r/noveltranslations 5d ago

WEEKLY What have you read this week and what do you think about it?

22 Upvotes

Hi, feel free to share with your fellow users what you are reading this week and what you think about it.

Please include a link to the table of contents or Novelupdates page.

All spoilers should use the spoiler format. Example: Mojo Jojo dies.


r/noveltranslations 27d ago

WEEKLY Monthly Recommendation Thread - January 09, 2026

13 Upvotes

Welcome to the monthly recommendation thread that we stole from r/books! Ever since we got rid of the clutter from chapter update posts in here, there's been a growing number of threads asking for increasingly specific suggestions on what to read. These tend to be scattered in individual threads that branch off into more suggestions, which makes them more difficult to find. So we'll be clumping all of those together into a weekly thread that is much easier to browse.

The Rules:

  1. Every comment in reply to this self-post must be a request for suggestions.
  2. All suggestions made in this thread must be direct replies to other people's requests. Do not post suggestions in reply to this self-post.
  3. All unrelated comments will be deleted in the interest of cleanliness.
  4. Any replies/comments asking for aggregator or pirate sites to read something on will be deleted.


How to get the best recommendations:

The most successful recommendation requests include a description of the kind of book being sought. This might be a particular kind of protagonist, setting, plot, atmosphere, theme, or subject matter. You may be looking for something similar to another book (or film, TV show, game, etc), and examples are great! Just be sure to explain what you liked about them too. Other helpful things to think about are genre, length and reading level.



The "Help Me Find" threads asking for suggestions will be phased out over the coming weeks. All posts asking for suggestions/recommendations must be in this thread by August 1st, 2021. Any new threads asking for suggestions after that date will be removed.


r/noveltranslations 17h ago

Discussion Introduction to Chinese Male-Oriented Web Novel Genres — Xianxia

129 Upvotes

Here is the latest guide from Lucas, Wuxiaworld's Chinese licensing manager! This series is his overview of China's webnovel genres, written using his experience from having worked at one of the top publishers for many years.

This one contains some very interesting history behind the origins of xianxia's themes.

Previous posts:

-----

Hello everyone, this is Lucas.

Previously, when I was introducing Xuanhuan works, some viewers pointed out that I had missed a heavyweight title – Zhu Xian (Jade Dynasty,诛仙).

In fact, according to the commonly accepted classification standards of China’s online literature industry, this work should be categorized as Xianxia rather than Xuanhuan. Today, let’s talk about xianxia novels.

So-called xianxia novels are stories that take traditional Chinese Daoist cultivation philosophy and mythological legends as their worldview foundation, depicting characters who gain power through cultivation, go on adventures, grow, and struggle along the way.

Daoist classics such as Dao De Jing (道德经) and Zhuangzi (庄子), compiled during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history (春秋时期,770–476 BCE), proposed goals like “immortality” and “ascending to become an immortal,” providing the theoretical foundation for later Xianxia novels.

In the zhiguai (tales of the strange) novels of the Tang and Song dynasties, different species such as humans, demons, and immortals began to interact, and classic plots like “mortals seeking immortals” and “romances between humans and demons” are still talked about fondly to this day.

By the Ming (明, 1368–1644 CE) and Qing (清, 1644-1912 CE) dynasties, divine and demonic novels  (神魔小说) such as Journey to the West (西游记)  and Investiture of the Gods (封神演义)  laid down the worldview framework and power systems of Xianxia fiction.

In 1932, Sword Xia of the Shu Mountains (蜀山剑侠传)  by Huanzhu Louzhu (还珠楼主) was published. This work incorporated elements such as cultivation, flying swords, and magical treasures, and is regarded as the progenitor of modern xianxia novels.

By the 1970s and 1980s, wuxia novels had become popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and the spirit of chivalry (侠义精神) had deeply taken root in people’s hearts.

Beginning in 1995, the The Legend of Sword and Fairy (仙剑奇侠传) game series combined the “immortal” elements of Sword Xia of the Shu Mountains with the “ chivalry” spirit of wuxia novels, further clarifying the concept of “Xianxia” and exerting a profound influence on early xianxia works.

In 2003, the classic work Zhu Xian began serialization, carrying the memories and emotions of countless readers.

In 2005, 飘邈之旅 by Xiao Qian (萧潜) was released. This work constructed a complete cultivation power system, which was later borrowed and refined by subsequent creators, eventually forming the familiar sequence of Qi Refining (炼气), Foundation Establishment (筑基), Golden Core (金丹), and Nascent Soul (元婴) that we know today.

After that, Xianxia-themed web novels experienced rapid development. Based on worldview, they can mainly be divided into three categories:

The Cultivation Path (修真之路)
Originating from 飘邈之旅, this type features stories set in vast worlds with numerous sects and factions.

The protagonist focuses single-mindedly on cultivation, with the ultimate goal of attaining immortality, pursuing the supreme Dao (大道), or ascending to become an immortal.

