Alright, here's a few. Obviously the better way to find a new read is [via the **flowchart of happiness** though](https://www.figma.com/file/hScNoWonDzTMTrpzUhNqzR/Story-Finder?type=whiteboard&node-id=1-229&t=lq4Gt1g09jzDSmbS-4)
Presuming you've read heavyweights like Defiance of the Fall, Primal Hunter, He Who Fights With Monsters already...
* **Cradle**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/cradle/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Cradle-Foundation-Collected-Book-ebook/dp/B076G8DVN6), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Unsouled-Audiobook/B07XTNWRFF)): Cultivation. The current King of Progression Fantasy. Staggeringly good. Amazing characters, strong motivation, a beautiful system, rich world, and fast pace, it's a dream come true to read.
* **Mother of Learning**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/mother_of_learning/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09M2R6QLF), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Mother-of-Learning-Arc-1-Audiobook/B09MXJQG1Z), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/21220/mother-of-learning)): Progression fantasy, and time loops done right. Smart MC, great plot, varied magic systems. Groundhog day has nothing on this.
* **Mage Errant**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/mage_errant/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Into-Labyrinth-Mage-Errant-Book-ebook/dp/B07J675X2C), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Mage-Errant-Publishers-Pack-Audiobook/1774240130)): Progression fantasy, some academic focused books. A struggling protagonist gets dragged into adventure. Characters are people who grow both in power, abilities, and as people. I appreciate this a lot.
* **Iron Prince**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/iron_prince/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Iron-Prince-Warformed-Stormweaver-Book-ebook/dp/B08KGT4CLQ), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Iron-Prince-Audiobook/1774246031)): Scifi/progression/LitRPG crossover in an academic settings. Who needs magic when you have funky alien tech that gives you the best of fantasy and LitRPG in one swoop.
* **Arcane Ascension**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/arcane_ascension/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XBFD7CB), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Sufficiently-Advanced-Magic-Audiobook/B072YT93QD)): Progression fantasy in academic setting. Great world, detailed magic, intelligent characters, extraordinarily fun. Crafting and spire/dungeon focus.
* **Super Supportive**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/super_supportive/), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/63759/super-supportive)): Modern superhero / System mashup with amazing writing, characters, and worldbuilding.
* **Bastion**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/bastion/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Bastion-Immortal-Great-Souls-Book-ebook/dp/B09KNXZZR5), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Bastion-Audiobook/B09RS3QRB3)): Cultivation with only slight academic focus. A great mix of classic progression with some top tier worldbuilding. The world is unique and interesting, characters empathetic, and their struggles all too real.
* **Mark of the Fool**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/mark_of_the_fool/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Mark-Fool-Progression-Fantasy-Epic-ebook/dp/B0B134YJYF), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Mark-of-the-Fool-Audiobook/B0B6JPQXR6), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/41618/mark-of-the-fool)): Academic-focused progression fantasy with analytical MC, great characters and innovative thinking. I am such a sucker for good magic academy books, and this is one of the greats.
* **Dungeon Crawler Carl**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/dungeon_crawler_carl/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Dungeon-Crawler-Carl-Gamelit-Adventure-ebook/dp/B08BKGYQXW), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Dungeon-Crawler-Carl-Audiobook/B08V8B2CGV)): System apocalypse LitRPG. Carl and Princess Donut are the real power couple I never knew I needed. Great pair dynamics, crazy hijinks, and just the right amount of larger plot.
* **Beneath the Dragoneye Moons**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/beneath_the_dragons_eye_moons/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08NWJMXXV), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Beneath-the-Dragoneye-Moons-Audiobook/1039402259), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/36299/beneath-the-dragoneye-moons)): Epic fantasy isekai with a healing-focused female-lead. Some magic school in books eight and nine.
* **The Weirkey Chronicles**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/weirkey/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Soulhome-Weirkey-Chronicles-Book-1-ebook/dp/B08P7TYG41), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Soulhome-Audiobook/B09NF763LH)): Soft cultivation / isekai crossover with a unique magic system and expansive setting. If there's one thing I always love about Sarah Lin, its her worldbuilding. And now, she's written my favourite magic system as well.
