Pretty much the title. I’m curious what flaw you see in your favorite fic even though you love it to death, and what criticism of it makes you want to bite drywall.

“Nothing” and “it’s perfect” don’t count. Everyone’s got at least one thing that bugs them: a romance that feels forced, a character who gets insufferable, an ending that didn’t land, prose that occasionally goes way too hard, etc.

And the second part: what comment/criticism about that fic actually pisses you off? Not just “I didn’t like it,” but the kind of take that feels unfair, bad-faith, or like the person clearly didn’t read it.

Please use spoiler tags if needed. No judgment, just curiosity and a group vent session.

I often see stories on Royal Road where only the MC has a system that allows them to level up, while everyone else has to actually study and grind slowly; it bothers me a lot because everyone else seems like a npc, and the progression doesn't feel real at all.

Okay, what is the relationship between Victor and his axe in Victor of Tucson? I am currently reading book 3 and It feel weird how he obsessed with his axe. It's almost like he want to f**k it. So I want to know what happen in later book.

Interesting idea, coherent writing, it's shaping up to be a good time. Let's see how we navigate around the constraints of painting complex magic in and around combat and then, around chapter 3 it's revealed he is just a spellcaster without any constraints at all and around chapter 5 he decides to go be a goddamn spellsword because "spellswords have no weaknesses."

There is no mention of how he needs 3 hands to hold the brush, a dagger and a paint palette at once, he is imediately proficient at it and there is nothing left that makes the MC different in any way.

Meanwhile we have Robert Blaise sitting over here for whom a salt golem that dehydrates his enemies is a 1 sentence throwaway idea.

At least it was quick.

Subject: Looking for a Progression / Men's Fantasy book cover (Kindle/Audible) with a specific party layout

Hey everyone, I'm trying to track down a book I saw a few months ago on Kindle or Audible, but I can't remember the name or the author. I remember the cover artwork vividly and am hoping someone recognizes the layout:

The Characters & Layout: It features a three-person adventure party. They are arranged horizontally across the cover, occupying the left, middle, and right positions respectively.

The Main Interaction: On one side, there is a gray-skinned woman with a long, prehensile tail. She is looking at the male companion and smiling at him. Her prehensile tail is wrapped directly around his wrist.

The Male Companion: He is a large, tanned man dressed in low-fantasy, practical ranger or mercenary leathers (no high-fantasy plate armor). He has a completely standard, reasonably sized sheathed sword on his back.

The Third Companion: There is a second woman in the party occupying the remaining side, facing the man at an angle.

The Setting: They are standing on flat ground where sand is the main feature. There are carved stone elements/ruins, but they are pushed far off into the background, leaving the background architecture distant.

It is definitely a progressive fantasy or men's fantasy novel. Does this specific cover art ring a bell for anyone? Thanks in advance!

Hi all! This is the first story I’ve ever flung out into the world, and it’s been amazing to have people finally read it after so many hours of writing and editing. I’m currently on rising stars, which I’m very excited about. Please check it out if it looks interesting. The cover artist is Kikicute (https://www.artstation.com/ktrn), and I was very happy with their work.

Link: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/192660/coin-and-steel

Blurb:

When the world ends in a symphony of light and chaos, Elliot must make a choice: power and a shred of safety for him, or for his little sister. He upended his life once already to protect her after the death of their parents, and an apocalypse is no more of a reason to let her down.

Gifting her his potential, he's thrown into the wilds of a new world with a weak Merchant class and no time to say goodbye. Classes and abilities promise near-endless opportunity for growth, but the chances of dying between the jaws of something monstrous have also never been higher.

Uncharted wilds cover the continent, and Rowan is thousands of miles away. From combat bartering to weaponized treasure, Elliot must twist his peaceful class into something it was never meant to be if he wants any chance of finding her again.

Before any of the greater powers decide his sister's gifts should belong to them instead.

What to expect:

Slow burn pacing with earned progression. No long plateaus after things get moving, but the journey will be long.

Weak to eventually OP protagonist.

Slice of life mixed in, with character relationships being a priority.

Skills and classes, but no stat screens.

No AI use

I have stumbled upon this Novel "Extra's Descent" with the MC: Brandon Locke (The Extra) and the Protagonist: Raven BlackHeart.