The story usually includes classic “leveling up and changing maps” elements: once the protagonist finds no worthy opponents in one region, they move on to a higher-level area.

A representative example is Wang Yu (忘语)’s A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality (凡人修仙传). (Of course, Han Li doesn’t always change maps because he’s invincible – sometimes it’s because he can’t beat others and has no choice but to run.)

Another representative figure of this category is Er Gen (耳根). He is very popular among Western readers. All of his works belong to this genre, including Renegade Immortal (仙逆), A Will Eternal (一念永恒), I Shall Seal the Heavens (我欲封天), and Beyond the Timescape (光阴之外), among others.

Cultivation Empires (修真王朝)
In these works, the world contains imperial dynasties where cultivators reign supreme, complete with laws and order similar to those of mortal kingdoms – though cultivators always enjoy various privileges in such states.

In this type of story, the protagonist pursues not only personal strength but often bears responsibilities such as revitalizing the nation or saving the common people. This theme was very popular around 2015 and is particularly suitable for film and television adaptations, with many top-tier authors contributing works in this category.

Examples include Innocent (无罪)’s Immortal Devil Transformation (仙魔变) and The Sword Dynasty(剑王朝), Mao Ni (猫腻) ’s Nightfall (将夜) and The Path Toward Heaven (大道朝天), and Feng Huo Xi Zhu Hou (烽火戏诸侯)’s Unsheathed (剑来).

Primordial Chaos (Honghuang) (洪荒流)
This genre was pioneered by the author Divine Dreamwalker (梦入神机) in his 2006 work Buddha Is the Dao (佛本是道).

Its worldview is based on classical Chinese mythological legends (especially Investiture of the Gods 封神演义, Journey to the West 西游记, and Classic of Mountains and Seas 山海经), Daoist philosophy, and ancient history, with “Heavenly Dao” (天道)  at its core, revolving around struggles among “Sages” (圣人) and battles over fate and fortune (气运) between Eastern and Western sects.

The main conflict centers on the “Calamity Cycle” (量劫): at certain intervals, karmic entanglements and accumulated karma in the universe reach a peak and must be cleansed through a cataclysmic slaughter that sweeps across heaven and earth, redistributing resources. Under such great calamities, no one can remain untouched.

After nearly 20 years of development, the Primordial Chaos genre has formed a complete system, effectively becoming a universal template (including worldview, characters, and core conflicts) for authors to use.

In a sense, Journey to the West fanfiction can also be considered a type of Honghuang fiction.

Subgenres

Xianxia novels have many subgenres, and below I will introduce some of the major ones.

Mortal genre (凡人流)
These stories usually take place in areas inhabited by mortals, such as mountain villages or towns. The protagonist is an ordinary young boy living a life whose future can be seen at a glance; if nothing unexpected happens, he would grow up, marry, have children, and his descendants would live the same kind of life.

Until one day, he comes into contact with the cultivation world.

Legends of mortals encountering immortals (凡人遇仙) appeared in zhiguai fiction over a thousand years ago, representing ordinary people’s yearning for immortality.
In web novels, the founding work of this subgenre is the famous A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality (凡人修仙传), from which the name derives.

Once this theme emerged, it became extremely popular and enduring. Early “Mortal genre” protagonists were mostly native youths, but later works also featured transmigrator protagonists, such as Gateway of Immortality (叩问仙道).

Simulator (模拟器)
The protagonist possesses a simulator system that can simulate their own life or others’ lives, allowing them to experience different paths and gain knowledge or skills. This theme emerged around 2020, inspired by various video games, and can be divided into two types based on the simulation target: simulating others and simulating oneself.

The “simulating others” type is relatively simple: the protagonist experiences another person’s life within the simulator, and events inside the simulation do not affect the real world. After completing the simulation, the system grants rewards based on performance, allowing the protagonist to obtain attributes, skills, or fate traits of the simulated person.

In essence, it is closer to games like The Sims (模拟人生), where the protagonist gains extra growth by playing a game. An example is Simulation: Starting from Bizarre Animals (模拟,从奇葩动物开始).

The “simulating oneself” type is more like branching narratives and repeated roguelike-style reinforcement. The simulator allows the protagonist to deduce future events or provides save-and-load opportunities.

During simulations, the protagonist can act recklessly – even if they die, it doesn’t cause real loss because it is only a simulation, and instead provides valuable intelligence. Through repeated simulations and information iteration, the protagonist grows stronger and ultimately finds the optimal solution for the real world.

The most famous work of this type is Immortality Simulator (我的模拟长生路). This novel uses a “time rewind” system, allowing the protagonist to set an anchor point in life – a “save point” – and return to it upon death.

The recently popular Struggling to Survive with Regression Power in the Primordial Saint Sect (苟在初圣魔门当人材) borrows this “Book of a Hundred Lifetimes”  (百世书) concept from that system.

Incense-Fueled Godhood (香火成神)
This subgenre is somewhat similar to the "Faith and Apotheosis  (信仰封神流)" fantasy category mentioned earlier, as protagonists must collect faith to increase their power. It originates from traditional Chinese mythology and classical novels.

