Recommendations anything decent (not necessarily stellar)

Discussion in 'I'm Looking For...' started by orario, Feb 15, 2020.

  1. orario

    orario Active Member

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    I think I've already read most of the popular good novels so I don't have stellar expectations... just something without the usual package of cancer that 90% of the stuff on novelupdates seems to have. If you know some good original works I'm up for checking them. I'm quite unfamiliar to sites such as scribble hub or royalroad so there's a big chance I haven't read them.

    I just need something without:
    1. Harem (3 or more girls = harem = rubbish in my book) or romance where the love interest gets raped/killed/NTR or cheats. Either OTP or no romance at all.
    2. MC that rapes or murders innocents (God and Devil World) || loser/useless MC (Dungeon Defense and many others) || handicapped/clinically retarded MC (Inverted Dragon Scale) || MC that's all talk no bite and spares every single fucking enemy (The Great Ruler) || Genderbend MC
    3. Cultivation in modern times setting or showbiz-related stories
    4. Female protagonist || kingdom/city/village building || novels where politics are the main focus
    (the things included in no4 aren't necessarily cancer, just not my cup of tea)

    Please don't recommend me novels that were dropped/left on hiatus or novels that are not completed in their country of origin.
    (I got myself burned too many times so I won't start anything without reading plenty of spoilers first. You can never trust the translators nor the authors of the novels either. Lost count how many times I got baited into reading a novel thanks to the lack of cancerous tags at the start, only to get fucked in the ass after several tens/hundred chapters. I get invested in a novel and start to like it but then bang! there comes the rape, the harem, the bullshit tragedy etc. Don't wanna go through all that again)
    Examples of novels I like:
    - Star Rank Hunter || Chronicles of the Primordial Wars - both from the same author. Some of the best novels I've ever read. Simply brilliant.
    - I Alone Level Up || The Return of the Legendary Hunter || Reincarnator || King of the Battlefield || Master Hunter K
    - Dungeon Hunter || A Returner's Magic Should Be Special || Second Life Ranker
    - Grimoire x Reverse || The Lazy Swordmaster || Sairin Yuusha || Nidome no Yuusha || I Was a Sword When I Reincarnated
    - One Man Army || Ark || Emperor of the Solo Play || The Great Thief || Rebirth of the thief who roamed the world
    - Lord Xue Ying (and other IET novels) || Douluo Dalu || The Legend of Swordsman || Instant Kill || King of Gods || Dominating Sword Immortal || 40 millenniums of cultivation || Eternal Reverence
    - Sovereign of Judgement || I am the Monarch || Galactic Dark Net || The Strongest Gene
    etc
    I included this spoiler about the novels I like mostly for those people who are looking for the same type of novels as I do. Maybe it will help someone.
     
  2. chencking

    chencking [Daolord Grammar Nazi]

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    Just pointing out the MC of The Inverted Dragon's Scale is only "handicapped" for the first couple chapters. I recommend you readers who never heard of it try it, although the author's writing style is a bit unusual.
     
  3. Westeller

    Westeller Smokin' Sexy Style!! Staff Member

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    Mother of Learning was recently completed, so now is a great time to read that. Whether you've read part of it before or never heard of it (somehow). Other English originals to check out are... Hmm. Worth the Candle, He Who Fights With Monsters, The Outer Sphere. The Zombie Knight. .. Shame you don't want female protagonists, or I have a couple more offhand.
     
  4. Ichigoeater

    Ichigoeater Well-Known Member

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    What about Trash of the Count's Family? No romance at all 4/5ths of the way in so far, the protagonist is what I consider a lovable asshole who is crafty, has a sense of justice, and certainly DOES NOT spare his enemies, terrorizing them in quite creative ways sometimes. Politics are on the backburner, since we see things through Cale's eyes, it's not a cultivation novel, no showbiz is present, set in a fantasy setting without oversexualized elves and shit, and once the ball goes rolling it's hard to stop reading. The chinese version is completed at 500 chapters, I believe, and the translation has almost caught up, being around the 470 range. It also updates every two days or so, so it won't be long, now.
     
