Embers Ad Infinitum

Description

Links are NOT allowed. Format your description nicely so people can easily read them. Please use proper spacing and paragraphs.

In this latest work by Lord of the Mysteries author, Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, be prepared for a well-thought out and detailed apocalyptic, cyberpunk world with a setting superseding Lord of the Mysteries!

Our protagonist, Shang Jianyao, is crazy—literally crazy, at least that’s what the doctors said. Living in a huge, underground building of Pangu Biology, one of the few remaining factions in this apocalyptic wasteland known as the Ashlands, he acts in unfathomable ways that’s head-scratching, comical, and shrewd. So is he really crazy? Probably.

He has a grand dream: to save all of humanity.

Intricately tied to this dream is something everyone in the Ashlands believes in: Deep in a particular ruin buried away by danger and famine, a path leading to a new world awaits. To step into the new world, one only needs to find a special key and open that certain door.

There, the land is bountiful, as if milk and honey flows freely.

The sunlight is dazzling, as if all coldness and darkness are washed away.

The people will no longer have to face desolation, monsters, infections, mutations, and all kinds of dangers.

There, children are joyous, adults are happy, everything is fine as they are supposed to be.

Every Antiquarian, Ruin Hunter, and Historian roaming the Ashlands knows: That’s the New World.

Associated Names
One entry per line
长夜余火
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Lord of the Mysteries (2)
The First Order (2)
The Godsfall Chronicles (1)
Since The Red Moon Appeared (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Chinese Novel and Danmei
  2. Collection
  3. My top novels
  4. Favorite Best Novel
  5. Novels That I Have Read Over The Years

Latest Release

Date Group Release
12/21/20 Webnovel c39
12/21/20 Webnovel c38
12/21/20 Webnovel c37
12/21/20 Webnovel c36
12/21/20 Webnovel c35
12/21/20 Webnovel c34
12/21/20 Webnovel c33
12/21/20 Webnovel c32
12/21/20 Webnovel c31
12/21/20 Webnovel c30
12/21/20 Webnovel c29
12/21/20 Webnovel c28
12/21/20 Webnovel c27
12/21/20 Webnovel c26
12/21/20 Webnovel c25
Go to Page...
Go to Page...
Write a Review
62 Reviews sorted by


Dark Drakon XIX
Dark Drakon XIX rated it
May 3, 2021
Status: --
Ember ad infinitum cannot compare to Lord of Mysteries. Its not due to writing style but repetetive storyline.

People get easily bored by repetetive storyline. Overall world building, characters building are best in this novel but when it comes to plot this is not my cup of tea.

By the way author already told readers that this book will not like by many readers.
2 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
kieleich
kieleich rated it
January 19, 2023
Status: 100%
An interesting novel. However the plot progresses slowly, action scenes are far and between, and not even very interesting when they do happen. MC acts too randomly to be very relatable and most of the time we only have 3rd perspective no inner thoughts. Some jokes overused and repeat too often (sigh, only 1.75m).

All in all this novel is not bad by any means but on the whole, and the setting and way of storytelling is nice, but the novel way overstays its welcome.

This is one case where shorter would... more>> have been better. <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
miscreant
miscreant rated it
January 17, 2023
Status: c75
Maybe I came into it with too high expectations after LotM but I've found this novel hasn't really managed to get me invested into it as plot line seems to be exploration for no reason with no real outcome while the author hasn't really managed to get the readers to have a connection with any characters.

I have potentially been a bit unfair and it might get later better on but I felt first 75 chapters were tough going and figured I'd cut my losses.
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
hinokio
hinokio rated it
January 3, 2023
Status: Completed
this story very good as expected of Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, but not as near awesome as Lord of the Mysteries or Martial Arts Master or Throne of Magical Arcana because it lacks the romance, in his other novels I have to say I'm a little bias toward this because martial arts master was my first cuttlefish novel and it really hooked me since then but cuttlefish seems with each novel to write a little romance as possible don't know why he lacks the romance in his other novels even... more>> though he writes a very good romance part and the ending is rather lacking in this one hope we have a sequel or MC team shows in LOTM 2 because there is many stuff that didn't explain in the end and that isn't the norm of Cuttlefish the ending is rather rushed and that's not what cuttlefish normally do which leaves me in suspense if the heroes will show in a sequel in the future or not, overall a very good novel of cuttlefish but loses to his other novels by 1 star but still way better than many tr*sh novels out there <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
trash_generalist
trash_generalist
January 2, 2023
Status: c15
This story is the type where it’s easy to give up on if you don’t persist for more than the first tens of chapters XD Unfortunately, I currently lack the patience to read the slow development, so I decided to move on regardless of the potential I can see in it. I’ll come back to reread later though! It’s promising, after all. And I’ve read some of the author’s other works (so I have a basic understanding of how they do things, though the style in this one is definitely... more>> strange. The POV is detached from the protagonist, you don’t know what he’s thinking, and thus, all his actions are inexplicable. That’s kinda why it’s hard to get into the story. But such a style is probably not too bad once you get an idea of how he is. I just currently lack the interest.) <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Demi-Chicken
Demi-Chicken rated it
December 8, 2022
Status: --
This book definitely didn't seem that great at first, I'd be honest. It starts out confusing and in the first ten chapters, I was going wtf is all this because nothing was being explained. But it starts to get better after a while like it did with Cuttlefish's other books as things are slowly revealed and you get a surface level understanding of the main cast.