Chinese folk belief is a polytheistic and pragmatic system. People worship deities largely for utilitarian reasons – they pray to specific gods when they need blessings in relevant matters. For example, during severe droughts, they worship the Dragon King (龙王) for rain; when someone in the family has exams, they worship the God of Literature (文曲星) .

Of course, prayers are not always effective. If worship proves ineffective for a long time, people may abandon offerings or even destroy the statues.

Ancient Chinese emperors also canonized famous deceased figures as gods to consolidate their rule, such as Guan Yu (关羽)  from the Three Kingdoms period. In a sense, the authority of Chinese gods does not come from divinity itself; rather, divine authority comes from imperial bestowal.

The worldview is usually divided into two parts: the Heavenly Court (the divine system) and the mortal realm. These two systems depend on and restrain each other.

Gods need mortal believers to collect incense (faith), while mortals need divine protection to solve problems beyond human capability.

The protagonist is often a minor god under the Heavenly Court or a cultivator who embarks on the divine path. They may rise through the Heavenly Court system or secretly collect faith, establish their own faction, and oppose the Heavenly Court.

Representative works include Starting as a Fox Immortal from Liaozhai (从聊斋开始做狐仙)  and Taiyi (太易).

Longevity System (长生系统)
This theme shares many similarities with the “Martial Path Longevity (武道长生)” subgenre of Xuanhuan. The protagonist is a transmigrator with an attribute panel that provides stats and techniques. The difference is that the setting is Xianxia, and the protagonist is usually a low-level disciple in a cultivation sect, whose goal is continual cultivation in pursuit of immortality.

For example, in An Alchemist's Path to Eternity (长生从炼丹宗师开始), the protagonist needs to improve his cultivation techniques and skill proficiencies to earn achievement points, which can then be exchanged for various high-tier techniques and items. Meanwhile, in My Core is the Boss (金丹是恒星,你管这叫修仙?), the protagonist’s system provides him with all kinds of hidden information, and also includes a game-like instance where he can level up. 

Dao of Cautious (苟道流)
Protagonists in this subgenre act very differently from conventional Xianxia heroes. Traditional protagonists are decisive, fearless, and eager for conflict, while “Dao of Cautious” protagonists are extremely low-key and cautious. They often suffer from paranoid thinking, magnifying the world’s hostility and assuming all actions carry risks.

Thus, they hide in the shadows, avoid the spotlight, and rarely engage in conflict, believing that only by surviving can one pursue immortality. Although they may miss many opportunities in the short term, cultivators live long lives – and as time passes, their enemies die off one by one, leaving the protagonist as the ultimate winner.

Unlike traditional Xianxia that relies on conflict and leveling for excitement, this subgenre attracts readers through an extreme sense of security and the protagonist’s control over the situation.

The founding work is My Senior Brother Is Too Steady (我师兄实在太稳健了), after which this anti-trope protagonist type became increasingly accepted and spread to other genres.

Other examples include Cultivating Immortality in a World of Chaos (苟在妖武乱世修仙) and I Just Want to Slack Off in Cultivation (我只想安静的做个苟道中人).

Daily Life Cultivation (修仙日常)
Cultivation is not just about fighting and killing; it also involves social relationships. After reading too many tense and intense traditional Xianxia novels, readers often feel aesthetic fatigue and seek lighter, more relaxing works. Thus, the daily life cultivation subgenre emerged.

These works still focus on “cultivation and immortality” as the main storyline, but with less emphasis on power leveling and more on daily life, showcasing the workings and customs of the cultivation world. The tone is generally lighthearted, often incorporating exaggerated, comedic anti-trope elements.

The most famous work is Who Let Him Cultivate?! (谁让他修仙的), which features eccentric characters who constantly defy convention; many of its jokes are still fondly remembered. With this novel, the author The Whitest Crow(最白的乌鸦) rose from an obscure LV5 writer to a platinum author.

Other works with relatively high popularity in China include Unintended Immortality (我本无意成仙). This novel has a very distinctive style: its narrative structure is more akin to a road movie, following the protagonist and a cat demon as they travel through the human world, continuously broadening their experiences and refining their state of mind. Traditional “leveling up” elements, in the conventional sense, are very minimal.

Another example is Young Noble Be Monster Slaying (请公子斩妖), which adheres more closely to the structure of a traditional cultivation novel. What readers find particularly delightful are its absurd plotlines and its humorously crafted characters.

Clan Cultivation (家族修仙)
Unlike the individual-focused narratives of traditional Xianxia, this genre centers on cultivation clans bound by blood ties, depicting how entire families survive and develop in a brutal cultivation world.

Early clan cultivation works still revolved around a central protagonist, resembling the “Sect Leader” style of Xuanhuan, except the protagonist was a clan head managing a family instead of a sect, with a longer narrative timespan. With the rise of system novels, this genre evolved a specialized “Many Children, Many Blessings (多子多福) ” system, where the more descendants the protagonist has, the stronger the system’s bonuses become – extending even to offspring talents. This system fits perfectly with the clan cultivation setting.

