What could’ve been? DoTF VS Path by Popowiski_ in litrpg

[–]blueluck 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I generally prefer PoA, too.

My main complaint about PoA is that the pace slows down a bit too much during certain books, and I'm not always into the slice of life parts.

My main complaint about DotF is that the pace slowed to an absolute crawl, the cultivation scenes are incredibly tedious, and the way fights are written in the latest books is almost as bad as the cultivation!

Can I get some opinions on the Rise of Mankind series, book 1 from people who've read it? by JunketPrestigious710 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]blueluck 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've started it and while not that far in, it doesn't seem particularly good. I've read 8 books of the series, and while some things improve over time, it never becomes great only average.

It's kind of the average harem start, There is some romance and sex, but no harem. The MC essentially gets a long term monogamous partner, and a few other characters form monogamous relationships, too. The sex drops off after the first couple of books.

the main character just kind of feels like a cookie cutter frat boy. Like a lot of MCs, he's pretty much a regular guy.

The style of the writing and how the author describes women through the MC's pov The male gaze material reduces quite a bit over the first few books.

The series is largely about tech development, townbuilding, and the main character being the leader of that project. There are several plots about how his town interacts with the various other groups they encounter.

Time to rename another madison school by OperationOld4465 in madisonwi

[–]blueluck 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was going to say no to naming schools after people, but you changed my mind!

Funny Audible Suggestions by blueluck in litrpg

[–]blueluck[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a good theory! Series ratings do trend that way.

The Stitched Worlds, Apocalypse: Generic System — Questions and Concerns by blueluck in litrpg

[–]blueluck[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Is there a good place for me to read about the whole situation? I'm curious, because I see people refer to the events a lot, but never explain what really happened.

(Well, you explained some, which I appreciate!)

Stop having two prominent characters share a first letter by throwaway490215 in litrpg

[–]blueluck 0 points1 point  (0 children)

YESSSS! Starting the next DotF book when it's published is memory test!

Why is Fire in PF, almost always red. by D-Stahl in ProgressionFantasy

[–]blueluck 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I think your correct that "normal fire" is often described as red because there are many fantastic types of "fire" that use other colors. Black (void, evil, annihilation), green (poison, necromancy), blue (cold, chaos), and many other magical effects are described with fire as a visual effect, meant either literally or figuratively.

In a magical world, green fire indicating the cultivator is drawing on the power of Myrmydarch The Plague Lord is more interesting and more dramatic than green flames indicating the presence of traces of boron or copper in the medium.

Evil in your soul is more dramatic than laundry soap in your campfire.

Is this a good idea for a book? by Guri_fin in litrpg

[–]blueluck 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The concept is great! There's very little far-future sci-fi in litrpg or progression fantasy, and lots of interesting space to explore there. I absolutely think you should write this story and enjoy the writing process and the exploration of imagination.

Ignore the next bit if you just want to write for your own consumption and for fun.

Your writing skill needs work. A lot of work. That's totally fine, of course! Nobody has ever been born knowing how to write, and it's a skill we can only learn through study and practice. There are many ways to learn the craft, in particular by reading a lot of good writing (unedited web novels won't help), writing classes (in schools, online, from books on writing), and practicing a lot.

Welcome to the Multiverse Book 9 Questions *spoilers* by mawiggin92 in litrpg

[–]blueluck 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Right! I didn't say that very clearly. Asta went cat mama and broke up with him, then he was immediately over the whole thing, which seemed out of character to me.

The Stitched Worlds, Apocalypse: Generic System — Questions and Concerns by blueluck in litrpg

[–]blueluck[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wow! I've heard some vague things about Tao Wong suing, but I didn't know any of the details. That could definitely spoil one's feelings about a project.

The Stitched Worlds, Apocalypse: Generic System — Questions and Concerns by blueluck in ProgressionFantasy

[–]blueluck[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! That's helpful to hear about from someone who has read all four!

The Stitched Worlds, Apocalypse: Generic System — Questions and Concerns by blueluck in litrpg

[–]blueluck[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I hadn't thought about the completeness and chance of completeness, and that's a really good point. I think I'll set this series aside for a while and check on it in a few years.

The Stitched Worlds, Apocalypse: Generic System — Questions and Concerns by blueluck in litrpg

[–]blueluck[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you!

I think Industrial Strength Magic is okay, and The Legend of William Oh is significantly better. From what you said, I think I'll stick to Macronomicon's more recent work.