I think the best thing about the book is the atmosphere, the characters, and the situations and unexpected truths/turns that suddenly reveals themselves. All of... more>> the main cast are relatable people who have their own selfishness and goals as well as bonds with each other apart from the main character who is relatively pure in his motives of saving humanity. All of them are developed fairly well so you can understand their choices and also feel their emotions as they make hard decisions. Personally, they all resonate with me to a certain extent because the conflict (at the end) is not a purely inevitable and irresistible situation but also because the characters are choosing to advance against the risk.

In short, great in my opinion so give it a try. It's definitely worth a read if you can get past the first few chapters and get a feel for what the story is gonna be about. <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
DarkestGentleman
DarkestGentleman
November 18, 2022
Status: c953
Excellent Novel. It's not another power mongrel story. It is similar to LOTM but has its own characteristics. I thoroughly enjoyed it even with the slight bitter sweet ending. The story is a bit slow on the early stages but worth every second you spent on this novel when you reach the end.
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
cpzombie
cpzombie rated it
November 10, 2022
Status: Completed
This is definitely one of the best-written things on here that I've read. It starts off a bit slow and doesn't just info dump everything, but you slowly learn about the world and the characters. Some things are predictable and some aren't, but they all flow together well and there weren't even any plot holes that jumped out while reading.

There was a lot of good comedy (often related to the MC's insanity, but also many other things like certain cult rituals) which somehow went perfectly with the overall dark world.... more>> It goes from lighthearted jokes to rapist mu*der robots and civilian massacres all while keeping you engrossed in wanting to learn more about the world and its history.

I'm usually not a huge fan of righteous protagonists, but him being a certified mental patient makes me actually enjoy him. I also usually dislike MCs that ignore romance, but again the craziness (too busy saving humanity for a wife) makes it not bad when combined with the author actually being good at writing and not having every woman he meets mindlessly throw themselves at him.

This is definitely one of my favorite novels, and I honestly can't recommend this enough as long as you enjoy slower-paced mystery / adventure type stories. <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
BeardyRABBIT
BeardyRABBIT
February 24, 2022
Status: --
Amazing Novel, great world building and mysteries. Nice chemistry between the character, very down-to-earth type of fantasy-post apocalyptic novel. Lot of mind games which is, I f*ckin love it. The power are diverse but mainly psyche type of power rather than soft magic system like in LOTR. But the usage of those ability is awesomely creative and very thrilling, sometimes maybe lot of times very confusing, because you don't know when the MC affected by opponent ability. As for the character, again compare to LOTR, not as strong but very... more>> solid with distinct character. Overall amazing novel <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
thirdheavenlysage
thirdheavenlysage rated it
February 2, 2022
Status: --
Hello! Reader of the latest chapter here, I believe this novel deserves a 5 star for its mystery, character development, and just good writing in general. The first I would say 100 chapters are rough, with little to no action (in my opinion). But once they start encountering characters and items of the mind-corridor level, all the action erupts and interesting chapters with creative use of abilities come right after. As they discover more and more, the world shows more mystery than ever, I would recommend this read to anyone... more>> who is sick of stereotypical genres and trends and wants a new intriguing experience. <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Peixotto
Peixotto rated it
October 1, 2021
Status: --
I'd say it isn't as strong as Lord of The Mysteries, but I enjoy the setting far more. The author takes a more realistic approach to a post-apoclypse, where society has slowly started to recover, but things are still bad. One thing I love that other novels don't really do is the group dynamic. There are still plenty of mysteries and I enjoy how it all unravels as time goes on. It's a great book, far better than the garbage that's usually on this site.
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Poireau
Poireau rated it
April 20, 2021
Status: c102
"Long Yuehong quickly shook his head. He then sighed silently. What kind of team is this... ?"

Indeed, what kind of team is this... In this novel we seem to follow the missions of an exploration team of 4 members: a half crazy person with unclear abilities, a half deaf team leader, an expert in finding tr*sh in the surface, and a cowardly yet quite normal person.