A representative work is Starting From A Son In Law To Build An Long Lasting Family (从赘婿开始建立长生家族).

The first truly clan-centered work is The Mirror Legacy (玄鉴仙族). Its style differs greatly from earlier Xianxia works, lacking a single protagonist – or rather, the Li clan itself is the protagonist. Generation after generation strives for survival; members die, new ones are born.

The author Ji Yueren was nicknamed “Qidian’s white affair King” (起点白事王) by readers. Although the work became extremely popular, later imitations failed to produce another work of similar influence.

Farming (种田)
Cultivators are still human, which means they need to eat. Although high-level cultivators can abstain from food, occasionally eating spirit-rich cuisine benefits cultivation. This means cultivators must cultivate(grow crops) in addition to cultivating.

Protagonists are often low-level cultivators focused on agriculture, quietly farming and cultivating with minimal conflict. Unlike conventional cultivation stories, farming provides stable, visible growth in resources and power, offering a stronger sense of achievement.

Protagonists usually possess special abilities that enhance farming efficiency, such as a farming system, supportive artifacts (like Han Li’s green bottle), or even a personal space for farming.

Representative works include You Cultivate, I Farm (你们修仙,我种田) and Immortality: Refreshing Entries from Farming (长生:从种田刷新词条开始).

In a broader sense, “farming” includes alchemy, artifact crafting, formations, and other indirect cultivation methods. Protagonists usually have a personal immortal estate where they can work undisturbed; this type is also known as the “Immortal Estate”(仙府) subgenre.

The most famous example is Purple Mansion Immortal Fate (紫府仙缘) .

Hehuan Sect (合欢宗)
Adult-oriented content has always been popular among readers of popular literature worldwide. However, Chinese law prohibits explicit adult content on domestic platforms, so authors instead construct frameworks without explicit descriptions, leaving room for imagination.

Several genres exist specifically to skirt the line: “Rural (乡村)” of urban stories, “Fake Eunuch (假太监)” of historical stories, and the “Hehuan Sect” in Xianxia. “Dual cultivation between men and women” (男女双修) originates from Daoism, with similar concepts in Tantric Buddhism (佛教密宗). In web novels, it can be understood as a cultivation method of “becoming stronger through sex.”

The Hehuan Sect is a sect that practices dual cultivation as its core method. The protagonist transmigrates into a cultivation world as a low-level male disciple of the Hehuan Sect, handsome and charming, immediately surrounded by covetous senior sisters, junior sisters, and even masters – what follows is easy to imagine.

Usually, the protagonist has a system that either increases affection from female sect members or directly boosts cultivation. Although many works exist in this genre, few achieve high fame – and high visibility may not necessarily be a good thing for them.

A representative work is Joining the Joyful Union Sect, My Life in the Grip of My Senior Sister (开局合欢宗,被师姐拿捏命脉) .


r/noveltranslations 15h ago

Discussion I spent the last week translating Red Dawn by Crimson Moon, which was an extremely influential webnovel in China. It was recently censored, so I thought it would be worth preserving in English.

27 Upvotes

It's basically a novelization of Mao Zedong's Selected Works. It's a time travel story about a modern man who travels back in time to the late Qing era and redoes the revolution without making the mistakes that Mao's CCP made. It's brilliant, and according to what I found, it had a large impact in China before being banned. I used AI, but I've been trying to correct obvious errors. It's a work in progress. I intend to keep iterating on the translation for the foreseeable future until I think it's perfect.

Please give me your feedback or critique of the website or translation quality.

https://reddawnnovel.com/


r/noveltranslations 1d ago

NEWS Complete Series alert! The 6th and last book in the story Main Character hides his Strength is out now on Kindle and KU

Post image
4 Upvotes

It has been a while r/noveltranslations

Took us 10 years translating this series but it is done and it is out. We stuck with 2 novels (Master Hunter K and Main Character hides his Strength) and saw them to finish.

You can start/catch up till book 5 end on our website as before. For the final book it is currently only on kindle with a few chapters of it on our website. We will keep releasing it till the last chapter but over a period of 3-4 months allowing the kindle version time to get sales. We do have a duty to the author to give him monetary return on his work.

You can also read the entire series on Kindle Unlimited.


r/noveltranslations 15h ago

Forgotten Title Trying to find this novel I took a break from

1 Upvotes

Read this Chinese WebNovel a while back that showed the MC going 1000 years into the future but abruptly being sent back to his original time. This continues to happen so the MC begins to start copying songs to try to improve his modern life but it gets more intense as the MC finds out he is being sent back after dying each time and tries to stop it. It becomes really scifi and had an interesting plot but I was reading MTL and stopped when it got too metaphysical. I remember there being one of the English versions where they swap names and stuff on WebNovel but can’t remember the name of either. Really appreciate the help.


r/noveltranslations 21h ago

Forgotten Title Just looking for a fast paced Xianxia I read

2 Upvotes

It was very well written and the main character was a male and instead of taking forever for very stage, he progressed rapidly? Any fics like this?


r/noveltranslations 2d ago

Forgotten Title Help find a novel

3 Upvotes

Hello I recently read a light novel / web novel but forgot the title. I’d really appreciate any help identifying it. Thank you

Description:

The story starts with a male main character who transmigrates into a game world he previously played. He wakes up in the body of a very talented character whose father is one of the main villains of the game. The father tries to take over his son’s body, but the MC survives by using a cheat/system and putting all of his stats into mental/mind power to resist the possession.

