My all time favorites, absolutely no romance. Listed in order of personal enjoyment. Near the end of the list, it becomes something more like "yeah this was pretty good," but nevertheless, I did enjoy it. ... more>>

Sidenote: I find it hard to read novels where MCs are too brutal/ruthless, so don't expect many recs on those novels. 

Recommendation: I highly recommend Mother of Learning. Originally an english webnovel, so it's not on novel updates (It's on royalroad and fictionpress). No romance, and the time travel/time loop is well done. It's completed at 800k words. The writing has it's flaws, but I personally found it incredibly enjoyable. 

Summary: Zorian, a mage in training, only wanted to finish his education in peace. Now he struggles to find answers as he finds himself repeatedly reliving the same month. 'Groundhog Day' style setup in a fantasy world.

Another english webnovel that's really good is Never Die Twice. Completed. No romance. Villain MC. LitRPG.  <<less

CN and JP novels I really enjoy. Novels that go an extra mile to build up the story, the world, the characters and the progression.

I Need A New Novels/Light Novels for Reading

Isekais are fun reads when done right, cringey when generic, and horrible when done wrong.... more>>

Sorted from Best to Worst with the ratings being pretty biased.

Honorable Mentions: The Beginning after the End (NOT ON NU) {4.35/5} It's cool, that's all I can really say.

THE LIST NOW HAS A SECOND PART IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW: https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/8455/ <<less

The isekai here is pointed to another world, but not only to the usual Jpn isekai with reincarnation/rebirth/transmigrate MC. It can be the world that's totally not in the earth, and maybe it's not a reincarnation/transmigration and MC is from that world. ... more>>

My ideal isekai novel is the one with the world building as its central theme and the romance is non existent, even if there's romance element in it, usually it's slow and just as unnecessary side dish.

NO HAREM for me. Tho few of them has harem and romance tags, for me there are those that are not romance and harem, so I'll explain in related description instead. 

  <<less

LN and WN originals of the series in Isekai Quartet

Ecchi

No description.

You should check bellow recommendation list too:
Oprah's Book Club (by kkgoh)... more>>

GOATed Reads (by Kawaii Loli)

Not on novelupdate:
- Arrogant Young Master Template A Variation 4
- The Author's PoV
- Beware of Chicken- Cultivation Nerd
- Shadow s*ave <<less

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Personal favourites, in no particular order.... more>>

Idk if I'm allowed to put this here but anything QI in this list? Aggregators lmao

More recommendations (this list is non-exhaustive): [The Menocht Loop][Azarinth Healer][Deathworlders][Mother of Learning][Delve][There is no epic loot here, only puns.][Spellgun][The Abyssal Dungeon][Daedalus][Those who aspired to become gods][Apex Predator][I am going to die (in this game-like dimension)][Metaworld Chronicles][The last angel: Ascension][Unbound][Vainqueur the Dragon][Deeper Darker][Mud's Mission][Empire of Salt][Gaia Awakens][The Gam3][Never Die Twice][The Forgotten Conqueror][Tallrock][The Only Real Cultivator][Seabound][Worm][Vaudevillain][A Hermit's Life for Me][Shade Touched][Just A Bystander][Sylver Seeker][Magic-smithing][The House Witch][Apocalypse: Generic System][Rebirth in a Magical World][The Oscillation][Fork this Life][Beware of Chicken][The House Witch][Valkyrie's Shadow][Salvos][First Contact][A Sense for Magic][Romantically Apocalyptic][The Stars Have Eyes]

Extras:[I don't  want this kind of Hero][Weak Hero][Jigokuraku][World Trigger][Hunter x Hunter][Eleceed] <<less

Take misundestanding to the new level!... more>>

any suggestions are welcome~ <<less

those who defy common sense and carve a path to the future with both of their hand.... more>>

no shoujo ikemen romance allowed

//i will no longer provide rating because i notice that it's too heavily based on my taste.

