General Reading Recommendation Thread (Not Series License Requests)
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I just finished up Lazy Dungeon Master and now I'm looking to start a new series. Like the last 6 series have been fantasy and 4 or so have been isekai, so I'd like to avoid either of those genres. Is there anyone of the ones listed below that people could recommend? This is basically the order in which I have an interest, but if Infinite Stratos is as on the nose as Sexiled, I don't think I would want that one.
Infinite Stratos
The Combat Baker and Automaton Waitress
Beatless
Full Metal Panic! -
@db0ssman
Combat baker is an interesting alternate history/sci fi mix.I only read the first two volumes (wasn't quite to my liking, personally), but it does pack a decent amount of action and intruige intspersed with a bit of slice-of-life to break things up.Infinite Stratos is one of those "boy in an all girls school" stories. Really not my style, not going to comment further because I can't give it a fair trial.
Likewise, I can't give Beatless a fair trial, as I dropped it halfway through the first volume. If I had to list similar stories, only Clockwork Planet comes to mind, but this is less steampunk and more cyber than that.
Full Metal Panic! is a classic. I haven't actually read the books, but if the anime is anything to go by, it is a well-written story with plenty of millitary sci-fi action, mixed with a bit of fluff, usually involving the main character getting in trouble for handling everyday problems with military agressiveness. Includes plenty of overdeveloped giant humanoid battle mechs.
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@db0ssman I'm not aware of much good science fiction in translated LNs, but most of my SF reading is from western novelists. It feels like 90% of translated LNs are fantasy and most of them are isekai.
For anyone not burned out on fantasy, a couple of non-JNC series:
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear - 2 volumes released + volume 3 out July 30 - cute, light, bear-y fluffy isekai about a girl in another world in her bear onesie. Infinite Dendro fans might enjoy reading the adventures of "sister bear".
Woof Woof Story - 3 + volume 4 out next week - another fluffy isekai, crossing Abilities Average with Fel from Campfire Cooking. An overworked salaryman asked to be reincarnated as a pampered pet dog to live the lazy life, but the goddess decides on her own definition of "dog", a Fenrir.
JNC SF:
I enjoyed the 3 volumes of "Me, a Genius?" but the series was not finished in Japan so the plot threads in volume 3 will never be resolved.
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@Tube said in Bookworm Part 3 Vol. 2 Discussion!:
Damn I'm hooked on this series. Just thinking how many more days until Monday and whole Monday is waiting for the new chapters to arrive. I just re-read all the published books and p3v1 pre-pubs too, so it might be too early to do it again. I don't know how the people who read only published light novels manage to do it. How do they survive?
I'll have to try to find other things to be hooked on, so I can think about something else too.
Potion Loli is another good one to read if you need a distraction 😂
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@Tube said in Bookworm Part 3 Vol. 2 Discussion!:
Damn I'm hooked on this series. Just thinking how many more days until Monday and whole Monday is waiting for the new chapters to arrive. I just re-read all the published books and p3v1 pre-pubs too, so it might be too early to do it again. I don't know how the people who read only published light novels manage to do it. How do they survive?
I'll have to try to find other things to be hooked on, so I can think about something else too.
Bookworm is well written for an isekai LN and its not afraid to do it's own thing. Most isakai give us a young male protagonist that wakes up being able to 1 hit an elder dragon while it rains waifu, where as Bookworm gives us sick little idealist girl who loves books and takes on the unfair dogma of a medieval classist society.
If you are looking for another interesting isekai on here that marches to the beat of its own drum, I recommend Otherside Picnic. I have read a lot of LNs and it stands out as one of the most unique isekai I've come across.
If you are looking for excellent Japanese novels in general which have been properly translated then I Had That Same Dream again and At Night, I Become a Monster are both pretty amazing.
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@Melting-Sky said in General Recommendation Thread (Not Series License Requests):
Bookworm is well written for an isekai LN and its not afraid to do it's own thing. Most isakai give us a young male protagonist that wakes up being able to 1 hit an elder dragon while it rains waifu, where as Bookworm gives us sick little idealist girl who loves books and takes on the unfair dogma of a medieval classist society.
Since Bookworm is only the second LN I ever read, I think it gave me a really unfair standard to hold other LN to. That also holds true with the quality of the writing itself too, not just how well structured and deep the story is.
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@db0ssman said in General Recommendation Thread (Not Series License Requests):
@Melting-Sky said in General Recommendation Thread (Not Series License Requests):
Bookworm is well written for an isekai LN and its not afraid to do it's own thing. Most isakai give us a young male protagonist that wakes up being able to 1 hit an elder dragon while it rains waifu, where as Bookworm gives us sick little idealist girl who loves books and takes on the unfair dogma of a medieval classist society.
Since Bookworm is only the second LN I ever read, I think it gave me a really unfair standard to hold other LN to. That also holds true with the quality of the writing itself too, not just how well structured and deep the story is.
That's always the problem with going strait for the top shelf stuff your first time. Setting the bar so high leads to a lot of disappointment. Although there are a lot of really trashy LNs out there, don't be afraid to sift through the chaff to find the rarer gems. They are there, just burried.
