Sturgeon's law: 99% of everything is terrible.... more>>

I know many people say that there are no good novels on this site, and it oftens feels like the top lists are filled with overpowered MC's, undeveloped harems, 2D characters, and lacking plots.

There are some novels that stand out, however, whether that be for their plots, characters, or translations.

This is a list for my personal 1%. It is ranked in order. <<less

How would you bring technology into a fantasy world? Make sense of the magics? Feed people and get rid of the corrupt nobles? This is specifically on developing a city or territory, not:
- Developing a dungeon/core (see my other list: https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/10742/)... more>>

First, a few worthy mentions that aren't on NU:
1. Castle Kingside (rewrite) - a lot of inspiration from Release that Witch, imo improved! Warning: it's slow. Kingdom only begins around c60ish.
2. The iron teeth - although territory development comes late in the story, it's well done and exotic, being based on a goblin kingdom
3. 1632 (published book) - an American village goes back to the 30 years war. It's much less fantastical, but has a lot of similar elements to other kingdom building novels.
4. The Eagle's Flight - highly intricate fantasy webnovel
5. Defiance of the fall
6. Randidly Ghosthound - neither Randidly nor Defiance of the Fall focus on kingdom building, but they both have elements related to setting up a post-apocalypse system city - complete the quest to get the village crystal/coin!
7. The Expansion (Legend of the Arch Magus) - [have not yet read] - recommendation from Hitexh in the comments
8. Enlightened Empire - weaker than the others <<less

Sequence is CN- JP- KR- Fluffy- (Comedy)- Exceptions- To-reads. Not ranked by number. 
My descriptions varies greatly from a gist, polished review, impressions, or explains key points.        ... more>>

[Flexible Preferences] 
A. Protags are somehow mostly male but I read both!- interesting, has compelling qualities, flawed with development
B. Entertaining, Distinct, & Creative
C. Steady premise, no TERRIBLE plot hole 
D. Romance: good execution, pacing, build-up, & evokes emotion; no bullsh!t drama & brain-dead denseness
E. Vital, relevant, fleshed-out characters
F. Comedic & Fun
G. Danger, Wars, Battles, Strategy, Tactics, Trials, Fights, Thriller, Suspense
H. Lore, Culture, Kingdom, Worldbuilding 
I. Political Intrigue, Schemes, Mind Games, Manipulation, Mystery
J.  Pure tragedies rarely - it hurts!
K. No BL/GL(yet?)
L. Can be R-18 
M. Polygamous-like IF great story | even if you're averse consider my recs. ;)

[Criteria]
1. These are (mostly) 4/5 stars in story, translation and enjoyment according to my flawed evaluation that is mainly 3/10 objective, 7/10 subjective.
2. I have perused the novels or adaptation before sharing my thoughts.
3. Writing must be consistent, coherent and engaging and the ending must at least not be sh!t. Clichés to a point are fine however it needs to be purposeful & executed well. 
4. I will keep adding books that are promising, satisfying, translated.  <<less

I thought how about list all novel without harem that is good for reading in the free time, then here I was, make it. Basically I put ALL GENRES in one list, BUT they don't have harem tag. Ah, ofc the mc is male. And unlike the other lists, I don't arrange the novels based on its stars. But at least, I put them according their origin (kr-cn-jp) ... more>>

If anyhow you guys found a title with harem inside and I put it here, please tell me. Thank you! <<less

GENRES: either Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Historical, Horror, Martial Arts, Mystery, Psychological, Sci-Fi, Slice of Life, Supernatural... more>>

A compilation of my favorites (CN, JP, KR) in alphabetical order.
*read the comments for additional recommendations (original novels)
*will update when I find and read new interesting ones <<less

Captivating storytellings. 

Action-packed and plot-heavy novels. No romance.... more>>

Love is temporary, EXP is eternal. <<less

This novels are adapted to Anime and I watched (even the sh*t ones) . Ranked by how good (my opinion) the Anime is. Top ranking... more>> are more accurate than lower ones. Links to MyAnimeList in the description. Feel free to comment on any objection in the rankings. If I agree with your disagreement, i will correct it. <<less

Another story is: "Tyranny of Steel" The story progress something like Release That Witch. MC makes Austria become a power house by introducing gun technology... more>> in an era of cold weapon. Some reader says its unacceptable since MC does not have super power like the witches in Release That Witch but the author keep mentioning the MC have an almost photographic memory and he is an engineering soldier who focus on technology knowledge. Warning: MC is grooming his teenage fiancé to be his wife. There are s*x scenes too. (Recommended but with warning: Adult/Mature tag.)  <<less

Novels which I've enjoyed or I plan to read. ... more>>

I care a lot about characters, plot and overall translation quality/writing so some of these should look interesting to any picky reader out there like myself.

They're all from a variety of genres.

Not in any order. 
Open to recommendations :) <<less

- you know what's here if you know ORV/Solo leveling and sh*t lol enjoy!... more>>

-no order

- I like this kind of stories even more if there is some homosexuality between the main characters lol feel free if you want to drop some recs of this type!! <<less

No description.

Stuff for her to read.

Goated MCs - no harem - male protagonist

Top genre: Drama, Fantasy, Psychological, Slice of Life, Action, Adventure, Mystery.... more>>

Unlisted: World End Economica, Katanagatari, Umineko no Naku Koro ni, Yagate Kimi ni Naru Saeki Sayaka ni Tsuite

Honorable mentions: Saredo Tsumibito wa Ryuu to Odoru: Dances with the Dragons, Gensousaiki no Allusionist, Kotoshi wa Makureki 417 Nen Desu (今年は幕歴417年です), Glass no Tou no Satsujin, Kokou no Mesu, Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita, Shakugan no Shana, Seishun Buta Yarou, SAO Progressive, Rebuild World, Qualia the Purple, Log Horizon, Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken, Grimgal of Ashes and Illusion <<less

List of good jp light novel 

A list of stories with: male lead, kingdom setting, transmigration/reincarnation/regression 

Novels from pre-2010 era, high focus on JPN (with usually anime adaption) but there is a slight mix. 

This Historical list deals with stories where there is an inclusion of historical events, people or setting- both invented, authentic, and fantasy-like. I also included here the ones with martial arts and cultivation stories that are not related to transmigration, anyways they have ancient vibes.... more>>

The following recommendations would be labeled whether they belong to BG, BL, GL, or No Love Interests. There is no ranking in my list, it was just according to the time when I chronologically added the novel inside this list. <<less

I'll put here novels that were recommended to me because why not? Might as well recommend it to you too! Anyways, I express my gratitude to the people who recommended the novels on this list, thank you!!... more>>

Note: You can write in the comment section if you have any recommendations that are in line with my taste
or are simply so great that I shouldn't miss them! Thank you!! <<less

A list focusing on good yet undiscovered novels; please feel free comment any Ln,Manga or anime that you think deserves more attention

No description.

No description.

This List will be filled with Good War Novels. Most of them is tactical based Novels, so Get ready for avalanche of strategy and theory... more>> monologue. <<less

Reached the limit on my first list, so here's this one, I guess!