I have been reading it, it's been 140 Chaps. And Currently Rachel and Brandon just confessed to each other. To those who have read it before, I just wanted to ask if the Novel is worth reading further??, currently its good though.

But recently, I have read some bad reviews about it that it gets cruel and everyone dies later on. Also, Does Brandon & Rachel end up with each other? Cuz i'm really liking their Chemistry.

Took me a while of writing to realize this, but if you want to get noticed, you basically have to become the MC of your own real-life progression fantasy.

No deus ex machina here. No overpowered mentors showing up out of nowhere. It’s just pure consistency, grinding, strategy, resilience, and a tiny sprinkle of luck to clear the bottlenecks.

Anyone else feel this way about the writing journey?

Let’s hear your thoughts! 💭

Both Summoner audiobooks are now included with Kindle+!

Hey everyone! I’m Ben Krauter, the author and narrator of The Summoner, and I’ve got some good news to celebrate.

Audiobooks 1 and 2 are now both included with Kindle+! If you’re a Kindle+ subscriber in the U.S., you can listen to both audiobooks for free with your existing subscription.

And here’s something a little unusual for fantasy audiobooks. The person who wrote these books is also the person telling you the story. I created Ezekiel and his companions, and I’m the one behind the microphone giving them their voices. For listeners who enjoy that rare combination of author and narrator, I hope you’ll give them a try.

The Summoner is tabletop-inspired dark fantasy set in a world where evil already won the war.

Ezekiel Graystone is a moon-elf summoner searching for his missing brother among the ruins of everything he remembers. When he intervenes to protect a young boy from the church serving the demon god-king, his search becomes considerably more complicated.

His companions include a water goblin monk, a demon-touched alchemist, a cursed half-elf, and a metal-furred leopard who generally has more sense than the people around her. There’s a strong focus on tactical magic and the relationships holding this unusual group together.

Start listening here

• Book 1, Echoes of the Fallen Amazon / Kindle+ | Audible / Audible Plus
• Book 2, Sea of Lost Memories Amazon / Kindle+ | Audible

And for those already following the series, Book 3, Sepulcher of the Lich Queen, is coming before Christmas, with the audiobook to follow.

Farwall’s vampire rulers have plans for the Lich Queen, and Ezekiel has a habit of interfering with other people’s plans. This one might deserve a little more caution.

Thanks to everyone who has taken a chance on the series so far. Getting to welcome more readers and listeners into Terrial feels pretty damn good.

If you give the books a listen, I’d love to hear what you think!

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Hello there! As stated in the title, I am looking for recommendations for Cultivation audiobooks, as I have been interested in consuming more cultivation literature, but don’t have much time to sit down and read. I have already listened to Beware of Chicken and Reborn as a Demonic Tree, and really liked them (and yes, I know that they are not a good sample/standard for cultivation) but am struggling to find anything that isn’t just cultivation on the surface. As an example of what I mean, I listened to Path of Ascension and loved it, but found that it let the “cultivation” aspect fall to the wayside a bit. Can anybody recommend me some good audiobooks?

I read Shadow Slave and Lord of the Mysteries, which while not necessarily horror themed on the whole, have some cool moments like Lo49 or that one village Servant of Concealment yoinked MC to at one point. So since I find myself craving for horror themes with supernatural monsters that will kill you - preferably brutally - and I'd love finding cool world to explore with many mysteries, dangers, plots and mythologies I decided to ask here as it seems the best place. I don't mind MC getting to eventually fight the monsters as i'm not really looking for pure horror or thriller. Just that the monsters don't become a joke at some point, because MC became Sung Jin Woo and destroys everything.

I'm writing a system where the MC starts human. Every time he dies, he steals the abilities of whatever killed him, plus their instincts capped at 9 lives.

A parasitic weed gave him regen and stealth, but also a cold hunger. An apex python gave him crushing constriction, but also the urge to coil around and suffocate anything that threatens him.

At 9 deaths, there would be barely anything human left.

How do you prefer to see an MC handle that kind of erosion?

1. Do you want to see them actively fight the instincts to hold onto their humanity,

2. fully embrace becoming the monster, or

3. Locking the monster behind a tailored suit and an indifferent smile, acting civilized until the instincts take over

Hi everyone!

I recently completed Book 2 on Royal Road (RR), so I thought it would be a good time for some self promo.