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I dont know where to ask so asking hear
I enjoyed potion loli vol 3 and 4 very much. Biggest point for me was mc seem so alive as all her choice, her reasoning, learning form past mistake seem so real to me.
So i wanted to ask does make my ability average also have such great alive character as its also by funa. I know best answer is to try myself but then also just wanted to ask.
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@Bromit said in General Recommendation Thread (Not Series License Requests):
I dont know where to ask so asking hear
I enjoyed potion loli vol 3 and 4 very much. Biggest point for me was mc seem so alive as all her choice, her reasoning, learning form past mistake seem so real to me.
So i wanted to ask does make my ability average also have such great alive character as its also by funa. I know best answer is to try myself but then also just wanted to ask.
I believe so (in my opinion). The MC's in both have much in common and similar personalities
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@Bromit All 3 of FUMA's Work (Potionn Loli, 80000 gold, and Ability average) are really similar, the MC especially so.
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@Raitoiro agree, i read manga of 80k gold alongside potion loli. It feel like i am reading same manga with slightly different power of mc, as almost same plot was going. But sadly there is only 1vol out of 80k gold in English that too 15month ago (vol 2 when sol press? Well thats a discussion for sol press thread)
Was just wondering if average ability was similar because its settings seems different. Thx for response, will read vol 1 soon now.
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@Bromit Abilities Average is my favorite of the three, because of the great characters (not just the MC) and because it has more amusing and outright funny moments that match my sense of humor.
You should give Seriously Seeking Sister a try while it's on catch-up until Sunday night. It has a FUNA feel to me.
Another one with a good female MC is I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years, though it's more about warm slice of life and lacks FUNA's snark and silliness.
For extra silliness, try Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, it's bear-riffic.
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@Bromit Ability average is the one I read the most out of the 3 and yeah it's really similar to the other. The cast and the world may be different but it's kind of the same story with similar characters doing kind of similar thing.
It's not a bad series but it's not a good one either, it's funny and light hearted like you would expect from FUMA but it loses its drive in later volumes and become kinda boring and repetitive (around vol 4 or 5 IRC).
IMO a better version of that kind of story is "Reincarnated as a sword", the start of vol1 isn't that good but once the true main character (Fran) appears the story become really entertaining.
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@Raitoiro said in General Recommendation Thread (Not Series License Requests):
IMO a better version of that kind of story is "Reincarnated as a sword", the start of vol1 isn't that good but once the true main character (Fran) appears the story become really entertaining.
That's a good series, especially if you want something a little more serious than FUNA while still being mostly lighthearted instead of grimdark.
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@Bromit All three of FUNA's series (Potions, Abilities Average, and 80K Gold) have similar protagonists: highly independent, intelligent women (all stuck looking like 12 year olds) who tend to not think things through completely.
Honestly, Abilities Average is probably the best of the three series.
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I agree with the recommendations for Seriously Seeking Sister if you like FUNA's stuff. Ristia (main character in Sister) reminds me a LOT of Mile from Abilities Average.
Ristia/Mile: "Oh, I'm just a normal girl."
Literally everyone: "No normal girl can do that." -
Hello readers! This is my first message and I need your help with some recommendations on what to read next.
Here is what I have already read and really liked:
Bookworm (10/10) - just fantastic, I love everything about these novels
Cooking with wild game (9/10) - a bit less interesting than Bookworm (maybe because I'm not too interested in the cooking itself) but a very nice reading
Re zero (9/10) - sometimes I like to suffer (both for the plot and the slow releases of translated books)
Der Werwolf (8/10) - A bit silly in how easy the protagonist always wins, but still very enjoyable
Altina (7.5/10) - I like to see what other unusual tactics Regis will use to win the next battle
Tearmoon Empire (7.5/10) - Silly but owning that silliness. and entertaining
Bakarina (7/10) - Simply fun. Or baka but in a good wayOther light novels that I have read and enjoyed but not as much are SOAP and Goblin Slayer.
One that I thought I would have liked but that I instead dislike and ended up abandoning in the middle of volume one instead is How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom. It took itself too seriously while offering (in my opinion) unrealistic solutions to a difficult problem.
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@Myosin do you look at the catch-up titles each month? They're free with your membership. Even if they don't sound that good you can read the first few parts and see if they surprise you.
I enjoyed the first couple of volumes of I Refuse to be Your Enemy, it's another reincarnated otome game heroine story that's less slapstick than Bakarina.
You might enjoy the clever schemes of the MC in Lazy Dungeon Master and it has some sly humor, but now and then it also gets pretty dark.
Have you tried FUNA's novels? My favorite of the 3 series is Abilities Average. If you've seen the anime, ignore it -- it wasn't awful but it was dumbed down with most of the humor removed.
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@HarmlessDave said in General Recommendation Thread (Not Series License Requests):
You might enjoy the clever schemes of the MC in Lazy Dungeon Master and it has some sly humor, but now and then it also gets pretty dark.
Which is Translated by Bookworm's @Quof , which mean it's a great translation
