These are books I have read or did not finish (DNF). My taste runs the gamut. I am tolerant of grammatical problems but I am a bit picky when it comes to how the story is written. Some stories that people like, I might find it boring because the writing reads like a daily diary. Essentially I like well told stories with sensible, pragmatic, cunning, or smart main characters.
Jake from Primal Hunter (by Zogarth) is smart and pragmatic (some are turned off by his apparent focus on himself and his friends and a lack of desire in wanting to save everyone). I’m OK with that. Where it counts, he’s quite moral and incredibly loyal (I don’t want to read about any backstabbing heroes if there’s a story like that). And the series is very much re-readable and fun.
My other favorite character is Miles from the Vorkosigan’s universe by Lois McMaster Bujold (my all time favorite author). Miles is smart, cunning, idealistic and yet pragmatic, a knight in shining armor (except he’s only like 5 ft in a universe filled with 6ft and over warriors). I’ve re-read the series so many times, I’ve lost count.
Calamitous Bob features Vivian, an incredible kick-ass heroine. Fantastic series that I aim to re-read soon. I’ve only re-read the first two books. I could go on and on about this or that characters but essentially my taste is wide but I prefer reading about smart MCs. As much as I enjoy the good guys series due to humor, I kind of had to stop after a dozen books because I got tired of Montana’s stupidity.
- 1% Life Steal by Robert Blaise
- Progression, post-Apocalyptic, gritty, dark
- It’s a gripping series and a very good read. Freddy learns and learns hard. A bit macabre at times though.
- 12 Miles Below by Mark Arrows
- DNF
- Ancient Being Predecessor of the Primordial Era by Z. Robert Nights
- Isekai, OP MC, humor
- The Alchemist by Roman Romanovich
- Rebirth, intrigue, academy, crafting
- I really enjoy this series. Gripping and memorable.
- All the Skills by Honour Rae
- Progression, card-based, dragons, post-apocalyptic
- One of my favorites. Very re-readable! I only re-read series that are heartwarming over all.
- Alpha by Arthur Stone
- Isekai, quite enjoyable even now
- Ajax’s Ascension by Keleros
- Isekai, progression, interesting series
- The Apocalypse is a Side Quest by Liam Lawless
- Apocalypse, fun series so far
- Apocalypse Parenting by Erin Ampersand
- Amazingly well written story of how a mother of 3 would fare in a system apocalypse.
- Aquilon by Alex Toxic
- Rebirth, intrigue, slice of life
- Really enjoyable.
- The Artificer by Marcus Cass
- Rebirth, family, slice of life, mystery, very enjoyable series
- This series is one I will likely re-read. Makes me want to try the dishes and see the sights.
- Ascendent by EmergencyComplaints
- Ashborn Primordial by VowronPrime
- Progression, interesting but a little too fight heavy for my taste
- Ave Xia Rem Y by Mat Haz
- Xianxia, healing, tournaments, sect politics
- Very addictive but if only he would write faster!
- Awaken Online by Travis Bagwell
- DNF
- Backstreet Evolutionist by Anton Panarin
- Rebirth, humor
- Child MCs can be a hit or a miss. This one does well enough and is intriguing so far.
- Battleforged by MH Johnson
- DNF
- Battle Mage Farmer by Seth Ring
- Isekai, OP MC, kind of fun
- Beneath the Dragoneye Moons by Selkie Myth
- Isekai, female MC
- Beware of Chicken by Casual Farmer
- Isekai, slice of life, friends and family, humor, heartwarming
- Biomedical Self-Engineering by Jon Svenson
- about an old man who got a special skill
- The Blood Code by Michael Borz
- Rebirth, political intrigue, very enjoyable
- Broken Universe by DK Landtroop
- all I remember is this was good
- Castaway by Vlad ben Avorham
- TBR
- Cast in Time by Ed Nelson
- Kind of alt history, not as good as his other series
- Challenger’s Call by Nathan Thompson
- I have no idea what this book is about now
- Chrysalis by RinoZ
- Isekai, monster MC, dungeon world, humor, family, siblings galore!