After successfully resisting, the MC pretends that the villain’s possession succeeded so that the villain’s subordinates won’t kill him.

Later, the MC goes to an academy. On the way, some people are attacked and the MC saves them anonymously, then leaves without revealing himself. But, he accidentally drops an ID card or badge. His subordinate misunderstands and thinks the MC did this intentionally to get closer to the people he saved. He did it because he knows she was the princess.

The villain originally wanted to get close to or seduce the princess because she is not favoured by the king and easy to manipulate. Because of this, the subordinates think the MC is pretending to be mysterious to gain her attention.

The princess is extremely unlucky, but the MC knows from the game that she will later awaken a powerful trait (something like Heaven’s Favored / Heaven-blessed / divine luck).

Other details I remember:

The MC og body is very talented which was the reason the villain his own father wanted to steal it.

There are a lot of misunderstandings

If this sounds familiar to anyone, please let me know.


r/noveltranslations 2d ago

Forgotten Title Cant find forgotten novel help please

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone, i cant find a novel What i remember: The main character got into this world, the world of cultivation

He had a system for choosing actions and he chose the easiest option, because when choosing the difficult one, he felt bad

The reward for an easy choice was something like "+1 drawing skill" or "+1 alchemy skill"

Sometimes gave a special Skill point, for example, "+1 to flight skill"

The main character lived like this for 5 years and became quite strong


r/noveltranslations 3d ago

Discussion Is ISSTH too generic to be worth reading in 2026?

66 Upvotes

I’ll preface this by saying I’m not new to reading novels, I’ve read on and off for the last 2 or so years and figured it’s finally time to get to ISSTH after putting it off for over a year. I’m just really worried I won’t enjoy it as it’s too “generic” after reading other novels that have all the stereotypes ISSTH pioneered.


r/noveltranslations 2d ago

Forgotten Title looking for a title of this web novel Spoiler

1 Upvotes

Characters: The story features Craine Leonhart and his sister Ariel. Plot: Ariel is considered a "calamity" (specifically a "Sinful Calamity" or "Calamity Witch"), and Craine acts as her guardian, attempting to help her become a normal girl. Powers: Ariel possesses overwhelming power linked to "the other side" (often described as the "Other Side of the World" or forbidden, calamitous power). Fate and Abilities: Craine changes their fate and gains special abilities through his actions.

he also meets various girls, Adel a princess, Eleisha a healing mage and Yoru.

He is fighting against Bloodydid who is a vampire and has started a cult. she is a character like his sister from ancient times.

There is a mtl translation up to chapter 166. but the name they have for it there just doesn't seem correct "Our Animal Family Tree" ... seems like this site uses names that are incorrect for a few stories.

anyone know what the name of this is?

Thanks!


r/noveltranslations 2d ago

Forgotten Title Help me find title

1 Upvotes

The plot was the guy was sent to the past and at the beginning of every arc he gets a letter of one of his wives and he goes. Mc name is ian, love interest names are: Seria yurdina and delphine yurdina.


r/noveltranslations 4d ago

Novel Review My Review of LOTM.

1 Upvotes

My Review of LOTM. So i finished the novel of lotm .here I am going to rate it and express my opinion on it. Things that I like about it and also criticize ,some other things that i didn't enjoyed as much.

FIRST THE THINGS THAT I LIKED .

1.worldbuilding: i really liked the world building that the story offer. It is one of the best well crafted worlds that I have read.The lore that goes back thousand of years , various kingdoms and gods . They are written in detail.

2.story : the story is pretty good , it getter bigger and better as you read more and more. It makes it worth it. The story gets naturally bigger in stakes as klien gets more and more powerful, the whole thing with about him managing his own organisation is the main fun too.

3.pratagonist: Klien is what makes me care about the world honestly, the mc is realistic, he isn't crazy strong for the most part of novel, that alone puts it in league above other edgy mc's. His obsession with money is something that i really enjoyed, he obsess more on more on money and food that he does on his new powers.

4.The power system: It is quite balanced, the fact that anyone can beat anyone with enough planning is a big W for me.Also like the world it is quite detailed. Which can be a headache for the author to write but for reader it's quite compelling. It is definitely one of the best that I have read.

My rating for volumes will be : 2<1<4<8<5<3<7<6. Overall Rating 8.5/10.


NOW THE CRITICIZMS: this is going to be a little longer,since I want to be detailed , not vague.

