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

Stories with a close friendship/relationship between two male characters that is not romantic in nature.

No romance, no harem. Just MC with their brotherhood/sisterhood or found-family ^^~.... more>>

Novels with adaptations are noted.

Recommendations are appreciated! <<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

Where the MC gets a second chance at life and becomes extremely op. Or they're a Mary-Sue/Gary-Stu pissing off a lot of people with their beauty and skills. most of the novels are just the MC scheming and going on powertrips lol. you wouldn't need much of your comprehensions skills so take a seat, relax and enjoy the read :)... more>>

includes a lot of face slapping (:D), finished + incomplete novels (mainly chinese) <<less

A list of novels I like so I don't forget. Not in order. I try to not make this similar to FIEND's and other people's list but there aren't that many decent ones with no romance y'know. ... more>>

Some novels : Since The Red Moon Appeared, The Damned, Supreme Grandpa, Is That A Wisp?, Spending My Retirement In A Game.

P.S. I still haven't differentiated quick transmigration and world hopping so I could be mistaken about some. Thank you for understanding. <<less

Novels that I know that are adapted to drama with eng subs - either watched on Viki or YouTube; will create a Part 2 with... more>> some dramas that are not yet shown <<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

Noice Novels...they are not in order

After reading many novels I reached the conclusion that (for a male at least) the perfect novel needs 3 ingredients to satisfy the reader without boring him:... more>>

1 - STRENGTH : Constant MC drive to Increase his power/strength via cultivation or other means. The greater the obstacles he overcomes, the hardship, and the explosion of his power after he strengthened himself, the greater is the psychological reward. Examples: I Shall Seal The Heavens, Against The Gods, The Desolate Era.

2 - BEAUTY : An unending series of beauties in distress, with saving them as the main motivation to go on with the story. The MC should not be necessary a righteous person, but he should have a soft spot for damsels in distress. The beauties must not necessarily become part of the MC harem, they just need to be grateful to him. Examples: Womanizing Mage, Ancient Strengthening Technique, Battle Through the Heavens.

3 - WISDOM : The MC must outsmart his enemies. The most cunning, the better. Battle strength alone is not going to keep interest in the long run. Scheming and strategy, especially long term grand designs and political ploys, keep the story interesting. Antagonists also need to be crafty to make defeating them a rewarding experience. EXAMPLES: Legend of Ling Tian, Nirvana in Fire, Transcending the Nine Heavens.

So the formula is Xianxia/Xuanhuan + Save-The-Beauties + Cunning Protagonist.

This is a list of the best novels of this kind. <<less

Captivating storytellings. 

1st List -
https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/44031/... more>>

3rd List -
https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/61691

I am doing this list for people like me who enjoy family and friendships or gets entrained by MC building there organizations directly or indirectly—
(Unedited) They are all in alphabetic orders, # or A-Z

There will also master-follower relationship or master-disciple relationship being recovered or building up between them…

And some overstate themselves even though they are OP or haven’t released their power-

There are no romance nor harem but there might be people around them having favorable impressions on them or bad reputation trying to be fixed or just leaving it…

I will try to put on novels that I’m sure there isn’t any romance nor harem and have already read them so to be double sure and some are recommended to me and had told me there isn’t :>

Any that are involve with the tag romance is explained in the bottom ^^*

Loving family for the beginning, knowing, and get transmigrated in a novel or another world ✌️

MC - Main Character
OP - Over Powered
OG FL - Original Female Lead
FL - Female Lead
OG ML - Original Male Lead
ML - Male Lead
BL - Boy’s Love
GL - Girl’s Love
GB - Genderbend <<less

Part I: https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/28818... more>>

Part 2 of my endless search for halfway decent KR novels. This list is filled with random novels that won't finish translating until my future mortgage is paid off. <<less

Recently I have been back into my Chinese drama phase and I have noticed how many of my favorite novels have been adapted to drama so here we go listing all the source novels for these dramas. ... more>>

I will also mention some dramas that are upcoming or yet to be broadcasted those would be specified too.

Every drama mentioned here has been subbed in English.