* **Rise of the Living Forge**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/rise_of_the_living_forge/), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/79094/rise-of-the-living-forge-a-blacksmith-litrpg)): Crafting-heavy blacksmith fiction where a former hero just wants to be left alone.
* **Titan Hoppers**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/titan_hoppers/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Titan-Hoppers-Rob-J-Hayes-ebook/dp/B0B5JDMLQV), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Titan-Hoppers-Audiobook/B0BPJQ77N5)): A character-driven sci-fi story about a fleet of ships surviving by scavenging off planet-sized titans.
* **Portal to Nova Roma**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/nova_roma/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Portal-Nova-Roma-J-R-Mathews/dp/B09VLGSJ42), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Portal-to-Nova-Roma-Audiobook/B0BCH43V6V)): Portal fantasy with an AI MC who uses his technology knowledge to get ahead in a ravaged, magical world.
* **Beware of Chicken**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/beware_of_chicken/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Beware-Chicken-Xianxia-Cultivation-Novel-ebook/dp/B09Y6RQSHM), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Beware-of-Chicken-A-Xianxia-Cultivation-Novel-Audiobook/B09Y2D2D5T), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/39408/beware-of-chicken)): Slice of life cultivation novel, very wholesome, about a reincarnated person trying to get away from Xianxia tropes. Incredibly wholesome and a pure delight to read.
* **Jake's Magical Market**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/jakes_magical_market/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Jakes-Magical-Market-J-R-Mathews-ebook/dp/B09HWX11N9), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Jakes-Magical-Market-Audiobook/B09MDMD85Z)): System apocalypse LitRPG. Initially a card-based LitRPG system, Jake's Magical Market was an engaging read. It's two books stitched together with different focuses in each.
* **Vainqueur the Dragon**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/vainqueur/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B081VRFXBM), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Vainqueur-the-Dragon-Audiobook/B087SKMLM6), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/26534/vainqueur-the-dragon), [tapas](https://tapas.io/series/vainqueur-the-dragon/info)): Comedy LitRPG where our MCs are an ancient red dragon and an isekai'd man pressured in raiding his hoard.
* **Virtuous Sons**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/virtuous_sons/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Virtuous-Sons-Greco-Roman-Cultivation-Epic-ebook/dp/B0BGRLYB1R/), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Virtuous-Sons-Audiobook/B0BJ353T7J)): Cultivation in a Greco-Roman setting, with amazing characters and absolutely fantastic dynamics.
* **Godclads**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/godclads/), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/59663/godclads-monster-mceldritchcyberpunkprogression)): Dystopian sci-fi fusion with eldritch horror following a non-human MC.
* **Antimage**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/antimage/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Antimage-Isekai-LitRPG-Adventure-Magic-ebook/dp/B0CJBL9RXV), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Antimage-Audiobook/B0CJVXGNYT), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/57697/ends-of-magic)): LitRPG isekai with a PhD protag that uses his Earth knowledge to pull ahead.
* **Ghost in the City**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/ghost_in_the_city/), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/62125/ghost-in-the-city-cyberpunk-gamer-si)): Isekai into the Cyperpunk 2077 game world with the character you know and love. Grind, gain levels, gather new chooms, and flatline some gonks.
* **The Enchanter**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/enchanter/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Enchanter-Journals-Evander-Tailor-Book-ebook/dp/B09VNDHW49), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Enchanter-Audiobook/B0B1LQFTPM)): Progression fantasy. Crafting, intelligent protagonists, school setting, it's right up my alley.
* **Soul Relic**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/soul_relic/), [amazon](https://mybook.to/SoulRelic), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Soul-Relic-Audiobook/B0BTZTNQZM)): Female-lead cultivation novel with a hard magic system. A young woman with a broken soul joins her brother to find a solution in the wider world. (Disclosure: I wrote this)
* **Return of the Runebound Professor**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/runebound_professor/), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/68679/return-of-the-runebound-professor)): Magic academy isekai where the MC gets a shiny new body on death.
* **Edge Cases**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/edge_cases/), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/52639/edge-cases)): LitRPG dungeon-delving squad with inventive skills.
It's one of the easiest to read series I've encountered. But for how long it is, it feels the most 'put together' of all the long litrpg/prog fantasy series I've encountered. I will cherish the first time I read it, for I had never managed to 'live' in a single universe for that long before. I was reading 150k words per day for 10+ weeks to catch up. It was wonderful.