- One of my all time favorites. For the colony!!!
- The Coming of the God of Death by Dmitry Dornichev
- Rebirth, OP MC, funny
- Commerce Emperor by Maxime J Durand
- had great promise but I haven’t finished book 3 yet
- Condemned by Vasily Mahanenko
- a bit grim and I didn’t finish it
- Crossroads of Oblivion by Dem Mikhailov
- DNF
- Cultist of Cerebon by Fizzicks
- TBR
- Cultivation Nerd by HolyMouse
- Isekai, xianxia, it’s a miss for me
- The Dark Summoner by Andrei Tkachev
- Progression, intrigue, enjoyable series
- Dawn of the Density God by troika
- Progression, started great, DNF after book 4 or more
- Death and the Sword Saint by Brian A King
- TBR
- Deepest Depths by LeftRight
- DNF
- Defiance of the Fall by JF Brink
- Apocalypse, great series by went boring, read up to 14 only
- Great series. By the start of the Ultom arc, I have no clue what’s going on anymore so I’m stopping for now.
- Demonic Sect Elder by Kalzara
- Isekai, xianxia, oddly entertaining
- Destiny’s Crucible by Olan Thorensen
- Isekai via aliens, politics, war, multi-cast, enjoyable series
- Die. Respawn. Repeat by Silver Linings
- DNF
- Divine Progression by Jake Brannigan
- TBR
- Downtown Druid by CB Titus
- Progression. Reminds me of the Count of Monte Christo a bit. Written well and compelling trilogy. Worth a read.
- Dual Class by Arthur Inverse
- Progression, interesting series.
- Earthen Contenders by Jonathan Brooks
- Apocalypse. OP MC healer.
- Interesting premise.
- Eden’s Gate by Edward Brody
- DNF
- Elementary Gatherers by Chris Vine
- academy, tournament
- OK series. But I have forgotten what it was about. 😀
- Elf Empire by John Stovall
- Isekai, so so, somewhat charming
- Not precisely to my taste
- Elydes by Drew Wells
- Reincarnation, progression, being colonized
- One of my favorites. Well written and intriguing.
- The Emperor’s Dark Mage by Alexander Gerda
- MC with OP soul friend, academy, slice of life
- Not a typical series. One of my favorites. The MC is really adorable.
- Emperor of the Border Lands by Eugene Astakhov & Alex Toxic
- Rebirth, political intrigue, otherworldly threats, friends
- Another one of my favorites!
- Eternal Cultivation by TQ Zhang
- xianxia, all I remember is that this was a good read
- Etherious by Em Es, Ashio Tsu
- DNF
- Fate Alchemist by Felix Taylor
- Regression, giant mechas, completed series that is enjoyable
- Fate Points by Allan Greenwood, Alex Kozlowski
- Apocalypse, dungeon world, grim, compelling
- Fated Blades by Ilona Andrews
- First Necromancer by Coldfang
- DNF
- The First Rule of a Nobleman by Alex Gerda
- From Chef to Crafter to Conqueror by Gabriel Rathweg
- The Grand Game by Tom Elliot
- Progression, dungeon world
- Ghost of the Truthseeker by Strungbound
- not entirely sure I finished the book
- Gleam by Actus
- Isekai, interesting
- Hawkin’s Magic Beers by James Ghoul
- The Healer by Roman Romanovich
- Rebirth, intrigue, otherworldly threats
- The Heavenly Throne by Yuri Ajin
- Here We Go Again by Constantin Step
- Howl’s Moving Castle by Dianna Wynn Jones
- The Hunter’s Code by Yuri Vinokuroff & Oleg Sapphire
- Rebirth, intrigue, otherworldly threats, humor
- Ideal World for Sociopath by Oleg Sapphire
- DNF after a few books
- Industrial Strength Magic by Macronomicon
- Post-apocalyptic, superheroes, great audio book, very enjoyable
- Journals of Evander Tailor by Tobias Begley
- King’s Dark Tidings by Kel Kade
- OP MC, fun to read but got a little untidy later
- Last Life by Alexey Osadchuk
- Isekai, progression, political intrigue, otherworldly threats
- Legend of Raven by Konstantin Zaitsev
- DNF
- The Limitless Lands by Dean Henegar
- GameLit, interesting but mostly skipped the fights in later books
- Living Ice by Dmitry Sheleg
- Isekai, academy, intrigue, otherworldly threats
- Lone Wanderer by PathOfPen
- Progression, family, alchemy and other, friends, unique talent
- Lord of the System by Alex Toxic and Furious Miki
- Apocalypse, base-building, fun series though can be a bit sexist
- Mage Errant by John Bierce
- Main Character Hides His Strength by Road Warrior
- haven’t finished book 2. grim.
