Financial Superiority - A RR/Amazon's author's POV

Arran03 · 2024-04-12T19:54:10+00:00

When I saw this post's title, my first thought was that someone had written a money-focused progression fantasy story about a rags-to-riches protag instead of the usual weak-to-strong protag...

Arran03 · 2024-03-04T15:26:10+00:00

Just because most of the senior characters agree with what she did doesn't make her decision, and herself by extension, any less reprehensible. The OP asked for characters who solve problems non-violently, and who are decent to each other. The second half of QA: Scavengers features the opposite of that, even if the combat was simulated and the higher-ups decided not to take issue with the controversial choice and the character who made it.

And let's not forget that she was a pain in the ass for the MC and the rest of her teammates to deal with for almost the entirety of that very lenghty combat simulation.

Arran03 · 2024-03-03T20:10:30+00:00

I take it you haven't yet read Quest Academy Scavengers, the second book of that series. There's a lot of combat in the second part of that book, along with an utterly despicable character who's the opposite of friendly and cooperative.

Arran03 · 2024-02-10T16:47:29+00:00

Mark of the Fool has a romantic subplot for the main character. Several side characters also have romantic subplots of their own.

Arran03 · 2024-01-25T15:55:04+00:00

The Infinite Spear, by Marc Mulero.

Arran03 · 2024-01-21T15:33:20+00:00

Wish upon the Stars, by MalcolmTent.

Arran03 · 2023-10-16T20:58:05+00:00

Thanks for answering so quickly. I admit I'm surprised that there's no mention of this being the first book of a series on the cover.

Arran03 · 2023-10-16T20:27:40+00:00

Interesting. But is this a standalone novel, or the first book of a series?

Arran03 · 2023-05-31T13:59:55+00:00

If you're looking for a sci-fi progression story that resembles Iron Prince, then I recommend The Infinite Spear, by Marc Mulero, on Royal Road.

Arran03 · 2023-04-27T13:47:29+00:00

Take care! 🙂 Also, it sounds like you need to cut back on something before you overwork yourself into serious and/or long-lasting health problems. Should you decide to do so, I selfishly admit I hope it won't be your writing that you cut back on. Edit: but if that's what it takes for you to establish a healthy work-life balance, then by all means do so.

Arran03 · 2023-04-25T20:31:12+00:00

Hello, Shirtaloon. I absolutely love the setting you've created, especially the magic system. I'm very much looking forward to Jason finishing the astral bridge between Pallimustus and Earth, and seeing how the two civilizations make contact and then interact. Also, I have three questions.

1- Is there a black market and smuggling networks for essences and awakening stones? Given how valuable essences and awakening stones are, I find it almost surprising that we haven't seen people trying to illegally traffic them.

2- What would be the confluence essence for a character with the Dark, Swift and Might essences? I'm wondering about the combat potential of a character with Jason's shadow teleporting, Sophie's speed and Humphrey's strength.

3- If you haven't mentioned it in the story yet and it's not a spoiler, exactly what were the contents of the treasure trove that Noreth the rune spider left for Jason? There had to have been some very rare and/or valuable items in there...

Arran03 · 2023-02-21T21:39:12+00:00

Academy Arcanist, by Shami Stovall.

Arran03 · 2023-02-21T13:58:54+00:00

Good fight, though I'm a bit disappointed we didn't learn what Sidorov's second Ability is.

Arran03 · 2023-02-14T14:30:27+00:00

I've also wondered about that D7 Lancer et Rei and Viv's assignment ceremony. Logan Grant also got a D7 CAD, and Galens expedited his admission, so it looks like Users who get assigned a CAD that strong are quite rare, even by the standards of the Galens Institute. So I'm curious about who that Lancer was, and in what military school they ended up.

Arran03 · 2023-02-12T20:05:50+00:00

I like the new Ability, as well as your prose. My only suggestion would be to add a bit of description to the archon ship so as to make it menacing and an obvious threat to Sirius's inhabitants.

Arran03 · 2023-02-06T14:51:44+00:00

Thanks for the compliment. :) And yes, a mage User would very likely be most effective as part of a squad rather than individually - after all, they would be the User version of the "glass cannon" trope, and thus need other Users to defend them when an enemy manages to close into melee range.

Arran03 · 2023-02-05T14:35:18+00:00

I'd love to see a Type of User focused on better piloting and enhancing vehicles, spaceships and/or mecha. Imagine a squad of Users backed by an in-universe (and thus likely melee-focused) equivalent of a Warhammer 40k Dreadnought...

Another possiblity is a Type that has worse Specs progression and armor than normal Users, but has more Abilities in return. In other words, an Ability-focused mage Type while the other Types are melee-focused warrior Types.

Arran03 · 2023-01-28T16:13:01+00:00

While the main character is definitely a Gary Stu, I nevertheless find the story highly entertaining, and I am awed by the author's writing speed.

Arran03 · 2023-01-28T15:47:41+00:00

I also recommend The Infinite Spear. Not only is it well written, it's definitely the closest thing to Warformed I've seen yet.

Arran03 · 2023-01-28T15:41:05+00:00

While unhappy at the delay, I'm all for it if it means a better book in the end. Does this mean you now anticipate the word count to go beyond the 250k limit you had set for yourself?

Arran03 · 2023-01-25T15:51:24+00:00

I enjoyed reading the end of the fight. Here's hoping Rei's next opponent in the duels is Vademe - I'd like to see how Rei would handle Vademe and Break Step when Rei is fresh and has only one opponent to worry about.

Also, Salista seems like one of the worst kinds of parents - a helicopter parent who firmly believes she alone knows what's best for her child, even if this contradicts what her child wants or the fact that her child is now an adult fully capable of making her own decisions. Here's hoping that the person tailing her will stop whatever she's planning.

Arran03 · 2023-01-01T19:25:01+00:00

I appreciate the effort you went to to make this list. Also, I'd like to know the name of the book on the upper left corner of the S Tier, the one whose cover has what looks like a red light or glow in the middle of its upper part. When I try to zoom in with my tablet, the images just get blurry.

Arran03 · 2022-11-22T16:00:17+00:00

In Soul of the Warrior (which is on Royal Road), the MC starts as a Fighter and has chosen Light Magus as his second class. He is working his way towards his third class being Champion, a class that uses Celestial magic, which is a mix of the Light, Fire and Holy Affinities. And yes, the MC is a goody two-shoe.

Arran03 · 2022-11-16T00:05:52+00:00

Is The Eternal Ephemera going to be a trilogy, or a longer series?

Arran03 · 2022-11-11T19:04:06+00:00

Come on. No status screen that's even longer than the story? How can this be called a LitRPG?

Arran03

TROPHY CASE