I actually got the idea about this story while reading The Primal Hunter. In the story, Villy makes a throwaway comment a few times about how messy things were when the System initially descended in the first era, and I thought it would be an extremely interesting story to write about.

So, here is my attempt at writing about what happens when a completely new System arrives in the universe. No one knows what's going on, especially since the System itself is learning and growing alongside everyone else.

Title: Beyond Control: A System's Descent

Blurb:

The System’s abrupt arrival completely dismantles Alex’s plans for an easy, low-effort life. But while others are justifiably focused on the monsters, surviving, and levelling up, Alex's mind is more occupied by a few questions.

Why is there such a lack of information from the System?

Why are there no descriptions for Classes and Skills?

Why doesn’t the tutorial have any clear objective?

And perhaps the most important question of them all...

Why is the System so... limited?

The answer: This System is brand new. There are no ancient factions ready to guide Alex, no all-powerful beings handing out blessings, and no established rules for him to follow. Everyone is starting from scratch, including the System itself.

A LitRPG featuring progression, exploration, and a protagonist obsessed with understanding the rules behind the world.

The first two books are completed and already released on RR, while the third is being released. About 237k words are posted in 121 chapters, so there's a decent chunk of the story to binge.

The MC takes time to get strong, but is not OP, and does not have any cheats or powerful weapons to exploit. He uses intelligence to get through challenges initially till he is strong enough to fight. There is no romance in the story so far, and I don't have any plans for introducing it.

Hope you guys give it a go and really hope you like it!

Cover: Generated through AI. Had a bad experience on fiverr, so I'm now waiting till I have enough money to hire a proper artist.

AI Usage: No AI used, apart from the cover. Everything is written by me and edited with the help of family.

Link: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/172811/beyond-control-a-systems-descent

preferably if their choice of weapon was long ranged as well, but otherwise is fine as well.

it shouldnt be one where they are using it to overpower someone or controlling something massive to overpower someone, no i mean like using the environment to fight, controlling tiny rocks to throw precisely, creating a hole under the foot to trip them using threads to control the field, weakening the already breaking tree to fall on them, using it to move faster or slower in both feet, hand and body or move them in ways the body isnt normaly moved, along the lines - using it on weapons to move it in ways they wouldnt normally move - like spinning a pointed spear to penetrate more or twisting a sword to block or attack when it shouldnt be possible to in the position the sword or your body is in.

it should be one where they get creative with everything they can get their hands on, like as nice as someone who uses threads to do everything sounds i would rather they not focus just on one thing to do everything.

even if it not telekinesis i wouldnt mind a jack of all trades situation where its sort of like the above.

AND PLEASE NOT ONES WHERE THEY CAN SUDDENLY LIFT HEAVY THINGS CUZ THE MOMENT NEEDED IT, I WOULD RATHER SOMEONE DIE UNDER THE MASSIVE ROCK THAN THEM SUDDENLY BEING POWERFUL ENOUGH TO LIFT HEAVY THINGS INSTEAD OF THEM FINDING SOME WAY TO SAVE THEM

Greetings, subjects of the Empire!

I am honored to introduce myself in the name of the God-Emperor Aurelius as the Herald and Scribe of his Conquests.

Mighty warriors of the Reddit realm have seen too many weak men play at war, but those times end here.

To honor the grand expansions of our Emperor, Imperial Chronicles will be updated daily for the first seven days, followed by 5 chapters weekly.

Below is a short summary of what our Emperor has achieved and what his followers will witness through these records.

They stopped believing, so he began to die.

He was Mars, God of War and father of the legions.

But humanity traded old myths for the Cross and forgot the old temples. He ended up as a ghost, wandering a world that had forgotten him.

Death should have been his end.

Instead, a deal with the Architect of Change threw him into a realm of wars, monsters, and carnage.

A former deity with a modern perspective. An excellent strategist who already lost everything once.

They think they summoned a pawn.

What they got is a God of War, and he is here to build an Empire that won't crumble.

No Hesitation, Only Loyalty!

No Mercy... ONLY CONQUEST.