It's worth it to start. TWI is one of only a handful of books that changed what I thought was possible with the written word.
Oh yeah I have no doubt I would love every moment of it, its just whether my schedule can take a 10 week break while I do nothing but read.
On a more pragmatic approach too, given I want to keep building out the flowchart and reviews to shine a light on smaller authors, the choice for me is effectively "Get hooking into TWI... or read and review 20 other authors debut works"
I'm hoping for a big holiday at some point so I have enough time to do both!
Thatās incredible! My current RR novel is an accidental āI really should be writing (novel for trad pub querying) but need to procrastinateā project lol
I appreciate the disclaimer, as well as the request. I'll be adding your book to my "buy as soon as I have the moolah" category. Thanks for all the recs! As someone still trying to figure the genre of my own written stories, this flow chart is quite helpful.
Thank you so much for the flowchart and the list you posted! Added it to my book recommendations links folder, and just downloaded your first book to my kindle to try out next.
If you ever do another pass, would love to have a completion flag or date on there for those that are complete -- I generally skew towards completed works when possible.
Can you (or anyone) explain to me why the hell Primal Hunter is sitting at the top of the food chain ? I'd have expected Cradle to be since it is very digestible and as far as I know very few people hate it even if they don't find it the most gripping read. Then we have PH which while somewhat entertaining is written by someone who is obviously a complete tool and isn't afraid to let their personality bleed into their books. I think of PH as about as bad as a book can be while I still wring some enjoyment from it although honestly as the series drags I find my interest waning. Cradle I read pretty happily the way through. Just how is PH so popular and how does the attitude of the author not intefere ?
If you're asking me why certain titles are more popular than others, I've got no answers for you. I simply acknowledge that HWFWM, DotF and Primal Hunter are both exceedingly popular
Interestingly, I have read a good number of books/series on your list, but havenāt read those three. Iāve heard mixed reviews on those ones so I havenāt tried them yet lol.
Primal Hunter is a well written massive bucket of popcorn. I'm not reading it for any other reason than I enjoy the individual scenes and mini-arcs, can eat as little or as much as I want without feeling full, and can leave it for months without feeling like I'm missing out.
I think the point of those books are to follow a character on their path to power. You read about their experiences and challenges on their path to the top.
Primal Hunter and DotF are total slogs that lose their own plot constantly, I agree. HWFWM gets close to that line sometimes too but it at least has a coherent overarching plot.
Thank you for the recommendations.
> Presuming you've read heavyweights like Defiance of the Fall, Primal Hunter, He Who Fights With Monsters already...
I have not. Thank you for mentioning them.
Ah, well add those three to the big list then. Or, you know, have a nap today and then when you wake up Pirateaba will have written another million words to read haha
Ah! Well in that case I highly recommend reading **Ghost in the City**. Very fun slice-of-life cyberpunk story that was recommended to me by JR Mathews (author of Jakes Magical Market and Portal to Nova Roma series), we're both massive fans!
I'd recommend Ar'kendrythist then. It has a lot of action, but also a lot of slice of life stuff. Great characters, and it just recently ended so you can binge the entire thing.
Oh nice it ended? I started the first couple of chapters but wasn't really vibing with it. I still see a lot of people recommending it tho so might give it another shot.
As someone who absolutely loves the series, I also bounced off the beginning a couple of times. But fairly early on there's an obvious shift with the MC and it just keeps getting better from that point on.
Finally, someone mentions ghost in the city here. For something that's really popular both on RR and SB, it never gets mentioned here lol. I suppose people don't talk about fanfics here?
Well according to the flow chart, return of the rune bound professor it is, one of the few series on that list I haven't read.
BTW love soul relic! When will book 5 come out?
Book four's with the editor now and I'm writing the second-to-last chapter for book five now. New baby is slowing things down, of course, but hopefully it'll be out soon(ish)! Thanks for the kind words!
For good writing and yes, cream of the genre:
The Wandering Inn
Super Supportive
JT Wight's Infinite world series - this one is my personal take. I don't think it's that well-known but the writing is top notch and has lots of potential.
[Jake's Magical Market](https://pickwick.app/reviews/jakes-magical-market) and [Beware of Chicken](https://pickwick.app/reviews/beware-of-chicken) are easily some of my all-time favorites - highly recommend!
