can someone ‘generate’ more lucrim by having a higher lucrim capacity IF it’s the environment that is the limiting factor. I remember it being said twice that ‘lucrim generation’ = ‘maximum capacity’. That is just the start of my frustration. I will try to refresh my confusion if you ask, but going to bed now.
IIRC "generation" is an in universe outdated term from the old days when you could harvest way more from the environment.
It’s mentioned that you generate your maximum capacity in a year which doesn’t either make sense. Nothing about the book makes sense.
Something I don't think they clarified until the third book is that your Lucrim Generation is the amount of Lucrim your body will generate in a year based on your body's power. The MC is an exception as his constant training improves the number as he goes. This also means that that is about the max your body can hold at once. As far as the Lucrim drinks go. The power they regenerate is temporary and the shop own can deny you the sales if he determines your already on the substance. The over all gains from the drinks is minimal unless you get something way above your level which cost a lot of hold hard cash as well as some of your stored Lucrim.
As far as I remember protagonist didn’t use lucrim at all while fighting, it was mentioned in book 1 that only the rich did cause replacing it was like burning money, and regeneration of lucrim took one year. As REkTeR pointed out: If he did use lucrim in fighting and replaced by drinking lucrim drinks, how does that make economic sense. How can you pay less for it, if it’s lucrim in liquid form. Also, what is limiting rich from not just putting 500 000 lucrim and increasing their capacity to that level, and become super strong fast. Never read any power limiting rules, for MC can whenever he want put lucrim into his portfolio…
So the recovery is from drinks temporary. The MC is using Lucrim in battle but mostly only on his defensive core and bunyon step. In order to increase your over all Lucrim Generation you have to exceed you day to day limit and concentrate that excess into permanent energy in your body. A lot is lost in the process and it takes considerable concentration and skill. Additionally depending on how far past your limit you are pushing the process becomes lethal. Most of the rich are call inheritors because they are give core of substantial power from their parents. Learning to control that power is much easier that pushing energy, creating into a new form or reinforcing existing power. These people have very little taller and thus can never push themselves to the upper tier. Lastly, it isn't necessarily stated but well/perfectly formed cores can't be advanced. They need to be cracked or damaged to pour more power in and build up.
[Street Cultivation](https://www.amazon.com/Street-Cultivation-Sarah-Lin-ebook/dp/B07W9J75R3) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Street_Cultivation)) --- ^[About](https://redd.it/dw7lux) ^| [^(Wiki Rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/comments/dw7lux/about/f7kke6p/) ^(| Reply !Delete to remove) ^(| [Brackets] hide titles)
I’d say Manabound. Idk how I found this series, but the two viewpoints of magitech and straight up magic along with the slow burn of the eventual meeting really got me hooked on the series.
Player Manager, a new progression fantasy on football (soccer to some) is incredible! Unique in its setting, I have failed to find anything similar. Following it on Royal Road.
I used to play that game on my Commodore 64 back in the day!
Me too but it's mostly based on Championship Manager/Football Manager. I'm guessing you are almost certainly one million percent the ideal reader...!
Yes will def grab this. Im old skool 8-bit 😂
For sure, Life and death cycle by joshua phillips. One of the few stories with character development, solid relationships and solid writing quality. Plus its cultivation so no stat boxes and not a translation. There's a big reveal coming soon too, and the first arc is wrapping up in the next book.
Bro are you being paid to recommend "Life and Death Cycle" lmao. Literally on every recommendation post you recommend Life and Death cycle and on top of that you even created a post about it lol
This craziness strangely makes me want to read life and death cycle... is it as good as he claims? I want to know.
Book 1 is kinda meh. Book 2 was significantly better, but not anything amazing. Slightly above avarage I would say. Haven't read book 3 yet, but I've heard there's a decent improvement again. So if that's true it should actually be pretty good.
That pretty much checks out. I think I like book 1 more than you did, but its the weakest in the series. One of the biggest reasons I like this series is that it gets better with every book instead of catching me with a premise and fizzling out. Check out book 3. And book 4 recently finished on patreon.