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  5. Matteus

    Matteus [潜んでいる] [Com Fome]

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    I thought it was Korean
     
  6. blasterwisard

    blasterwisard Active Member

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    So I'm not sure if I'm going to be much help since we have vastly different tastes. I do approve of Chronicles of primordal wars being up there. I won't guarantee that all the points you said no to are excluded, but here's my list for you (in absolutely no order):
    The New Gate
    Isaac
    Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyusoukyoku
    I Reincarnated Into a Vending Machine
    I Leveled up from Being a Parasite
    Main Character Hides His Strength
    The Experimental Log of the Crazy Lich
    Overlord
    My Hero
    Legend of the Sun Knight
    The Lazy King
    The Second Coming of Gluttony
    Bringing a farm to live in another world
    The Death Mage who doesn't want a fourth time
    Dominion's end
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2020
  7. orario

    orario Active Member

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    I will try reading Mother of Learning, He Who Fights with Monsters and Worth the Candle - from their summary and the reviews, they seem very good.
    I haven't heard of them because novelupdates is pretty much my only source of new novels. Original novels don't appear on the release page and I generally don't have the courage to read stories that are not finished already due to the reasons I've already said in the op. Thank you very much for your recommendations!
     
  8. An Anime Addict

    An Anime Addict (≧▽≦)/̵͇/'̿'̿ ̿ ̿̿ ̿̿ ̿ ̿̿ ̿̿ (▀̿̿Ĺ̯̿▀̿ ̿)

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    Reader (kr) - I have not read it but from what i have heard, its good.
     
  9. orario

    orario Active Member

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    Half of the stuff you recommended me is either harem or genderbend (the Death Mage, Death March, Domininon's end, I levelled up from being a parasite, Second Coming of Gluttony, Bringing the farm).

    I know Overlord.
    Main Character Hides His Strength is on my [Not sure] list. I'll wait until it gets completed (if it will ever) to read it.
    Experimental Log of the Crazy Lich - I used to read it when it chapters were coming out a 3 years ago or so but the translation was dropped. Good novel. Been years since the last release :/
    Isaac seems interesting but since it's in a school setting, I won't start reading it until it's completed. School-setting stories almost always become harems so I don't wanna get invested in it for nor reason.
    -----------
    I will give a try to The New Gate. From the summary, it seems very interesting and from the spoilers that I've looked up about it, it doesn't look like it will become nasty. Even if it's not finished, it's pretty unlikely that it will become shit after so many volumes. Can't believe I missed this novel till now. Thanks for recommending it to me.

    PS: Legend of the Sun Knight - is this not shounen ai?
     
  10. Katra1212

    Katra1212 Well-Known Member

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    Lord of the Mysteries - I will always recommend this, though I'm sure you've heard or already read about this. But if not, then please give this another try. The starting point is slow but it picks up quickly and the ending of every volume is always explosive. Anything well written from this author, Cuttlefish that Loves Diving is good, just ensure that the trans is high quality. As the title says, this is a mystery, and magic/action combat. There is a lot of secrecy and unveiling of tangled plots as the story proceed further. Everything is well plotted and connected.

    The First Order - action and survival. The world setting is post-apocalyptic and everything is evolving. This is not a zombie novel. Humans superpowers have now started to appear, and nature/catastrophe is in turmoil due to this shift in power. This is semi dystopian and adventure. There is only 1 female lead. The novel is also psychological and philosophical. It digs deeper into the scenario of survival of the fittest and the moral standing of people besset in a chaotic world. It's also comedy, so you definitely have to try this.
    The MC is smart and resourceful in a realistic way. Although he indeed have a golden finger that will get stronger and way stronger as the story progressed, but the MC will not be the strongest, the plot is well thoughtout. It is in a multi-character POV, and it develops this side characters too. So expect amazing and lovable side characters. Whether be they friends or enemies of the MC. You always have to redefine who is the antagonist of this story. And my endpoint every new development as the story progressed is that, no, they are just human too.
     