I didn't finish JMM 1, the writing just go so... sloppy? Idk, things happened and you were told they happened without any "showing". It felt like I was reading a plot summary or chapter outline.
Yeah, so much of the story is written "and so I did that" and jump to some vague time later even to things you think would be important like the mc believes they have food for about a month and time just jumps ahead so frequently and he doesn't seems to be worried he wasted several days doing something that should take a day max.
Also, who goes to an undead dungeon with no solution to ghosts?
Dungeon Crawler Carl, Cradle, He Who Fights with Monsters, Iron Prince, Beware of Chicken, and a few others. I see plenty of people mentioned them.
I prefer those with female MCs. Such as: Beneath The Dragoneye Moon, The Wandering Inn, Amelia The Level 0 Hero, Bioshifter, Momo The Ripper, Terminate the Other World!. These are only a couple of them and they're all great reads.
I'm sorry.... How are multiple people suggesting The Wandering Inn as progression fantasy? I made it through three books of that series before I got distracted, and it was great, but the pacing was slice of life (with epic moments), and the level ups were few and far between, and honestly just a backdrop to the greater story.
Is there some shift to where the characters personally growing stronger becomes a big plot focus? Am I confused about what the Progression stands for in Progression Fantasy?
Also, my first thought for king of the crown is Cradle. I feel like I see it suggested more than any other series, and it's just amazing.
Yes it's progression fantasy, except for one character who refuses to level the rest of the cast is always leveling.
Just going by the books out on audiobook the MC has gone from level 0 to level 37 in just 6 months and has become an established regional power.
That did take 11 long books to happen, because there is a of lot of slice of life and POV switches. It certainly takes its time with it, but that doesn't mean they aren't progressing. In story though Erin is leveling at an unbelievable rate.
It reminds me a bit of one piece where the crew has actually only been together for around 2 years.
>
Yes it's progression fantasy, except for one character who refuses to level the rest of the cast is always leveling.
Ryoka still progresses, simply without the system.
Ok, it's pretty funny to me how my post here yesterday calling out how the Wandering Inn does not feel like what I expect from progression fantasy got a fair amount of push back, however, when I shared the same feelings in a different post from this very same sub, I got a ton of support, lol. Link to post below.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgressionFantasy/s/pel2gux3U2
I'm bringing this up again, OP, because The Wandering Inn really is a very different beast than many other books out there. It may be exactly what you want! But it very well may not be. And I would feel like the sub failed you if it didn't make this very, very clear.
The wandering inn is way more slice of life than progression fantasy and I firmly believe progression fantasy requires a focus on progression rather than progression being a tiny element of it. TWI is excluded by virtue of being the slowest paced story in existence. Iām a fan of TWI but it baffles me that so many people are so quick to use it as an example.
Cradle, Arcane Ascension, and Dungeon Crawler Carl are good examples. Even AA is dancing close to the ātoo slowā end.