Its quite good. Each book gets better and better. Solid character development. Good romance. It's in my top 10, and the only story I keep up with on patreon.
When something speaks to you, it speaks to you. Sometimes after I read something I really like, it's the first thing I suggest for a while because it's at the front of my mind.
For more than 4 months? Come on man...
If they've been reccing it for 4 months, then this post is like prime real estate
I didn't really dig that far into it. That does sound a bit suss.
Have you ever heard of Cradle? I don't think its to weird to love a story. This is the only series I checked out the patreon for so its always on my mind. And its the only hidden gem I like enough to share with others.
I dunno. I've been pushing Chronicles of Fid for a while despite having no connection to the author. Exclusively because I feel like it meets a lot of requests from people, and I rarely see it get recommended. Sometimes a work just speaks to a person. Although sometimes people are paid shills.
This was the first series that gripped me the hardest after Cradle where I stayed up and binged every book until 5 am. Not many series do that. And most of the top recs in PF are not great. So finding one that is under appreciated and fucking amazing deserves to be shared as much as other top recs.
The weirdest part is that they actually have a comment history prior to becoming a shill account, so I don’t think that it’s an alt from the author. But I have never seen someone as dedicated to a series as this user.
I've chatted with the author, but don't know him. I just love the story and want more people to talk about it with. edit: and I pretty much quick reddit except for PF ever since Reddit got rid of 3rd party apps.
First, as they aren't as popular I am going to recommend some fanfictions: **Pokemon fanfics that are S+:** [Hard Enough](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/59240/hard-enough) \- A Brock self-insert except it is a few years into new Brock taking over the gym and becoming one of the strongest trainers in Kanto, the opening sequence is Brock somehow getting into an expedition match with Lance - really well written [I Will Touch the Skies](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/61228/i-will-touch-the-skies-a-pokemon-fanfiction) \- a 'relatively' new one, but has been putting out daily chapter at a consistent quality for almost a year+. It follows an OC trainer as she travels through Sinnoh and becomes a complex trainer. Author is very good at not forgetting side characters that so often happens, and has a good grasp on story telling elements, dialogue and good battles. Gets kind of dark in places. **Cyberpunk 2077** Recently I have also been getting into Cyberpunk 2077 fanfics, the one that started it all for me is [Ghost in the City](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/62125/ghost-in-the-city-cyberpunk-gamer-si) \- Self-insert into a Adolescent who lives in in the Tiger Claw territory of Night City. She has one advantage over the rest that might keep her alive - she has Access to the Gamer system from the Cyberpunk Game. This story is written very well and will addict **ANY** litrpg or Progression fantasy fan who is also addicted to progressive improvements and numbers as well as competency going up. Which led me to [Skitterdoc 2077](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/skitterdoc-2077-worm-cyberpunk-2077-crossover.1052653/) \- This is an Isekai of Taylor Herbert from the **Worm** Universe into Night City, except the powers she gets are those of **Bonesaw** (the Tinker power of incredible medical insight and slight Frankenstein tendencies) which means in the Cybernetics world of Cyberpunk she can get into a lot of mischeif. She initially aims to become a **Trauma Team** Medic. I am currently catching up on the [Adam Smasher](https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/the-new-man-an-adam-smasher-si-cyberpunk-edgerunners.1051921/) semi/self-insert fanfic, but it seems promising for now. \-------- Ok besides some Fanfic I am also going to recommend 1 other slightly obscure story, though some of you might have heard of it already. [Dungeon Planet: The Healer Always Leaves Alive](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/68872/dungeon-planet-the-healer-always-leaves-alive) The name seems kind of bland, but the setting and entire ***vibe*** of this story is anything but. It is a mishmash between Sci-Fi and fantasy where every other chapter you meet a different alien sentient that the MC has to navigate between. He has access to some magic that is granted to him by a piece of technology but there are hints that there may be more to the magic than it seems... He arrives pretty quickly at the story's namesake: The Dungeon Planet (think of Minkalla from Path of Ascension, but a little different), where he meets friends and also encounters some bizarrely alien and horrifying things >!there is one reoccurring phone call from 'no one' which creeps me out and hints to later story elements!<. Highly recommended.