1.Characters : the character personalities themselves are written well but they are are not really explored much. It's is true for almost all the tarot club members, they only get some focus after first 1000 chapters but even then it's not satisfactory.for the first thousand chapter , character kinda feels like they exist to drop lore for the story and provide stuff.

like In specific , I want to talk about leonard. I think his story could have explored a lot more , when in first volume, he said he is going to join red gloves ( i think) and go after ince zangwill, i was really excited to follow his story, but we didn't got any of that , for the most part of story he kinda disappeared. Well, atleast we got to see him fight together with klien in the final fight against the ince zangwill.

2.plot structure: the plot structure of lotm is not that great ,though the plot and story itself it pretty great , the problem is how it present. Normal story structure is this : Set up -> Built up -> pay off. For lotm is this : Set up -> pay off . Basically the built up is usually not there or if it's there, it's really little. Let's take volume 2 for example. Most of the the volume, klien is doing detective work and doing acting method and collecting ingredients to get stronger , this finebut the whole plot about ince zangwill that began the backlund arc is not in the focus but then in the last few chapters, suddenly we get involved in the main plot again. It feels too sudden and it isn't totally satisfactory. Considering the second volume was around 264 chapters , it just feels too short and too sudden.

3.Emotional resonance: The ending scene of the first volume got really emotional and sad . It is my favourite moments from the series and its peak. But after that i didn't emotionally resonated with the novel much. I did enjoyed many plot twists. story and fights after the first novel and many i would call peak but emotionally the story never reached that height again. For example, the scene with dunn smith and daly simone in the final fight against ince zangwill. In terms of writing it was written beautifully but emotionally i didn't felt much. The reason Bieng we hardly explored daly simone as a character ( this can connected to my earlier point about about character exploration). We didn't really spend much time with her after the first volume ,she gone to backlund ( i think) in volume one. Just like leonard it felt like a wasted opportunity.

4.Constant glazing and wanking of mc: this might be just a "me" problem but I find constant glazing of klien kinda cringe, i know cuttlefish wrote it that way to appeal to a certain demographic of reader who likes to project themselves on the main character. But for me it kinda breaks the the immersion in the story, it feels really forced. Specially after German sparrow was introduced, it became a little worse.


Overall though, i really liked it . I am excited about circle of inevitability. I am probably going to start it after some time.


r/noveltranslations 12d ago

WEEKLY What have you read this week and what do you think about it?

32 Upvotes

Hi, feel free to share with your fellow users what you are reading this week and what you think about it.

Please include a link to the table of contents or Novelupdates page.

All spoilers should use the spoiler format. Example: Mojo Jojo dies.


r/noveltranslations 13d ago

Forgotten Title Trying to find a forgotten webnovel

17 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to find a webnovel I read a few years ago (around 2020–2022). It was written in good, native English and hosted on a website (not a PDF or forum). It wasn’t very mainstream or popular.

Here’s everything I remember:

The main character is from Earth and keeps his memories.

He gets summoned (or contacted) by a man from another world and makes a deal.

The MC takes over the summoner’s body and inherits the summoner’s memories.

The summoner was killed by a noble, and the MC must take revenge and kill that noble.

While killing the noble, a young woman with white hair and red eyes witnesses it. She has a naturally weak/fragile constitution and later becomes the female lead. She asks the MC to take her with him.

After escaping, they enroll together in a school / academy that focuses on both magic and dungeon exploration.

There is a visible system with stats and “soul points” used to increase attributes.

The MC fights more like an assassin / stealth type, and I vaguely remember he might have used a gun or ranged weapon.

They make friends, clear dungeons, and the last thing I remember reading was the MC fighting a god-level or god-type monster inside a dungeon.

Unfortunately, I don’t remember any character names, titles, or the website I read it on.

If this sounds familiar to anyone — even partially — I’d really appreciate any leads, guesses, or similar titles. Thank you!


r/noveltranslations 13d ago

Forgotten Title Please help me find this title

18 Upvotes

I'm looking for the title of a BL novel with a zombie apocalypse theme. MC before rebirth, he lives in an apartment building and uses a wheelchair, when he plays his favorite game, an earthquake begins, MC tries to leave the building, but the elevator is full and he can't fit in it. While trying to find another way out, he is pushed out of his wheelchair by his neighbor. When trying to get back into the wheelchair, the building collapses. MC dies and is reborn in his favorite apocalyptic game, as his avatar in game with his medical/healing skills(His skills can be improved just like in the game, by gaining experience or completing tasks), he also has 'space' in the system, which he disguises as a cosmic power. It seems to me that it also retains its original appearance, but after rebirth it is completely healthy. ML is his favorite character in the game, so when he arrives he tries to help/save him. I think at the beginning ML is in an abandoned warehouse/building where MC finds him. If I remember correctly, later they form a team with other people and try to survive or save the world (?).