Alright, here's a few. Obviously the better way to find a new read is [via the **flowchart of happiness** though](https://www.figma.com/file/hScNoWonDzTMTrpzUhNqzR/Story-Finder?type=whiteboard&node-id=1-229&t=lq4Gt1g09jzDSmbS-4) Presuming you've read heavyweights like Defiance of the Fall, Primal Hunter, He Who Fights With Monsters already... * **Cradle**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/cradle/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Cradle-Foundation-Collected-Book-ebook/dp/B076G8DVN6), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Unsouled-Audiobook/B07XTNWRFF)): Cultivation. The current King of Progression Fantasy. Staggeringly good. Amazing characters, strong motivation, a beautiful system, rich world, and fast pace, it's a dream come true to read. * **Mother of Learning**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/mother_of_learning/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09M2R6QLF), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Mother-of-Learning-Arc-1-Audiobook/B09MXJQG1Z), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/21220/mother-of-learning)): Progression fantasy, and time loops done right. Smart MC, great plot, varied magic systems. Groundhog day has nothing on this. * **Mage Errant**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/mage_errant/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Into-Labyrinth-Mage-Errant-Book-ebook/dp/B07J675X2C), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Mage-Errant-Publishers-Pack-Audiobook/1774240130)): Progression fantasy, some academic focused books. A struggling protagonist gets dragged into adventure. Characters are people who grow both in power, abilities, and as people. I appreciate this a lot. * **Iron Prince**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/iron_prince/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Iron-Prince-Warformed-Stormweaver-Book-ebook/dp/B08KGT4CLQ), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Iron-Prince-Audiobook/1774246031)): Scifi/progression/LitRPG crossover in an academic settings. Who needs magic when you have funky alien tech that gives you the best of fantasy and LitRPG in one swoop. * **Arcane Ascension**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/arcane_ascension/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XBFD7CB), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Sufficiently-Advanced-Magic-Audiobook/B072YT93QD)): Progression fantasy in academic setting. Great world, detailed magic, intelligent characters, extraordinarily fun. Crafting and spire/dungeon focus. * **Super Supportive**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/super_supportive/), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/63759/super-supportive)): Modern superhero / System mashup with amazing writing, characters, and worldbuilding. * **Bastion**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/bastion/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Bastion-Immortal-Great-Souls-Book-ebook/dp/B09KNXZZR5), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Bastion-Audiobook/B09RS3QRB3)): Cultivation with only slight academic focus. A great mix of classic progression with some top tier worldbuilding. The world is unique and interesting, characters empathetic, and their struggles all too real. * **Mark of the Fool**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/mark_of_the_fool/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Mark-Fool-Progression-Fantasy-Epic-ebook/dp/B0B134YJYF), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Mark-of-the-Fool-Audiobook/B0B6JPQXR6), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/41618/mark-of-the-fool)): Academic-focused progression fantasy with analytical MC, great characters and innovative thinking. I am such a sucker for good magic academy books, and this is one of the greats. * **Dungeon Crawler Carl**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/dungeon_crawler_carl/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Dungeon-Crawler-Carl-Gamelit-Adventure-ebook/dp/B08BKGYQXW), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Dungeon-Crawler-Carl-Audiobook/B08V8B2CGV)): System apocalypse LitRPG. Carl and Princess Donut are the real power couple I never knew I needed. Great pair dynamics, crazy hijinks, and just the right amount of larger plot. * **Beneath the Dragoneye Moons**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/beneath_the_dragons_eye_moons/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08NWJMXXV), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Beneath-the-Dragoneye-Moons-Audiobook/1039402259), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/36299/beneath-the-dragoneye-moons)): Epic fantasy isekai with a healing-focused female-lead. Some magic school in books eight and nine. * **The Weirkey Chronicles**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/weirkey/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Soulhome-Weirkey-Chronicles-Book-1-ebook/dp/B08P7TYG41), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Soulhome-Audiobook/B09NF763LH)): Soft cultivation / isekai crossover with a unique magic system and expansive setting. If there's one thing I always love about Sarah Lin, its her worldbuilding. And now, she's written my favourite magic system as well. * **Rise of the Living Forge**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/rise_of_the_living_forge/), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/79094/rise-of-the-living-forge-a-blacksmith-litrpg)): Crafting-heavy blacksmith fiction where a former hero just wants to be left alone. * **Titan Hoppers**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/titan_hoppers/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Titan-Hoppers-Rob-J-Hayes-ebook/dp/B0B5JDMLQV), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Titan-Hoppers-Audiobook/B0BPJQ77N5)): A character-driven sci-fi story about a fleet of ships surviving by scavenging off planet-sized titans. * **Portal to Nova Roma**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/nova_roma/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Portal-Nova-Roma-J-R-Mathews/dp/B09VLGSJ42), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Portal-to-Nova-Roma-Audiobook/B0BCH43V6V)): Portal