Fantasy / Litrpg / Progression Critically Ranked
I’ve had the pleasure of reading fantasy for a few decades now. Here’s what I enjoyed from best to worst.
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1  Absolutely one of the best in the genre, hands down. Main character has a believable set back and, despite the author flat out telling you that the character is going to ‘become a god’, you’re onboard for it. Ongoing Iron Prince
Reidon Ward will become a god. He doesn't know it yet, of course. Reidon was born weak, sickly and small. Afflicted with a painful disease and abandoned by his parents because of it, he has had to fight tooth and nail for every minor advantage life has allowed him. His perseverance has not gone unnoticed, however, and when the most powerful artificial intelligence in human history takes an interest in him, things began to change quickly. Granted a CAD—a Combat Assistance Device—with awful specs but an infinite potential for growth, Reidon finds himself at the bottom of his class at the Galens Institute, one of the top military academies in the Collective. Along with his best friend, Viviana Arada, Reidon will have to start his long climb through the school rankings, and on to the combat tournament circuits that have become humanity's greatest source of excitement and entertainment. So begins the rise of a god. So begins the ascent of the Stormweaver.
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2  Completed Cradle
Lindon is born Unsouled, the one person in his family unable to use the magical Paths of the sacred arts. He uses every trick and technique he can borrow or steal to improve his life, but it seems he will never be able to join the ranks of the truly powerful. Until the heavens descend and show him the future. When Lindon becomes the only one who sees the approaching doom, he must leave his homeland to save it... and to see how far he can go by walking his own Path.
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3  Easily one of the best entries into the litrpg genre for people looking to see if the genre is for them. The plots are believable, the characters are fantastic, and the world feels like its continuing even when the main character is no longer around. Ongoing The Hedge Wizard
Legends speak of wizards with the power to rival Gods… To Hump, it’s just a story. Apprenticed to a wandering wizard, he grew up following the coin from one quest to the next. He always believed his master was just an ordinary hedge wizard, until the old man suddenly died, and his book of spells bound to Hump’s soul. Knowing no other life, Hump takes up his master’s staff and heads out alone into a world of dungeons and monsters. Scorned by the gods, wizards can trust only their own wit and skill to survive. Lacking the godly gifts and grand ideals of the Chosen few, Hump fights for something else. If he wants to eat, he needs to work. And with a new Dungeon opening in Bledsbury, where better for a young hedge wizard to earn some coin? So begins the path of The Wanderer. The White Flame. The Hedge Wizard.
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4  Ongoing Quest Academy
Humans have been pushed to the brink of extinction by an ever-evolving demonic threat. Portals are opening faster than ever, Towers bursting into the skies and Dungeons being mined below the last safe havens of society. The demons are winning. Quest Academy stands defiantly against them, as a place to train the next generation of Heroes. The Guild Association is holding the line, but are in dire need of new blood and the powerful abilities they could bring to the battlefront. To be the saviors that humanity needs, they need to surpass the limits of those that came before them. In a war with everything on the line, every power matters. With an adaptive enemy, comes the need for a constant shift in tactics. A new age of strategy is emerging, with even the unlikeliest of Heroes making an impact.
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5  Completed Mother of Learning
Zorian Kazinski has all the time in the world to get stronger, and he plans on taking full advantage of it. A teenage mage of humble birth and slightly above-average skill, Zorian is attending his third year of education at Cyoria's magical academy. A driven and quiet young man, he is consumed by a desire to ensure his own future and free himself of the influence of his family, resenting the Kazinskis for favoring his brothers over him. Consequently, Zorian has no time for pointless distractions, much less other people's problems. As it happens, though, time is something he is about to get plenty of. On the eve of Cyoria's annual summer festival, Zorian is murdered, then abruptly brought back to the beginning of the month, just before he was about to take the train to school. Finding himself trapped in a time loop with no clear end or exit, he will have to look both within and without to unravel the mystery set before him. He does have to unravel it, too, because the loop clearly wasn’t made for his sake, and in a world of magic even a time traveler isn't safe from those who wish him ill. Fortunately for Zorian, repetition is the mother of learning…
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6  No rating A series must receive 1 user review before a rating is displayed. Ongoing Salvos
The life of an Infant Demon is a bloody grind to the top. For Salvos, a curious newborn Demon with a penchant for making friends, surviving the swarms of wild Demons in the Netherworld was always going to be a difficult task. She will adapt, gain experience, and evolve to survive this hellish landscape with the help of her sole companion. But when her companion's life is threatened by a mysterious Demon King, she'll have to do what it takes to save him. Even if it means separating from him and being tossed into an unfamiliar world with Humans, monsters, and a bright blue sky where she is scorned for being born a Demon. The law of evolution is survival of the fittest, and Salvos will survive.
