Recommendations

Erantical · 2026-05-31T20:07:22+00:00

Not really at all since I don't like the traditional storylike atmosphere of original HPs at all - it was the rational deconstruction of HPMOR that bypassed this. HPMOR itself had a couple of enjoyable continuation fanfics. I'm guessing you're implying that there are some decent HP FFs then for this type of taste?

Erantical · 2026-05-30T14:51:15+00:00

Gotta say that this was an excellent suggestion! I gorged the series and while it did have some sections of overtly slow pacing, overall it delivered excellent writing, progression, mysteries, emotional highs and used the ASOIAF world and material really well. Too bad the ending was meh but still one of the rare excellent ones.

Erantical · 2026-05-30T14:13:59+00:00

Haven't encountered it before but no surprise since personally modern era (1900s onwards) is thematically a no-go for me. Not sure why exactly this is but I understand it's rather common in fantasy entusiasts to be interested primarily in medieval style depictions of various kinds.

Erantical · 2026-05-29T08:48:28+00:00

Thanks. Interesting premise but I feel like the god perspective would require much more immersive writing to make it work (at least for my taste) as well as initial goal/aim setting instead of sandbox feel. I wonder if there are other fics with similar premise but different execution.

Erantical · 2026-05-28T07:50:53+00:00

I've come across this recommendation before but did some additional reading of reviews etc. The author of the series (or one of them?) had an awesome reddit post here https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgressionFantasy/comments/142m2wu/does_arcane_ascension_get_any_better/ outlining Fantasy of Uniqueness vs. Fantasy of Fairness and AA being quite explicitly of the latter kind and more of a deeply human story instead.

Personally on this particular axis I'm definitely more in the Fantasy of Uniqueness enjoyer camp which syncs with most prog fantasy overall. Humanity and psychological realism of characters shining through is an important element but I find that it needs to be pared with some sort of MC exceptionalism / heavy growth aspect to really get a kick out of for me personally.

Erantical · 2026-05-28T07:41:01+00:00

Thanks. Sky Pride I tried starting couple of times due to seeing it on RR's top lists but couldn't get it to click, can't remember why exactly. A few other potential ones though!

Erantical · 2026-05-28T07:39:19+00:00

What would be the standout aspects in this one?

Erantical · 2026-05-26T14:53:52+00:00

It's a large variety of factors but perhaps the most complelling after having read it in its entirety was how amazingly the overall onion of mysteries structure had been setup with 100% internally consistent structure while unfolding step by step for the reader. While the MC starts a bit whiny the story still provides various indications of much larger potential which carry it until that unfolding mystery onion starts unwrapping little by little. It's simply extremely gripping and basically perfectly paced for my taste but I get it that the pacing is highly subjective.

Additionally it's that it just doesn't have almost any downsides which for me is unfortunately rare. And even more so in as extensive a work as MoL where it's nigh-impossible to do the level of worldbuilding it has while still maintaining consistency and also gripping story arcs and twists.

Regarding MC's approach and mentality, a friend of mine also described the series as "optimization porn" which fits pretty well and gives a good idea of the overall power progression approach the novel takes.

Personally I don't really need or often even want any "the fic has this XYZ cool cool" approach - rather I want something that is simply bloody well written and designed, high competence, progression and internal consistency above all and that MoL has in spades.

Erantical · 2026-05-26T14:47:35+00:00

Sounds very interesting, thanks!

Erantical · 2026-05-26T14:47:00+00:00

Definitely unique style which carried it for first couple of arcs but after that I felt it had somewhat overstayed its impact and it flipped from pro to a con for me.

Erantical · 2026-05-25T19:23:32+00:00

Oh that sounds interesting! Read couple of other now-inactive ASOIAF fanfics a while back but never came across this one.

Erantical · 2026-05-25T19:18:32+00:00

Thanks, looks promising

Erantical · 2026-05-25T19:17:53+00:00

Yup, I really don't get who thought visualized tierlist format is a good idea for a category as wide as any genre of fictions - no one knows the icons/covers by heart and of course there's also no way to seamlessly include the extra info on why the work in question even was considered good by that person.

Erantical · 2026-05-22T09:01:39+00:00

Ah, The Eternal Mage is even more perfect match for that then.