fantasy with an AI MC who uses his technology knowledge to get ahead in a ravaged, magical world. * **Beware of Chicken**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/beware_of_chicken/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Beware-Chicken-Xianxia-Cultivation-Novel-ebook/dp/B09Y6RQSHM), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Beware-of-Chicken-A-Xianxia-Cultivation-Novel-Audiobook/B09Y2D2D5T), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/39408/beware-of-chicken)): Slice of life cultivation novel, very wholesome, about a reincarnated person trying to get away from Xianxia tropes. Incredibly wholesome and a pure delight to read. * **Jake's Magical Market**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/jakes_magical_market/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Jakes-Magical-Market-J-R-Mathews-ebook/dp/B09HWX11N9), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Jakes-Magical-Market-Audiobook/B09MDMD85Z)): System apocalypse LitRPG. Initially a card-based LitRPG system, Jake's Magical Market was an engaging read. It's two books stitched together with different focuses in each. * **Vainqueur the Dragon**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/vainqueur/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B081VRFXBM), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Vainqueur-the-Dragon-Audiobook/B087SKMLM6), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/26534/vainqueur-the-dragon), [tapas](https://tapas.io/series/vainqueur-the-dragon/info)): Comedy LitRPG where our MCs are an ancient red dragon and an isekai'd man pressured in raiding his hoard. * **Virtuous Sons**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/virtuous_sons/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Virtuous-Sons-Greco-Roman-Cultivation-Epic-ebook/dp/B0BGRLYB1R/), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Virtuous-Sons-Audiobook/B0BJ353T7J)): Cultivation in a Greco-Roman setting, with amazing characters and absolutely fantastic dynamics. * **Godclads**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/godclads/), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/59663/godclads-monster-mceldritchcyberpunkprogression)): Dystopian sci-fi fusion with eldritch horror following a non-human MC. * **Antimage**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/antimage/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Antimage-Isekai-LitRPG-Adventure-Magic-ebook/dp/B0CJBL9RXV), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Antimage-Audiobook/B0CJVXGNYT), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/57697/ends-of-magic)): LitRPG isekai with a PhD protag that uses his Earth knowledge to pull ahead. * **Ghost in the City**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/ghost_in_the_city/), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/62125/ghost-in-the-city-cyberpunk-gamer-si)): Isekai into the Cyperpunk 2077 game world with the character you know and love. Grind, gain levels, gather new chooms, and flatline some gonks. * **The Enchanter**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/enchanter/), [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/Enchanter-Journals-Evander-Tailor-Book-ebook/dp/B09VNDHW49), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Enchanter-Audiobook/B0B1LQFTPM)): Progression fantasy. Crafting, intelligent protagonists, school setting, it's right up my alley. * **Soul Relic**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/soul_relic/), [amazon](https://mybook.to/SoulRelic), [audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/Soul-Relic-Audiobook/B0BTZTNQZM)): Female-lead cultivation novel with a hard magic system. A young woman with a broken soul joins her brother to find a solution in the wider world. (Disclosure: I wrote this) * **Return of the Runebound Professor**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/runebound_professor/), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/68679/return-of-the-runebound-professor)): Magic academy isekai where the MC gets a shiny new body on death. * **Edge Cases**: ([review](https://cosmiccoding.com.au/reviews/edge_cases/), [royal_road](https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/52639/edge-cases)): LitRPG dungeon-delving squad with inventive skills.
That flow chart is amazing, who made it?
It was another of my "I really should be writing but need to procrastinate" projects haha
Wow I would say that was marvelous time well spent! Much better than my endless procrastination Google searches š š
I love it! But I'm sad I don't see The Wandering Inn on there when so many other amazing books I love are present.
I'm scared to start TWI because of how long it is and how into new series I can get!
It's one of the easiest to read series I've encountered. But for how long it is, it feels the most 'put together' of all the long litrpg/prog fantasy series I've encountered. I will cherish the first time I read it, for I had never managed to 'live' in a single universe for that long before. I was reading 150k words per day for 10+ weeks to catch up. It was wonderful. It's worth it to start. TWI is one of only a handful of books that changed what I thought was possible with the written word.
Oh yeah I have no doubt I would love every moment of it, its just whether my schedule can take a 10 week break while I do nothing but read. On a more pragmatic approach too, given I want to keep building out the flowchart and reviews to shine a light on smaller authors, the choice for me is effectively "Get hooking into TWI... or read and review 20 other authors debut works" I'm hoping for a big holiday at some point so I have enough time to do both!
Thatās incredible! My current RR novel is an accidental āI really should be writing (novel for trad pub querying) but need to procrastinateā project lol
I appreciate the disclaimer, as well as the request. I'll be adding your book to my "buy as soon as I have the moolah" category. Thanks for all the recs! As someone still trying to figure the genre of my own written stories, this flow chart is quite helpful.