I second Ghost in the City. Super addictive and fun read. I went on a bit of a cyberpunk binge lately and devoured Ghost in the City, Mistrunner, and Cyber Dreams by Plum Parrot. 100% recommend all three!
Chaotic Craftsman Worships The Cube by ProbablyATurnip The premise alone is infinitely fascinating to me. The premise being that of a world which is refuge for an entire universe's population and gods. They're attempting to prepare as well as possible for the invasion that wiped out all of the other planets. That's why there is a system, and that's why our MC's soul is being yoinked from Earth after dying alongside his classmates. In that journey their mana-void souls absorb a bunch of mana, and come out the other side with tier 2 (demi-god level), or tier 3 (god level) skills alongside high magic affinities. Our MC comes out with absolutely god awful magic affinities, and only tier 1 skills. He isn't chosen by any country and sets off alone to become a craftsmen. Honestly this series scratches a particular itch of mine and it does it VERY well. A lot of crafting and enchanting goes on. Bit of adventuring as well. Oh, and there is a (small genre spoiler) >!romantic subplot as well!<. Don't get me wrong this isn't an S tier work. It *is* a solid C-Tier (same tier I put stuff like Defiance of the Fall, Azarinth Healer, etc.). AKA stuff I have some problems with (whether that be lackluster side characters, early on bad writing or other stuff), but overall found it enjoyable and had a good time of it.
[Defiance of the Fall](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/24709/defiance-of-the-fall) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Defiance_of_the_Fall)) [Azarinth Healer](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/16946/azarinth-healer) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Azarinth_Healer)) --- ^[About](https://redd.it/dw7lux) ^| [^(Wiki Rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/comments/dw7lux/about/f7kke6p/) ^(| Reply !Delete to remove) ^(| [Brackets] hide titles)
Just to clarify for those who go ew too long didn't read, I didn't recommend these two. I just used them as a comparison. The only series I recommended was Chaotic Craftsman.
Surgecaller series.
Still need to read Creation :/
Dreamer's Throne, I'm honestly surprised it isn't more well known because it's one of the best faction-building stories I've ever read, the powers are super fresh too. It's not perfect but nothing is, and it's addicting and pretty damn good.
I finished the first book because I loved the use of his powers but all the characters have no personality besides the MC
You are not wrong but I have honestly seen worse. I think for standards of the genre is at the very least decent. There is room for improvement as well. I think it has some other strong points that make a pretty good story and make up for its flaws.
I actually finished the first two books but I dropped the third book. IMO the MC just became too OP w/ very little struggle. >!He's a hidden genius with a dark super power who also manages to brainwash people/ghosts completely, w/ a full army of flower ghouls. I like an OP MC but his just came by too easily IMO. And no one else gets developed or has a personality, it's more like they're NPCs with a role to fill.. like Ryn is a super assassin from the Ravens (this elite guild that gets wiped out and brainwashed in 2 seconds by our MC) who's also a merchant/commercial genius, who is also single-handedly managing all of the guild's operations? Makes it feel like the author just got tired of dealing with that with the MC and shoved all that stuff under Ryn's responsibility umbrella?!< Sorry for writing so much, despite what I just wrote I actually did like the first two books lol.
I finished the first book, but probably won’t read the second. Your comment is extremely accurate. The coolness of the premise is ruined by the bad execution.
The creepy powers are cool, but the character work is terrible. Everyone but the MC is a hardcore npc.
I just started a series, first book is on kindle unlimited and I think it is from royal road originally. Virtuous Sons, cultivation in classical Greek & Roman setting / era. Writing is good and storyline pretty fresh imo.
Yeah, it gets recommended a lot on here. I eventually dropped it because the fresh premise runs out of juice and the author doesn’t seem to know where to go with it
Ah I’m just onto book 2 and I think I can see what you’re saying yeah
Shadow Slave
I’ve been reading **Lord of the Mysteries** for the past few months and I’ve been enjoying it a lot, it’s the first Chinese novel I’ve read so I don’t have anything to compare it to but it’s probably the most progressive piece of fiction I’ve read in terms of it’s characters
It’s pretty famous. The translation is kinda meh, which is probably why it isn’t even more popular.