Their first mission took most of the first 100 chapters I read (= first volume) and it was quite interesting to walk with them is... more>> this post-apolalyptic world as there are lots of misteries to discover/understand. This world seems to have come to an existence after the snap out of a previous yet quite technological advanced world, as if a box of Pandore was opened and where now the entrance to a new paradise-like world that some of the living are yearning / searching for, seems to exist somewehre.

And in this world, where dangers outside the underground facility the team members come from are present at each corner, there is a large melting pot of abnormalities, from sub-humans to "gods".

As you can guess from the above, the plot seems quite close to the novel LOTM, and you can even find similar terms such as "Arbiter of Fate" or "Evernight Parish" etc... And it can be an issue if you compare this novel to LOTM as this one seems to have a similar yet a bit more boring plot and less interesting MC (s). I would compare/think more of this novel like "The First Order" or "The Dark King" novels, but with more mysteries, much less op MC (s) and a slower pace.

Overall it is a good novel, but with too many questions without answers, it is difficult to give a perfect notation. Maybe things will make more sens in the later chapters... <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
jon95
jon95 rated it
March 20, 2021
Status: c400
This will be more like a chit-chat about what I feel when reading the novel than a review so feel free to ignore it.

First of all I'm reading this novel because it's work by Lord of the Mysteries author (I really admire his ability to write a novel like that so I have high hopes for this one)

-let's start with the novel Description: what attracts me most is the phrase " latest work by Lord of the Mysteries author", others... hmm... lets just say they give the impression of... more>> your everyday Post-apocalyptic world but the dramatic or horror type. I think it has some similarity with the forbidden land in his other novel. The MC somehow reminds me of the super villains in hero comics (crazy, head-scratching, comical, and shrewd... yeah... also many of them repeat the phrase "to save humanity")

-after reading the first 5 chapters my enthusiasm started to wane. The MC more and more looks like a promising crazy villain in his early days (I wish this impression will change in the upcoming chapters). He is calm no matter what he heard, d*mn too calm. I started to believe that he don't actually have feelings or doesn't take the human feelings into account (like robots who should only work in the most efficient way and ignore everything else)

Spoiler

his reactions when he 1st heard of fertility center system was to totally disagree because he saw that the listener won't take no for an answer but his real thoughts is agreeing without hesitation ignoring any consequences that might happen due to this.

mentioning this, they can build a large 'fertility center' in the Research Zone, which will do in vitro fertilization, artificial uterus development but can't build watches. The inconstant facts of this civilization (even if it's some might think of them as small details) does affect my enjoyment of the novel.

I'm also annoyed with the religion stuff added to the novel. everyone has there own believes, it's inevitable that he is affected by his believes when writing but still annoying how the author always try to portray his as the correct one while disrespecting others in a way or another.

Also we already have one who became a god in the last novel (and basically every other CN novels) so I hope this one is different

[collapse]

I'll read more before coming back. I just hope Cuttlefish That Loves Diving didn't put all his creativity in "Lord of the Mysteries" and keep some for this one

The story starts to become more fun once the team gets their first mission and although I still find some his behavior abnormal I started to somewhat like the MC

another point I find annoying:

Spoiler

the author like many others many times (most of the time) attribute individual traits and achievements to anything but hard work. the phrase "due to genetic enhancements" repeats way too much. hes is smart due to genetic enhancements, she is beautiful due to genetic enhancements, they are skilled due to genetic enhancements. come on this gives me an illusion that without genetic enhancements, people are useless, there isn't anyone naturally talented? or can improve himself with hard work?

oh, this might be some useless rattle but this is one of the points that annoys me

another part that looked illogical is the cult actions, wither it's to suddenly kill the guy or their choice on the person hey used to go after the MC. those actions are like someone begging to be caught not a caution organization lasted for a long time. for now there isn't any explanation whether it's because they are just crazy or have any hidden goals

[collapse]

about the plot

Spoiler

the plot-line development isn't bad for now but I personally feel that things are somewhat forced, the only explanation is that a teammate is unlucky because of his.. name?

[collapse]

It's some similarity to LOM but with the development of the story it looks more like a gag novel than a serous one unlike LOM. Treating it as one made things look more logical. I can't say it's a perfect gag novel but reading with such mentality made accepting things easier.

another point that is similar to LOM is except for the v1 which is a little boring the others are full of suspense which makes a torture to wait for the next chapter.

I admit that my impression of this novel at the beginning was not so good after reading the first few chapters but the more the story progress the more I like it and get absorbed into it (even if it has some similarity to others this another story with its own bg and development, some stuff still annoys me though) <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Wandering monk
Wandering monk rated it
March 16, 2021
Status: c150
It's good but nowhere near Lord of The Mysteries. I'm 150 chapters in and so far the MC doesn't even have a clear purpose. Sure he's on a team mission and whatnot but that's just something he's doing. He has no actual purpose to it. Things are just happening and he's just going along.

The fight scenes aren't bad. Gives me LoTM/gunfare vibes.