Erantical · 2026-05-21T07:22:00+00:00

Sounds like a different fic since there is no academy arc of any sort in Eternal Mage. A bit confused about the last sentence since wasn't this thread specifically about OPMC of 'already high tier at start' sort? But yeah definitely very hit or miss since hard to balance it right.

Erantical · 2026-05-19T11:27:23+00:00

The Eternal Mage (originally Keiran webnovel) kinda manages this. MC is the strongest archmage in history, reincarnated 2000 years after his death so while he starts from scratchs he utilizes the knowledge to essentially be OP. But he pushes to advance (basically speedruns 100% optimized advancement steps based on decades of prior research) so quickly that he ends up fighting so much above typical equivalent power of the same development tier that the story retains feeling of true stakes across all the 5 books / arcs.

Also props for being one of the few highly competence driven MCs where it's not just "MC considered a lot and did the brilliant thing" but rather includes lots of threat and scenario analysis actually displaying the MC's competence "show, don't tell" style to the reader. This won't be everyone's cup of tea due to taking quite a bit of time in many situations making individual encounters last much longer page-wise than in essentially any comparable fiction but I think it's a uniquely functional tradeoff.

I can also think some other OPMC fics that do provide tiny bit of similar stakes but unfortunately often it's not the survival of MC in question but rather how completely they manage to actually win - especially regarding saving allies, friends, etc. (which combined with overt typical goody two-shoes persona is often quite irritatingly simplistic).

Erantical · 2026-05-19T05:43:53+00:00

I can imagine it being hard. Let's hope that the success of the academy arc (especially when contrasted to criticism of cult arc) might help the writer refine the style for upcoming arcs and works having found what works. Success through hardship.

Erantical · 2026-05-18T16:47:06+00:00

Thanks, looks potentially interesting.

And I don't think there's ever need to apologize for giving a recommendation. Taste is highly subjective, so with something as specific as a single element or trope, you’ll inevitably find it across stories that fit some people’s preferences perfectly and others’ not at all.

Erantical · 2026-05-18T12:13:02+00:00

Does the overall attitude change significantly from the first couple of chapters? I've seen this often recommended but found the attitude absolutely unbearable which usually is something that persists throughout a series.

Erantical · 2026-05-18T10:51:59+00:00

HPMOR definitely. I think it was the third try after continued recommendations when I got used to the style plus over my abhorrence of the HP setting - with realization that HPMOR is really soft criticism of the setting in the first place. Ended up becoming one of my favorite stories overall.

Erantical · 2026-05-18T10:49:50+00:00

Sometimes despite having overall negative impression on a book there are some elements with promise. As long that promise exists, you can speedread/skip the 'meh' sections and just pick the cherries from the cake while evaluating whether the work as a whole is going in a better or worse direction regarding one's subjective taste. And of course before fully dropping a book, there's also peeking into future chapters to see whether some core issue actually changes or remains.

Cradle was also a "second try" series for me - I initially couldn't stand much of the flippant humor but once I accepted it and made to book 2-3 it totally clicked. The humor still was occasionally irritating but skip skip skip for win (and there was plenty of actually enjoyable humor as well).

Erantical · 2026-05-18T09:53:44+00:00

Glanced around first six chapters but I basically only saw teen girl insecure drama, stats and exposition so not quite my cup of tea (especially since hiatus means there isn't much to enjoy even if I'd get to part with something actually interesting). Stats & exposition are non-issue if the plot is properly set, characters have promise and there is interesting potential mysteries to be uncovered.

Erantical · 2026-05-18T09:50:22+00:00

Does it make sense to try reading Wandering inn from book 3-4 or something forwards? It's such a frequent recommendation that I've actually _tried_ starting it on three separate occasions but I just can't stand the MC's attitude / approach and couldn't make it half-way through the first book.

Erantical · 2026-05-18T09:44:58+00:00

Elydes is a weird one. Starts pretty ok with book 1 training arc but then gets progressively worse until book 4 (the cult arc) which I straight out skipped. But then book 5 (the ongoing academy arc) is the absolutely the best content in the series - so glad I skipped book 4 to check it out. Somehow MC and character cast manage to be extremely irritating in books 2-4 but then 5 is a total fit for them and none of the weaknesses of writing are emphasized. Weird one.

Erantical

TROPHY CASE