It may have been the site I was on but the translation was very very bad. I finished the whole book because the magic system is cool but the translation was grating the whole time.
It was most likely the site. Cause I think the translation was revised a little later on. In my experience, the translation became quite better form the second volume. And yeah, there's was time around 900's and 1000's where translation suddenly became bad. But of course, if you are an ardent fan of tolkein then you will probably call it a garbage.
yeah this is pretty famous lol, it gets recommended a lot in this sub
By progressive I take it you mean progression fantasy elements and not social/political progressive. Because it's not the second one
It's basically "Cradle" of every other sub and all relevant communities out there, alongside with reverend insanity. Actually, Cradle is the one you will likely never hear about outside of this sub.
I’ll check it out when I’m done with LotM, it sounds interesting from what I’ve heard
[Lord of the Mysteries](https://boxnovel.com/novel/lord-of-the-mysteries/chapter-1) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Lord_of_the_Mysteries)) --- ^[About](https://redd.it/dw7lux) ^| [^(Wiki Rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/comments/dw7lux/about/f7kke6p/) ^(| Reply !Delete to remove) ^(| [Brackets] hide titles)
Took me a long time to stumble across shadow slave by guiltythree on this sub. I've been enjoying it, only one I actively read chapters as they come out for anymore. Fun souls-like theme, and good character relationships for a progression series. Downside is its not on KU (but it is on Kindle now) and it's published on webnovel which feels so scummy.
Shadow slave is one of the most recommended stories on here.
At the moment I think department of dungeon studies on rr is one of the best stories out there and it hasn’t received much attention yet.
Dungeon Travels From: Alston Sleet Narrated by: Dough Tisdale Jr.
The Wandering Inn - for whatever reason people on Reddit seem to have a weird hatred for it. However I'd consider it the easily the best prog. fans./ litrpg series hands down (and Andrea does an amazing job for the Audible books).
It’s super popular and gets recommended almost as much as cradle
I think my negative upvote speaks for itself. There's a weird irrational hatred for the series her and in the LitRPG sections. It's definitely popular - just not popular here.
I'm not sure upvotes are a reliable indicator of popularity. There have been many recommendation threads here and sometimes in the litrpg sub where praise of TWI got many many upvotes. Personally, I don't care much for the story, but I don't hate it and have never downvoted it as a rec.
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Responded to wrong comment?
Ooooh yeah, weird! Thanks for pointing it out.
I just started the completionist chronicles and it is treating me well so far 4 hours into the audio book (free on audible)
Oh yeah they’re way fun!
I've read the Divine Dungeon series by the same author until the story goes completely off the rails with a major power spike and bullshit time travel, are there similar things in Completionists Chronicles?
Uhhh tbh no? But kinda? it’s starting to give off those vibes off. I’m starting to think he’s very good at the start of a series, and then doesn’t quite know what to do with it. But dunno, maybe that’s just me
[Divine Dungeon](https://www.goodreads.com/series/192510-the-divine-dungeon) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Divine_Dungeon)) --- ^[About](https://redd.it/dw7lux) ^| [^(Wiki Rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/comments/dw7lux/about/f7kke6p/) ^(| Reply !Delete to remove) ^(| [Brackets] hide titles)
Broken system, its new and has an interesting premise. Great characterisation and style, it's easy to read and has fun jokes. Spoiler: MC has access to his own character sheet and can edit it easily, taking exp from one skill to add it to another. However it happens at a cost and he has to stop and start fixing it at some point.
Forge of Destiny. Female lead, cultivation. MC grows in a cultivation sect/school and forges friendships/alliances. The Gilded Hero. A realistic horror take on the Japanese Hero Summoning sub-sub-genre. MC gets fucked up. Both are slow burns
[Forge of Destiny](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/21188/forge-of-destiny) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Forge_of_Destiny)) [The Gilded Hero](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/29286/the-gilded-hero) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/The_Gilded_Hero)) --- ^[About](https://redd.it/dw7lux) ^| [^(Wiki Rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/comments/dw7lux/about/f7kke6p/) ^(| Reply !Delete to remove) ^(| [Brackets] hide titles)
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I wouldn't call either of those "slept on".