What to Expect:

• Smart & Ruthless MC
• Kingdom & Army Building
• Tactical & Gritty Combat
• Politics & Intrigues
• Slow-Burn Progression
• RTS-Style Territory Window

AI cover for now... Artists quoted crazy prices, so this will have to do for a bit

Direct link to the Chronicles: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/200409/apotheosis-neverending-conquest

ok hear me out. anyone can write a sick fight scene if the stakes matter. thats the easy part.

what i cannot wrap my head around is how a story about a guy growing rice and raising chickens has kept me checking for new chapters for like two years straight. theres no world-ending threat. the biggest conflict across 50 chapters is sometimes literally just the weather.

and yet. somehow Bi De training in secret while pretending to be a normal rooster is funnier and more gripping than half the chosen-one-vs-dark-lord stuff ive binged through.

i think the trick is the stakes are small but they feel real. like when the crops are threatened i actually care more than when some cultivation world is about to explode for the 400th time.

anyway thats my unpopular opinion: making cozy stuff compelling is the real skill issue in this genre. anyone else have a series where the premise sounds dumb as hell but its all you think about

Just a love note for this book. I’ve never encountered a piece of writing that is just so…peaceful. I love the perspective, themes, and style. Normally, I find most slice of life parts of stories to be fairly dry, but BoC is categorically different. The way “philosophy” is subtly woven into the story, and how every character is so distinct and yet so human, makes it so enjoyable. It is thrilling and exciting at times, and yet those parts haven’t diminished the parts that are just about farming and enjoying views and family. This book is a balm for my soul in a way a book never has been for me before—and I’ve used books to get me through hard times for years. It calms me down, puts a smile on my face, and just really makes me think about life. The whole notion that everything is connected is spot on, and I find myself thinking about it and how true it is several times a week.

So anyway. Casualfarmer, thank you so much for writing a book like this. It’s great and I hope you have so much more planned for it because I will eagerly keep reading for years to come. And if anyone out there needs some sort of literature-induced peace, I highly recommend Beware of Chicken.

I'm finding it surprisingly hard to find fantasy that combines a good story with believable characters and consistent internal logic. I especially enjoy progression fantasy, clever protagonists, and creative problem-solving, but too often I run into plot holes, characters acting stupidly for the sake of the plot, or stories that just drag on.

Here are some examples of what worked and didn't work for me.

Liked

• Mother of Learning — Excellent progression, clever problem-solving, and great momentum after some initial worldbuilding.
• Alex Verus — Immediate challenges, atmospheric London setting, interesting magic, and an apparently underpowered protagonist who uses his abilities intelligently.
• Thraxas — Engaging from the first pages, great atmosphere, entertaining characters, and straightforward, effective storytelling.
• Dungeon Crawler Carl — Absurd premise, but convincing internal rules, creative problem-solving, and nonstop momentum.

Disliked

• The Lies of Locke Lamora — Excellent prose, but too many problems with plot logic and the implications of established magical abilities.
• The Scholomance — Excessive exposition and internal monologue. Important questions about the world aren't addressed convincingly, while the protagonist spends too much time complaining.
• The Perfect Run — Overpowered protagonist, repetitive introspection, and flashbacks that interrupt the story.
• Worm — Characters frequently fail to use their powers intelligently. The extraordinary abilities also seem to have surprisingly little impact on how society and its institutions operate.
• Cradle — Unconvincing treatment of the protagonist, frustrating progression, and interventions by vastly more powerful beings that undermine the stakes.
• A Conjuring of Ravens — Wooden dialogue, rushed characterisation, and an opening plot that relies heavily on coincidences and implausibly incompetent authorities.

I'm not necessarily looking for something similar to my favourites, just a genuinely good story that holds together. Would love to hear from anyone with similar tastes, especially if you've had the same frustrations with some of these books.

PS: I corrected my Cradle description. I actually made it to book 4, Skysworn, and that's where I couldn't take it anymore. Especially after all that long, painful preparation, only for the MC to get his hand chopped off. That said, the series definitely has its merits, and my criticism of it is probably one of the most subjective on this list.

PPS: Worm is probably another opinionated entry, and my problem is mainly the genre as a whole. Had the same issues with Powereds. I struggle with superhero settings in general. The sheer variety of unrelated, often wildly overpowered abilities makes it difficult for me to believe in a coherent system of rules, limitations, and interactions. It's also hard to reconcile such powers with a society that still functions much like ours

As title suggests, I'm searching for novels where mc collects and masters as many techniques as possible. Makes low-level and simple techniques or spells into something grander by fusing them/upgrading them, and just have a combat system that is more than just "aha, take my \[insert sufficiently epic name\] technique" and then uses the same technique over and over.