What are 9 novels you would award the title of "masterpiece"

Discussion in 'Novel General' started by CodeTime, Aug 8, 2021.

  1. CodeTime

    CodeTime [Void Emperor of Time]

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    Give a list of 9 novels that you believe are masterpieces, and optionally write about one which you specifically love.

    Mine:
    Dungeon Defense (LN):
    Has one of the most polished antihero mc I have ever seen, along with very developed side characters. Some moments are even very poetic, and there are moments where even you get to feel the confusion that is happening in the moment. Like, there would be a page literally filled with nonsense. Then, the same page is shown but some of the text if faded, showing that some of the text was, in fact, nonsense. Then, the same would happen on the next page, fading even more text, until you are down to only one sentence down from the entire page. Additionally, sometimes it may just be a blank page to give the the idea of a "loud silence". On the same note, in the battlefield, the author switches between a page with a black background and white letters to a page with a while background and black letters to indicate a change in perspective, and this would be done alternatively, making it feel as if you are changing perspectives without any delay of time. This does not happen often in the novel, but when it does, the immersion is unbelievable. Even aside from the very intense moments, the novel is a pleasure of read. The main character literally has no personal strength aside from his mind, which still is not that op that he has no issues ever. Really the only issue I have with the novel is the title, as it delayed my discovery of the novel for years as it feels so generic. Funnily enough, there is not a shred of defending a dungeon after the prelude/first chapter.

    An example: https://shalvationtranslations.wordpress.com/2017/11/11/dungeon-defense-volume-5-chapter-3/
    Scroll just a bit more than half way to the point where it changes to pages rather than the normal website text.

    Rest of the list:
    The Grandmaster Strategist
    City of Sin
    Kingdom’s Bloodline
    Monarch of Evernight
    Warlock of the Magus World
    Reverend Insanity
    I Have a Mansion in the Post-apocalyptic World
    Joy of Life
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2021
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  2. Mister Div

    Mister Div ? ¿ Founder of The Anti loli Alliance!!!

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    I only have one Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari It is the first LN/WN that I read to completion and re-read right after
     
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  3. Noble Ran

    Noble Ran Evil Ordeal

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    Reverend Insanity
    Lord of the Mysteries
    Renegade Immortal
    Pursuit of the Truth
    The Legendary Mechanic
    The Sage Who Transcended Samsara
    Martial Arts Master
    The First Order
    Nightfall / Tales of Herding Gods / Spare me, Great Lord!

    Off the top of my head, so might be wrong. The last three I've found relatively close in terms of quality, which is why included all three of them.
     
  4. Baldingere

    Baldingere Roseau pensant

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    ORV
    TCF
    Death Mage
    FOD
    I'll have to think more for the others
     
  5. Seigin

    Seigin [Lolicon][GenderBender Banzai!]

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    ISSTH

    OVERGEARED

    they made me cry a lil bit
    ___________
    Reborn as my love rivals wife

    the GOAT of genderbender imo
     
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  6. Arbelbyss

    Arbelbyss 『Abyss Scion』『Epiphron』『Tempestarius』

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    Wow, Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari was the novel that brought me to this site.

    Though thinking of the top 9 for me.... I don't really know.
     
  7. BookHermit

    BookHermit ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

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    not in any particular order:
    Overlord
    Lord of the mysteries
    Dungeon defense
    ORV
    TNC
    Isaac
    A Tale of Strategies For the Throne
    The earth is online
    Back To The Beginning Of Ming To Do Charity
     
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  8. FIEND

    FIEND i eat crayons

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    Lot,
    Reverend insanity
    Reincarnation paradise
    Doomsday wonderland
     
  9. rasyidmystery

    rasyidmystery Well-Known Member

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    The list:
    The Lazy King
    TCF
    ORV
    SCOG
    Dungeon Defense
    Mother of Learning
    FFF-Class Trash Hero
    Welcome to the nightmare game
    The Earth is Online

    My favorite is actually Dungeon Defense (i really like the interaction between Dantalion and the girls especially barbatos), but because the OP has already talked about it I will talk about The lazy King instead because it is one of the more underrated novels on my list (other than Mother of Learning but that's beside the point).
    The short summary is the MC got Reincarnated as a demon where they increase their power by doing things in accordance with the seven deadly sins, meanwhile, the MC just sleep all day and Became the demon king of Sloth. some people may argue that the MC doesn't do anything in the story, but I think it is actually the main point and charm of this novel, which is more about the side characters and their action impact on the MC.
    My only dislike is about how short it is. it is only 16 chapters and in the last episode the author gives the illusion that it's like a prologue of a bigger story, but nope, it ends just there.

    Honorable mention (Great in general, but some reason or another hold me from putting them on the list)
    Top Management
    Running away from the hero
    SSS-Clas Suicide Hunter
    Gomen ne, Onii-sama
    Kumo desu ga, nani ka?
    The Evil Organization’s Recruitment Ad
    The Novel extra
    Plague doctor
    House of Horror
     
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  10. grass_is_tasty

    grass_is_tasty Grass is more than just weed.

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    As much I like novels in this site, I can't bring myself to call any of what I've read masterpieces. So I'll just stick in western published novels.

    The Good Earth: A masterpiece really. I've read her other work set in a western setting and it comes nowhere near this.

    1984: I read this first when I was between 10 to 12 years and as I grow and come back to read it, I discover things I initially missed.

    Animal Farm: It's a novella but still. I find it so witty that he used actual animals who just happened to hold human conversations. One of the only two political novels I've read and it's great.

    The Handmaid's Tale: For a year or so, I was only finding tedious novels and this made me recall what novel addiction felt like. The story is not as elaborate as the series but it's still a masterpiece.