People tryna hype this to be better than LoTM and I wish it could too but so far it isn't doing a very good job of it. Think of... more>> this as a variant alternate world of LoTM and it kinda helps. <<less
1 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Abyx
Abyx rated it
February 23, 2024
Status: Completed
Overall, it's another awesome novel from the author of the best book on physics history, and other masterpieces.

Sometimes it gets slow-paced, but if you're in, you'd never want to drop it.

At the end, things were speeding up, and there was a fear of a weak and rushed ending, or a boring ending like in the physics book, or a possibility of a second book like in the LotM.
Nope. The book has the most logical and right ending. And the epilogue is perfect. Everything is but a dream.

For all of... more>> humanity! <<less
0 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
ttq
ttq rated it
May 27, 2023
Status: Completed
4.8 stars.

Ah another epic story by Cuttlefish That Loves Diving. I forgot to review this novel right after it, so I have forgotten a few details. However, my overall impression was pretty epic. The story takes the reader into a metal-punk apocalyptic world style. It has many similarities to The Lord of Mysteries in that there are these "gods" overseeing the world and 13 religions for each of them. 12 for each month of the year and 13th for the leap month or the full year. Different from the Lord... more>> of Mysteries, here we have a group of protagonists that focused on team work instead of just 1 lone MC. It was a nice combination of mysteries, actions, and thriller. I loved it. The horror was a bit less than the Lord of Mysteries but the ingenious plot never failed to amaze me. Pretty good.

Spoiler

The only sad thing was the 2 main MCs sacrificed themselves in the end to kill the rest of the "gods".

[collapse]

Pretty open-ended ending in my opinion, quite like the Lord of Mysteries. Though LoM is more open-ended, and I can see a sequel to it. I look forward to any new work from Cuttlefish as long as he doesn't include romance lol. In his previous work with romance, let's just say it's a bit cringy ah. <<less
0 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Arcturys
Arcturys rated it
March 19, 2023
Status: Completed
4.5/5 Interesting MC and power system. Everything is fully explained and there’s a happy ending. IMO the ending drags a little bit but it’s overall a captivating read.
0 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
truebulge
truebulge rated it
January 21, 2023
Status: Completed
The story is very well planned out, but don't expect to be mindblown as much as the experience reading Lord of the Mysteries. The developments of Embers Ad Infinitum are a lot more predictable.

What this story really does well (and I think better than LOTM) is character development and interactions. I wasn't gripped by the overall plot developments until chapter 500, and what kept me going was the conversations between our main cast: the four team members.

If the pacing at the beginning was faster and the end slower, I would... more>> have no complaints. For reference, I didn't have an issue with the pacing at the end of LOTM, like many other people did, but I do have issues with the end's pacing here.

Anyways, here's spoilers related to the real meaning of this work that I saw and rephrased from a translated chinese comment:

Spoiler

This story is allegorical and fundamentally deals with power structures in capitalism. The Heartless disease represents financial instability and exploitation, while the Kalendarium represent those in the position to exploit other people (basically the rich and tycoons). The Kalendarium and elites can seem invincible, but they are human too and can be taken down by revolution, teamwork, bravery, and sacrifice.

This can also explain why there was so much effort painstakingly taken to world build the various factions without expanding on the fundamental plot and conundrum: it is to show the struggles of the poor.

[collapse]
<<less
0 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Mintyleaves
Mintyleaves rated it
May 8, 2022
Status: c894
The story starts off at slow speed and the author spends quite a bit of time building up the world and characters. If you stick with it longer, bigger mysteries start to envelop and things start to get more exciting.

It starts off in a Post-Apocalypse world with elements of sci-fi and mystery. The MC is in a team of 5 people, whose goal overall is to discover the mysteries of the Old World. And MC himself wants to save humanity. His personality is very interesting and he's sort of insane,... more>> which makes us unable to predict what might he do next. The team leader is also one of my favourite characters due to her personality, and is definitely a good example of a strong female character. The other teammates of the MC also carry interesting backstories and all contribute to the team, though I hope the two weaker teammates can level up.

The world is fleshed out well and is not a typical Post-Apocalypse story, and actually branches out from zombies. The powers people can gain are diverse and the Awakened people also pay a price. The conflicts between different factions who believe in different Kalendaria (gods who have different powers) make the novel more exciting.

Overall, the novel is great. Just stick to it for about 300 chapters before deciding whether you want to read on as the plot progresses slowly in the first 100 chapters. <<less
0 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
The Great One Himself
The Great One Himself rated it
May 6, 2022
Status: c890
A lot of people seem to have forgotten how slow LoM's build-up was. The author's writing feels a lot more complete in this novel, if you've made it all the way here read and enjoy!
0 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Leave a Review (Guidelines)
You must be logged in to rate and post a review. Register an account to get started.