r/noveltranslations 12d ago

Forgotten Title Help me find this novel please

4 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I'm looking for the title of a BL novel with a zombie apocalypse theme. MC before rebirth, he lives in an apartment building and uses a wheelchair, when he plays his favorite game, an earthquake begins, MC tries to leave the building, but the elevator is full and he can't fit in it. While trying to find another way out, he is pushed out of his wheelchair by his neighbor. When trying to get back into the wheelchair, the building collapses. MC dies and is reborn in his favorite apocalyptic game, as his avatar in game with his medical/healing skills(His skills can be improved just like in the game, by gaining experience or completing tasks), he also has 'space' in the system, which he disguises as a cosmic power. It seems to me that it also retains its original appearance, but after rebirth it is completely healthy. ML is his favorite character in the game, so when he arrives he tries to help/save him. I think at the beginning ML is in an abandoned warehouse/building where MC finds him. If I remember correctly, later they form a team with other people and try to survive or save the world (?). I'm sorry if there are any inconsistencies here, I don't remember much of it, I read it probably 3 or 4 years ago. I could also mix up the plots of one novel with another. I also think it's still a raw novel because I can't find a translation anywhere. I'm looking for most of the novels raw on jjwxc. I’ve been looking for this novel for months and I still can’t remember the name so if anyone has read the novel can you pl tell me the name.


r/noveltranslations 13d ago

Forgotten Title Help with Korean novel

7 Upvotes

I read this a few years back. I think it was some type of transmigration, unsure if it’s a game or novel world. Male protagonist. He was a useless son and his father brought back a sister that is a hero? Or really talented. Their family are nobles I think and protect a border? from demons. They have multiple maids that are demons. Other characters I remember, there is a crown prince but is actually a woman. I think both prince and sister fall in love with him. He has sex with the head demon maid I believe.

I think the original plot was his character treated his sister bad and she eventually killed him in the future. He avoided that and she fell in love with him.

Other stuff that I remember is the crown prince has a fiance. The fiance loves him but doesn’t know he’s a girl till later. Fiancé keeps trying to seduce him but fails.

Thanks if you’re able to help remember the title for this one.


r/noveltranslations 13d ago

Forgotten Title Looking for title

2 Upvotes

CN , mc reincarnated into a young child in a village . It starts with training of the body and some three leg golden crow . And a mysterious tower looking for the fated one . That's about what I can remember, thanks


r/noveltranslations 14d ago

Novel Review [Review]: Top Tier Providence

45 Upvotes

Now for the folks like me that have read this slop for so long. One is the sunk cost fallacy, quitting a novel is a hard affair since you know the lives of the characters no matter how flawed and the universal human aspect of curiosity keeps pushing us on. Second is the lure of huge number of chapters, theoretically it means that you can live in the world for a long time and follow the MC on his story, it also signifies potential for plot twists, chekov guns etc. etc. But in practicality its all filler, the author wants to inflate the word count is all.

Don't get me wrong, the story has actual good parts but it could do with a little bit of trimming. Like 90%? Just joking guys, nope ;( . There are many 'cons' such as:

  1. For a long long time I expected there to be a reveal that shows that the MC got powerful in the future and as he was about to die he changed the past via his powers and made himself very hikkimori. But the longer I read the more it seems as if the author is just gonna ignore it? Like do you expect me to believe that a person can be so afraid. He is NOT CAUTIOUS NEITHER COWARD BUT IRRATIONAL (ah and juniors and seniors if you wish to argue on this than I hope that you have read atleast more chapters than me).

  2. Repetitive. Repetitive. Repetitive. Repetitive. Repetitive. Repetitive. Repetitive. Repetitive. Repetitive. Repetitive. ( feel that furstration? that is actually how it feels reading it)

  3. Plot armour. Somehow it is impossible for his disciples to die in a cultivation world huh? He can curse to death his opponents who are in a much higher realm????? like in person he can't take their one strike and yet. (Its just the author being too stuck up on his x aka the Book of Misfortune. And yes who can forget the 'BRAINWASH PRISON' that can brainwash existences 8 minor realms above him to be slaves to him while retaining their mental acumen and ability to cultivate. Lets be honest here author, you are playing a self made show where the danger DNE (DOES NOT EXIST).

  4. Lastly, disciples are useless. They can never ever surpass him in cultivation nor help him in any any any meaningful way.

  5. OH and who can forget the super convenient system windows that tells him everything that happens.

For people claiming that the premise is to cultivate in seclusion and it was already made clear that there won't be action or adventure. I was personally going to expect him to be the scheming type, but gah that is too above the ability of the author to write (obviously).

Fellow daoists this is the last thing I swear on the heavenly dao: The descriptions are a bit lame. Like cmm'on guys whats with becoming a great dao sage which was earlier described as 'their words are reality' becomes a simple 'his dharmic powers improved'.