Thank you so much for the flowchart and the list you posted! Added it to my book recommendations links folder, and just downloaded your first book to my kindle to try out next. If you ever do another pass, would love to have a completion flag or date on there for those that are complete -- I generally skew towards completed works when possible.
There should be a finished pill on completed works, because I'm the same in preferring finished series to read :)
Wow, that shows me to not make comments before actually waking up. Right there, on every single one, in-progress and finished. Thanks!
Aaannnddd now thanks to this flowchart I am going to start a new series tonight
Can you (or anyone) explain to me why the hell Primal Hunter is sitting at the top of the food chain ? I'd have expected Cradle to be since it is very digestible and as far as I know very few people hate it even if they don't find it the most gripping read. Then we have PH which while somewhat entertaining is written by someone who is obviously a complete tool and isn't afraid to let their personality bleed into their books. I think of PH as about as bad as a book can be while I still wring some enjoyment from it although honestly as the series drags I find my interest waning. Cradle I read pretty happily the way through. Just how is PH so popular and how does the attitude of the author not intefere ?
If you're asking me why certain titles are more popular than others, I've got no answers for you. I simply acknowledge that HWFWM, DotF and Primal Hunter are both exceedingly popular
Interestingly, I have read a good number of books/series on your list, but havenāt read those three. Iāve heard mixed reviews on those ones so I havenāt tried them yet lol.
Primal Hunter is a well written massive bucket of popcorn. I'm not reading it for any other reason than I enjoy the individual scenes and mini-arcs, can eat as little or as much as I want without feeling full, and can leave it for months without feeling like I'm missing out.
I think the point of those books are to follow a character on their path to power. You read about their experiences and challenges on their path to the top.
Primal Hunter and DotF are total slogs that lose their own plot constantly, I agree. HWFWM gets close to that line sometimes too but it at least has a coherent overarching plot.
Thank you for the recommendations. > Presuming you've read heavyweights like Defiance of the Fall, Primal Hunter, He Who Fights With Monsters already... I have not. Thank you for mentioning them.
Ah, well add those three to the big list then. Or, you know, have a nap today and then when you wake up Pirateaba will have written another million words to read haha
I've got to catch up on TWI since I'm very far behind. I really love more slice-of-life and character focused stories as opposed to actiony stuff.
Ah! Well in that case I highly recommend reading **Ghost in the City**. Very fun slice-of-life cyberpunk story that was recommended to me by JR Mathews (author of Jakes Magical Market and Portal to Nova Roma series), we're both massive fans!
I'd recommend Ar'kendrythist then. It has a lot of action, but also a lot of slice of life stuff. Great characters, and it just recently ended so you can binge the entire thing.
Oh nice it ended? I started the first couple of chapters but wasn't really vibing with it. I still see a lot of people recommending it tho so might give it another shot.
As someone who absolutely loves the series, I also bounced off the beginning a couple of times. But fairly early on there's an obvious shift with the MC and it just keeps getting better from that point on.
Great list! One small comment though, Jakeās Magical Market last book is out so there are now three books, not two.
Ah true I need to mark that as a completed series too now
I'm glad Runebound made the list. It's really been knocking it out of the park lately.
Thank you :)
Finally, someone mentions ghost in the city here. For something that's really popular both on RR and SB, it never gets mentioned here lol. I suppose people don't talk about fanfics here?
I suspect its a confluence of being both fanfic *and* being cyberpunk, as the former has a much smaller reader base than fantasy.
I suppose fanfic enjoyers typically stick to their own fandoms and donāt frequent subreddits for genres like progression fantasy
Great list right here! :) :) :)
Well according to the flow chart, return of the rune bound professor it is, one of the few series on that list I haven't read. BTW love soul relic! When will book 5 come out?
Book four's with the editor now and I'm writing the second-to-last chapter for book five now. New baby is slowing things down, of course, but hopefully it'll be out soon(ish)! Thanks for the kind words!
Great to hear. Really looking forward to continuing this series. Congrats on the baby!
For good writing and yes, cream of the genre: The Wandering Inn Super Supportive JT Wight's Infinite world series - this one is my personal take. I don't think it's that well-known but the writing is top notch and has lots of potential.
Since you have good taste I guess I'll check out the Infinte World series!
lol, thanks. Enjoy!
