Cultivation but tree. Power-leveling, team (sect) building, cultivation, LitRPG novel with stabby characters, out of place modern day artifacts for funsies, occasional meta humor, and an easy to follow plot. Looking for villainy and chaos but want to add in some found family? This is it. Control freak protag with a 'cheat' aka OP system.

Eagerly waiting for book #8 to release. I read it all in a single morning and found it hard to put down. In a few of the other books between #1 and now, the plot sometimes jumps or stagnates (occasional pacing issues) but book #7 didn't have this issue. Plot and prose are not difficult to follow. An easy read for a weary mind.

Enjoyed the FL and ML of this book far less than Book 1. Not very enthusiastic and far less fun than the previous duo. Her personality would've been interesting in the first book, when the group first met aliens after being abducted but feels grating when juxtaposed with all the others.

Plot is surface level interesting but clearly oriented to one goal - spice. Enjoy the narrative of abducted humans stranded on an alien planet. FL is into it, alien is into it, hey-- isn't that one human injured or something or plot? Nope, they're just going to bang for a bit first. Definitely a good book though if you're looking for spice. On a scale only this type of literature can get away with, I give it a 4/5.

Keywords: danmei, concubine, BL, ancient china, palace intrigue.

An interesting danmei (chinese BL literature) that takes place in ancient china and is a time regression do-over story.

I would say this story teeters on the edge of genderbend/forced feminization kink since the love interest had little say in becoming a 'wife', much like women of this time period. This novel's world still thinks and abides to strict gendered roles but an exception has barely been carved out for this highly specific scenario. The English translation is decent but there is no localization, so be prepared to be confused about certain turns of phrase and speaking patterns if you're unfamiliar with Chinese media and literature. The novel includes a page over the basics for you to familiarize yourself with.

A down-to-earth cultivation story with humor, a sunshine kind of guy, romance, and reads like someone took cultivation and sprinkled Stardew Valley cozy vibes but forgot to take out the crazy cultivation maniacs and scheming. A fun, western fusion cultivation novel to kick back and relax with.

The story of Overlord starts with the bittersweet end of a digital space that a working class man has an strong, emotional attachment to and swiftly jumps into an isekai/transmigration power-fantasy then slowly morphs into a political/strategizing fantasy overtime. [In-depth review of tone and genre below, if you're unsure if this novel is for you]

Volume 1 of Overlord is an interesting look at a working man who plays an old, now dying mmo as a form of escapism from a dystopian future where the wealth disparity is all the more striking and pronounced. Unfortunately, the first few chapters sets up a different tone and expectation with one insanely cringe moment that will haunt our protagonist and us, the readers, like a middle school dance. Even more so, the author seems to actually enjoy revisiting the consequences of this highly cringe-inducing hazard moment occasionally--just to keep you on your toes. Anyway, besides using humor and cringe occasionally like a blow-horn in our ear to see if we're still awake, this tone is completely different than the rest of the novel and series which is overwhelmingly more subdued and mature in contrast. It does set up a foil between the man who was playing an undead character and the man who has become an undead lich overlord but overall, does not accurately display the more subdued and serious tone the majority of the series leans into.

If you're a fan of world domination, scheming, and monsters this book will serve you well. If you're looking for rom-com harem hijinks this is not the book for you.

Solo Leveling is a progressing/LitRPG novel and manhwa that sounds good in summary then becomes progressively more boring upon reading.

There is a distinct lack of emotional depth to any of the characters and their interactions. For action moments, more "telling" than showing the readers why the scene should be taken seriously. Rather than write the fear, emotional responses, and actions of others in a meaningful way that keeps me on the edge of my seat, they fall into the trap of overly explaining logic [stats, strength, and more]. Which is unfortunate because the beginning of Solo Leveling does this very well in the first few chapters then stops. Solo Leveling starts strong and very swiftly peters out into progressively more bland arcs.

STGAAB is a powerless fantasy that explores the plight of a man thrown into a world reminiscent of a hardcore, rogue-like permadeath rpg that reads as an odyssey of the human experience—terror, paranoia, guilt, shame, protectiveness, love, grief, and most importantly, perseverance.

This has been my favorite book of all time. My favorite fantasy book, my favorite LitRPG book, my favorite transmigration book. It tops all others for me and let me tell you why. (no spoilers)

Many LitRPGs, transmigration/isekai, cultivation novels are power-fantasies. Not this. Surviving the Game as a Barbarian is a PowerLESS fantasy novel. Remember those old school permadeath rpgs that was impossible to beat, taking years with careful scrutiny from a community creating manuals, public forums and collaborations to get anywhere? Well welcome to the extremely dark, very real world Hansu finds himself in after finally beating one such Roguelike-RPG game after years of grinding. Where death is promised and permanent. STGAAB is interesting because our protagonist is scared and justifiably so. There is no protagonist shield here. This world is real and Death is something the author does an amazing job at detailing hubris, terror, grief, numbness, and the signs of PTSD as we follow the Hansu and his desperate fight to survive in this new world. As the title suggests, this is survival.

That is not enough to make this book a favorite though. What really pushes this to the top is the complex world building that I am still trying to wrap my head around. Every time I thought I had the full picture, another puzzle piece slots into place. I was constantly thinking of the puzzle behind this world, its history, and "why".

Lastly, the human spirit shines so brightly. The love, the suspicions, the vulnerability all find a place here. It's not just our protagonist but the numerous and diverse people around him that have so much depth to explore. I felt, at times, that some characters were very one-dimensional until, suddenly, they weren't. As they grew, or became vulnerable, I became sympathetic to their plight and felt emotionally attached to their journeys as well.

This light novel is still being published but has hundreds of chapters out. Unfortunately, Wattpad took down Yonder and reposted the translation. Now the only place to read the official english translation as pf writing this is there, costing well over $200 USD at minimum for essentially just vol.1 (Don't pay it). There is a webtoon version that I cannot recommend as it is a very water-downed version of the light novel and is far less gritty. Clean-shaven, bloodless, and complete lack of emotional depth that overtime will wear away any gravitas and interest in the narrative. I hope that English novels hit the market soon because fan translations are the only way to enjoy this amazing work of literature.

Cross-dressing, war and political intrigue, destitution, sexism and classism are rife within this novel. A beautiful tale of two different people trying to achieve goals in spite of these obstacles. The author notes that these characters are meant to be flawed and if you're expecting a magical friendship instead of the slow slog of building trust and rapport through the lies and manipulations, this is not for you. Female General and Eldest Princess are both ruthless in their own respective ways and watching the differences, the similarities as these two powerful personalities collide is half the treat of this novel alone.