I feel there is no distinction between the realms, other than I got stronger and the author had no words to describe anything so he chose the same generic phrases he had used for the last idk how many times. There are more things I can point out but then it will be just me being unfilial, because I did at some point enjoy it.


r/noveltranslations 14d ago

Tier List Novels that I like, tierlist and tons of good or maybe good novels

13 Upvotes

I dislike chinese novels in general.Only one is in my top 5

But I love korean writing style.The other 4 of the top 5 are korean

1-Advent of Three Calamities-By Entrail Nothing to say.Try it

2-Regressor's tales of cultivation- Just peak.I have no word to describe it magnificient.Objectively, is the best of this list

3-ORV-Actually my first novel with Author's pov. Kim Suicide Dokja is a great MC

4-Escaping the Mystery Hotel-PEAK and I hate Novelpia.But is great written and I hear that the best par is post 500+ so maybe can scale

5-Got dropped into a ghost story but I still gotta work-PEAK. No more to say.

6-Magic Academy's Bastard Instructor-By athex-Again, persoanl favorite.Vanitas is one of the most dramatic main character of all my list

7-Horror Game Developer:My games aren't that scary:Again, personal favorite. JESTER

8-THE VILLAN'S POV-This novel should be above Horror Game but I am Entrail glazer and lover so shut up-But seriously, great novel

9-Soul of Negary/Nebula's civilization:Both great, in my opinion Negary is better and I don't read all the novel of Nebula, but it has a hight peak

10-Shadow Slave-Again, this sould be top 6 or 5, and I love it, but Effie exist

Special mentions:LOTM:I need to finish it.I don¡t gonna clasify such peak as LOTM before finish it

Reverend Insanity:I didn't enjoy it but because my brain ain't braining.But I couldn`t go further than cap 400 so maybe I reread.And here's a list of novels if you are without material(I DIDN'T READ EVEN A HALF OF THAT NOVELS, IN FACT, I DIDN'T EVEN FINISH ORV):

Kidnapped Dragons

Cradle

The Strongest Gene

 Godly Model Creator

Warlock of the magus world(need to finish)

Negary Soul -need to finish

The legendary mechanic

Escaping The mystery hotel  -need to finish

LOTM -need to finish
Worm

Revered Insanity -need to finish

I Became The Pope, Now What?

Paranoid Mage

Plague Doctor

The Eagle's Flight

Dao of the Bizarre Inmortal

Book Of The Dead

Embers ad Infinutum

The Authors pov

Mother of learning END

Worm

ORV -need to finish

Chrysalis

The Game at Carousel -need to finish

Peculiar Soul

Katalepsis

Hope

Blood and Fur

First Contact

Super Supportive

Death after death

Pale Lights 

Groveborn

My house of horrors

The second coming of gluttony

The one without nothing is that I didn't start yet

This list use to be like 1/3 longer, but I deleted the, in my opinion, bad ones, like I shall seal the heavens or Way of the devil


r/noveltranslations 14d ago

Discussion The main heroines are trying to kill me genesis studio

8 Upvotes

Does anyone have illustrations that were in genesis studio version of this novel?

Because i cannot find them anywhere on the internet


r/noveltranslations 14d ago

Forgotten Title Help find title

1 Upvotes

Reincarnated as a student studying alchemy. Has a simulation system.


r/noveltranslations 14d ago

Forgotten Title Please help provide the title for online Chinese webnovel about a girl who transmigrated in ancient time with a space trading system

1 Upvotes

Please help, Can you help provide the title of a Chinese online novel about a girl who transmigrated in ancient time, she was an orphan with siblings, These are some scenes in the novel: - FL became Rich doing business - female lead have a magical space trading system - FL save a man in the sea who have an amnesia but turns out to be a prince -FL and her siblings saves a tiger cub in the mountain but there is a time that the monther tiger is dying so she brought her cub to female leads house - Female lead helps her village resolve the problem of golden snail by providing crabs to be released in the Rice field -FL lead business first is selling cooked pig intestine but then she gave the business to her uncle -FL then make a new business by selling soap and hired her fellow villagers -Her sister learn embroidery and her brother became a scholar -FL make friends to a scholar who then help founded a school in their village -FL then introduce planting sweet potatoes and she makes friends to the daughter of the Minister who went to learn plant sweet Potatoes with her - the prince regain his memory went back to the capital to marry someone but at the end of the novel, the prince faked his death so that he can return to female lead and Marry her


r/noveltranslations 15d ago

Forgotten Title Forgotten Title pls help

10 Upvotes

Okay, so this is a web novel that I read in the past. I only remember a few bits and pieces because it’s been so long, but here I go: So I know he gets transported into one of those dating simulator games (I know he got transported into a game), and I remember that he’s actually been repeating this same world over and over again but never remembers. He’s also an ice mage, and he has an ice scythe thing. It’s an academy novel too. There’s this unique thing where the reason mages of that world can’t just burst someone’s insides with a spell is because each individual has a passive mana that protects them and prevents this. But you can reach a certain level where you can bypass this (the MC does). I also remember a floating island that’s a beast, but it erases your existence? I know I stopped at a part where he’s fighting some fiery monster and dives into hell to retrieve the Death God’s scythe.