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  11. ZXu2002

    ZXu2002 I am a idiot

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    Second Lord of the Mysteries, as well as another story by the same author, Throne of Magical Arcana, which has a well developed romance on top of a good story.
    Also, My House of Horrors, which imo has a weak start but gets good really quickly, with a protagonist who is too weak to not use his head most of the time and in such a setting that he must be decisive in dealing with enemies. The only problem being it is in a way modern cultivation, but that is mainly because the plot is basically the MC exploring various urban legends around his town
     
  12. orario

    orario Active Member

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    Neither are finished in their country of origin. However, The First Order seemed very interesting. I will add it to my [Wish list]. Once all the raws come out I will start reading the translation. Thank you for your recommendation

    I thought politics play an important role in this novel. Kinda hard to believe they're not considering the title and the summary. I will look for some spoilers about it to make sure. Thank you

    I've added Throne of the Magical Arcana to my [wish list]. Thank you for your recommendation!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 15, 2020
  13. KHA2

    KHA2 wanderer

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    The New Gate has a MC who is all talk. He never fking fights or does anything, but he is very powerful; it's very infuriating.
     
  14. KHA2

    KHA2 wanderer

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  15. orario

    orario Active Member

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    well fuck :/
    Paradise of Demonic Gods - I know this one. I've read a few dozen chapters a few years ago. Up to the chapter I read back then, it was great. I see now that it was fully translated. Thanks for reminding me of it!
    Carefree Path of Dreams - apparently, the summary is misleading but most ppl in reviews say it's really good. I've added it to my [wish list]. Thank you for your recommendations
     
  16. Katra1212

    Katra1212 Well-Known Member

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    Silent Crown is indeed good. It is magic, action, and adventure. The world is based on Medieval period with the emphasis of aether- which is basically made out of sounds. So being able to use or command aether can only be through music. It's an interesting concept where music battles were being fought through the use of movement (which the author focused on the Classical genre) The action scenes are spectacular, add on with the movement and sometimes you can feel the heavy/suffocating athmosphere on the scene. It would be good if you are familiar with classical music, but if not, searching for the mentioned piece and playing it while reading the rest of the chapter is one of the best experiences, for me anyway. There is mystery and really touching moments, and humor as well. The MC is crack.

    Just a heads up: 3/4 of the novel is exceptional. Really. From vol 1 to 10. You can see where the novel is going, there is clear cut goal, and that is get stronger and find the truth about the MC's father. Vol. 8 is the main reveal of that, and also the climax of the whole novel. This is also the tipping point of change for the MC. He has experienced so much, what will he do after all that he has gone through? For me, I think that was the question for the remaining volume. Till Vol 11-13, that is where everything went awry, this is where the world problem is supposed to be expounded. There are also a lot of hidden plots that was revealed here, but in my opinion, there are so many twist in this novel. There is so much wasted potential for the secondary characters that have been so well developed. You can be the judge if it's good or not. Still, others found it good, but it was just too fast a development for me. Maybe because I finished it with no breaks at all? You definitely need a good reading pace if you want to read this volume on. There is 1 female lead only but the romance isn't really given much importance, so don't expect too much. They got together though, in the end.

    My Disciple Died Yet Again is good too. It's comedy, adventure, and cultivation. It also breaks the usual novel cultivational tropes. It has female MC and multiple realms too, but the development of the story is well connected. There is only a single love interest. The MC has 2 major golden finger 1. The system (aka realm spirit add on packages, lol it's not technically a system though)- this gives her unlimited rebirth, to see bugs, aka cheats. And to correct said cheats who are stealing the fate of the realm. 2. Her master. Her master is OP, but also helpess too because the MC is a magnet for trouble. (Hello, she's a cheat investigator.) So he's not really the cure all.
    All the novel from this author, You Qian, is good. All trans are high quality too. Three of the works is finished in trans too.
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2020
  17. detoxangels12

    detoxangels12 Well-Known Member

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    https://www.novelupdates.com/series/the-novels-extra/

    there's no cancer like all of your mention. MC transmigrated into his own novel, game settings, good and deep side characters, in a futuristic modern settings, monsters, super heroes and super power gifts. it's a decent and a past time to read although it gone downhill in later chapters, the ending is good enough and a bit satisfying.
     
  18. perspherspley

    perspherspley IZ*ONE

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  19. orario

    orario Active Member

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    I know it, thanks! Too bad the translation seems to have been abandoned..
     
  20. Ichigoeater

    Ichigoeater Well-Known Member

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    Ah, whoops, it was. My bad. :blobrofl:
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2020