| No rating A series must receive 1 user review before a rating is displayed. |
7  Completed My Best Friend Is an Eldrich Horror
Good things come to those who wait. Damien Vale didn’t, and he ended up bound to an Eldritch creature from beyond the reaches of space. It has lived since the dawn of time, seen the world born and destroyed countless times, and wants to be called Henry. Unusual companion or not, Damien was still determined to go to a mage college and study magic. He wants nothing more than to live normal life as a researcher, but if Henry’s true nature is revealed, he’ll be killed. To top it all off, Damien’s teacher is a madman from the front lines of war, his alcoholic dean suspects something is awry with his companion, and Blackmist might possibly be the worst school in history. Damien has to prevent the end of the world, but he isn’t even sure he’s going to make it through Year One at Blackmist.
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8  Completed The Perfect Run
Ryan "Quicksave" Romano is an eccentric adventurer with a strange power: he can create a save-point in time and redo his life whenever he dies. Arriving in New Rome, the glitzy capital of sin of a rebuilding Europe, he finds the city torn between mega-corporations, sponsored heroes, superpowered criminals, and true monsters. It's a time of chaos, where potions can grant the power to rule the world and dangers lurk everywhere. Ryan only sees different routes; and from Hero to Villain, he has to try them all. Only then will he achieve his perfect ending... no matter how many loops it takes.
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9  Ongoing Mark of the Fool
The gods chose him. He said no. After his parents died, Alex Roth had one desire: become a wizard. Through hard work, he was accepted into the University of Generasi, the world’s greatest academy of wizardry... Fate, however, had other plans. On his eighteenth birthday, he is Marked by prophecy as one of his kingdom’s five Heroes, chosen to fight the Ravener, his land’s great enemy. But his brand is 'The Fool'. Worst of the marks. Rather than die or serve other Heroes like past Fools, he takes a stand, rejects divine decree…and leaves. With his little sister, his childhood friend, and her cerberus, Alex flees for the university, hoping to research the mystery of the Ravener. He’ll make lifelong friends, learn magic from mad wizards, practice alchemy, fight mana vampires and try to pay tuition. There’s one small problem. The Mark insists on preventing the Fool from learning and casting spells, while enhancing skills outside of divinity, combat, and spellcraft… …that is, unless he learns to exploit the hell out of it. Explore a coming of age magic academy fantasy with a weak-to-strong progression into power, a setting inspired by D&D, detailed world building and magical science, action, comedy, slice-of-life, and GameLit elements.
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10 No rating A series must receive 1 user review before a rating is displayed. Completed The Grand Game
One man. Assassin. Caster. A new world. And a Game that is as brutal as it is complex.Michael finds himself in the realm of the Forever Kingdom, with no memory of how he got there and who he is. Even so, he must participate in the Grand Game and forge a new destiny for himself.Dropped into a dungeon of monsters, and strange magics, would you survive in a Game where to lose means death?Alone, and with little more than his wits to aid him, Michael must advance as a player, slay his foes, and gain experience. All while navigating the intrigues around him and discovering his purpose.A world of Powers, Forces, and mysterious factions. A Game with endless opportunities for advancement and power.Join Michael on his epic adventure as he deals with the Game’s challenges, the machinations of the Powers, and the ambitions of his fellow players.
| No rating A series must receive 1 user review before a rating is displayed. |
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