newer novels won't have rating and will located in last page <<less

some novels i read at home when can't go out by covid-19 

Novels that have no lasting romance or love interests. There will be no smut, harem (if MC attracts some people, I don't mind until it becomes a major part of the story or MC becomes interested in them), or ecchi, and BL/GL also count as romance. The list includes a personal rating and (often rambling) review/description.... more>>

Of course, it's also about my tastes, so this list will be mostly fantasy and action novels (op mc will be a common feature). I am a wordy person so I also don’t mind wordier books, too... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The list is in no particular order, but novels with <100 chapters and on hiatus/slow updating (less/around as often as 1 chap/month) will go in the back, starting at #33. This is because I assume people are looking for binge reads like me.

DISCLAIMER: The list is subject to change and revision - my impression changes as I think about them/read more. I cannot guarantee a novel has no romance later. I'll try to update this rec list as I read. No promises though, so my descriptions may be outdated.

~
Similar lists (insert after the "viewlist/" in the URL): 68396, 3797, 46727, 20556, 7097, 25820, 47958, 19335, 48107, 50847, 29345, 44031 <<less

Bunch of random evil protag

No description.

in my thread, "Everyone thinks MC is a good person!" there were a lot of good recs - so here they are! Thank you to everyone who recommended these to me. ... more>>

Note: Some novels recommended are from RoyalRoad, so not all of the recommendations are here :)

[created 2020.09.09

published 2020.09.09] <<less

This is for transmigration, not:
- Second chances in fantasy (https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/10749/)
- Transmigrated as a monster (https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/10686/)
- Transmigrated as a dungeon core/master (https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/10742/)
- Traditional fantasy (drafting this one)... more>>

Great EN transmigration novels:
- Metaworld Chronicles
- Castle Kingside
- The Calamity of a Reborn Witch
- Elydes
- Dreaming of sunshine (Naruto ff)
- Surviving the Succession
- Jackal Among Thieves
- The Essence of Cultivation
- Borne of Caution/Desire (Pokemon)
- Memoirs of your local small-time villainess
- Delve
- Beneath the Dragoneye Moons
- Beware of chicken
- Deathworld Commando Reborn
- Mark of the Crijik
- Eight (discontinued)
- Victor of Tucson
- The Calamitous Bob
- The Last Orellen
- He Who Fights with Monsters
- Unbound
- Savage Divinity
- Worth the Candle
- The Many Lives of Cadence Lee
- Way of the Shaman (translated from Russian, published, with VRMMO elements)
- How to avoid death on a daily basis
- Azarinth Healer
- Wandering Inn
- Ar'Kendrithyst
- The Arcane Emperor
- Cursed Era <<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

No description.

Novels i am currently reading and up do date with listed in no particular order so that I won't have to have 50 tabs open

No description.

The original list was closing in on a hundred title so I decided to cut it in three parts, one for each country.... more>>

Here are the comic adaptations of japanese novels that I read, I’m reading or will read in the near future.

Part I (Manhwa/Korean): https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/17612/

Part II (Manhua/Chinese): https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/18150/ <<less

Characters who have self-serving personalities or tendencies, and may or may not show it in interactions, actions, emotions, intent, and thoughts. Or just that the character has a willingness to do things that aren't compatible with our modern and diverse views regarding morals, ethics, principles, and ideals of good. Of course these books have different tones and also handling of this subject.... more>>

The list was created with much subjectivity, as I won't put protagonists whose good qualities overshadows all their impactful grey actions and evil actions, which is important to me regardless of whether they are truly good or evil. -> Different examples of who I won't include are Song Shuhang (kindness), Klein Moretti (principles and heroic actions), Kim Dokja (altruism), and Chen Ge (goodwill and generosity).

Work in progress. Of course I have read these, I will simply state if I did not. Most are good novels but I will add some non-favorites, which is purely my opinion because I have a personal standard of quality.

UNRANKED

Let me not bother about my face and recommend my list for top quality novels I've enjoyed:  https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/16488/ <<less