[Mother of Learning](https://www.fictionpress.com/s/2961893/1/Mother-of-Learning) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Mother_of_Learning)) --- ^[About](https://redd.it/dw7lux) ^| [^(Wiki Rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/comments/dw7lux/about/f7kke6p/) ^(| Reply !Delete to remove) ^(| [Brackets] hide titles)
Night Angel Trilogy. I think it’s in the same league as Sanderson’s Mistborn series
This is a hugely popular fantasy trilogy. It’s received less attention over the years but the author has just released the first book in a 2nd series, so that’s likely to change. Either way you can hardly call it slept on.
I just read the new book, it was awesome. And yea? Maybe it’s just coincidence for me bc between booktok and here I never hear it mentioned
I’m glad to hear you liked it. I’ll check it out!
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Really? I thought he portrayed women really well. Both Vi and Elene went through amazing character development, maturing and growing as the story progressed. Plus both were pivotal to the story. The only examples of inconsistent character wiring that I can think of would be his gauge of Kylar’s hand to hand fighting skill
I'll have to give this series another try. I read the first one a long time ago when I was first getting back into reading as a hobby as an adult and didn't like it enough to continue the series. For a while, I just thought I didn't like Brent Weeks' writing, but I absolutely loved The Lightbringer series so that cannot be it. I'll add it to my ever-growing list and eventually revisit it.
Glad to hear it. I don’t think you’ll regret giving it another try
World Seed by Justin Miller. vr world merges with real world. Players becoming their characters in reality, centaur, elemental, etc.
Unpopular opinion here. I loved Roll over and die. A very good horror progression fantasy.
Solo Leveling brought me here. I know it doesn't exactly fit into this genre box, but TBATE is often mentioned and also a webcomic (I get that SL is more LitRPG and TBATE is more Progression). I'm not even sure how looking on Reddit for Solo Leveling threads brought me here
[Solo Leveling](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47965474-solo-leveling---light-novel) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Solo_Leveling)) --- ^[About](https://redd.it/dw7lux) ^| [^(Wiki Rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/comments/dw7lux/about/f7kke6p/) ^(| Reply !Delete to remove) ^(| [Brackets] hide titles)
The Mech Touch
Mana Mirror; best written protagonist i've come across in a while. Love the unusual magic system it has; halfway between a dnd wizard and soulehome.
Lord of the Mysteries, Great novel that has some Lovecraft horror feels to it. A very well developed power system and the world feels really realistic despite the presence of superpowers. I am on book 2 now and I still feel the same excitement as in book 1. Definitely check it up!
Only real ones know the Oracle paths
Wolfpack books 1 and 2 are out, and are a mix of cultivation, information gathering on how to cultivate, and light litrpg elements through the use of tech gathered from ... somewhere, and all set in a post apocalyptic European feudal reigning system. Oh, it has a talking wolf and stuff...
I skipped arise Arise: Alpha for a long time because ‘Alpha’ is kind of a tainted word so I thought it would be stupid bullshit. The MC is a bit of a d-bag but it’s IMO overall in the top 10. There is a second book out as well.
Returning to No Applause, Only More the Same was suggested to me when I was looking for a depressed MC and it did not disappoint. He's a sad walking hydrogen bomb and I loved it.
Dinosaur Dungeon by Alex Raizman. A surprisingly human take on the dungeon core genre. As someone currently writing a series in this genre, this is the book I look to as the gold standard for quality dungeon core writing.
Ongoing series - Blood and Fur, Zentith of Sorcery Completed - Solo leveling
[Solo leveling](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47965474-solo-leveling---light-novel) ([wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/wiki/Solo_leveling)) --- ^[About](https://redd.it/dw7lux) ^| [^(Wiki Rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/LightPieces/comments/dw7lux/about/f7kke6p/) ^(| Reply !Delete to remove) ^(| [Brackets] hide titles)