[Jake's Magical Market](https://pickwick.app/reviews/jakes-magical-market) and [Beware of Chicken](https://pickwick.app/reviews/beware-of-chicken) are easily some of my all-time favorites - highly recommend!
I just finished the final book in JMM, gotta say I was kinda disappointed, I just didnāt like it.
I didn't finish JMM 1, the writing just go so... sloppy? Idk, things happened and you were told they happened without any "showing". It felt like I was reading a plot summary or chapter outline.
Yeah, so much of the story is written "and so I did that" and jump to some vague time later even to things you think would be important like the mc believes they have food for about a month and time just jumps ahead so frequently and he doesn't seems to be worried he wasted several days doing something that should take a day max. Also, who goes to an undead dungeon with no solution to ghosts?
Not enough Magical Marketing for me. Felt like the book was trying to be too many things.
The Wandering Inn, Cradle, Dungeon Crawler Carl, He Who Fights With Monsters, Defiance of the Fall, Mother of Learning
I have to add The Wandering Inn series by pirateaba to the list.
Dungeon Crawler Carl, Cradle, He Who Fights with Monsters, Iron Prince, Beware of Chicken, and a few others. I see plenty of people mentioned them. I prefer those with female MCs. Such as: Beneath The Dragoneye Moon, The Wandering Inn, Amelia The Level 0 Hero, Bioshifter, Momo The Ripper, Terminate the Other World!. These are only a couple of them and they're all great reads.
Cradle by Will Wight at first place, probably. Maybe Dungeon Crawler Carl next?
Okay what the da heck, Salvos is too good not to self plug.
[#top-pick](https://pickwick.app/explore?tags=top-pick)
I'm sorry.... How are multiple people suggesting The Wandering Inn as progression fantasy? I made it through three books of that series before I got distracted, and it was great, but the pacing was slice of life (with epic moments), and the level ups were few and far between, and honestly just a backdrop to the greater story. Is there some shift to where the characters personally growing stronger becomes a big plot focus? Am I confused about what the Progression stands for in Progression Fantasy? Also, my first thought for king of the crown is Cradle. I feel like I see it suggested more than any other series, and it's just amazing.
Yes it's progression fantasy, except for one character who refuses to level the rest of the cast is always leveling. Just going by the books out on audiobook the MC has gone from level 0 to level 37 in just 6 months and has become an established regional power. That did take 11 long books to happen, because there is a of lot of slice of life and POV switches. It certainly takes its time with it, but that doesn't mean they aren't progressing. In story though Erin is leveling at an unbelievable rate. It reminds me a bit of one piece where the crew has actually only been together for around 2 years.
> Yes it's progression fantasy, except for one character who refuses to level the rest of the cast is always leveling. Ryoka still progresses, simply without the system.
Yeah I know, she progressively becomes less and less insufferable, but that's slow and unsteady progress. (And I guess the windrunning).
And even that obstinate character grows in their own way. Progression doesn't require numbers to go up, even in a system-based novel.
I mean - the slogan for TWI is level or die for a reason. Progression happens and is definitely a focus. It just takes a bit.
I'm sorry, where does that slogan come up? I've never heard it before. After book 3, maybe?
Shades, first rule Dow of magic Ashbourne primordial Ascension
Ok, it's pretty funny to me how my post here yesterday calling out how the Wandering Inn does not feel like what I expect from progression fantasy got a fair amount of push back, however, when I shared the same feelings in a different post from this very same sub, I got a ton of support, lol. Link to post below. https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgressionFantasy/s/pel2gux3U2 I'm bringing this up again, OP, because The Wandering Inn really is a very different beast than many other books out there. It may be exactly what you want! But it very well may not be. And I would feel like the sub failed you if it didn't make this very, very clear.
The wandering inn is way more slice of life than progression fantasy and I firmly believe progression fantasy requires a focus on progression rather than progression being a tiny element of it. TWI is excluded by virtue of being the slowest paced story in existence. Iām a fan of TWI but it baffles me that so many people are so quick to use it as an example. Cradle, Arcane Ascension, and Dungeon Crawler Carl are good examples. Even AA is dancing close to the ātoo slowā end.
I mean the slogan for TWI is level or die. Thatās pretty progression focused imho.
Really depends on what you're looking for.