- Mark of the Fool by JM Clarke
- Progression, really good series
- Miroslava Holmes by Georg Huff & Paula Good
- alt-history, great series, mystery
- Morcster Chef by Actus
- Nameless Sovereign by Nameless Author
- Nightmare Realm Summoner by Actus
- The Odd Doctor by Sergei Izmailov
- Isekai, fine but not great
- The One Who Changes the Future by Boris Romanovsky
- Isekai, apocalypse, interesting at first but got boring for me by book 5
- Oaths, Blood, and Coin by JM Clarke
- TBR
- Paths of Akashic by Bainin
- Primal Hunter by Zogarth
- System apocalypse, alchemy, archery, humor, friends
- One of my favorites, engaging and addictive
- A Practical Guide to Evil by David Verburg, ErraticErrata
- Not started
- Quest Academy by Brian J. Nordon
- Progression, magic academy, post-apocalyptic, crafting, friends
- Regressor Sect Master by Spaizzzer
- Regression, xianxia, alchemy, family, friends, slice of life, otherworldly threats
- Return of the Runebound Professor by Actus
- Isekai, academy, fun series
- Rise of the Cheat Potion Maker by Alvin Atwater
- Rise of a Manor Lord by T.E. Bakutis
- started alright. lost interest after book2
- The Root of All Evil by Think Twice
- Isekai, child MC, runes, memorable
- Ruthless by DJ Rintoul
- Apocalypse, base building, liked it
- Savage Awakening by Adastra339
- A Shelter in Space Time by Dmitry Dornichev
- The Sorcerer by Victor Pylaev
- Speedrunning the Multiverse by Adastra339
- Stariel by AJ Lancaster
- Strings of Empire by Guy Antibes
- The Strongest Student by Andrei Tkachev
- The Swordsman Return by Andrei Tkachev, Oliver Law
- System Dilemma by DoomApricot 1402
- Threads of Fate by Michael Head
- Regression, otherworldly threats, really liked it but no new sequels
- Towerbound by Samson Chui
- Regression, friends, post-apocalyptic, alchemy, game world
- Trials of the Endless Planes by RJ Shoke
- DNF
- Unbound by Nicoli Gonnella
- Isekai, really great world building and characters
- Underverse by Jez Cajiao
- interesting at start but not to my taste
- Undying Immortal System by Greg Tolley
- Progression, ground hog day, xianxia, alchemy and other, friends
- An Unexpected Hero by Rhett C. Bruno
- The Vampire Vicent by Benjamin Kerei
- Humor, writing is so so for me, mostly falls flat
- Victor of Tucson by Plum Parrot
- Isekai, progression, great series
- Void Knight Ascension by James T. Callum, K.H. Sohmer
- Apocalypse, multi-cast, enjoyable
- The Way by Mike Ignatov, Valeria Kornosenko
- Progression, wuxia
- Wolf of the North by Duncan M Hamilton
- all I remember is this was kind of a grim, sad tale
- Welcome to the Multiverse by Sean Oswald
- Apocalypse, mostly fun
- Wild Era by David North
- Rebirth, otherworldly threat, DNF the 3rd book — got bored
- Youngest Son of the Black-Hearted by Alvin Atwater