    Jane Eyre: I zoned out after the school arc but the whole novel was one amazing para after another. And I read it in Wattpad so the comments made it a more enjoyable read.

    Little Women: Nostalgia in novel form. Little Women feels like the childhood I've never lived, it feels like home. The fact that it's age progression alone just makes me lick its feet.

    When breath becomes air: It's really hard to get wrong with a novel written by a dying man you know?

    Malory Towers series: My childhood. This might be my bias but I feel like this is the best work of Enid Blyton. You can't get better than this.

    Earth is Online: I can't think of anything else and this is really good to just not include it in the list.

    Now, I'm sure there are webnovels and the like but the thing is, I only exclusively read trash. Whenever I see good seeming novels in novelupdates, I avoid it like the plague. If I wanted to read good novels, I would read well-known published novel man. Trashy novels are really comforting.
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2021
  11. MMWO

    MMWO *pout*

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    I'm so so so into romance so here's my top 5 as of the moment

    1. Quick Transmigration Cannon Fodder's Record of Counterattacks (Ning Shu)
    -I really wanted to see some romance happening between Ning Shu and Tai Shu but oh well. I find things revolving around the organization and the void super super interesting.

    2. Devil's Warmth
    -I love love love it. I'm a big fan of tearjerker novels. I simply enjoy the feeling of my heart being squeezed.

    3. I've Transmigrated Into This Movie Before
    -something supernatural

    4. Live At The Murder Scene
    -something involving advanced technology

    5. Falling Dreams of Fang Hua
    -another really good tearjerker
     
  12. Deleted member 202210

    Deleted member 202210 Guest

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  13. Lict

    Lict Member

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    1Omniscient readers viewpoint
    2 I want to be you just for a day
    3 how to protect fl older brother
    4 the lady just wants to rest
    5 death is the only ending for the villaness

    6 the villaness is a marriote
    7 I will be the matriach in this life
    8 the Emperor Reverses time
    9 my deepest secret
     
  14. sonicslow4595

    sonicslow4595 Well-Known Member

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    1 Doomsday wonderland
    2 Lord of the mysteries
    3 The experimental log of the crazy lich
    4 My house of horrors
    5 Running Away From The Hero! (Remake)
    6 The girl who ate a death god
    7 Forty Millenniums of Cultivation
    8 Throne of Magical Arcana
    9 In a world without life
     
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  15. otaku31

    otaku31 Well-Known Member

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    :blob_plusone: My sentiments exactly! The so called good novels here can never really measure up to the classics and even worse, they can't provide the guilty pleasure of fast-food novels. They take the middle ground of sheer mediocrity. What also doesn't help is these 'good novels' are usually the ones making you slog through hundreds of chapters of info dump in the name of lore or world-building, the keyword here being 'slog'. Published classics may also take some time to set up the events, but they manage to keep the reader riveted with their narrative styles and expressions, be it through the the profundity of their statements, their pithy or witty comments, their cadences, or simply through the all-round excellence of their prose.
     
    Last edited: Sep 5, 2021
  16. sonicslow4595

    sonicslow4595 Well-Known Member

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    :blobjoy::blobjoy::blobjoy::blobjoy::blobjoy: some "good novels" are actually really wroth the time trust me and you should try 'the girl who ate a death god' only about 34 chaps and no info dumps
     
  17. CovetousWolf

    CovetousWolf Well-Known Member

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    Overlord, Reverend insanity, a thought through eternity, Throne of magical arcana, konosuba.
    Thats it. There is no more anything worth.
     
  18. Hanada

    Hanada Well-Known Member

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    Dungeon Defense
    An a Spider so What
    Overlord
    Lazy king
    Zhu Xian
    King Shura
    Reincarnated Swordmaster
    My Death Flags Shows no Signs of Ending
    Evil God Average
     
  19. Slayerwolfx2

    Slayerwolfx2 [Immortal Forever]

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    Coiling Dragon (first novel + can't believe no one said it before me)

    Desolate Era and Stellar Transformations (On the same note as Coiling Dragon)

    Cultivation Chat Group (Normally I hate misunderstandings, but this was funny enough to look past that. Unfortunately I dropped it when Qi picked it up with horrible translations)

    Mother of Learning (Can't go wrong here. The sheer possibilities made me think of numerous what if scenarios and because I read it when it was nearly completed, I didn't have to wait a month for each chapter)

    New World (An original story over in RoyalRoad, and one I'm re-reading currently)

    Azarinth Healer (Again an original story over in RoyalRoad, and one of the two stories I'm a patreon of.)

    Legends of Gods. Tale of Vjaira (An original story in RoyalRoad, one that I started reading at the Wuxiaworld forums very early on, before I knew it was BL. However, the story was good enough that I didn't drop it even when I learned about it, and I consider it good enough to belong on this list.)

    Dreams Come True (An original story in RoyalRoad, one that had gone on a hiatus for one and a half years before returning to us once more! This is the other story I'm a patreon of and it's good. Admittedly, I liked the story pre-hiatus more, but it's not that worse now.)

    That's my top nine of all time, but some honorable mentions:

    Warlock of the Magus World
    The Zombie Knight Saga
    The Perfect Run
    The Path of Ascension
    Everybody Loves Large Chests
    The Tutorial Is Too Hard
    The Many Lives of Cadence Lee
    The Daily Grind (First season only)
    Again from Scratch
     
  20. NinjapowerMS

    NinjapowerMS Local man ruins everything

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    I read a lot of novels but I majority of them I can't say were masterpieces and only one stuck in my head after all these years.
    Though I would say Mushoku Tensei is a flawed masterpiece.
    It had some problems but because the ending was the perfect crescendo for all Reincarnation stories it has a special place in my heart.