To know the legal sites to watch these dramas I will be mentioning which all are available on YouTube(most dramas are available to watch for free only Iqiyi dramas need VIP to watch the rest of the episodes ) mostly it will be Iqiyi , Youku , Tencent (WeTv) , Mango channel , Hunan TV (all these channels are there on YouTube )otherwise some of them are available in Viki or Netflix to know alternative legal streaming sites please check My drama list .  com 

Also for Iqiyi you will have to pay memberships fees to watch dramas after the first 2 free episodes.

If you guys do like the list and want more of these in the future please do like , follow and comment below Thank you

Any other additions to this list are welcomed. <<less

List of good cn novel 

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

Love is temporary, EXP is eternal. <<less

why do you even look for knife bro. treasure your life more. treasure your kokoro more. QAQ... more>>

Warning:
- I don't read BE (some might be BE-ish tho :haroldface:)
- I only add titles where I've experienced the knife, or know there would be knife for sure (ex: mudaoli's novel)
- degree of knife sharpness varies for each person. you might agree with this list, you might not. 
- I have low pain tolerance :haroldface: 

my scale of pain, ranged from 'not really hurts' to 'it haunts me every time I see kite': 
1-3: wooden rice spoon (getting hit by one hurts okay)
4-6: paper cut (hidden but suddenly you feel pain)
7-8: knife. be wary. 
9: you're almost ascending via 刀道
10: machete. you've already reached godhood of 刀道. congratulations.  <<less

List of BL which I want to read or have read already. Four to five novels at the beginning are arranged according to rank. I... more>> had difficult time deciding first 2 ranks. They both are absolutely amazing! There is one or two books in the reading list which isn't BL but it's a great read.  <<less

Genre: Historical, Xianxia, Wuxia, Xuanhuan

As the list name says

ONLY TOP 25 IN SEQUENCE. - WORK IN PROGRESS... more>>

Personal reads i have found worth investing your time in. I have listed these novels based on following parameters:

1) Should have hope of being completed in this lifetime (i hate leaving a novel midway)

2) Should have overarching story and ability to incite suspense or curiosity in reader

3) Good Progression and decent paced cultivation  <<less

The list contains the best novels that I read in terms of pleasure, not quality. The novels may be okay, but I prefer them... more>>

After the first place, the order is considered random

I will start documenting my observations about it. They may not be accurate due to the long time that has passed since I read novels years ago. Nevertheless, they serve as a summary of my experience with them. I might attempt to organize them from best to least preferred as well.
"I also do not speak English, so please overlook some spelling errors. I only use translation."

I Have An Impenetrable Fortress IHIF <<less

Starting as today (09/07/2020) until
(12/31/2020), I'll be hosting the 2020 danmei reading challenge. Main goal of
the challenge on itself is to complete as much items as you can and after that,
to review the novels you read (for said items) on their respective novelupadtes
entry (a screenshot of this would be nice to verify it). You can use the novels
listed on this list for guidance, but actually you can use any other novel as
long as it's a danmei one and fulfills the requirements of the item you're aiming for. If the novel you're reading is not fully translated yet, for completition purposes you'll have to keep up to date with the... more>> latest release until 12/31/2020.
You can only use novels you haven't previously read before per item ONCE. State
the date you started reading it and the date you finished it in the form I'll
post below IN THE COMMENTS SECTION (due to description limit). You can work
this form independently, but it'd be nice if you posted the form and your
progress in a comment on this list. Remember that besides
being a challenge for fun, it's also aiming to spread love for the authors and
translators.

If you have any doubts or want to reccomend novels for me to add to this
list just comment down below. <<less

Long novels with more than 150 chapters. Has bl, romance, and long af fantasy/scifi novels. Quality kind of guaranteed, negative points can still be acceptable (actually, no but yes but you can handle it). Sad endings not included. But some of the extremely long ones tend to get repetitive and a tad bit boring by the end. The 2nd to 24th book follows the pattern bl-bg-ml and each set has at least one lighthearted read so I don't get sick of reading. If I get bored halfway, I'll pause and read shorter novels as a palate cleanser... more>>

This is short novels list's part 1: https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/26055/

This is short novels list's part 2: https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/26079/

After I finish reading them, they go to this list, although they're mixed with short ones: https://www.novelupdates.com/viewlist/16143/ <<less

My Favorite Chinese Historical  Novels which I've finished or I am currently reading part 2 >.< This list consists of both BL and Straight novels with... more>> a rating above 4.0~ <<less