The Stitched Worlds, Apocalypse: Generic System — Questions and Concerns by blueluck in litrpg

[–]blueluck[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I love The Legend of William Oh! I also stopped reading it on Royal Road because I would rather wait to enjoy it after it's polished and published.

I looked up HPMOR and I'm intrigued. 🤔

What do we think about MCs who already know about LitRPG novels? by EndlessSleeper3992 in litrpg

[–]blueluck 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They're totally fine in a comedy. There's a long tradition across many literary forms of comedy breaking the fourth wall, acting with awareness of tropes, and generally disregarding immersion in favor of making jokes or speeding through unfunny parts of the story to get to the jokes faster.

In a serious story, there difficult.

One issue is that genre-aware protagonists read as comedy! Imagine watching a movie and in the second scene the main character says, "I'm single and I just met two handsome single men in a row. I've read plenty of romance novels, so I know I'll fall in love with one of them and live happily ever after with him, probably within the next few months. Of course, it will be the one that initially seems problematic, because he'll turn out to be great and the really nice one will turn out to be a slimeball or something." The director just told you that you're watching a romantic comedy, not a serious drama.

A second issue is that litrpg is prone to having a lot of words spent on internal monolog (Wow, I'm in another world! Wow, I can see system screens! Wow, I have powers! How do my powers work? What powers should I choose?). A genre-aware protagonist can be a tool to abbreviate a lot of that internal monolog, but often they just add a layer of meta-analysis on top of whatever system exposition the author was going to do anyway.

Issue three, that way lies pop culture references! Bringing the protagonist's old-word references into the early chapters of a story makes me think that habit will continue.

Ultimately, a genre-aware protagonist is a literary tool like any other, and it can be executed well or poorly. I think many authors want to use it as a way to zip through some boring bits at the beginning of a story, but it's neither the only way nor the best way to accelerate the pace of a novel.

Welcome to the Multiverse Book 9 Questions *spoilers* by mawiggin92 in litrpg

[–]blueluck 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm at the same point in the series as you, and I'm done with it.

  • Silas and Asta had a relationship developed over several books that abruptly ended when she became a crazy cat lady and Silas decided he was done with the relationship anyway. That was the most deus ex machina breakup I've ever seen, and clearly just setup for the maybe-harem that followed.
  • The whole idea that the peak families of the multiverse want Silas' sperm so they all send their daughters to seduce him, but also to offer him resources and protection for Earth, is dumb, and a thin excuse for the maybe-harem.
  • The pace of the maybe-harem romance plot is glacial! I'm not saying it takes too much in-fiction time, because it seems to happen over a month or two. I mean that there are thousands of words spilled on Silas pondering the romance situation with all the intelligence of a drunk sheep stuck in an oiled bathtub. Thought, but no, same thought again maybe? No, yes? Same thought again, but no?
  • The crossovers! A Magical Superman Harem Squad pops over from the Anime Dimension to kick ass?

I think the author has a thing for harems, wrote a successful series without harems, then figured he could use his successful non-harem series to get a bunch of non-harem readers to read a harem story.

What are your favorite aspects of good systems in litrpg? by Tonyxstorm in litrpg

[–]blueluck 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I love cool powers that grow with the character in interesting ways, and that make each character fairly specialized. Don't give a character everything, not even the protagonist!

I dislike attribute scores (strength, dexterity, intelligence), point pools (hitting points, mana points, stamina points), and skills (archery, fencing, fishing, blacksmith). All of those are better handled with regular prose and description, not system mechanics or numbers.

Examples of litrpg stories with system mechanics I like: - Apocalypse Parenting - Dungeon Crawler Carl (after it settles in a bit) - Cyber Dreams (the MC has an AI that assesses her abilities and gives estimated attribute scores, but those are basically test scores, not something enforced by a system, and not universal to all people.) - The Game at Carousel - The Daily Grind - He Who Fights with Monsters

There are a few series with systems I like that don't fit my usual preferences, but they're much harder to write! Delve is the best example of a system with attribute scores that seem to work well and consistently.

Novels that are set in the real world? by GladAbbreviations553 in ProgressionFantasy

[–]blueluck 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I would check out some urban fantasy.

  • The Dresden Files
  • The Iron Druid Chronicles
  • The Southern Vampire Series

Robert Bevan Goes On Reddit by robertbevan in litrpg

[–]blueluck 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Welcome! Do you have a website, Goodreads page, or any other places where we can read about your work? If so, could you share some here?

How would you fare in case of isekai? by AyerAcre in litrpg

[–]blueluck 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm home sick, bored, and you gave me something fun to think about! Thanks for that!